First Days of School

Yes, first dayS, because Gideon and Gabe started school on Wednesday and Zion started today, Friday.  I did not want school to start or summer to come to a close (though it was about 90 degrees today so our summer is in no way over with).  I love having my kids at home.  Alas, the dayS came. 

First came time to drop off my sweet Gideon.  I was not sure that he would let me, he is my homebody, preferring to hunker down with a show or toy than go anywhere – ever!  But he did well.  All morning Zion had been coaching him on what to expect since she went there last year.  What a great big sis!

So here we are, about to enter the school…and he’s more interested in eyeing the playground behind me.

Then he needs to sign in.  Our summer was so nuts we didn’t do much teaching at home so I brought my highlighter, wrote his name and he wrote over it.  I was surprised today at how many letters he was already able to do today, his second day, even though I didn’t write it out first.

Then Zion showed him where to put his back pack and where to find a toy and he was all ready for me to leave.  Just like that. *sigh*

I had no time for emotions, I had one more to get to school this morning.  So home we went and I packed Gabe’s lunch complete with a special note and a little pack of Smarties candy. 

I’m not yet sure if I feel we are lucky in that we are living with the “walking zone”, I’d much rather a bus pick them up, but walking isn’t so bad (though most days I will drive them). 

He allowed me just a couple of pictures and then said “I have it from here, Mom.”  Why do they have to grow up so fast?  *sniff*

On the way home Zion has to climb and have her picture taken. 

And I take a shot of random grass.  I love Fall (except for sending my kids back to school).

Fast forward to Friday and I’ve got three to get to school.  Zion starts Kindergarten today, Gideon has a second day of PreK (he goes three days a week for 2 1/2 hours) and Gabe has his third day of third grade.  First, Gabe and Zion and Gideon wants in on Zion’s photo so we do a silly one first.

Then just Zion in her sassy outfit.

Then we go find her classroom, where to put her bag and her desk.  She has been looking forward to this for years.  I might have cried if I wasn’t trying to keep Elias wrangled.  He is a good distraction.

And before we knew it we’d survived our first week of school.  Liked it even.  Today I went shopping with only one child while the other three were at school.  I guess there is a benefit or two to sending the kids off to school.  Maybe.

Firsts

Two of my babies started school in the last week.

Gabe started second grade on the 1st.  I’d say I can’t believe it but that’s what I always say.  I meant to get good pictures but they changed the bus schedule on us which meant that we needed to dash a bit at the end.  No carefully staged and taken pictures this time just a quick shot of him dashing for the bus.  Ah, memories. 

Zion waits for Gabe’s bus so that she can run to hug him like it’s been a decade since she saw him last.

I’d intended to make cookies and meet him at the bus with them but I was off by just a few minutes.  I pulled the first tray out of the oven right when I needed to leave to meet the bus so he got to have a cookie when he got home instead.  I made oatmeal scotchies.  I don’t make them often which I really need to change because they’re one of my favorites.  And I really must not make them all that often because Gabe, with amazement in his voice, said “What kind of cookie IS this?!”

Then Wednesday Zion started her PreK class at a local church’s preschool.  She goes a few days a week for a few hours.  She has been looking forward to school for years.  Before we left she posed for a few shots.

Then when we got there she and Gideon dashed ahead.  While I was getting my camera settings adjusted I overheard her tell Gideon that she was going alone and he’d be without her for a while.  I wish I could remember her exact words, they were so, so sweet and thoughtful.

Once inside the children put their backpacks away and then sign in.  Each day there is a question and then they put their name under yes or no depending on the answer.  Apparently all the children in her class are NOT the oldest child in their family.  Huh.

Then she gave me a hug and ran off to play.  No looking back and no hesitation.  I love my girl!

Meanwhile back at the house Elias took a nap and Gideon and I got some one-on-one time.  I can’t recall the last time he and I got to hang out with no other siblings present.  We read books and did puzzles and talked about colors and had a great time.

I wasn’t ready for summer to end.  After all, we only JUST started to have decent weather (my tomatoes still aren’t ripe) but now I’m starting to feel better about it.  I’m just so blessed and feelin’ it big time!

Hair Cut Day

I don’t know about you but our family is getting geared up for school to begin.  I know so many others have already started and that thought always astounds me.  It’s still summer for cryin’ out loud!  (Even if we don’t exactly have summer weather many days, it’s been a very weird summer here as far as weather goes.)

Gabe starts 2nd grade next week and Zion starts PreK the week after that (which is more like what I experienced growing up, we never started school until a few days after Labor Day).  I still haven’t shopped for clothes or supplies.  *yikes*

But today at least I got the pre-first-day hair cuts done (which I’ve been telling myself to do every day for more than a week now).  Zion and I will go for a hair cut together on Saturday after Rob gets back in town from work travel (blech, darn work travel) and Elias doesn’t need a hair cut so that really left only Gideon and Gabe.  Oh how I wish the boys didn’t have such fine hair.  It shows every mistake, every imperfection in a hair cut – and when I do it it’s guaranteed to be imperfect.  Still, they pass and they’re free so whatcha gonna do, eh?

Here’s Gideon’s before":

Of course I didn’t realize until after I’d taken the pictures and started cutting that his face still needed washing after lunch.  He insists on doing it himself and I sometimes forget to double check after he’s done it.  Silly mama.

Here’s Gideon’s after:

After I took the photos I went and cleaned up the back a bit more, didn’t mean to make such a severe line there.  And for the second time in my haircutting history I knicked an ear.  Gideon shouted “Ow, Mama, you hurt my ear!” in his adorable Gideon voice that cannot be described in words.  It went straight to my heart, I felt so bad.  Luckily it wasn’t too bad and I know the trick for getting things to stop bleeding (dab on flour, now you know the trick too) and now he’s fine and I feel better having confessed.  Phew, that is good for the soul!

Here’s Gabe’s before.  Which does not do this mess justice.  He looked like a Muppet.

And the after:

He’s not nearly as disgusted with me as he looks in the left one.  I just surprised him with taking one last photo when he thought I was done and as it turns out it was the best one of his hair.  Gabe’s cut is easy and I didn’t nick his ear.  What a relief!

On a different note, I have a new blog and store in the works.  I have a few knitting patterns now, a couple free ones and one that is nearly done that is good enough to charge for and I plan to get some photo items ready for sale and needed a place to do it all.  That’s a big project for me and since I’m a slow mover who knows when it will be actually up and running but I thought I’d share the exciting news anyway.  I’ll still blog here of course but I’ll have a link to my other blog and I’ll probably move a lot of my knit and photo talk there.  More on that later.

And with that I’ll leave you with a recent favorite.  Gideon yesterday.  I’m thinking about what lens I want to add to my equipment and a friend let me borrow her Nikkor 50mm f1.8.  What a nice lens!  And what about that LITTLE BOY!  This is one of those photos that shocks me into knowing how fast time flies by, he’s not a baby anymore. 

What To Say

I finally got to have the parent teacher conference with Gabe’s teacher (who I adore). He is doing really well in class. I had hoped to hear that. I had no doubts about his academic ability but I have been wondering about his emotional stability in school this year. His emotions can run very high and when he gets frustrated or disappointed he gets tearful. I get concerned, sometimes, that being in a class with older children (since he’s one of seven first graders in a second grade class) will not only make that come out more but that it will be more obvious to his classmates and that they’ll label him or pick on him for it. Lord knows I know how he feels. He got a double whammy of emotions between Rob and my self (at least he has a daddy who understands).

However, his teacher said she has seen great improvement in the last month and he hasn’t had any issues with being emotional lately. Yay!

I asked if he had any friends in class and if they could stick together, since she moves the seating arrangements around a lot. I hope that if she is able to do that it will help him. I know it would have helped me immensely when I was his age but I was shy and withdrawn as well as emotional and he is outgoing so perhaps it’s not as important for him. Gabe said there is one boy in his class, the only child in his class that he knew from school last year, that he said he would chose to be with if he could. Friends are good!

I was oddly disappointed in his test scores. Not because he didn’t do well but because he DID do well, just not as good as I know he can do. I should be super happy, and I am, I just wish that he had tested better for two reasons. 1) His test scores reflected a trait/quirk that I see in him at home. This whole “I know this material so I can fly through it and only half pay attention making super silly mistakes along the way”. 2) I want Gabe to receive materials that are at his level and challenge him. He already flies through his math homework, even second grade math is no challenge for him.

For instance, Gabe has been counting up to 200 and past since he was about 4-5ish. He’s always been great with numbers and naturally picks up math concepts. So when his scores showed that he counted up to 120 I did an internal eye roll. For his age 120 is just fine. For HIM it’s appalling. The other math test scores were similarly shy of what he is truly capable of doing with ease. I shared that with his teacher though and she really seemed to listen and not think that I’m the crazy mom who says her kid is so great when he’s really just average. Her main concern was that the second grade math homework was too hard and I was able to assure her it is not.

He tested closer to his abilities in reading hitting a grade 3 first month level and read 138 words per minute. Apparently your average first grader is expected to read 20 words per minute. So I guess no problems there.

Otherwise he is catching on quickly to new concepts that most of his classmates had exposure to last year when they were in first grade and he was in Kindergarten and that is a good thing to hear. I don’t want him to be struggling or frustrated simply because we think he can do these things. It’s nice to see that he really can AND is having a good time in his classroom.

The school still does not know what will happen with these first graders next year since this blended class is a first for them. Right now they are for the most part getting all of the second grade lessons. If they are simply moved on into second grade next year they’ll essentially be repeating a grade. Wait and see and hope for the best.

First Day Of School

It's that time of year again. My favorite time of year for many reasons. Cooler weather usually but this year we didn't so much have warmer weather so it doesn't feel quite as special.

Fall colors. They're coming, you can see some turning in those leaves. Oh yeah.

Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin muffins. I might even try pumpkin pancakes this year. You get the picture.

But the bittersweet moment is sending Gabe off to school. Not only do I miss him during the day but he is most useful to have around the house especially when I'm stuck on the couch feeding Elias and I need something. He's my go-to guy.

Gabe was so excited for school to start. The morning of he came to find me at about 7:20. He said he wanted to make sure I was up. Then he asked if he could get his own breakfast. I'd planned on making waffles but he was so anxious to be ready I let him get his own. A Poptart. Oh well. Then the poor boy had to wait anyway. He kept asking over and over if it was time to go. Finally he just told me I should finish my breakfast after I took him to the bus stop because he was afraid of missing the bus. Silly boy. Rest assured we got out of the house in time and he didn't miss the bus.


The bus has been spotted and the kids start lining up. Gabe wasn't even going to look at me to say good bye until I told him to.

And there he goes without a second glance. Rob was able to come home early enough to pick him up after school so we both got to participate in the joy/sadness of the first day of school.

I believe this will be a good year for Gabe. I think there will also be a bigger adjustment for him because he was hoping to know some of his classmates and as it turns out he's stuck in a class of new faces. The night before school started the school held a "social" where the kids got to go and find out who their teacher is and find their classroom and get an ice cream treat. So it was only the night before school started that we found out that Gabe was put in a mixed first/second grade classroom. His new teacher said that there are 20 second graders and 6 first graders in her class (and she herself only discovered the night before that that she would be teaching a mixed class). It seems that Gabe is a little sad that none of the other 5 first graders were classmates of his last year. And he is especially disappointed that his friend Jordan (who happens to be a girl) isn't in class with him. At the same time he can't stop talking about how he gets two recesses. Today he said he also got to play with Unifix blocks and that was just like having a third recess.

So, yeah, he is likely going to have a really good year but I do hope that he makes new friends soon.

As for us at home we are going to be busy as well. Playdates, MOPS, Bible study and home preschool for Zion. She is super excited about that and was really disappointed that I didn't fit it in today except for a short story time. It will be interesting to see how this goes because as excited as she is she isn't serious about learning AT ALL. Though despite her distraction and goofing off she does seem to absorb some of what comes her way.

Random

Our life lately in random photos.

Gideon in one of the cutest pictures of him ever. Look at those cheeks! He's a total walker these days. I think I may have mentioned this but before he was just "mostly" walking, now he's "totally" walking. All over. And he's mischievous. Not a good combo. He loves to get in trouble. He laughs his head of when I say "No!" no matter how stern I say it.


My MOPS group started back up again on the 15th. I am lucky to be a table leader again this year and have the added joy of being the Publicity gal too. At the start of the year I like to give the ladies at my table a little welcome gift. This year I made little scripture blocks. I started with plain wood blocks picked up at the craft store, some paint, Mod Podge (like watered down Elmer's glue), and some cute papers. First paint.

Then Mod Podge on the papers.

Then Mod Podge on the scriptures that you picked out and printed onto regular paper. While things are drying in between steps also Mod Podge a cut pencil box for your daughter who is suddenly into doing homework. Just like big brother. Big brother who is the "Kinderstar VIP" next week! Way to go, Gabe!


A second ago there was a little bird there. No. Seriously. It was so cute. It's probably been eaten by a cat by now. OK, maybe not (but maybe still) but Maisy is a whacko after those birds. Poor birdies. I'm luring them to their deaths.

Ni Hao!

That means "hello" in Chinese! This month Gabe, his friend Isaac, and I have been learning about China. We learned a few words and phrases, colored maps, tried green tea (in little Saki cups that Rob's friend Joel gave us - hey, they look like tea cups and the kids won't know), made a panda face, watched a video and read many books during our time together once a week. I personally really loved Chopsticks, a story about a mouse that lives in a floating restaurant in Hong Kong who helps a carved dragon come to life. Once a month the mouse, Chopsticks, and the dragon fly through the night on grand adventures.

Today we had a special lunch to end the month before we move on to learning about another country (Italy in February). Our feast begins.Sweet and sour pork, spring rolls, shrimp purses, pot stickers, wasabi thingies (OK, the lady never told me what they were called, just that they had wasabi in them and that was good enough for me, especially since my sinuses need to be cleared out), chow mien, fried rice, and sesame chicken. Yum!

I found the place mats and plates on clearance at Fred Myers. They looked close enough to Asian for me and only cost about $3 for both.

Mastering the chopsticks.

Isaac was pretty darn good at using chopsticks.

After lunch we colored fun pages about China, made Chinese lanterns (which I failed to get a picture of but they had dragons on them and are really cute) and made Chinese Almond Cookies. Yum!

And by yum I mean that I could have eaten the whole batch! Those boys sure can bake!