First Month of School

Even though it bothers me to blog out of order, I really want to make sure to document the first month of school for the boys while it's fresh on my mind.

Josh, Sam, and Seth

Sunrise, first day of school 2019

The big news this year was that Josh finally joined his brothers at AIM. This is Josh's first experience of being dropped off and spending from 8-2 without either of his parents. The transition was just about as rough as we anticipated. I sent Ben to drop off the boys the first week of school, because I just knew that I couldn't handle the crying from Josh. Poor Ben...on Day 1 Josh literally had to be peeled off of Ben screaming. Apparently it was quite the scene. Later in the evening I heard Josh tell Sam, "Yeah, they tried to pull me off the door, but I'm really strong and they couldn't move me." Yes, we have that kid. After hearing about the drama of drop-off, I spent the whole morning crying on and off, questioning whether or not we were doing the right thing by having Josh go to school. It's hard to make your kids do hard things! However, when I picked Josh up (with a cupcake in hand), he had a smile on his face and said that it was a good day. By day 3, Josh told his brothers that he "loved it." Throughout the first two weeks, we definitely still had a lot of ups and downs. For example, the Sunday before starting the third week of school, as soon as the sun went down, Josh tried to convince us that he was sick and refused to eat dinner. He still gets very nervous at any new things, and doesn't enjoy going to art and PE because it's different (and in Spanish). Sometimes he says school is boring, often he says that he misses me and wants to just hang out with me doing the mornings, but overall, he's very happy. He seems to be making buddies and it's so adorable to here him saying things and names in Spanish; he has the cutest accent. We feel that it's so healthy to have him playing with other kids his age and doing school work that it is hands-on (as opposed to worksheets...he's a very kinestetic learner). He now has homework Monday through Thursday: 10 minutes math, 10 minutes reading on the tablet...we joke that it's his dream come true to HAVE to have screen time.  

 

 Josh's first day of E2 (kindergarten) at AIM

All smiles with a cupcake after completing his first day of school.

A note Josh wrote me his second week of school: "I am happy."

It's hard to believe that Sam and Seth are entering into their third year of school at AIM. Especially compared to Josh, they were experts at school. They had a little bit of nervousness, but more than anything were just excited to start classes again. Sam has the same teacher, Teacher Sam, that he and Seth had in third grade. Seth has a male teacher for the first time ever, Teacher Khaled, who is from Egypt and is very passionate about education. They are both very happy. They also have been such a blessing with helping Josh adjust to school. That dramatic first morning for Josh, the teacher ended up going to Sam's classroom and having him come down and help calm Josh down. They are always looking for and waving at Josh, and dropping all three of them off together is just so neat. 

Sam's first day of 5th grade at AIM

 Seth's first day of 5th grade at AIM

 Our after school hours look a little different than the past years. Josh's classes end at 1, but he practices basketball Monday through Thursday until 2, when I pick him up. Josh and I then hang out in the school cafeteria until 2:30 when I can pick the big boys up. We all then head home, grab something to eat, and chill until 3:45 when I need to take the twins to soccer practice. Josh and I return home from that trip, hang out for an hour, and then head back to pick the twins up at 5. Sometimes it feels a little crazy with that many trips to and fro school and practice, but it does give me sweet, focused time with the kids. I especially treasure the one-on-one time with Josh, as he was my little buddy for the last couple years while the twins were at school. 

Josh can earn "puppets" at school for good behavior..it's such a great motivator! 

I am happy to report that I am doing just fine by myself during the days. In fact, the mental reprieve from having all the kids at school during the day has been so wonderful. I've used this first month to really rest and do things that I enjoy. I joke that I've been doing all things slowly, because while homeschooling and having kids with me, I always felt rushed. I used to hurry through everything: workouts, showers, devotions, grocery shopping. Now, I can linger a bit, I can browse, I can read a little longer, go for long walks, and just savor time. I can focus during group Bible Study and coffee with friends, instead of always juggling a child next to me. It's been really, really nice. It has also helped me be so much more present with the kids when they are home; I missed them during the day and am excited and ready to spend focused time with them in the afternoons. So, while I'll always treasure my years of homeschooling, I'm am grateful for this change of pace in all our lives. To everything there is a season....

My sweet Joshy with his Piglet, who he brings to school every day. 

The boys all dressed in Mexican colors for Mexican Independence Day.

The twins are playing soccer again this year and after about four weeks of tryouts, they found out some exciting news: they made the "A" team. We are so proud of their skills improvement throughout the last couple of years. Moreover, their coach told me that they were on the fence to which team they would make, but that he chose them for the "A" team because they work hard, don't goof off, and listen and obey well. Ben and I feel like this is such a great compliment to Sam and Seth's character! We are looking forward to watching their games this year, as they are playing on a team with some very talented boys! 

Josh is playing (and loving) basketball. He had his first game this week and it was quite the ordeal to get him to go with his team. What a funny kid he is: he gets SO extremely nervous for new situations. He was just dreading this game. It took about 15 minutes of tears and excuses from him, and threats and bribes from me to get him to walk out to the court. He was very concerned about "everyone looking at him," and even told me once that "he would be the only blonde kid out there." I've never heard of a six year old being aware of these types of things! The other funny thing about him is that once he actually get the guts to do something he's nervous about, he's totally not timid in the situation. For example, he was running down the court, "swimming" with his arms and being silly...that doesn't sound like a nervous kid who doesn't want everyone looking at him! 

 Sporting #42 like his daddy. 

 His hair doesn't look very different from the other boys!