first day of middle school, a smiling kid comes home!

early day today!

excited neighbors

waiting for the bus to come!

heading to the bus stop with friends

We did it! (or should I say, he did it) Day one of middle school was a happy day. I can't tell you what it was like to see my child get on the bus yesterday morning and then get off in the afternoon...and this may sound weird, but I was so excited!! There is something about that big yellow school bus :-) And even though Justin is 11 and a half, it is his first year ever not to walk to school, so that thrill that comes with kindergarten for most, came at sixth grade for me. Keith and I sat on the porch yesterday afternoon waiting on the bus to bring Justin home, but once it came, we went inside to act all natural and casual so we wouldn't embarrass him.

So, on Sunday night, Justin went to bed with butterflies in his tummy and lots of questions about what the first day would be like. He got much of his information from watching Diary of a wimpy Kid and the TV show iCarly both of which take place in middle schools. We told him everything we could, but being a brand new school and not having his schedule yet, there were things we didn't know the answer to. He had a good nights sleep once he fell asleep and woke up really excited for the day.

I made his favorite breakfast of biscuits and gravy and before long, a friend showed up to walk to the bus stop with him. There must've been 15 or more kids at his stop, and thankfully it's almost right across the street from our house. Our neighbor Julie came over to have coffee and sit on the front porch to watch for the bus. It was 25 minutes late, so we drank plenty of coffee while we waited.

I was practically beside myself all day in anticipation of hearing every detail about his day. Thankfully I had a hair appointment and lunch with a friend planned. She has a middle schooler as well, so we had plenty to talk about!

Justin came home ready to share all about his day. He felt good about it, was very particular about getting his supplies organized and remembering what to take to each class. He switches classes six times per day and has at least a couple of friends in each class. His schedule looks like this:

homeroom, social studies, science, advanced math, lunch, language arts, computer literacy-keyboarding, pe/heathful living.

His health/pe teacher and computer teacher are male, which he thinks is super cool.

He had a writing assignment last night and a boatload of paperwork for me to fill out and a few extra supplies that had to be purchased.

All in all, a wonderful start and definately a day full of excitement for all!