First Day of School - Second Grade

Little Lewie's first day of school was Monday, August 29.  The night before, he went to bed in panic. There were many reasons, according to Lewie, not to like school this year--"all my friends are in another class, the teacher will rush me, the work will be hard, the school bus driver yells."

I knew we were not off to a great start; after all, half of our perceived experiences in life are real and half are mental.  If we started the school year thinking it was going to be a disaster, we could already guess the outcome.

I had to give him a pep talk and then do what I do best...offer an incentive:  "Lewie, we have to change our attitude.  It might be a great year.  You might love your new teacher, and you might love your new classmates.  In fact, let's make a deal.  If you have a good attitude about school this week, I will let you take Friday off, so we can go to Lake Quassy Amusement Park.  But, the rules are that I cannot hear any complaining about school."

I'm not sure if my bribe worked or if Lewie really did have a great first week, but so far, this year is starting with lots of positives.  1)  Lewie has a new school bus driver that he likes, 2) Lewie likes his new teacher because she doesn't rush him, 3) He already had a chance to be the "helper" in his class, 4) He was able to play tag with all of his old classmates at recess, and 5) His teacher doesn't believe in giving homework during the first or last week of school.  (Again, these are all pluses to an eight year-old boy.)  

All I know is last week has been a dream.  The energy in the house is so different when you have a child that enjoys school (or, at the very least, tolerates it).  I can officially announce today, we are ready to embrace second grade.  Let's make it a great year!