First Day of School

Here are pictures of them heading out the door this cool, foggy morning.


Today was the first day of school and everything went well. During a parents meeting Tuesday night, (the night before school started...waited a little late didn't they?) we discovered they had Brooklyn, Faith and Liberty in the same grade. First grade. Faith and Liberty probably need to start in the first grade with the opportunity to work through first and second grade in the same year. Which is what we are trying to do. But Brooklyn absolutely will not go in the first grade. So we kept her out today as we made a trip back to the school later this morning with her language teacher who is a retired teacher of 33 years at the same school to discuss this matter with the school officials. I tell you what, messing with my kids is a sure enough way to see the wildcat in me. I take after my Grandma when it comes to this. My family knows what I'm talking about when I say that. My sweet girl, who is much taller than the average 9 yr. old here in Portugal, will not sit in a class with 6 and 7 yr olds. She'd barely fit in the chair!! Why would they do that to a child?!

Anyway, after a meeting with officials and the girls language teacher putting her neck on the line saying she would be responsible for her they agreed Brooklyn needed to be put in the third grade provided she could pass a test that she will take tomorrow morning. So those of you praying, please keep praying. Brooklyn was very nervous this morning as we sat in a very small, crowded meeting room with three Portuguese people talking very rapidly around her and about her. She was addressed directly from the school officials and she understood everything that was asked of her, but she was very shy in responding. She doesn't like all this attention.

Onto another thought before I get fired up again. After the parents meeting Tues. night we all went to the classes where our kids would be so that we could get specific instructions from the individual teachers. The first grade classroom didn't have a single thing on the wall. Not even the letters of the alphabet. The bookshelves were empty and there were three potted plants in various places. Nothing that indicated school started in the morning. Now this is a first for us, public education, but don't teachers in the States start decorating their classrooms weeks in advance? And get this, this morning when I dropped off Faith and Lib we arrived about 10 minutes before school started and we went straight to their room so I could introduce them to Professora Fatima. But the class was empty so we waited outside the school for her arrival. School starts at 9:00 and she showed up about 9:05. Unbelievable!! And she wasn't carrying anything in her hand but her purse! ----When will she decorate the room?----Can you tell this bothers me...maybe I need to volunteer? Be her "room mom". Do they still have those? I loved room moms when I was in school. They were the coolest moms who always brought cupcakes and threw the best classroom parties. That's what I want to be. "The Cool American Mom" who barely speaks Portuguese. Kids love it when I try to talk and mess up. They think I'm hilarious....wait a minute...my kids probably won't think it hilarious, huh. Embarrassing is a much better word. Maybe I need to rethink this.