Loving School

Between Phelps and Bolt and the Clintons and Obama and Palin most of my non-work time lately has found me too distracted to blog about Fiona. But no news is good news here; we're two weeks into school and Fiona's loving it.

How can I tell? Andrea has to leave the house at about 7:05 a.m. and generally only sees Fiona for about 10-15 minutes before she leaves. That means it's just me, myself and I in the morning trying to get Fiona out the door in a timely manner. And in two weeks I have yet to have any trouble motivating her to go.

Other impressive returns on her new school:

• When I dropped her off for her first day, we talked in the car about how she might cry and how that was okay. So we walked in, I put her stuff in her cubby and signed the various forms that parents have to sign on day one, and when I hugged Fiona she whimpered slightly... but no tears.
  
• The children weren't supposed to go on a hike the first day because Miss Holly (Fiona's teacher) usually has to spend that day explaining the rules of the class. As it turned out, Fiona was the only student new to the school. And she picked up on the rules so quickly that the children were able to have a hike on day one.
  
• Fiona occasionally will tell us about her day. This may not sound earth shattering, but it's always been a game with her to announce "it's a secret" when we ask her about her day, and then we have to trick the facts out of her. With this school, she actually volunteers information because she wants to share.
  
• Last week I dropped her off, signed the attendance sheet, and went to the door to leave. Fiona came running over and grabbed me and pulled me back across the room because she wanted me to meet her friend Asher (a girl, in case you're wondering).
  
• After two days, Miss Holly announced to Andrea that "this one is definitely ready to read." Fiona makes an impression quickly.
  
• For years we've been picking Fiona up close to 6pm at her various schools and day cares. With Andrea's new job, she's able to pick Fiona up between 4 and 4:30 most days. Fiona has gotten upset with her mother for picking her up too early.

All in all, a definite win.