Jack's Last Day of Kindergarten

Wow. Kindergarten is in the books. For the first born anyway! It seems like yesterday that I was kissing him goodbye and shedding tears over the end of an era with my sweet baby. He has grown and matured so much this year and is so excited to be a big first grader next year. He is also excited that Graham will be at his school next year as a preschooler. We are moving on up!

Some of the milestones Jack experienced this year: 

- He napped before he went to kindergarten. The first few weeks of school were rough without that nap! They do rest but only for 30 minutes and he wasn't able to sleep there. I remember thinking that Monday and Tuesday were okay but by Wednesday he was feeling the effects and on Thursday and Friday he was just exhausted! I questioned whether I should have sent him to all day K. But thankfully, as the weeks went by, he grew out of that. And for most of the year he has had plenty of energy to last through the day and still be a pleasant guy to hang out with in the afternoon and evenings!

- He accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior! This seems like it deserves more than a bullet point but somehow it makes sense as one because that's how it went in real life. It was just part of his day, like anything else. He came home from school and told me, "Mom when we pray tonight I want to ask Jesus into my heart." Um. WHAT?! I could hardly hold back my emotion but I told him we could certainly do that. Randy and I talked with Jack that night to make sure he understood what this meant. He did. And we prayed. I am so thankful for CCS and Mrs. Ferguson as their example is part of what led him to take this step. This is truly and answer to prayer and I am excited to see how his faith matures over the years of his life.

- He is reading! Before K he could read a few words and some very basic books but now he is really reading. He mastered his sight words easily all year long and rarely needs my help sounding out words when we are doing his reading homework. He also love being read to so I cherish our evening chapter book time!

- He became a big brother again! Jack is such a wonderful big brother. He is a born leader and I pray that he uses that for God's glory always.

- He received all S's on his report card!! S stands for successful and all year there were two P's until this last report card: uses self control and listens attentively to others. I am so proud that he was able to master these skills and earn an S to finish off the year!

- His standardized test scores are through the roof. He really excelled and although we wouldn't have expected any less, it was still wonderful to see those results. He made a perfect score in New Testament Bible stories among a few other categories. :)

- He earned the GRACE award at the assembly today! How awesome to hear that he is gracious at school toward his friends and teachers!!

We love this boy so much and are so proud of him!!

Kindergarten Christmas Program

Last night we got to watch Jack sing in the CCS kindergarten program. It was so sweet! Their teacher, Miss Connie, is wonderful and always does a great job teaching the kids lots of songs and the hand motions that go with them. Jack has been practicing at home some, although he favors certain songs so we didn't know there would be so many! His favorites are: Our God is an Awesome God, Away in a Manger, and We Wish you a Merry Christmas. It was so nice to have Gigi, Hetty Sue, BB, and Grandad there to support Jack!

Funny Story: During the performance, Jack looked right at me so I gave him a thumbs up sign. He responded by giving me the thumbs down while still singing. Not sure what he meant by it but Randy said, "Looks like he can argue with you from 50 feet away!" Isn't that the truth?!

Catching Up

We've been a bit MIA on the blog so before I get to the big news, I will update some happenings from the last month or so: Jack is still loving kindergarten at Crossings! He comes home every day with news of exciting things that he is doing and learning at school. He has made lots of new friends and is just thriving! I am amazed by how much he has already learned and not only by the content, but also the passion in which he relays the new information to us. He is obviously being taught by some very loving teachers who know how to inspire kids. Graham is equally thrilled about being in music school. He comes home and tells us of all the songs he has sung, what he ate for lunch, how he quacked like a duck, said the pledge of allegiance, etc. He is practicing lots of new songs when he is home and entertaining all of us with his dance moves and animated expressions while he sings. He loves taking a show and tell and so far has liked taking blankie, the ABC school bus, his new Thomas book, and his little BB car. We finally decorated for fall. The boys are so excited about the pumpkin decorations and Halloween toys! They think they want to be Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker for Halloween this year. We bought a minivan! It is not new or even close but will do the trick. I feel like such a mom driving it! The boys are extremely impressed by the size and the doors that open on their own. They think it is the coolest car in the entire world. That won't last long but I'm glad they are excited! Jack learned to ride his bike without training wheels! He is such a determined little guy. He just decided one day that he wanted to do it and by the next day, he was cruising! Daddy helped of course, but Jack likes to do things mostly on his own so after a bit of instruction, it was trial and error until it all came together. We are so proud of him. I am especially proud because even after taking a very big fall and busting his lip, he got back out there and isn't scared a bit. He is so big and brave! Daniel, Adrienne, and Brooklyn came to visit a couple of weeks ago! Brooklyn is getting so big and is even thinking about crawling. She got a kick out of watching her cousins play outside and they just love loving on her and teaching her new things. Here is a picture overload:

First Day of School

Jack's first day of school was a huge success! Although he was a bit nervous the previous day, on Thursday he woke up full of excitement and did not seem nervous or scared at all! He ran right into school and was sitting and coloring with his friends cheerfully when we left. I was a bit teary eyed leaving him but was so thankful that he was happy. I wasn't able to pick him up since I had to fly to Colorado for my sweet cousin's memorial service, but I got to hear all about his day when I arrived home around 5pm. He told me that kindergarten was even more fun than pre-k, which is high praise since he LOVED pre-k! He enjoyed playing with his friends, going to P.E., playing outside at recess, doing circle time and centers, singing songs, and learning about God. He could hardly contain his joy and couldn't wait to go back to school the next day. I am so very thankful for our wonderful school and all his teachers and am so glad that he had such a good experience to kick off the school year!

Kindergarten

“The kindergarten children are confident in spirit, infinite in resources, and eager to learn. Everything is still possible.” -Robert Fulghum

I can't believe that the time has come for me to send my first precious BABY off to kindergarten. It is such a bittersweet time for me because although I absolutely love the school we have chosen, am impressed by his teacher, and know that he is smart, sociable, secure, and confident enough of a child to embrace this new experience, I am still just experiencing that grief that comes with having to "let go" of my sweet child and send him out into the world on his own for a bit.

Last night was parent orientation. Randy and I were extremely impressed with the new headmaster and were excited by the new things that are happening at Crossings via the PTF and Booster club. We enjoyed watching the cheerleaders perform and chatting with other parents, some familiar, some still strangers who will become our friends this year. We were thrilled to finally know who Jack's teacher is and were happy to find out that she is a sweet young lady, fresh out of college and excited for this new adventure. I know Jack will be loved on every day in her class! We left a bit overwhelmed thinking about all the to do's: order lunches, label everything he owns, buy a spirit shirt, double check that carpool map, read the handbook, etc.

Then this morning was student orientation. Jack has been a bit nervous about school so I was very excited for him to finally be able to see his class and meet his teacher. His apprehension really surprised me as I know I have never seen him as nervous as he was when we walked into that classroom. Typically Jack is very outgoing and has never met a stranger but he clung to my hand so tight that it made me want to cry. Fortunately, as his teacher read him a poem (at which time I DID cry, luckily I don't think she noticed...) and he looked around the room, checked out his cubby, saw all the new books, and finally met a new friend (Jacob), he slowly became more at ease and toward the end of our visit he was looking like he owned the place, laughing and playing with Jacob. I am very thankful for Jacob! Jack's favorite thing about the classroom is that there is a water fountain. He also really liked the big tent and is very proud to have his own cubby, which even has a special place to put Sally each day!

Thankfully, even though Jack didn't previously know anyone in his class, he has many other friends in the other kindergarten classes, so he will see them at recess and in chapel. He will also have some of the same specials teachers from last year, for P.E., music, computers, library, etc. This is not a new place for him and there will be lots of familiar faces!

I am a little surprised at how emotional I've been today. In some ways, I am absolutely ready to send Jack off to school! He just thrives in school and I love his excitement for learning and making friends. Also, I am looking forward to having some time to focus on Graham. With him being my middle child, this next month or so will be our only chance to have some really good one on one time on a daily basis. I want to cherish that time with him before the baby comes. But in other ways, I just can't imagine sending him off all day every day to be in someone else's care. It is just one of those milestones that you can never really prepare yourself for fully. I have spent almost all day every day with this little guy for five and a half years. He (along with his daddy and brothers) is my whole world! I will miss him so much. Not to mention the pain that I feel thinking that he may be in any way uncomfortable or scared at first. It's tough being a mommy and letting your little one grow up!

I'm hoping to get up early tomorrow to spend more time than usual in prayer. I need to thank God for the blessing of this school. Randy and I are confident that God wants Jack at Crossings this year in Mrs. Ferguson's class. I know He has plans to use Jack for His kingdom and that this experience is part of what will prepare him for that. I am so thankful that he will be in a place where the adults around him know the Truth and will model the love of Christ. I can't imagine sending him anywhere else and pray that he (and I) will remember how blessed we are and will feel God's peace throughout tomorrow and the entire year!