Glorious School!

I think I would have moved to Utah for the schools alone.  Listen to this routine.

7:50 wake up.  Not too early!  Kids get dressed and ready (by themselves!!), I make lunch and breakfast.

8:20 Mimi AND Jude go out to the corner right outside my house.  On our property, actually.  I can see them from my cozy bed.

Jude’s first day, waiting on the corner with Mimi.  Sometimes they hold hands!

Their walking group of about 9 kids from our ward marches up to them and they join them on their two block walk to school.  They are accompanied by a very responsible 6th grader.

I wave from my porch. 

Jude’s classroom.

Mimi signs Jude into his class which is right around the corner from her own.

11:45 I pick up Jude from Pre-K.  It’s $200/month because it’s transitional kindergarten and therefore not paid by the state.  I think we’re a little shortchanged with the hours, but it’s still a great experience for him.

Mimi walks home with her walking group and shows up at about 3:30.  The other kids in the walking group told me they walk rain or snow or shine, so here’s hoping.  Should be interesting when it gets cold.

The schools are SO FANCY.  They’re mostly indoors and have multiple stairways.  Have you ever been to an SPCA in CA?  Know how they’re always super fancy and new?  That’s how the schools are here.  And here’s the best part:

THEY DON’T ASK YOU FOR MONEY.

No fees.  None.  Nobody has asked me for a cent.

And that is INCLUDING school supplies.  No list comes home saying what they need to buy.  All the classrooms are fully stocked with fabulous learning supplies, Mimi even has her own little white board she keeps in her desk.  The classrooms have these cool smart boards that are like giant ipads the teachers can write on and do all kinds of neat things.

Mimi’s first week of First grade, by our newly planted tree.

Both kids are loving their classes.  Mimi’s first grade classroom is rather obsessively focused on the writing process.  Already I’ve seen improvement.  Her teacher is very low key, kind of Earthy which is great for Mimi because she needs that opposite type of personality in the classroom.  She has kind of a lot of homework, but enjoys doing it (I don’t).  Jude comes home from school singing songs and bragging about his friendships.  He feels like a very big kid going to the same school as Mims.  (It’s no MVHS, we miss Carol and Jackie terribly!)

I had Silas all signed up for the preschool at the local High School like we did in Dville, but they changed their program at the last second.  It’s killing me.  He’s 3 1/2 and just follows me around talking angrily all.day.long.  I signed up for a gym so that he could have his own “school” at the gym kid’s care and that is going pretty well, except for the fact that I can’t leave and I have to exercise which is boring beyond belief.  But it’s only $14/month!  Perhaps I will find a better preschool for him soon.

Hush, Jay and Silas.

Now I love California, but come on.  Why is so little money going to schools from the government?  Why do the teachers have to solicit for money?  They’re screwing something up.  Utah has primary education down.  My kids are going to be entitled little geniuses.