Austin's 1st Award in Public School

** ** WARNING ** **

This is another post containing a tremendous amount of gushing from a very proud Momma!

Last month I wrote about my daughter receving her 1st award in public school (they just started attending in January).  This month I am proud to say my son, Austin (1st Grade) has received a Citizen of the Month award as well!  His comment regarding the award was, "Now I just have to get the student of the Month award next time."

As with Tyler's award, we were asked to attend an assembly where the award was presented to Austin.  We were very proud to attend this on Friday morning.  He received a certificate, a book and a bracelet in school colors that indicates he recieved the Citizenship Award.

His teacher wrote:

Austin is an awesome student.  He has a great attitude and made friends quickly in my class.  He takes his time with his work, doing the best he can and using neat handwriting.  He is always kind to others, and follows our classroom and school rules.  He is a great citizen and a good example for other students.  He always has a hand up to volunteer and answers questions.  I enjoy talking with him - he always has an interesting story to share!  I am proud of his achievements!

I was tempted to ask about what kinds of stories he always tells, but to be honest I was kind of afraid to find out.  I've heard his stories before!


Austin with his award and the book he chose (one full of riddles!)



Tyler's 1st Award in Public School

** ** WARNING ** **

This post contains a tremendous amount of gushing from a very proud Momma!

Today my baby girl received her first award in public school.  Shaun & I are so proud of her.  After attending private school for 2 years and doing the homeschool/co-op thing for 2 1/2 years she was very nervous to start public school last month.  But she has been doing wonderful.  Within days she had made lots of friends and as I mentioned in my last post, she has even dealt with the "mean girl" thing. 

On Tuesday I received a call from her teacher asking us to come to an assembly today where they were going to surprise Tyler with an award.  It was the February Citizen of the Month award for February.  After less than 2 months at the school, she has received her first award (can you tell this mommy is excited and proud of her little girl?!)

The commentary from the teacher said:

Tyler is a pure pleasure to have in class!  She shows great citizenship and has a kind and respectful attitude towards her classmates and class work!  She genuinely shows care and compassion for school!  She is always on her best behavior and really shows pride in her school work!

Afterwards we spoke to her teacher briefly and she went on to affirm what she had written for the award and to tell us that academically Tyler is doing wonderful as well.  She said report cards will be coming out next month and we'll see then how wonderful Tyler is doing. 

They gave her a Certificate of Character which will of course go in her school book.  They also allowed the children receiving rewards pick out a book that was supplied by the school PTO (she chose a book by Roald Dahl).  She received a book placard to go inside the front cover that says the book was received by Tyler as a reward from the PTO for being a good citizen.

Okay - this mom is done gushing, at least for the moment!

Tyler displaying her Certificate of Character

Public School - Oh My!

After two and half years of homeschooling (while working full-time) the Lord has put my family on a new path.  It has been bittersweet for me as I really did love teaching my kids and wished I could do so full-time.  And I had reasons I preferred homeschooling for my children, but God has other plans and I trust that He knows best.

While a part of me is disappointed (and I dare say at times feels like I have failed) there is another part of me that is relieved and enjoying this new period in our life.  I had not realized how much I had been missing with the kids because I worked full-time and many of our schooling sessions outside fo the co-op were in the evenings and weekends.  Now, they have homework I help them with 4 nights a week (and that is if there is anything left other than reading - since my dear husband usually does the other homework with them before I get home!)  Fridays and weekends are now free of homework other than reading.  I find I'm able to enjoy my children more now and they are enjoying spending time with me more.

Don't get me wrong - if I had a chance to homeschool again I would do it - but only if we are in a position where I can do it full-time during the day and not work another job at the same time.

We have run into some of the things I had feared already.  In the past two months my daughter has run into the "mean girls".  One girl was her friend and then was not because Tyler was not "girly" enough (she got dirty at recess because she does handstands and cartwheels in the grass - I guess in 4th grade that is not an activity that makes you "popular").  Then a couple days later she was Tyler's friend again and as of today she is not again.

But Tyler seems to have made a lot of friends and I found out that she has made a point to befriend and play with a girl that others were picking on.  She did not understand at first why the other girls were mad at her for doing so, but we had a long talk about what it really means to be a friend.  I think she will do just fine and I am very proud of her.  I know the Lord is watching out for her and we have given her a good foundation to build upon.

Austin is doing well too.  He has not made as many friends as I would have expected but he seems to really enjoy school and thrive.  He is amazing when it comes to his schoolwork.  He really does not struggle at all to grasp any of the concepts.  His issue is focus - a math page that should take 10 mins and that he understands totally can take up to 30 minutes or more because after each problem he wants to talk about an example that is simlar to the problem, what the problem reminded him of and/or something totally unrelated.

Jesse of course is still in preschool with Cheri, but he constantly asks me how many more months it will be until August when he gets to start Kindergarten.  He is so excited.  He knows so much already and is definitely prepared.  My only concern is still his speech.  We did go through the school district to get him tested, however per their standards the sounds he struggles with are not fully developed at his age.  I guess that gives me some comfort but I'm still not totally convinced.  But I will take it one day at a time for now and keep a close eye on him.  God will take care of him just like my other two precious children.  After all, He loves them even more than I ever could.  And that is alot!

I'll have another post/announcement soon.  I just got a call from a teacher today with some news that I will share soon.  It is a surprise so I don't want to spill the beans yet.

So I will leave you all with a Valentine's Kiss from Jesse.  Enjoy!