Guess Who Else Started School?

Camden!

Not long after we moved, I found out that one of our neighbors runs a preschool. It's only twice a week for 2 hours a day. I thought that would be perfect for Camden since he's never done preschool before and he's only 3, so he doesn't need more than that right now. Luckily she had an opening when I called and I got Camden signed up. He absolutely loves it and asks to go every day.

Here he is on his first day. he was so excited I could barely get him to sit still for a couple of pictures. He honestly could hardly contain himself. Can you tell he's excited?

In this one he's looking at the classroom on his first day.

I must admit, I miss him a little while he's gone. It's definitely quiet around here when Camden's at preschool but it's also nice to have some one-on-one time with Alek. And knowing that he's having fun while he's gone makes it easier too.

What Was I Thinking?

After all of our summer fun was over, it was time for school to start. Since I knew we would be moving near the beginning of the school year, I thought it might be an easier transition for Jace if I home-schooled him for a while, rather than having him switch schools and learn a new routine, lunch number, teacher, and classroom full of kids.

I also thought that if it went well, we could continue with it after our move. Notice this is all past-tense? Yeah, between that and the title of this post, it's pretty obvious that it didn't last.

I was in way over my head. Don't get me wrong, Jace is a good student and loves to learn but he's also a VERY social kid. So for that reason alone, home-schooling wasn't a good fit for us. It was also quite difficult to get through his lessons with Camden and Alek around. Despite the fact that I was using fantastic program that provided me with curriculum and materials, my preparation wasn't what it should have been and I ended up trying to become familiar with the program as I went.

Here's one of Jace's assignments near the end of our one (and only) week of homeschooling. He was supposed to summarize what he had learned in his science lesson, and I wrote what he said word-for-word: "I learned about all the continents, and the animals that live there. My favorite part was when we put the stickers on and stuff. I just want to go to real school." Yes, he put that last sentence on there without so much as a pause, as if it was part of his lesson.

That actually was our last lesson. The next day, we found out we were selected as renters on a house we really liked and we would be moving in a week. Having only a week to pack for our move made homeschooling impossible, so I enrolled Jace in the school he would be attending after our move and drove him to and from school for that first week.

Here he is on his real first day of first grade.


He has loved school so far and adjusted really well to first grade despite starting a week later than his peers. He brought a note home from school after his 2nd week. This is what it said (Not putting this on here to brag, but I want to save this and if I put it on the blog I'll always have it): Jace is adjusting well to first grade! He is a fantastic reader and loves math! He is a very active learner always asking questions and giving comments! Jace is a good listener and follows directions! He is a joy to have in class.

I'm so glad to have Jace in school since that's where he wants to be, I love to see him happy. I also love not having to prepare his lesson plans.

First Day Of School

Jace started kindergarten this year. Of course he's only two days into the school year but so far he loves it.

Camden thought he was going to start Kindergarten this year too. When we took Jace to the school for back to school night Camden followed him around and copied everything Jace did. Then when we saw a school bus a couple of days later Camden said, "I want to get on the bus too." So when Jace got ready on Monday, Camden put his backpack on too.

I took Jace to school and stayed (along with all of the other paparazzi parents) until he lined up with his class and went inside. He wasn't hesitant at all. In fact, he probably wondered why I was hanging around for so long. I didn't cry when I left but I did have tears in my eyes as I got into the car. He seems so grown up.
Once again, Camden though he was being left out. When I started to drive away he said in a pouty voice, "I'm big as Jace"

Jace came home on the bus home. He thought that was really fun.

Camden was glad to have Jace home.

It's weird to think that even though Jace seems so big now that he's starting school; someday I'll look back at these pictures and be amazed at how small he was when he was in kindergarten.

(Disclaimer: Jace's shirt isn't dirty. I smudged part of the picture because his shirt has the name of his school on it. Just a safety precaution since this isn't a private blog.)