Back To School

Its that time of year again.  This year I have a Third Grader.  THIRD GRADER.  Its so old.

And a Kindergartener.  Yep, a KINDERGARTENER.

Wasn't it just yesterday I was taking Carson to Kindergarten? Why do the years fly by so fast?

I've had this debate going on in my mind of whether or not I should sent Jonas to school this year.  He, like Carson, has a summer birthday.  I can't tell you the struggles we've had with Carson starting school so young.  (In fact, if the problems continue, we are just going to pull him back into Second Grade.  I'm not dealing with nine more years of struggling.) So needless to say, I've been nervous about sending J. I don't want to go through the same problems again. After much thought we decided to send him.  I'm hoping we made the right choice.

We got to the school nice and early so he could find his teacher,

and play on the toys,

 and get in line.  Isn't he just the cutest little guy?  Even his teacher said, "Wow, aren't you a handsome little boy!" I'm sure it won't be long before he starts telling me that the girls won't leave him alone...that's how Carson is. (Disclaimer: I have no idea who these kids are next to Jonas, apparently new classmates.)

Since the boys started school on different days (Kindergarten starts a week later here), it called for two different Back To School Breakfasts.

I'm not sure if the boys appreciate a special Back To School Breakfast, but for me its a fun tradition. Hopefully they will look back one day and appreciate it. Here's to hoping for a wonderful school year.  We were prepared to Homeschool this year, and then at the last minute it felt like everything fell apart for us.  I guess life throws you curve balls sometimes.  My heart broke a little bit sending them off to someone else's care, but hopefully we will be in a lot better position to Homeschool next year.

Last Day of Second Grade

 Another school year has come and gone.  Second grade was a completely different experience than first grade.  Carson seemed to settle in more and it wasn't as chaotic as last year.  I guess I've learned my lesson the hard way (never to start a late summer birthday boy into school right after he turns 5) and there really is nothing I can do to change it now.  This year his teacher, Miss Howell, was wonderful and Carson really liked her.  She didn't have parents volunteer in the classroom much, but whenever she offered, I jumped on the opportunity.  One of the times I went in was to read "If I Ran the Zoo" by Dr. Seuss to the class. I also volunteered a few times a month in the Take Home Reading Library.

She was really great to communicate with.  About midway through the school year, one of Carson's old primary teachers had approached me and told me that he has ADD and I needed to have him tested.  When I told her that none of his teachers at school had ever expressed any concern, she told me, "Oh he must have some other problem then."  Needless to say I was more that a little annoyed with the primary teacher, yet also concerned that I may have missed something.  So I emailed Miss Howell  and as we talked about Carson she told me she really didn't see any problem other than the fact that he is really social. We kept communicating all year about him and it really eased my concerns. I can hardly believe that I am going to have a Third Grader this fall.  I feel much too young for that! Time flies.

Back to School

First day at Lakeview Academy.

A few weeks before school was to start, we got a call from the local charter school saying that a spot had opened up for Carson (we had applied back in January, but we were wait listed).  Jeff and I were excited for him to go and eagerly accepted the spot.  As it came time for school to start I kept feeling very uneasy about our decision.  It didn't make sense because it is a great school.  He started school and my uneasiness only grew.  I didn't know why, but I just didn't feel good about it.  The Saturday morning after school started, I found myself in the temple seeking an answer.  After much prayer we decided to pull Carson out of the charter and put him back in the local elementary.  It was a hard decision to make because we wanted what was best for Carson, and we thought that the charter was the best decision. But after feeling strongly to pull him, we knew we had to do it. So after only two days of school we pulled him and waited for the local elementary school to start the next week.

First day at Thunder Ridge Elementary.

It worked out well that the elementary school started a week later because Carson didn't miss out on anything.  I still wonder if we made the right choice, but Carson has been thriving this year.  In spite of being in a class with lots of older kids (most of them are already 8) he is still testing at the top for reading and is excelling in math. He comes home from school so happy and loves his teacher.

On his first day of school at Thunder Ridge, we had our Back to School Breakfast.

A few weeks ago Jonas started into Preschool.  He has been so excited to be a 'big-boy' and go to school like Carson.  He is attending a preschool in our subdivision. I've been a little nervous with it because its not the program I trained with in college, but we're making it work for us. He likes his teacher and has fun at school. He's learning lots and has been writing his letters so much better.

Writing his name by himself.

High Note

Today was this little guy's last day of school.

 The bright morning sun didn't make for good picture taking, but we had to snap a last day of school photo.  I am happy to report that we ended the year on a high note. After having a shaky start, with him being so young in his class, I was tempted to pull him back into Kindergarten.  In retrospect, I should have waited until this year to start him into school with his late summer birthday. But there is no way I can hold him back now because the little stinker is so smart.

 In January I had a very disappointing SEP (parent/teacher conference) with Carson's teacher.  She reported that he was doing average in his reading and was a little behind in his words per minute.  I know a lot of it is that he is trying to compete with kids that turned seven last September.  Those kids are 10 months older than him, and when they were his age they were in Kindergarten. So we went to work at home, focusing more on reading.  I went to his classroom the first week of April and his teacher came running out to meet me. She excitedly told me that she had tested Carson that day in his reading and he had tested as high as the test would go.  He is reading at or above a second grade level.  He started out the year with a DRA of 6 and tested up to a 24 in April (that's as high as the test would go, so he may actually be a little higher than that!).  I am so proud of my little man! In fact, he came home yesterday with an award for having the most improved penmanship in his class.  He's really worked hard these past few month and we are so happy for him.