Kindergarten

Ian is officially in kindergarten!! (Where has the time gone?!?!) Of course, it was bittersweet for this Momma to send him off to kindergarten. Each one of these times of transition feels like a time to pause and reflect ... and wonder if we've done enough, what we could have/should have done better, if Ian is truly "ready" for the next step, and be just a teensy bit sad that our "sphere of influence" in Ian's life is ever-so-gradually being shifted to other people. Thankfully, we can trust that the Lord has been with us during each parenting decision (the wrong ones and the right ones), and we pray that His Savior is Ian's true sphere of influence his whole life long. The sweet part of the transition for me was thinking about how much more one-on-one time and age-specific events/outings I'd be able to provide for Ryan (at least until the baby comes :)) ... and thinking about how much Ian will just LOVE his teacher and his kindergarten class this year.

So far, Ian truly HAS loved it. When we ask him his favorite part about kindergarten, he'll usually say "EVERYTHING!" ... though sometimes he says math time or rest time (since they sometimes get to watch a video or play on the i-pads during this time). He says that his days go by "really, really fast" (and that's saying a lot from a boy who's used to attending school only 3 half-days a week.) He talks a lot about another little boy in his class, Boston, that he likes to play with at recess and during center time in the classroom. He loves Mrs. Brandenburg and cracks up about the funny things that she does (something about teaching kindergarten 30 years has made her perfectly in-tune with a kindergartner's sense of humor). :)  He wakes up excited to go to kindergarten each morning, is a lot more chatty about the things they do during the day than he ever was during pre-K, and is generally very happy. Of course, he comes home very tired and crabby some afternoons as he adjusts to the new schedule -- especially after a few days of kindergarten in a row.

Overall, though, we thank God for blessing Ian with such a wonderful kindergarten class and for giving him such a smooth transition.

Ian went to a "meet the teacher" night the Friday evening before school started. He got to choose where he wanted to sit and go on a "scavenger hunt" around the classroom.

 On Sunday night, we invited Mr. & Mrs. Brandenburg over to our house for a thank-you dinner. It was fun getting to know them even better. (Matt coached their oldest son's soccer team at CLHS & teaches with Mr. Brandenburg, and I taught their younger son 6th grade math.) Mrs. Brandenburg was so sweet to play a few rounds of Candyland with Ian, and we were impressed with what a good sport he was even after losing about 4 games in a row.

 We spent Monday and Tuesday getting some of Ian's supplies together. He was excited to choose this new Cars beach towel to use as his rest time "blanket." He also chose the navy-blue covering for his nap mat. (Parents were supposed to send in two king-sized pillowcases to cover the mats, but my genius friend Aliceson suggested buying a body pillow pillowcase and just cutting and sewing the end to make it the right length. It works perfectly -- and even has a zipper on one side to keep the nap mat in. If you enlarge the picture, you'll see that I hand-stitched "Ian" onto the bottom of the pillowcase.)

 Last Wednesday, August 13, was Ian's first day of school! He was very excited!

 And here he is in his classroom with Mrs. Brandenburg on the first day of school. No tears for this little guy! He was a little serious when he walked in and wanted to get unpacked ...

 ... and sit at his table for seat work RIGHT AWAY!

We're so proud of our little kindergartner! Keep shining for Jesus, sweet boy! :)

Right after drop off, some friends met (with our littles) at a nearby Chick-fil-A for a "boo hoo breakfast."  So fun!

Kati & Ethan, Emily & Charlotte, Katy & Ellie, Kim & Ryan, Julie & Elise  (not pictured: Aliceson & Samuel, Tanya & Holly)