Luke's First Day Of Preschool

Well, He did ok. He was excited to go to school. So excited that I had trouble getting him to stand still for a picture as you can see below. Once we got there, he went in the room and I helped him find a toy to play with. I stayed for a little while and told him the I had to go to a meeting. He seemed ok and kissed me goodbye, but once I was actually out of the room, he started crying and the teacher held him. When I picked him up at noon, the teacher said he would cry, calm down, then cry more, then calm down. Having Rocky there really helped. I am sure it will get better with time. Thanks for the prayers!

Star Of The Week

Fletcher came home Friday with a piece of blank poster board. His name was drawn out of the hat as the first "Star of the Week" so he needed to create a poster all about himself. But there were no instructions. I vaguely remember seeing the teacher's poster at the Open House but I was too busy keeping up with Luke to really read it. I asked, "Fletcher, are you sure your teacher didn't give you any piece of paper with directions?" He said she didn't. I So I emailed her and she sent the instructions. Thankfully, she also sent two picture examples - hers and a student from last year's class.

I had a difficult time not letting my OCD tendencies kick in and do the project for him. I do have lots of cute fonts, scrapbook paper, and crafty stuff. But I wanted him to do work too. The teacher did say parents could do the writing since most of these kids are just learning letters. As you can see we did a combo of both. He drew pictures of most of the items.
Just in case you can't read it - here's his list
Favorite book - The Boxcar Children
Favorite subject - science
Favorite Bible story - David and Goliath
Birthday - Dec 16
Favorite color - blue
Favorite food - tacos
I wish for a hunting gun
I want to be a policeman when I grow up
Favorite thing to do - play outside
Favorite place - Gatlinburg
We also included a picture of him, a family picture, a picture of him as a little guy, a picture of him playing outside and a picture of him in Gatlinburg.
It took awhile but I think he was proud of himself for writing all those words.

A Mama's Heart

Both of my boys are navigating new territory. Fletcher started kindergarten and Luke is starting preschool two mornings a week. Sometimes it's hard for a mama's heart to handle. Fletcher said numerous times last week that he loves school. He was sad that he didn't get to go on Friday. Those are either home learning days or field trip days.

However, he mentioned to Kevin Saturday night before bed that a particular boy in his class told him that he didn't like him. Fletcher also said that same child said he didn't want to sit next to Fletcher at lunch. Earlier in the week Fletcher told me this child pushed him down the slide. Of course, at that age it is hard to know how much of it is true, first of all. Second, how much is just "boys being boys". Third, what exactly did Fletcher say or do first. And finally how much is just both of them being five years old and saying anything that comes into their little minds. But it is still hard to hear. The Mama Bear in me wants so badly to fix it all. Remember this post? I mean, after all, how could someone not like my child? Right? I'm finding that even at a small school, kids can say and do unkind things. It's just life and part of the world we live in (the world that is only our temporary home). We are trying to give Fletcher a toolbox, so to speak, of things he can say and do in these situations. Also, we remind him that Jesus is always right there with him. We've also started praying for his classmates (by name) - not so much that God would change them, but that Fletcher would always treat them in a kind and loving way no matter how anyone else acts.

Luke's preschool starts Tuesday. He'll be there from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. Hopefully. He still has trouble being away from me in the church nursery and that's just a little over an hour. I'm not sure how he will handle preschool. His teachers seem super nice and we talked about things he likes and ways to help him (books, going outside, food). He's just never away from me that often so when I do leave him, he is not sure what to do. We normally leave Rocky (his stuffed dog lovey) at home, but I told his teacher I will probably tuck it into his backpack if they can't get him calmed down. At church, he has a different teacher every week, but at preschool Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Amy are there all the time. Let's hope that consistency works in our favor. Say a little prayer for him on Tuesday morning if you think of him.

I think this Mama's heart needs to get prayed up. I am sure those of you with older children are smiling or perhaps chuckling and thinking "She has no idea..." If I think preschool and kindergarten are hard, I don't know how on earth I will handle the preteen and teenage years.

Oops!

With the start of school, a bad couple of days (better now) and me catching a cold, I completely forgot to blog last night.

More interesting life stories on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

Alexander

We have a children's book called Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Poor Alexander is having a rough time at school, with his siblings, and his parents. He thinks that if he just moves to Australia all will be well.

After the last two days, I feel a teeny bit like Alexander.

Here's the brief recap:

The new school year has thrown a kink into Luke's nap schedule. I pick up Fletcher at 2:05 and we get home by 2:15 or so. Luke has been going down for his nap around 1 to 1:30. I have to keep talking to him in the car to keep him awake until we get home. Well, Tuesday Luke decided naps were no fun and he was still talking in his bed at 3 pm.

Our kitchen has one of those pull out trash cans disguised as a cabinet. I must have left it open slightly because Sadie got into it (also Tuesday afternoon). There were coffee grounds, shredded diaper and who knows what else all over the kitchen floor. Time to clean up and wash the kitchen rugs.

The weather was so nice out that we went to a friend's house to play for awhile before dinner. Luke was on the top level of their play set about 5 feet up. He said he wanted to get down but I was holding Jen's baby so Jen was going to help him down. For whatever reason he started backing away from her and fell out of the opening of the play set onto the ground below. I was yelling "Luke! Stop!" but I couldn't get to him in time. Did I mention it was five feet up? He was fine (covered in mulch with even some in his mouth), but I was a bit shaken.

Kevin was out of town on Tuesday night. I always have trouble sleeping when he is gone. I finally fell asleep and was awakened at 4:42 am by the "whoo-hooo-hooing" of an owl somewhere in our backyard. It continued for a good 10 minutes until I was thoroughly awake! Grrrr!

We got Fletcher off to school on Wednesday morning only to return home to the realization that I had left our bedroom door open. We always keep it closed and I just rushed out and forgot to check. Some of you may remember from a previous post that we "retrained" Sadie to sleep on a dog bed instead of our bed. Well, in the 15 minute round trip to school, she hopped up on our bed and urinated gallons of pee. I am not kidding when I say I've never seen that much pee come out of a dog --- AFTER I already taken her out a few minutes before we left. It's like she was saving it all up. She did it on Kevin's side of the bed (remember he's not home) so clearly she is less than impressed with the care she is receiving in his absence. I think I could even say she might be a little miffed that he seems to go away every week or so.

So I strip our bed because she got it everywhere - sheets, mattress cover, down duvet, duvet cover. Time to wash everything. I go into the laundry room and I'm reminded of the kitchen rugs. Two of the three are still damp so I throw them in the dryer. Bad idea. I go back to check on them and the stuff on the back of them that makes them "non skid" has flaked off everywhere into the dryer. It was like I had dried a load of sand. So Luke and I cleaned that up because of course without his brother here he is bored to tears and has nothing to do.

But I am reminded that I have two healthy happy children. Fletcher loves school. Kevin has a good job that provides for our family. I am loved by my family and my heavenly Father. So even on those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days (or in my case, two days), I hope I can choose to find the positive instead of dwelling on the negative.

But a trip to Australia might be nice.

And This Is Just The First Week

This is the email we received from Fletcher's teacher.

This week in Kindergarten B:

Bible: Our school in its entirety will be studying "Who I Am In Christ" this year in morning assembly, or "Alpha time," and following along the same theme in our afternoon classroom Bible time, or "Omega time." This first week we will go through Arborbrook's motto together: I Am, I Can, I Ought, I Will. Your child will be learning, "I am a unique child of God, created in His image. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I ought to do God's will. I will make the right choice and do what the Lord requires of me."
Our first memory verse will be I John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we (the) children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as He is." Usually we use the NIV version, but this week I am using the NKJV because I have a song we can use to fit this translation and make it easier to learn.

Language Arts: Our first book for morning read aloud time will be The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn, and wonderful, tender story about a little raccoon on his first day (night) of school. Then we will begin reading a chapter a day of Flat Stanley, and the children will make their own Flat Stanley to send out in the mail!
For phonics and copywork we will be reviewing the proper way to hold a pencil and write our names, and also learning our "A-Z Sounds" song.
Every day we also make time for silent reading so the children can enjoy books on their own!

Math: We will begin with instruction in the correct way to write the numbers 0-9, use our teddy bear manipulatives to practice counting, play "Giant Dice" bingo, and even do a graphing activity to get to know one another better.

Science and Nature Study: We will learn good forest manners and take our first walks on the nature trail, and also make a nature bracelet to wear home.

Poetry and Composer Study: We try to weave poems and rhymes into our day several times a week, and also share great music with the children at least once a week. This week's piece will be "Claire de Lune" by Claude Debussy, and the children will have the opportunity to paint while listening.

Picture Study: We also make time each week to acquaint the children with great works of art in different forms and from different countries. We begin the year with Paul Cezanne's "Still Life With Apples."

Five in a Row/ Galloping the Globe: This is my favorite part of the day, as we travel around the world through books and a variety of special activities! Our first Five In a Row book is Letters From Felix, a precious story about a little girl whose stuffed bunny, Felix, gets lost in a airport and ends up visiting a number of exotic countries and sending her letters about his adventures. It is such a fun way for the children to get interested in geography. Oh, and we will be learning our continents song, to the tune of "Yankee Doodle."

I am praying for your children by name before I go to bed at night, and asking God to work in their hearts and lives as they learn this year, that they might grow as Jesus did-- in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man!

First Day of School

As promised, here are the pictures from Fletcher's first day of school. Unfortunately, it was raining, but he was still really excited. He does have to wear a uniform (gold, white, blue or dark green shirt with khaki or navy shorts).

At breakfast yesterday he asked me if I could please clean up the house while he was at school. He said, "It would be nice to come home to a lovely clean house." Yes, lovely. Oh how I will miss him while he is at school! The school hosted a Boo Hoo Brunch for all the moms of kindergarteners. I did ok. I think Luke was enough of a distraction for me not to think too hard about my baby going to kindergarten.

He is attending a small Christian school near our house. There are 8 children in his kindergarten class - 5 boys and 3 girls. The school follows a "Charlotte Mason" philosophy which includes lots of time outdoors exploring God's creation, books, great composers, great artists and the basics. Fridays are either field trip days or "home education" days which means they don't physically go to the school on Fridays but they do still learn at home or on a field trip. Some of the trips this year include a trip to a Train Museum, a trip to a real gold mine where they can pan for gold and a trip to an apple orchard. Kevin and I feel like this will be a great school for Fletcher.

Tomorrow, I'll post the email that his kindergarten teacher sent out listing the things they will be doing this week.