Tales of a Fourth Grade Something

First swipe!

The first words out of Deston's mouth on Wednesday, September 9th, 2015 were "I don't want to go to school." I suppose it's only natural for an 8.5 year old to be reluctant to go back to school. As I've mentioned before, school is not always easy for Deston and he felt like it was too soon to leave summer vacation behind. I can't say I blame him. This year Memorial Day and Labor Day were the farthest apart they've been for a while. Apparently we won't have such a long stretch of "official" summer again until 2020. Still, I had to prod Deston to get ready and out the door.

Happily, his spirits lifted when we got to school and saw lots of familiar faces in the line for his new class. He even let me hug him goodbye in the school yard. His teacher reportedly told the class she doesn't believe in giving lots of homework, so I think his impression of fourth grade is pretty good so far. He also got a student Metrocard for the first time this year. You never saw a kid more excited about swiping a Metrocard and going through the turnstile. He talked about the card for the three blocks preceding the subway station--I admit I didn't know someone could say so much about a simple Metrocard. This is a great opportunity for him to practice keeping track of something important. 

Hard to believe how much he grew over the summer! Fourth grade here we come!

Third grade, clearly he
had gotten a haircut!

Fourth grade, shaggy hair