First Day of School - 2nd Grade

The first day of school got off to an early start. As usual, Spawn's cyberschool had a 12:01 'party' - when the classes are finally released and posted and students can get a peek at one minute after midnight the night before the first day of school to see what their next 9 months will look like. Spawn was completely gobsmacked-surprised when I'd sent him off to bed that night and sprung the news on him that that day (Monday) had been the last day of summer vacation and school started back up in the morning. I avoided the last week of summer mope-fest and got the added bonus of the look on his face when I told him. It's a sneaky mama I am. ;)

We got a later start than I'd hoped for - 10:30 am, but logging in early on the first day of school is usually a PITA anyway, so I wasn't feeling the crunch. The back to school launch usually ends up with the school's website either crashing or half of the features not working with everyone trying to log in at 8 am, so I had some tea, kicked back, and waited while Spawn polished off his breakfast - cheesey scrambled eggs he'd cracked, scrambled, and fluffed himself with some stove assistance from Daddy that morning.

Anyway, at 10:30 I logged in - thinking it would be yet another slow start this school year with nothing for returning students to do but wait while the newbies caght up on all the tutorials. Not so! The IT Dept. really had its act together this year and there were fewer problems overall AND all new students had the option of attending some kind of tutorial/orientation locally over the summer to avoid the three week void at the start of the year for returning students! WOOHOO!!! We actually had work to do! Language Arts and Math both had assignments posted for students to complete some beginning-of-year assessments. Long assessments, but we knocked those out in the first hour and a half and Spawn got his first break - recess with Daddy to go out in the yard and take some first day of school photos.



Doesn't he look thrilled to be taking first day of school pix? ;)



Yes, his mama still dresses him. ;) BUT - he does cooperate with my choices. =) CS Dad says I'm the only mother on earth who would pair those plaid pants with that Hawaiian shirt. I beg to differ. You should see some of the bat-poo crazy stuff my mother dressed me in back in the late 70's and early 80's. :o White poncho, neon pink, white, yellow, and aqua-striped boho tank, miniature floral-print bellbottoms (not neon), and black and white saddle shoes with a Little Dutch Boy haircut...that's all I'm sayin'. ;) I appear quite sane by comparison.



Bogarting both Daddy's chair AND coffee...



And a little something for Grammy who, if she's reading this, is crossing herself, rubbing her lucky rabbit's foot, spinning three times and spitting and cursing so his face doesn't stay that way. ;)

After his early break, we got right back to work because Spawn swore up and down that he wasn't the least bit hungry for lunch. (I should have known this would come back to haunt me later...) We started with Science and an exploration of the scientific method. We dissolved sugar in both warm and cold water and discovered that sugar dissolves faster and more completely in warm water. (Spawn guessed cold water before we started, so I got to choose where we went out for dinner. ;))

After our petite Science assignment, we polished off a short lesson about map-reading for Social Studies and it was time for a field trip as both the Phys Ed and Art & Music courses were having technical difficulties. Alas, the camera battery died and had to be left at home on the charger, so no photos of our field trip to Barnes & Noble. Spawn wanted to play with the Thomas train table set in the kiddie section and I wanted him to pick out a journal for Language Arts that he would get excited about writing in every day. So I bribed him. ;) If he chose a fun, exciting journal that he would write in every day, Daddy and I would trade off turns in the kiddie section so he could play with the trains for an hour. =)

By the one hour mark, Spawn had found a card & dice game called "Potions" that got his knickers in a twist and I'd found a book on knot-tying for his Cub Scout den (I'm their Den Leader) and had found a comfy spot to page through it in the kiddie area and still keep an eye on my trouble-inclined spawn. ;) Spawn had had enough at about 15 minutes past his hour and started in griping about how he hadn't had his chocolate milk and soft pretzel and he was starving for his snack. Which no one had promised him and he hadn't even bothered to ask for AND he knew we were going out for dinner... >:( Why was one reward for good behavior and cooperation on the first day of school not enough? I don't know, but Spawn quickly discovered where the end of my patience lay that afternoon. He kvetched about the soft pretzel all through check-out and all the way out to the car. I nearly buckled and threw in the towel, but decided at the last second that I wasn't going to deny myself a margarita just because Spawn had turned bratty, so off to Red Robin we went for some dinner for all of us and booze for Mama. ;)

Spawn had a corn dog, fries, and a chocolate milk (anything to keep those pounds on in our never-ending struggle for 1 lb. weight gain). CS Dad had some kind of pot roast burger with horseradish mayo, fries, and a Cherry Coke. That mayo was awesome on my fries and crunchy, fried shrimp! My dish came with coleslaw, but I barely touched it and I never did get around to ordering myself that strong drink. Oh, well, nothing wrong with a cheap bill and no bar tab. ;) I ended up ordering just a pomegranate iced tea to go with my dinner. Next time it'll be iced tea with a shot of pomegranate liqueur in it. ;) Our server was a new guy who was just trying to get through his day, but he did a great job, so if you're ever at the Easton Red Robin, ask for George H. Hard worker, great server!

Tuesday nights at Red Robin are Kids Nights - hallelujah! Their mascot, Red, was wandering the restaurant - delighting countless, laughing, clapping toddlers and scaring the short hairs off unsuspecting parents that he'd snuck up on - myself included. :o Red's multiple visits to our table were nearly the highlight of Spawn's whole day - until Mr. Clancy the Clown showed up. Mr. Clancy will make anything you ask for (G-rated ;)) as a balloon animal. Spawn wanted a rhino. Really. And Mr. Clancy provided...a rhino!!!



Spawn hates flash photography, but it was late when we got home and our living room is a cave, so he sucked it up to be able to show off his rhino on our blog. ;) Behind and above Spawn on the wall is an ancient whiteboard with a new version of the "you're not bored, you're just short" list that used to hang on the side of his study carrel. Using the whiteboard was an idea I thieved from my friend Eileen, but I was surprised to discover how many of the same suggestions Eileen and I had on our 'you're not bored, you're just short" lists. GMTA. ;)



Those last three flash-borked sentences say, "Act out your favorite movie. Retell your favorite story through interpretive dance. Hug Mommy." Spawn took one of the suggestions from the "you're not bored, you're just short" list to heart on that first day of school. He took some photos of his daddy when they were playing outside...





Moving on, today (Wednesday) Spawn had his first class chat. Thanks to some brilliant new hires on the helpdesk, we got our webcam up and working for the first time in three years! We were actually able to attend (albeit a bit late) the class's first webcam chat. The following pic is of Spawn chatting with his new teacher via webcam for the very first time. She asked him what his favorite toy was and he replied without a second's hesitation, "Well, I love my Legos the most because the fun never runs out." I can't tell you how glad I was to hear him say anything but his video games or bedroom tv were his favorite. Anything to shame me - that boy does it. :p



Later in the day, we got our printer problem fixed, so we could finally use our printer to complete the summer reading project. Only problem was...Spawn didn't remember the book anymore, so he had to reread it first - in his second favorite reading spot, in his favorite t-shirt and just out of frame is his kitten, Phoenix, trying to distract him with her cuteness, begging for bellyrubs. Honestly, it's a wonder we get anything done some days. ;)



This first day of school blog just wouldn't be complete without summer's last hurrah. So here they are, the last few photos of each of us taken before the end of summer break:



Me, rocking the mint sprig in my hair to keep the skeeters at bay at my MIL's house two weekends ago.



CS Dad, cuddling our massive 70 lb. bulldog, Lady Lola Pettibone (or Nugga, as we more frequently call her - short for "Nugget" and "Puppernugget") last weekend while Cosmos (CS Dad's cat) horns in on what's left of his cuddle-able lap space. Lola was most unhappy with sharing Daddy. ;)



Spawn and Nugga taking a break after playing hard in the yard chasing tennis balls one afternoon last week.

Chrissi, Cyber School Mom