Kindergarten: take 2

They say when the corn is taller than you, it's time for school to start. Well, I checked:

And in the words of Curly McLain, "The corn is as high as an elephant's eye, and it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky." So...it's time for school to start.

And let me tell you, the Laytons were READY. Leah was ready and mom was ready. We debated for months as to whether we should have Miss Ribbons repeat kindergarten or send her on to first grade. We took into account the academic ratings of both her previous and new schools, the rigor of her  day-to-day, the fact that everyone is new in kindergarten (not just Leah), and more. And we decided on kindergarten. I'll be honest, even after the decision was made formal, I still had my hesitations. How do you explain to your daughter that she is repeating a grade for no fault of her own!? We basically told her that kindergarten in Iowa is a little different than in New Hampshire, so we needed to do it in both places! 

And so far, I'm extremely pleased with our decision. She has a fabulous team full of teachers, aides, counselors, therapists and peers who already love her to pieces and are striving for her best and that makes it easy to send her off on the bus each morning. 

This summer was a marathon. I know we had a lot of help from family and friends, but not being in our own space, then being in our own unfamiliar space and taking care of all of Leah and Kate's needs 24/7 begins to wear on a person! Sometimes I wish I was one of those moms who cried alligator tears when her children head back to school, but I'm not. I know that Leah loves it and I love that she is getting help and services that I simply can't provide as a one man show. I only have so many tricks up my sleeve and it seems Leah tires of them pretty quickly each summer.

So, just like Curly McLain, "I've got a wonderful feeling" about kindergarten take two.