Eila is now a regular first grader, going to school full day and loving lunch and recess. She really likes her teacher who makes her laugh. Eila is a pretty good reader and so she is in a small group with the kids who read well and they have to do different writing and spelling activities when the other kids are doing cut and paste sheets with letters and sounds. It seems like she really likes this special assignment and it motivates her to work extra hard on writing and spelling.

School isn't all academic though. Even though recess is her favorite she has had a few days where some girls made clubs and excluded her. She is learning a lot playing or not playing with these "friends" about what it means to be a friend. Eila also is learning a lot about being independent and laughing at herself, not that she was struggling in these areas, but she has had a few moments of embarrassment at school with her chocolate milk especially, which are really driving the point home.

Being at school all day, then going to gymnastics right after school 2 days each week means that Eila is not home nearly as much as previously. In some ways, she misses her brothers, we are sure, despite the angry cries to the opposite when they mess up her stuff while she's gone. Mostly it's mom, dad, and free time that she misses. After the first week of school, she decided that it wasn't all that much fun and she'd rather not go at all, but now the adjustment period is over and Eila seems to like school as well as she probably will for the next 11 years!