First Day of School 2015

Yesterday was the first day of school for the new year - and the first day of school ever for Lola!

I can't believe I have two school kids. Ava is now in third grade and Lola is in Transitional Kindergarten.

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is a relatively new class created for kids whose birthdays fall just after the cut off for Kindergarten. In the past kids were allowed to start Kindergarten if they turned five by the end of December. Over the past few years the cut off date has crept forward, and as of this year kids now need to turn five by the first day of school. Lola misses out by just over a month, which really sucks! I would have much preferred for her to go straight into Kindergarten but at least we had the option for her to attend TK.

The girls were pretty excited as they got ready for school in the morning. Ava was obviously eager to get back to school as she woke up around 6am, made herself breakfast, and was dressed and ready to go by 7am! School doesn't start until 9:10am so that gave her plenty of time to play Minecraft. Lola slept in a little longer, as usual, but was excited about her big day none the less.



On our way out we stop for our traditional "Leaving the house on the first day of school" photos. A neighbor was kind enough to take a group photo for us. Oh yeah, and there was duck face, of course!

Both Ava and Lola were given new backpacks as a back to school gift from Kim and I. Lola was pretty excited to have a unicorn backpack - although she does wish it was pink! Ava's new backpack features Peanuts characters and she loves it. (Both backpacks are from Hanna Andersson. You can see more of my favorite kids' backpacks here.)

The girls will be riding their scooters to school most days, but for the first day they both wanted to walk. That made it a little easier for me to take photos as they weren't zooming ahead!

At school the girls were excited to catch up with friends, most of whom they hadn't seen all Summer, and some who they have seen pretty much every second day over the last few weeks.

We dropped Ava off in the big yard and then made our way to the Kindergarten and TK yard to meet Lola's teacher and classmates.

All kids in Berkeley schools are provided with breakfast every day. Eating breakfast is the first thing the classes do for the day. Most classes eat breakfast in their classroom, however the TK kids eat out on the yard. The kids dropped off their backpacks and lunch boxes, then made their way to the seating area for breakfast. There was lots of yummy stuff on offer for breakfast. As Lola had already eaten pancakes at home, she opted for just a plum.

 While the TK kids ate their breakfast Mathilde played nearby.

After Lola's class had finished breakfast and made their way into the classroom Mathilde and I headed home. I've got to say, that after having all three kids home with me over the Summer it felt awfully quiet at home. Mathilde kept walking around the house calling out for Ava and Lola. She seemed a little confused that they weren't there.

After school had finished for the day I took the girls out for a treat. We were on our way to get gelato when we noticed lots of people sitting outside of Cheeseboard eating soft serve. It looked so good that the girls decided they wanted that instead. Good call. It was delicious! I had no idea that they even sold it there.

Hooray for the first day of school!