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| 2nd Grade |
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| 3's Preschool |
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| Young 5's |
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| All the kids going to school! |
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It finally happened! One of our main reasons for moving to Holland was for the Christian school and now we could start what we've been talking about for months. All 3 kids are in school and they are all in the same building, for one year at least! Caleb had been anxious all summer about starting at a new school. Once he met the teacher and saw the classroom his fears lessened. He started school a week before Isaac and Julia so I thought that might make him anxious, but it didn't. The first day of school for Caleb went well overall. As a parent it was hard to hear him describe swinging by himself at recess and not having anyone to play with. I just wanted to go in and fix it for him! However, by the third day he found a boy to play with. Now that he has 2 1/2 weeks under his belt, things seem to be settling in. He has some boys he plays with at recess and he likes his teacher. He has 25 kids in his class which is the largest class he's ever been in. He also thinks it is cool that they have ipads in the classroom. We can tell he still has some stress because of all the changes, he's been acting out more and getting frustrated easily. But, we know this is a big change so we're not too surprised. Caleb also started soccer which is a good outlet for him. The team he is on is not as good as the team he had last year, but he is having fun and that is all that matters. One of the girls in Caleb's class lives a couple houses down from us. Today they were riding bikes and playing together. I overheard her say to Caleb something about Julia being a stepsister. Caleb corrected her and said she was adopted from Korea. Good to know he can set people straight!
Isaac started Young 5's. He attends 4 mornings a week. He is kind of a homebody so I think he enjoys being home every afternoon. However, I also think he would have been fine all day at school. He is bored in the afternoon with Caleb gone and Julia taking a nap. He has a new friend in the neighborhood, a 4 year old boy, Patrick. Unfortunately Patrick attends school in the afternoon instead of the morning. It was hard to get a read if Isaac was nervous about school. Isaac generally has a "go with the flow" personality. I think it was helpful for him to watch Caleb go to school a couple of days before he started. Isaac likes his teacher, but he is very quiet at school. He has 10 kids in his class and he is slowly telling me about which boys he plays with. Most of the time he says, "I played with this boy, but I don't know his name." Isaac is getting very comfortable with our neighbors. It's fun to watch him riding scooters and bikes with Patrick. Isaac also feels comfortable sitting on his bike on our older neighbor's driveway and watching him wash his car, putter around, etc. As a parent it makes me nervous when my kids just sit and talk with an adult neighbor. I keep thinking, "I don't really know these people, even if they have kids, what are they saying to my kid right now?" It's a hard line between being overly paranoid and a good parent who is keeping their kids safe. We've had a lot of talks with the kids about not going in other people's houses or backyards, asking before they play with a friend, etc. I LOVE that my kids have friends to play with in our neighborhood, but figuring out how to do that safely has been interesting. Isaac is also playing soccer for the first time. He's not actually on a team or play games. He has soccer once a week for 1 hour and a parent goes with him. There are a couple coaches and they split the kids into groups to do drills. Isaac has pretty good skills for a 5 year old.
Julia is in 3 year old preschool. She attends two mornings a week for two hours. I also think she would have been fine with 3 or 4 mornings a week. She loves going to school. She has been asking to attend school ever since Isaac was in preschool last year. She has 16 kids in her class, 12 girls and 4 boys. I helped in the classroom one morning and discovered the girls are quite domineering. As the mother of a child with a strong personality it made me feel good to see other children with strong personalities in the class! After helping in the class I once again thanked God I am not a preschool teacher. I can handle one 3 year old, not 16 of them. Trying to get these kids to form a line was nearly impossible. Our neighbors have a daughter, Asha, who is in Julia's class. The girls also play together in the backyard. It is awesome to see Julia playing with other kids instead of following me around all the time.
This morning I said a little thank you prayer. Nate was working today and I drove the kids to school. However, after dropping them off my van wouldn't start. After talking with Nate we determined the battery was dead. Thankfully school is close enough that I could walk home. Our neighbor was home and kind enough to drive me back to school and jump the van. I couldn't use the van the rest of the day, but that was ok. The weather was nice and I could walk to school to pick up the kids. Nate put in a new battery when he got home. I am thankful for a school that is so close and helpful neighbors!
