There is very little about Alexis' grade school experience that matches mine. I went to a tiny school with just 34 kids per grade, which means everybody knew everything about everybody no matter what. Cliques were formed early, bus rides were long, and you always knew what to expect as the new year started.
Alexis, on the other hand, lives a life full of suspense. There are four classes for her grade and she doesn't find out who her teacher will be until a few days before the year starts. Once that teacher assignment is confirmed, it's a mad dash to find out who else will be in the class. There are always a few familiar faces, but there's also sure to be a new face or two.
The whole process leaves me sitting atop a fence. Half of me hates the whole thing because ZOMG JUST SEND THE STUPID TEACHER ASSIGNMENTS. I'm relatively certain there's no honorable reason they withhold them until the week before school begins. I'd bet it's so people don't have time to complain and demand a change. Which, whatever. It's not like the teacher assignment is what determines what the school supply list will be. Who needs a supply list before school starts?
Oh, people who like walking into a store where things are readily available and on sale, that's who. Last year I ended up paying $$$$$$ for a stupid binder because everybody was sold out of them except the office supply store who knew I'd pay five times what I should have.
Not that I'm bitter.
(I am. Very.)
The good news is that the supply lists get shorter as kids get older. At least that's what I'm telling myself.
Back to that fence ... while I hate that we can't know who will be in class together and what they will need in time to buy it, I am a bit jealous of that whole suspense thing. It's kind of fun watching Alexis furiously rip open that teacher assignment letter each year, which is only possible since it doesn't show up until the last minute. It's even more fun watching her take to social media to try to piece together her classmate list. There's a lot of cheering and jeering as names fall into place. It always works out no matter what, so as far as I'm concerned, it's fine.
Alexis hates it. Alexis hate it with the fire of 2462432 suns. She hates it so much that I'm gaining confidence that it's the reason she hates surprises. She used to like it when we would pile in the car and wind up somewhere fun without warning, but now she gets mad. Very mad. She wants to know all of the details as soon as possible.
So when the therapy bills start coming in when Alexis is older, remind me that it's not my fault that Alexis hates surprises. It's her school district. The school district who can't seem to figure out teacher assignments until the bell has already started to ring.
(Is this last second thing just our district? Or do other districts do it, too? I have no idea. North Dakota schools sure didn't do it.)