Aly's First Day - All Words

Hello again!

I am ready to do a bit of journaling about Alaster's first day of Kindergarten!

It was swell! He couldn't have been cuter at the drop off, and he came home beaming from head to toe.

Corey came with us that first day to drop him off, which was good. He also came with me to the first Parent/Teacher conference. He loved seeing Alaster, and he also wanted to be there for me. He anticipated his shoulder being wanted when the crying started. Good husband. Very good husband.

We are both in disbelief that Alaster is old enough for this. He's so different than Jack. With Jack we were sad, but we also felt an overwhelming sense that he would thrive at school and that he was totally ready to go. Our biggest concern was that Jack was too far ahead and that he would be bored.

With Alaster we felt like in some ways he was just as ready, and in other ways we were not so sure. Both of us were very worried about him and the prospect of school. His personality is quite different than Jack. We worry about him socially... not in the sense that he won't make friends, because we are sure that won't be a problem... but in the sense that if his friends or others are MEAN to him... How will he handle it???

So what were we to do? We considered all options: Keep him back a year? Pay for Private School? (Ha! It took a grand total of 5 minutes to realize we'll never be able to afford that!) Find a Charter School? (Closest one is an hour away) Switch both boys to Home School? (An option I never would have thought that we would so very, very seriously consider.)

We talked to people who are doing home school and love it. We talked to those who had done home school for a while and for various reasons returned to Public. We talked to people who sent young five year olds (like Aly) to school on time. We talked to those who chose to hold back one year.

Corey and I discussed and discussed, weighed all the choices, thought about Alaster and Jack both and the type of experience we want for them... all aspects of their lives considered... and we PRAYED. We asked to be guided to know what was best for them and for our family.

And an answer did come: Keep them at Southside. Send Aly on time. Make sure he is ready.

So that first drop off was hard, but not as hard as it could have been. I cried because I will miss him. I cried because I "love the stuffing out of him," as my dear Katie would put it. I cried because even though I know it's where he should be, I still worry.

But I am comforted by the fact that we weren't just sending him to school because" that's what you do..." we CHOSE this for him. We involved heaven in making our decision and we are moving forward with what felt right and good.

We worked so hard this summer to prepare Aly for school. Given some struggles that he has had at home we felt that it was absolutely essential for him to go to school feeling capable and comfortable with what would be presented there. We wanted him reading, able to write his name, used to sitting and working on a workbook page, comfortable with a paintbrush, and doing well with his penmanship, etc. We felt like him feeling confident in his abilities and capacity to do what was being asked of him at school by having mastered some of the skills already at home was KEY. And so we worked. And I am thrilled with the progress he made this summer.

In addition to preparing him for school intellectually, we tried to prepare them in other ways. We talked to Jack about looking out for Aly. We talked to them about being safe. We talked to them about paying attention to the feelings that they had in order to avoid danger, because that was the spirit talking to them. We talked about friends. We talked about lunch and pick up procedures. We talked about everything we could think of that they would need!

And after a special school FHE Corey laid his hands on their heads and gave them beautiful blessings.

He spoke to Alaster about being blessed with an open, alert and prepared mind, being guided to make good decisions in making friends, being blessed to learn and excell, to grow and enjoy his school, his class and his teacher, and that he would remember the lessons he had learned at home about the gospel and Jesus Christ, and the blessings he had been given.

He blessed Jack to be receptive to the guidance of the light of Christ and the Holy Ghost. He told him that he would be able to pay attention to his feelings and know good from bad, that he would continue to make good decisions about friends and surround himself with good examples, that he would do well in his school work, that he would progress and learn, that he also would have a prepared, open mind and that he would learn and remember. He blessed him that he would continue to prepare for Baptism, and that he would be a good example to others. He told him to learn the scriptures and continue to grow in his testimony.

It was such a beautiful experience, and I know that the boys could feel that it was special. In typical Alaster style, our sweet boy was overcome with love after his blessing. He didn't talk but he gave a hug and kiss to every member of the family... even Jack... who resisted :) Jack was very reverent during his blessing and I know he was listening well. He gave Corey a very sweet and heartfelt hug when it was over.

So... you know... that first day was rough, but it was okay. I had so many things to be grateful for and to be reassured by. I will miss Alaster terribly, but I feel good about where he is and what he is doing. I know it is what's best for him and I feel good about the work both Corey and I did to prepare both boys the best that we knew how.

And since I know you are dying to know....

ALASTER'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS IN HIS OWN WORDS: (Although I admit this is from memory! I didn't write them down at the time. I'm pretty sure that they are accurate though. If not... they are pretty darn close!)

"We got to tour the school! The WHOLE THING! Even the OFFICE! I'm serious! Like the REAL, REAL OFFICE at the SCHOOL!"

"I saw Jack TWICE!"

"School is AWESOME!"

"The kids were all nice and I like my teacher."

"I played on the Jungle Jim and learned some new moves!"

"I ate all my lunch!"

"She read us TWO stories and I learned a new song. Do you want to guess which one? It goes... hmmmm hmmm hmmmmmm hmm. It's about aaaaa....? aaaaaa.....? do you know what it's about? It's about a caaaaat... it's from a booooook we read... do you know it now???"

"I love school!"

Sounds like a good first day, no???

Here's to many, many more!