Day two

I wondered how soon I'd hear those magical words. Turns out it was even sooner than I expected. After just two days of kindergarten, AJ came home and announced, "I have homework."

It wasn't much (at least not for him, since he already knows how to write his letters.) Side one involved tracing some lines. The flip side had a dot-to-dot.

Other exciting events: AJ got to ride the bus home for the first time. Apparently he did not realize you need to get up and walk down the aisle when you see your house. And the fill-in driver didn't realize where AJ was supposed to be let off. When I saw the bus coming down our street, I stepped out into the front yard to greet AJ. When the door opened, I saw our three neighbor kids get off, and then the door shoot and the bus started to drive off.

No AJ.

I started waving my hands and calling out to stop. One of the neighbor kids heard me and started yelling too. I looked to the kids and asked, "Wasn't AJ on the bus?"

Yes, he was. They hadn't realized he wasn't following them down the aisle. They quickly assured me the bus would be stopping at the next driveway to let off another boy, so I started jogging after it. Sure enough, the bus stopped and the boy got off. And then the bus shut the door again.

By this point, there were three of us yelling, which caught the attention of the boy who'd just climbed out, who was able to motion to the driver. At the same time, AJ must have finally figured out what was going on, because I saw him inside the bus, moving toward the door.

The driver was apologetic. AJ was grumpy. I was simply relieved.

By the time we walked home, AJ was excited again and able to tell me about his day. He had fun and he had homework.

I asked if he'd played with his friend Owen. "No, they didn't play. But they put their mats together when it was time to "rest their brains."

So that's what you say to get a five year old to take a nap.