One of my biggest concerns was the twins being in the same class. I was afraid they would cling to each other and not branch out. I was SO wrong! They (somehow) barely spend time together! Maddie has a new best friend that she talks about non-stop. When we walk up to the school, I hear kids calling "Maddie! Olivia!". It makes me feel so much better that they are liked...isn't that every parent's fear? Olivia has quite a few friends she talks about and quite a few BOYS she seems to like. She had to wear her Ninja Turtle shirt to soccer last Sunday to show a certain boy. Uh-oh....
It is shocking how much they are learning already. They are already reading many popcorn words (common sight words) and they are spelling like crazy. I'm sure by Christmas time they will be asking for many books to read! Part of their homework is to read for 20 minutes a day. I like to have them look at their take-home books for about 10 minutes and the rest of the time is when I read out loud to them at night.
One thing I HIGHLY recommend is setting up a homework station basket to stay organized. At first, we tried composition notebooks to practice numbers, letters and words, but I found some great dry erase boards at Walmart for 75 cents. They are working out MUCH better! While you can buy number and letter flash cards, I just made my own with index cards to quiz the girls. Since they are in school until almost 4, I really don't want them to spend the rest of their day doing homework and sitting down, so we just quickly go through their take-home folders after snack time to see what needs to be worked on.
To wind down at night, I've introduced chapter books. I'm so excited to start sharing some of my childhood favorites with the girls! Gabby does get a bit restless, so I usually start off with a picture book. We started off with Junie B. Jones, which the girls seem to love. After two books, I've grown a bit tired of Junie, so we've moved on to others. One new find we're loving (thanks to an Instagram recommendation!) are the Magic Tree House books. We're halfway through Dinosaurs Before Dark and they are a perfect introduction to adventure books for kindergarten age and up. Final series we've jumped into are the Ramona books, I'm hoping to show them the movie when we're done! I love getting the e-books from the library so we can read them on the iPad/Kindle on the go!
Number one thing I've learned so far about full day kindergarten is that rest is important. Your child is going through a LOT at once and they will need extra snuggles and rest to cope. Our bedtime is between 7:15-7:30 and the twins crash! On weekends, as hard as it is, I try to keep the errand running to a minimum. I let them play to their hearts desire all weekend and even attempt to squeeze in naps, if possible.
Another lesson learned: keep lunches simple. At our school, they have 20 minutes to eat...which really isn't much for little ones. Maddie is a super slow eater, so I've had to play around with the perfect amount of food to send so she'll actually eat. Hot lunch is something we only do occasionally, especially since Maddie seems to not enjoy it.
How's school going for you so far? Any books you can recommend?
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