First day of school

 
Simeon ready for Kindergarten!
 
Josiah ready for 1st grade!
 


It has been a busy summer with a eventful new addition to the family, baby Lucas, who decided he didn't really like to sleep very much. . .but more about all that later. Today, I want to share about the first day of school. Josiah started first grade and Simeon started kindergarten yesterday.

On Wednesday night, I sat down with each of them individually and asked them how they were feeling about going to school the next day. Josiah said he was a little nervous, but mostly nervous about Simeon having problems with other kids being mean and not being able to find Josiah to help him. I told him that Simeon could always talk to a teacher if he couldn't find Josiah. Very sweet that Josiah was protective of his brother that way.

Simeon said he was really nervous. When I asked him if there was anything he was especially nervous about, he told me recess, started crying and told me, "I'm going to miss you Mommy!" Oh my breaking heart! Later that night, as I tucked them into bed, Simeon again started crying and said he was really scared for school. It is such a big, new thing and my heart wishes I could make it easier for him.

We had them pick out their clothes the night before and, it was so interesting. They wanted to wear matching outfits! No influence from me on that one.

I was pretty nervous the next morning, that it would be really hard for Simeon to say goodbye. My mom came and watched the other kids so I could take the older boys, which was so nice. Simeon didn't cry, so that made it easier on me. He was still really nervous. Josiah was confident that he could go to his classroom on his own, but changed his tune once we got into the school, so I dropped him off as well. He was fine giving me a hug in the hallway, and bounced into the room. I peeked in on Simeon on my way out of the building and he seemed to be doing well. Whew! It's hard to say goodbye. . .and let go. I came home and told Lucas he was not allowed to go to kindergarten ever!

The younger two have been doing fine. I asked Ezra how he felt being here without his brothers and he said, "Good!" However, when he learned that Josiah and Simeon would not be home for lunch, he burst into tears!

The report from the first day was pretty limited. They both seemed to have a fun time. Josiah is thrilled that his teacher has a pet lizard in their classroom and a treasure box with books in it. He said that she reads them a lot of stories. Simeon was excited about free choice time, being able to use his "special" markers (dry erase ones) on a white board and picking out books at the library.

It was interesting that Simeon and Josiah had two recesses together and chose to play together. I don't know if that will continue or not! Simeon said the best part of the day was the last recess, because Josiah wasn't there. I said, "Oh, so you feel like you could do recess without him and be okay?" Josiah replied, "Oh no, he's not ready for that yet!" I figured out that it was because their were less kids out for that recess, so he felt more secure. I think the bigger kids make him nervous because they are a little rougher and can run over the little ones in their play.

Anyway, I am grateful for a fun summer. I enjoyed having my kids around and miss them. However, I am also excited for what this new stage in our family life will bring.