KINDERGARTEN!!!

Today was Max's 1st day of kindergarten. He had a great time and is completely exhausted now!! This post might be a little long and rambling, but there is so much I want to remember and it's all so fresh right now.

I have been nervous about Max starting kindergarten. He's not one to take to new things very easily. He's very cautious and uneasy about a lot of things. But he has been very excited about kindergarten so I've tried to be optimistic for him. Today went so well for him. He had a few rough moments--which he will freely admit to, but he was smart and brave and managed things quite well.

He met his teacher a few days ago and informed her that he was "going to be the smartest kindergartener she'd ever taught." He He!! He makes me laugh. After his assessment test when he didn't know a few of the things she asked him, his reply was, "Well I guess you stumped me after all!" Mrs. Rodgers was just getting a taste of what it's going to be like to have Max in her class.

She told him that since there were 2 Maxs' in her class, she was going to call him Maxwell. He said that was fine because he didn't want her to "freak out or something if she kept getting confused." Again--he makes me laugh (and sigh). He's already friends with the other Max in his class and another little girl from his church class, so this is making the transition a little easier. It's always nice to see a friendly, familiar face on the 1st day of school.

I let Max choose what he wanted to wear the 1st day. He chose some new shorts and a faded, stained bright green t-shirt. I would have picked a different shirt, but I let him choose. I wanted him to be comfortable. He also wore some awful looking Toy Story light up shoes that his dad let him pick out at the store. Zach got a matching pair. They light up on the bottom, sides, and the top. I thought they were awful but I may not be up on the latest 5 year old trends. He was also excited about his Batman backpack and Toy Story lunch box.

I couldn't get a straight answer from him about whether he wanted to bring his lunch or buy it. Finally he decided he wanted to buy his lunch and bring the leftovers home in his lunchbox! Smart thinking but I don't think it works that way, so I just packed him a lunch.
I have gotten pieces and fragments of what happened while they were at school. He was kind of all over the place with his descriptions. I figure it has to do with so much new stuff all at once and he may need some time to process it all. I'm just gonna give him some time. Knowing Max it won't take long for all the details to start spewing out!

Max wanted to ride the bus to school without me and ride it home. This surprised me, but I was trying to let him make his choices so he could decide what he could handle. We walked to the bus stop together and he got on the bus with the other kids and they drove off. He had his brave/scared face so I was very proud of him for trying hard things. My neighbor said she saw him get off the bus at school and he came up to her and said "My name is Maxwell Orwin. Will you help me find Mrs. Rodgers' class?" How darling!! I'm still not sure whether I should have gone with him, but I guess he figured out how to get where he needed to go!

When I got him off the bus in the afternoon, he was sound asleep! I guess it was a long day for the little guy. Evidently there had been some sort of mix up or delay that had upset him a little (not sure of the details) but he got home safe and sound.

All in all, I think today was very successful. I hope and pray that it will continue that way. I worry about him more than I thought I would. But he's smart and charming and learning to be brave so I think it will all work out just fine.

Happy First Day of School Everyone!