First week of school, CHECK!

We survived our first week of school!
Believe it or not, the kids adjusted to the new routine fairly quickly.
That isn't to say there weren't hiccups along the way.

{if you are wondering about the clothes,

yes...I made them...upcycled school shirts)

By Wednesday, the kids were really tired.
And now for the weekend, they still want to wake up at 6:15.
What happened to sleeping in on the weekends?

Not in this house, even with a later bedtime.
I guess it will all balance out eventually.
This much I can say, they are troopers!

What does the routine look like with triplets?
It really isn't that difficult.
The only unfortunate thing is that school starts at 8:15.

A bit early in my opinion but at the same time, it affords more time in the afternoon.
That means, wake up is at 6:15.
Quite the adjustment from 8ish during the summer.

Thankfully, we thought enough ahead to start putting them to bed at 8-8:30 starting a week before school.
And I was vigilant in waking them up no later than 7 in the morning.
This really buffered the schedule change!

{sweet Sofia, she is my very sassy girl}

Our morning routine starts with everyone on the couch watching Martha Speaks.
If you haven't watched Martha Speaks, it is a great show that teaches vocabulary, on PBS!
They love it and that allows for their tired eyes to wake up.

Next is breakfast at 6:30.  I don't want there pretty clothes messed up so we eat in PJs.
Breakfast is anything from scrambled cheesy eggs to whole wheat banana pancakes to cereal.
I try to give them all the same thing but Gabi loves her cereal so I can't complain.

Then it is time to brush teeth, get dressed, and brush hair (by this time it is 7)
I do it in this particular order because if you know 5 year olds, you know toothpaste ends up on shirts.
Don't want to have to change school clothes!

The above is staggered since the kids don't all finish eating at the same time.
Great for me and great for them.
Finally, I pack up their lunches (most is already made the night before) and put it in their backpacks.

By this time, it is 7:30ish.  If we finish early, they get to watch some more tv.
We jump in the car at 7:45 and off to school we go.
Unfortunately, we live too close to the school to qualify for bus service but WAY TOO FAR to walk.

{Gabi is sooooooo excited about school}

Doesn't it always work out like that?
I don't mind though.  Thankfully the school is in our subdivision, just on the other side of it.
And I really like being able to see them walk in to the school, it is a sense of security for me.

We do pack their lunches.  Our goal is that they eat from home, no cafeteria food.
As much as I know they are trying to provide healthy options, we feel better that they are getting a good, balanced lunch selection made at home.

That is our morning routine.
It works for us and I don't think we will be tweaking it.
I am going to make a little poster so they can see it.
{I will share here when I finish it, in case you would like it as well}

Next post, I'll let you know how the afternoons go.
Some days are quite busy since we do have things like Speech Therapy & gymnastics.
And I know the homework will complicate it a bit.

Really curious how we will handle homework.
Hopefully, it isn't too big of a deal!
And if you have older triplets and have been there, please feel free to share your advice!

I'm really enjoying blogging again!
I hope you are getting valuable information from it.
I know I will be thankful later on that I did!

Memories are to be charished!

Class Placement in Kinder

{Angie, I hope this answers your question & thanks for asking!!!}

{Sofia, Ian, Gabi}

This is probably the.most.talked.about.topic. when school starts.
I will admit, since we had PK3 & PK4, we had an opportunity to experiment.
Let me go in to it a bit for ya!

For PK3, there were only 2 classes.
We didn't have much of a choice how they were place, only who would be together,
and who would be alone which is a pretty big deal since triplets have a certain dynamic.

Sofia, at the time, seemed to be the most "independent".
We lovingly refer to Sofi as the "only child"  because I have a feeling
she would absolutely LOVE to be alone more than to be with her siblings.

This made our decision easy.
Sofia would have her own teacher.
That put Gabi (our best communicator) with Ian (our speech therapy boy).

The cards fell perfectly the first time out of the gate.
And it went smoothly until mid-year.
Sofia so badly wanted to be with her siblings really she wanted to be with their teacher.

But we didn't switch her.
The year finished out.
Everyone seemed to thrive.

{Gabi, Sofi, Ian}

As quickly as their first year in PK ended, it was time for PK4.
We originally were going to put all 3 in the same class since Sofi wanted to mid-year.
But we had a great opportunity for Gabi to join the Bridge class (advanced PK4).

Of course, we ran with it & quickly decided to separate them all.
Sofi was placed w/ the same teacher as the year before which was great.
Ian got a new teacher, as did Gabi.

They absolutely LOVED being apart.
It worked really well...until it was time for class parties.
Then the crazy triplet momma was in for a huge mess.

Unfortunately, the bad about separating them is that you don't get to be with them the whole time.
I would literally run between the 3 classes.  Never spending too much time in one class.
It sucked because I felt they were losing out on Mommy/Daddy time.

That was the downfall.
It also spurred discussions between the hubs & I about how we were going to place them in Kinder.
We automatically thought all together.

One, to ease our pain.
Two, to ease our pain.
Three...well, you get the picture.

I mean, in a perfect world, separate would be best.
But our first year in public school, we wanted a smooth transition.
One teacher, 3 kids.

That meant only having to communicate with 1 person.
One class for parties.
One set of rules to teach the kids.
Homework assignments being the same.

We were set.
So it was decided.
I called the school to make an appointment with the AP for Kinder.

In Texas, parents of multiples have the law on their side.
You get to decide placement and they have to comply.
Period.

But then I really started to think about it.
We didn't even bother to ask the kids.
How could we not ask the kids?

I mean, they have a valid opinion.
So I sat down with them.
And the truth came out.

Gabi said, "Mommy I want to be alone.  I don't want my brother and sister telling me what to do in class and interrupting my learning!"

How could we say no to that?
Sofi and Ian were happy to stay together.
Game plan change.

{Gabi, Sofi, Ian}

Meeting with Mr. P was amazing.
He heard our concerns and answered all our questions.
We decided partner teachers and a 2/1 split.

Everyone walked out happy.
I was comforted.
Hubs was content.

And that is how we started off the year.
This doesn't mean we won't do something different next year although I have a feeling Gabi will continue to want to be alone in class.

As their kinder year comes to a close in May, we will revisit this discussion.
Until then, I am so excited for my babies & their future!