School Days

I've been meaning to post about school since it started, but I've been really busy. I'll have to post some pictures soon. I was really dreading first grade and the kids being gone all the time. Now that its been about a month I can say that it is not as hard as I thought it would be, but I don't think I'll ever get used to them being gone so long. As rowdy and difficult as they can be sometimes, I love hanging out with them and I really do miss them :(

So there are a couple of stories from school so far. There has been quite a bit of bullying in first grade. What's that all about? The kids saw one of their friends from Kindergarten being "beat up" by two kids in his class on the playground. He wasn't hurt really badly, he only got a cut on one finger, but apparently he was on the ground and the other two were kicking him. I couldn't believe it!! Another mom that was volunteering saw it going on, stopped it, and let his mom know. But it scares me. So we have had some good conversations about how to handle it when you see someone being bulled or when someone is bullying you. And about not being a bully. Then last week, Bubba said that some boys (one of whom is in our ward) said some rude things to him and basically kicked him off the slide on the playground. So...we talked about it and he's okay. I guess Peanut went straight to the principal's office to tell him about it. Good for her watching out for her bub! I just really tried to reinforce to my kids how proud I am of them for not being bullies and for being good kids. I'm sure this isn't the end of this kind of stuff, it happens throughout life. Its a not so fun part of growing up.

There have been funny stories, too. Peanut came home the other day with a boys phone number written on a piece of paper. I asked her if she asked for it or if he just gave it to her and she said he just gave it to her. Why? Because he wants her to call him, of course. Duh, mom! So then I asked her if she wants to call him and she said she did. Why? "Because, he's the coolest kid in class." Makes sense.

The area around the school and playground is mostly undeveloped, so there are a lot of weeds, thistle, and brown-eyed susans. And, more importantly...grasshoppers. A couple of weeks ago Bubba started catching them at recess. He has brought several home and we've managed to keep them alive for a few days. Yesterday, his teacher told me that he is now famous at the school for being the kid that catches grasshoppers. I like to call him "the grasshopper whisperer". I guess all the kids ask him to either help them or catch grasshoppers for them. I even heard an older kid, probably third or fourth grade say "Hey, that's the kid that always catches grasshoppers." Soon, we'll have paparazzi following us home. Haha!