Have Mercy...Been Waitin' on the Bus All Day

The kids started to ride the bus on day 2 of school (that would be Monday, because we start school on Sunday, therefore Monday is our Tuesday...if you want to get even more confused, see this post).  The bus leaves at 6:10 AM.  School starts at 7:30 AM.  School gets out at 1:30 PM.  They get home at 3 PM.  Yes, that's three hours on the bus.  Thanks to the leadership of a wonderful friend who has been through this hellaciously long ride issue before, we are looking for ways to shorten the duration (as in looking for another bus company).

These are private buses that we pay for--they are not officially associated with the school.  The buses are air conditioned, have individual seatbelts (and nice padded seats), and have an assistant/monitor as well as the driver.  They are very expensive but probably much safer than driving in the insane morning traffic.  And Qatar Foundation generously reimburses us for the costs.  

Here's the going--the first time (ever) that any of the kids have ridden a bus to school:

John walked them across while I stood in the doorway taking the required photo.  Hank was a minute behind the other two.

And here's the coming home.

If the perspective (with the cars) is confusing, that's because I'm not in front of our house.  Instead, I walked across the street to join the other moms-in-waiting.  The middle photo above actually has our house in the background.  Like our new paint?  It reminds me and John of the San Antonio Mercado.  Viva Mexico! Whoop!

Hannah came storming out as soon as the doors opened, leaving poor Hank to serve as her mule.  He sure is a cute mule though, all rumpled in his uniform.  Jack survived just fine, too, and even made a new friend on the ride.

As I write this, it's Tuesday evening (just past Hump Day).  The kids are tired but happy, actually going to bed at 7:30 PM in order to wake up at 5:15 AM.  Hank and Jack are starting to understand what "challenging academics" means...  For example, they have both had an hour and a half of French and Arabic class, so three hours total of language per child, every week.  And Hank's French teacher did not start from scratch.  She picked up assuming some basic familiarity.  I know that both boys will start to catch on very, very quickly.  It will be painful/difficult at first, but I hope in the long run it teaches them confidence that they can learn and grow through serious challenges.

So far, we're okay on math, science, writing, and humanities...but the week is only barely half over.  I found Compass School's learning outcomes online (what a child finishing each year should know), and Franklin's schools seemed to do a good job preparing the boys for the switch.  That said, I can already see a clear difference in teaching and learning styles.  Again, the boys will have an adjustment period, but I think we are very blessed by this educational experience (among many other blessings).

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And now, your musical theme for the day.  The title to this post is a quote from this ZZ Top song.