The bus is here!
He’s in a new school. A new school. Our town is growing like it’s made of rabbits, and the new elementary school that was built three years (I think; maybe two?) was overpopulated when they opened the doors. Woops. So this year, there’s another new elementary school and a new charter school, both within about seven minutes from our house.
At the grand opening/open house of the Goldfish’s new school, we saw some friendly faces and some very cool things.
A friend from Montessori where he went to preschool.
Sitting at the weather tube, which comes down through the second story of the building. It’s big enough for rain and snow to come down through. How cool is that?
Hello gorgeous.
The Fish’s teacher from last year is a Kindergarten teacher at his new school this year. Huge bonus. HUGE. Love her.
The boys listening to the new principal introduce himself and a few key district and staff people. This is one area that serves as an outdoor classroom. Again, how cool is that?!
The Bug Whisperer got a little ancy in the pantsies and starting scaling bodies.
Hank sacrificed himself both physically and in an unflattering picture (sorry baby, my fault), letting that 2YO give him wet willies for the last few crucial moments of the principal’s presentation. Way to take one for the team, baby! What an awesome dad.
Here’s a better one. *sigh* Such a hottie.
This is the classroom/presentation area in the new library, complete with a projector and retractable screen. Beautiful.
And finally, the gymnasium, which thank you Lord does not have carpet. That always grosses me out.
Always one to give 110%, the Fish was ready for an impromptu gym class.
They were joined by a moose…,
Which made this one faint and then get up to run away.
The little man is NOT a fan of big stuffed animals walking around trying to give high fives and hugs.
The engineers were very careful in the building’s construction in order to make it as green green green, and they’re using the way it was built and works as a teaching tool for the kids: very cool things in math, science, and technology. My prediction is that it will be a sort of flagship school that many districts around the country will look to as a model. Very innovative.
Moving on to my “oh my gosh” moment, and of course the point of the day.
Oh my gosh. I just read this is a my FB status for last year, on this very day:
made it. all of us.
Will I feel this same feeling on every first day of school, I wonder?
Probably.
The hugely exciting thing about this year? He’s a bus rider.
Oh boy. He has that same determination as always though. Check it.
The difference is…aside from physical size…this year, he announced that he would be carrying his backpack slung over one shoulder only. Must be the 1st-grader method. Stylish and manly.
(I’m still paying off my chiropractor bill from doing that throughout high school and college. Better start saving up again…)
Know who else was stylish? The Divine Miss L., who is loved by my boy. Her mom took her to pick out her very special first-day-of-first-grade outfit, and girlfriend can work a scarf.
She also doubles as a nutty stylish vampire.
Omalord. I do love those smiles that are missing teeth or have new ones peeking through. She rocks.
Then hysterical squealing and mayhem as a bus approached. I think this was the right bus; one of them that came by threw everyone into fits of giggles as they ran frantically for backpacks, but it was the wrong number. If we had done this right, we would have made the Fish wear the GoPro helmet so you could get the full effect.
And then you would probably vomit.
And he would probably be scarred for life and banned from any further social activities.
The correctly numbered bus pulled up to the curb and they lined up like pros, the two buddies at the back of the line to make sure they followed suit in the right way, I suppose.
And off they went. My throat was burning by this point, but I kept the tears to myself since I wasn’t wearing my sunglasses.
I forgot they were on my head.
The little guy was completely oblivious to any special thing happening, but mostly because he actually made the pedals work on his trike all by himself a few times finally.
He was sorta proud.
But it was all over when we saw this critter.
What is it?
Seriously. What is it? I’ve seen three of them around town within the last week, but I’ve never seen these things before.
Anyone?