Two weeks in...

I've been back at work for almost a month now, but we're two weeks in with students. Kyle has loved his class, his classmates, and has already begun forming friendships. It's been a very busy two weeks and we are all adjusting to the new normal. We are so happy Kyle has been approved for a TK class! He is technically not age-appropriate, having turned 5 mid summer...but we've known this was where he should be since last fall and have been praying every night since December that we'd somehow get him in a TK class. Finally, after lots of ups and downs and holding our breath, we have him placed in the appropriate class! The only bummer is that he won't be at my school. :( He's handled it like a champ and we are confident he will love his new class and teacher! It helped we could go over on Friday afternoon (after papers were officially signed) and meet her and see his new room. She's mommy's friend and a true, passionate teacher who loves what she does. He will have a great year!

And speaking of classes...I'm loving my students and am thrilled to be back in upper grade, using all the things I'd boxed up 5 years ago. I've taken lots of pictures with students in them, but I did manage to get a few before and afters of the room without the kids. I don't think I blogged about it, but my mom and Auntie Jan were more than amazing helpers from sun up to sun down for about two weeks. I could not have done all that I did with Gavie in the room, so their help with childcare was absolutely crucial.

Here's the back of the room before (and even this was after I cleaned/sorted through much of what was left behind):

In progress:

The students love, LOVE to read on the bean bags when they are done with their work. So far our system for sharing is working. Kyle enjoys the bean bags for reading, eating, and playing with whatever toys we've brought for the day. Here he is with Miss Esther. :) He wanted to show her his new school so badly and she was kind enough to come!

Meanwhile, over at Grammie's house, Gavie has been having color/sorting lessons. When I picked him up the other day, the colors had expanded to include black, white, and brown with printed labels for some early word recognition. We are so blessed to have Grammie and her never-ending teacher creativity. :)

When Gavin isn't with Rudy or Grammie, he spends the day with Miss Esther. God did a good thing when he made this young lady. She blows us away. What senior in high school constantly thinks of others before herself? She's touched our lives in so many ways and we pinch ourselves to know she is real. We've written her name on one of our Ebeneezer rocks... and she'll go down as one of God's greatest provisions for our family. Just look at how much Gavie loves her! :) A fantastic bonus this year is that she lives just down the street from my school. :)

p.s. He seems to have grown overnight. Look how long his legs are! I guess he must, as he's turning 2 in a few weeks!!! Yikes! 

Kyle's 1st Day of Kindergarten!!

Kyle's big day arrived! Both he and I have transferred to my childhood elementary school which is the school I was teaching at when I was pregnant with Kyle. We've come full circle...my mom taught at this school and brought me over to join her and now I'm teaching at the same school bringing my own son with me. It's very special to teach and have a child at a school with such dedicated teachers. There's a strong sense of camaraderie with the staff and we all look out for our little ones. Kyle's teacher has 5 of our colleagues' children and I have 4 teacher's kids, too. Love our school family! 

Early in the morning, Kyle was up and dressed with an eager spring to his step. 

 Gavie wanted to join in on the fun and proudly posed next to Brother.

 Over in my classroom before school started, I could hardly contain myself. Kyle's cheeks got lots of kisses!

My mom really wanted to come and my sister had the day off (randomly!) so Kyle had a big support group to walk him over to his room. His class actually invited the families to join in the room for the first half hour. So, while I headed over to meet my students, I was comforted to know that he had family with him. ;)

 Then, it was time to walk him over... I've always, ALWAYS just died over seeing little kids with their big 'ol back packs going to school for the first time. And now, I have one of those... ;)

 Kyle chose, again, to pick out flowers for his teacher. He's such a sweetheart.

 Kyle and Mrs. C. She's mommy's friend and will take great care of  him!

 One more BIG hug before I left. Kyle was so brave and very excited to go to school. No tears!

 Auntie was last to leave but was able to come back and pick him up from school!

They walked to the park and after my class had left, came back to my room to recount the adventures of the day. (Snack time was his favorite.) Here he is all tuckered out!

We are in the process of seeing whether or not Kyle will be in our school's Transitional Kinder class (like pre-K). In general, it is advantageous to have your boy be one of the oldest in the class and not the other way around. Though Kyle is ready in many ways, we have some strong reasons to consider this other placement for him. We'll see what doors open up within the next couple of weeks as we follow school regulations and the formality of "the process."