Lots of Words, No Pictures

I've said it before and I'll say it again...the educational system down here is not what we're used to. 

Monday Breck started his second new school here. 

We pulled him from the private school and put him in public. I think he's liking it and it helps that two of our neighbor kids are also in kindergarten at the same school, albeit different classrooms. The two things I hadn't expected were: 

1. The traffic...we live 6 miles from the school and it takes us no less than 30 minutes to get there...in a car! Most of that is waiting in the car line to drop him off. And then we get to do it again when it's time to pick him up. 

2. The other shocker is the sheer amount of busy work {aka: homework} they send home with him every day. We're talking packets of poorly photocopied worksheets with no instructions and/or requiring him to cut out 63 small astronauts and then glue 55 of them to another sheet, for example. The amount of time it takes a 5 year old to do that is absurdly disproportionate to the low education value he gets from doing it. I'm really hoping there isn't a packet in his bag tomorrow....two hours of homework each night for a kindergartner will quickly lead to a conference with his teacher.  

Somehow tonight, between the 2 hours of homework and dinner, Breck found time to draw, color and cut out angry bird characters he'd made from memory. I am seriously impressed with his ability to remember such details! I told him this weekend he could dedicate as much time as he wanted to making a full-view angry birds scene, which he can put above his bed. {pictures will follow!}

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Rowan is doing a pretty good job potty training....or at least for her she's doing a good job. She is actually taking an interest and initiative with it, which is light years from where we were before we moved!

And we've been working on writing her name and the names of our family members. She's been very busy drawing and cutting!

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Seth works. And works. And works some more. I hope after mid-February things will calm down...a lot.

For me, life in Texas is starting to feel more like regular life and not some homesick melodrama. We're slowly but surely getting to know our neighbors better and we're clicking with all of them. I think we've got some friendships in the making as well as a trustworthy babysitter across the street!  

{Score and bonus!}

I've been keeping busy crafting and organizing, but have somehow managed to not get out for a photo walk....it might have something to do with a potty training diva and traffic that's just as bad!