Big Kindergarten Boy!

Heading into his new school...he was a bit nervous...but more than ready too!

Found his seat... and getting settled in.

Most of you already know that AJ is starting kindergarten...however most of you didn't know that at the last minute JJ and I decided to put him into a private school vs. the public aspect....A few weeks ago we did a meet and greet with his kindergarten teacher in our local school district and we were not satisfied with where we were going to be sending our son off to for the first start in his education…but at the time we felt like we had no other choices… I was telling a co-worker about this and she told me about Faith's school where her children go...she told me about the school and she described how her kids attended public school prior to Faith and were not doing as well as she thought their potential could be......and from there JJ and I decided to meet with the kindergarten teacher at Faith, which turned into meeting the principle, and the pastor and all the stars seemed to align for us and we had AJ enrolled and starting kindergarten the following Tuesday (which was 4 days away from our initial meeting with everyone). JJ and I may not have thought long on the decision but we definitely thought hard, we called everyone and anyone to listen and get their advice and not one person had anything negative to say.... The reason JJ and I didn't explore a private school sooner was because we assumed it would be way to expensive for us. But this school is very feasible with our budget. AJ's first day of school was on the 5th of Sept and he had a wonderful time. He really enjoyed himself and I feel a lot more comfortable about our decision. The first day of school all the children go to the chapel for a little service welcoming everyone to start off the new school year. Parents are encouraged to participate and be there for their children's first day...We watched AJ come into the chapel with his new schoolmates... and after AJ sat down in the pews in front of us he looked back at dad and I and gave us his standard thumbs up and wink...I was of course just a bit teary... Then the pastor welcomes all and we pray and then he asks the children what they all did to prepare for school this summer. I was surprised to see AJ's hand up waving wildly in the air…I thought he was a little more shy and never would have thought he would be as outgoing the first day. The pastor calls on AJ and he says ‘he got new shoes for school’ and he even lifted up one foot so that everyone could see. I was so tickled with his enthusiasm....but even more than that it led right into the pastor's opening ceremony...something about Nike and Nikus...meaning victory in the old times...I found it hard to concentrate on the sermon for 2 reasons...I was still gloating over my son's exuberant display...and I worked the night shift so was pretty loopy feeling by this time. When the day was over AJ came home from school happy, and excited, and all in all I think he really enjoyed himself. I am so relieved as a mommy...I want my little boy's first experience with school to be special and of course I want him to learn and grow and become a good person... When compared to a lifetime, AJ's years of education are brief, but it's essential that a strong foundation be set in the beginning. This is all we hope to achieve for our little guy. I think we made a good decision and of course will keep all posted of future progress.