Last day for Em!

Happy last day of preschool, Emma!  

It's been so fun watching this girl grow and learn this year. She had such a great year with a super teacher and a sweet group of kids. Happy summer!  

Preschool time!

Emma had her first day of preschool yesterday and let me tell you, that girl was ready!  She has watched Claire go for the last two years and was so excited for her turn.  

It's impossible to take this girl's picture without her adding in some crazy Emma posing.

Emma with her new teacher, Mrs. Stearns

This new little buddy is in her class (of only 5 kids..score!).  He lives in our neighborhood and he and Emma have become fast friends.  After school I asked who Emma played with and she said, "Sooo much Leo!"  She also told me the other day that Leo is her home mate... combination of homey and soulmate, perhaps??

Charlie and I came home after drop off to a quiet house.. I didn't know what to do with myself!

Excited for Emma to get into the swing of school.  After a crazy few months of living with family, moving, and unpacking, we are so ready for some routine.  Welcome, school year!  We are happy to see you.   

Tis the season

Claire had a sweet little Christmas program at school this week.  They recited a poem, sang some songs, played some instruments, and had a sweet gift for the parents.  I love seeing this girl in action!

On schooling and parenting

Parenting is so hard.  I'm realizing that it never really gets easier either.  It just changes and the things that used to be hard get easier but then new hard things replace those.  Those of you who knew Claire as a two year old know that she was hard two year old.  She was so strong-willed and so challenging. There were so many frustrating moments but by the grace of God, Justin and I persevered and finally came out on the other side.  For the most part, she is so easy now.  God has cultivated such a kind, loving, generous spirit within her and most of the time, that's what we see with her.  Don't get me wrong, she's a wretched sinner like the rest of us.  I'm not saying she's perfect by any means.  I'm just saying she is so kind and such a good friend and I have seen so much growth in her.  It's encouraging.

Enter preschool.  Claire loves school.  She delights in loving her teachers, making new friends, learning new songs and poems, and sharing her school work with us.  I have loved watching her find such joy in going to school.  As a former lover of school and teacher myself, it does my heart good to see her so happy.  We have always planned to send her off to kindergarten when the time came and years ago, I even looked forward to the day!  As this day draws nearer and nearer, my heart has begun to ache with the thought of sending her to school every day, all day.  She just seems so young and little and I just don't feel ready for this transition.  Justin and I always been pro public school.. I mean, we both taught in the public schools for crying out loud!  That conviction has become a bit blurry as the time draws closer for me to send my baby off to school.

Then, this happened.  A few weeks ago, as we were driving somewhere as a family, Claire casually told us that some girls from another class were laughing at her winter hat and told her it looked weird.  My heart sank and Justin and I looked at each other with such sadness.  Claire was kind of laughing about it and didn't seem to think much of it, so we didn't make a big deal about it.  Fast forward to this morning... as we were getting coats on, I handed Claire her hat and asked her to put it on, since it was chilly here this morning.  She started crying and said, "I am never wearing that hat again.  Those girls made fun of me for wearing it."  Oh, my breaking heart.  I stopped and hugged my sweet girl.  I told her that I loved her and she didn't have to wear it if she didn't want to.  We also talked about how much Jesus loves her and that even though those girls were not being kind, she still needs to be kind to them.  We prayed together for those girls and asked Jesus to help Claire be kind all the time and share the love of Christ with those girls.  We both had tears streaming down our faces and held each other tight for awhile after we prayed.

My mind has been racing with thoughts and emotions this morning:  Sadness that Claire, at age five, has already experienced the brutal reality of living in this fallen world.  Aching for Christ's return to come and make all things new again.  An instinct to want to protect her from the world and mean girls.  The realization that I cannot protect her.  Pleading with God to protect Claire from experiences like this one.  Surrendering to the reality that these situations will develop her character and hopefully allow her to put her faith, trust, and hope in Christ alone.  Deciding I can't send her to kindergarten.  Remembering I don't want to home school.  Deciding to send her to private school.  Remembering it's expensive.  Frantically texting Justin.  In short: I'm freaking out.  Parenting.is.so.hard.  Making these big life decisions is so hard.  I've decided to commit to praying about this with Justin and truly seek God's direction.  When it comes to schooling my children, I've always thought I knew what we wanted for them and what was best, but I've realized that we've never really sought God's lead on that.  So, we are going to change that and pray for direction, guidance, and peace as we look for God to direct us.

I know this is not the last time we'll be faced with a situation like this, regardless of how we decide to educate our children.  My hope and prayer is that God uses all things, little and big, for His glory and to develop character in us and our children.

Preschool time!

Claire started at her new preschool this morning!  She was super excited for the day to start.



One of her little buddies (and our neighbor!) will be in the same class.  So glad she has a friend with her as she starts at her new school!



4 year old preschool, here comes Claire Bear!

First & Last

Since we moved, I had the girls end their school year a little early so I wouldn't have to keep up the drive for another month.  They both grew so much this year!  Here's Claire on her first and last day of preschool!

And here's Emma on her first and last day of Mother's Morning Out...


They change so quickly!  *sigh*

Fun at Preschool

Claire is loving all of the excitement of preschool.  It has been so fun to have special activities and days planned.  Last week they learned about community helpers and got to dress up as one.  

Our medically-interested four-year-old decided on dressing like a nurse.  A neighbor gave us these kid-sized scrubs a few months ago so she had the perfect attire.  

 

Look at all of those adorable community helpers!  

PreBirthday Fun!

Last week Claire got to celebrate her birthday a few days early with her class at school.  I had fun making her treats (I made these cake batter rice crispy treats), visiting her class, and seeing her in action with her friends and teacher.  Emma came with and Claire was thrilled to share her with the class.  "Guys, this is my little sister Emma and I love her very much." (Then she proceeds to give her a kiss on her cheek)  ;)

*excuse the blurry iPhone photos*

She is loving school and this former-teacher-turned-mama's heart is full as I get to witness her thriving in school.  Can't believe this is her last day of being 3!

Preschooler

Today was Claire's first day of three-year-old preschool!  This is a day she has been looking forward to for a long time and it seems like she loved every minute of it. 

She reported back that she made a new friend, loves her teacher, read a book about racoons, and loved recess.  Sounds like a great start! 

Preschool Fun

It was my turn to teach the kiddos in our preschool coop this month.  We were supposed to meet earlier in November but crazy schedules got in the way.  I decided to stick with my original plan of Thanksgiving activities, even though the holiday had already passed.  It's always the right time to be thankful... wouldn't you agree? 

I had fun coming up with my 'lesson plans' and getting back into my teacher mode.  The kids were all darling and super well-behaved. 

Getting ready to start the fun! (P.S.  Sorry for the princess chair, Leemo.  It's all we've got around here.)

Coloring fall placemats.

Thankful turkeys!  So cute what these kids came up with when I asked what they were thankful for! 

Snack time!

Preschool Co-op

Today marked the first day of 'preschool' for our soon-to-be-3-year-old.  Some of my closest friends and I decided to start a preschool co-op for our kids this school year.  Since they are all November babies, they won't start official preschool until next year but we all felt like they were ready for a little more structure than the usual playgroups we attend.  We are starting off doing it once a month this semester and then next semester we'll do it more often.. either every week or every other week.  We rotate who is hosting and teaching.  On our weeks off, we all get two hours at home with just our babes, which is a nice change from the norm!

Claire Grace all ready for her first day! (notice the little sister peeking out of the window)

When did this girl get so big?!

Posing. :)

The kids learned about apples today!

Claire and Elise hard at work.

Emily with the students... Maddie, Claire, Elise, and Liam.

Claire was beaming when I asked about her first day at school.  They all had a blast and Emily did a great job starting us off with a fun morning of organized games, stories, snacks, and play time. 

Here's to a great school year!! ;)