School starts TOMORROW!!!!! YIKES

Tomorrow is Liam's very first day of school in America. My heart is in my throat knowing how he will be sitting in class without a clue of what is happening around him. He wont understand the stories that will be read, he won't be able to share how he spent his summer vacation, he will be facing so many new challenges.

He's an amazing kid, I'm sure he's up for the challenge, but I can't help but worry if it's going to be harder on him than it needs to be. I had a talk with him tonight. He knows he wont understand the teacher. I told him to try to pay attention even when he thinks he doesnt understand. He may soon realize he understands more than he knows but I know how hard that is to believe when you are 8 years old.

Needless to say, we are all on edge waiting to see what the school has in store for my boy.

Sooo, while I'm discussing school, I figured I'd throw out some advice or a word of caution to my friends waiting to bring home their older kids.

Don't wait to set things up with the school until your child comes home.

Even if the principal recommends waiting until your child arrives, insist on preparing sooner, rather than later. Start having those meetings now, well before you travel.

Liam starts school on Tuesday and I still am feeling very unsettled. I'm feeling extremely anxious about my non english speaking boy going to school Tuesday to his english speaking classroom and teacher.

Liam is somewhat lucky that he has school experience already. He attended kindergarten, first and second grades in the Shanghai orphananage school. He knows what school is like. So many of the kids from orphanages dont have that luxury and will be facing different challenges.

Get it all set up well before hand, prepare as much as you can ahead of time, then you can just fine tune after your child arrives.