First Day of School in Review

Yesterday was the first day of Grade Four for Jonas. As I posted previously, he's been very nervous and skeptical about it. He knows that things get tougher in Grade Four and he doesn't believe that he's up to it. He's a little like his mom, in that he doesn't like change and new situations make him nervous. The fact that mom wasn't going to be there for the first morning did not help his mental preparation, or mine either. I knew that both he and Steve were up to the task but I must admit, I was a little worried too.

I found a ray of hope the day before, when Jonas decided to give us a fashion show of what he'd like to wear on the first day. It would seem that he leaped in pre-pubescence over the summer. The kid who never gave a hoot about what he wore is suddenly preoccupied with looking good, brought on in large part by a preoccupation with girls. He decided that this outfit was the one, and went to bed looking forward to catching the eye of his crush when he arrived at school. I'm not ready for young love but anything that makes him want to go to school, take a shower or wear clean clothes is something I can get behind. I went to bed hoping that things would work out for him just as he hoped.



First day of Grade Four - the fashion parade begins!

Steve had concerns of his own, planning for an efficient and non-stressful morning routine for the two of them. He said he had to take a deep breath when the morning started with the "Do I have to go, Dad? I just hate school" schtick before Jonas even opened his eyes. Instead of showing up at the argument, Steve turned on his best "Everything's going to be just fine. Let's just take it one step at a time." Apparently that did the trick. By all reports, the morning went smoothly after that, with lots of man to man chatting along the way.

When they got to school, Steve said Jonas was so eager that he jumped out of the truck and headed towards the school on his own. Things only got better when they made it to the doors of the school. He ended up with the same wonderful teacher as last year, gets to sit beside one of his best friends, the girl he has a crush on is in his class too, AND "we finally get to start learning French - for real!"

The only negative Jonas reported was that it rained all day so they didn't get to go out for recess. Of course, that had it's benefits too. He got to play Lego at recess and mini sticks hockey at lunch time, which are two of his favorites. He couldn't get a status update on the crush and her boyfriend from last year though. The rain kept everyone under the watchful eye of the teachers so no there was no close for any school yard romance. (Is it wrong that my thought about that is "Phew!"?)

All and all, it sounds like it was a great day, confirmed by the first smiley face from is teacher in his agenda. The big smile on his face when I picked him up after school, and the excitment in his voice as he told us about his day, gave us a big sigh of relief. He went to bed looking forward to starting French class today, something I wouldn't have expected in a million years. I guess some change is good.

Cheers!