Back to School

It was a big week in the Reichmann household as Ari and Alex headed back to school and began their 3-morning a week "2's" program.

First, before school started, we had a playdate and reunion with one of Alex and Ari's "old school" friends, Matan. Every time Mommy has mentioned school to them, Ari and Alex ask about Matan, Abbie and Adam, so it's a little bittersweet that we're moving to a new school this year and it was nice for Alex and Ari to know that even though they're in a new school, they'll still stay friends with their old school pals.

Wednesday was the big first day of school, although our school has a transition period where Mommy (and Kira!) goes with Alex and Ari to the first two classes before they start going on their own an hour, hour and a half, or two hours at a time. So Wednesday was a quick 30-minute class with 1/3 of their new classmates and today was a 45-minute session with another 1/3 of the class. Ari and Alex were excited to meet their new teachers, Morah Pat (who we ran into while shopping on Thursday and got to eat lunch with, along with her own son!) and Morah Kseniya, and to see some familiar faces among their classmates. Alex immediately found the fire trucks and tractors in the classroom, and Ari made a beeline for the markers and stamp pads. They were particularly excited about bringing backpacks to school and to wearing their special "Shabbat shirts" today. Alex was a pro at the Shabbat blessings and Ari thought eating challah in class was pretty cool. Kira even got into the class by participating in circle time. Ari and Alex's class is called the "Leaping Frogs" class and Morah Pat calls the younger siblings the "tadpoles."

Tonight we had a special treat: dinner with Alex and Ari's Great Aunts Joyce and Rose. We decided to take the Metro, in part because Alex loves it so much, and he was very excited to ride the train again. He even remembered how to get to the station and once we got there entertained the evening commuters by gleefully yelling "Yay, the Metro!!" Kira was the most excited, though, bouncing up and down in her seat and laughing her head off throughout the ride! She also had fun during dinner time, browsing the martini list and drinking her own beverage of choice- water- from her straw sippy cup, a new feat for her this week. Alex thought the cars, planes and trains in the restaurant were really neat. All three kids appreciated the books that Joyce and Rose brought them and we all enjoyed catching up over dinner.