Lately, I've been thinking about SCHOOL. School choices for my kids...my little ones...who are growing into not-so-little ones! Seeing them crawling around together today made me realize how fast they're growing up and how close in age they all are! Yes, Ryder and Cole were crawling with Cora...how compassionate of them to get down to her level...how selfless...or fun! Every time they're all awake and playing together I get this amazing mental picture of them really journeying together through life...supporting one another, celebrating together over victories and comforting each other through days that don't go quite right....ahhh, all that to say, the next frontier on the horizon is SCHOOL. A topic I have spent much of my life studying and a place I've spent most of my life IN. I consider myself somewhat experienced on the subject, yet never before have I felt so unsure of the topic in all my life. Where will the best learning environment be for my kids? Thankfully, we have sometime to think about this and for now, we get to celebrate where they are! But enough about me...Let me introduce you to, (drum roll please) our STAR OF THE WEEK...Mr. Ryder Daniel!
On Friday we spent a WONDERFUL day with Ryder at pre-school. Our whole family was invited to share the day with him since it was his last day as "Star of the Week." We had a blast, and it was so fun to see Ryder in his pre-school environment with the friends he talks so much about everyday he returns home. Here are some pictures for our time together...
This is Ryder holding a cricket he caught in the bug-catching jar Auntie Erin gave him for his birthday.
He brought it to school in the "Guess-and-Share" bag he was assigned to bring home and then back to school with him. Instead of "Show-and-Tell," his class has a bag they bring home...we as parents were asked to help him choose something to put in the bag that he could give his class clues about the next day when he brought it in. Then, the next day during Circle Time, since it was his turn, Ryder's teacher asked him to come up and give the class clues about what he brought in the bag. He told them is was black, and it jumps! He was very excited that no one could guess...I think he thought he won a game or something :) Then he got to show them his cricket, and he said all the kids loved it! What a great idea to get kids to learn describing words! Ryder initiates this game at home now regularly :)
Here's Ryder and his friend, Nolan. Nolan just turned 5, as have many of Ryder's classmates. Spending time watching Ryder interact with his friends, we noticed that he tended to take the other kids' lead and follow them to whatever activity they wanted to do. He's our "BIG" boy at home but in a classroom of 4 year olds, many who have already turned 5 in the past 2 months, it is clear that Ryder could use another year of "growing up" before starting Kindergarten. We thought this before but being with him in this environment has solidified our decision to not start him next year but wait until he turns 6 to start Kindergarten. My brother's birthday is even earlier in August than Ry's but he always says how thankful he was to have had an extra year on his classmates all the way up through Junior High and High School. Academically we know he'd have no problem starting young, but it'll be good for him to have an extra year to "grow" and be the older one of the bunch when he's in a group of 20 :)
Ryder asked John to bring one of his saxophones to share with the class. He told them all about the keys and what happens to the sound when you push them down :) We were so proud!
A little mini-concert with "Twinkle, Twinkle"...until one boy asked for Beethoven :) Ryder still has his hat on from "dress-up" time :)
Here is Cole playing with the house, car and train table...He was in heaven!
This is one of the class books that each student in Ryder's class helped make and then they each have a turn to take it home to read it to their family...
Here are Ryder's pages. It says...
I am Ryder and I can donkey kick.
Can you do it?
I am Ryder and I can shoot a basket.
Can you do it?
This is one of the reasons I'm glad Ryder has a place, other than home, to grow at this stage of development. I told you at the beginning of this post that I've been thinking a lot about SCHOOL lately. I have. My boys are both in very unique schools right now, with teachers and therapists (Cole) that are giving them incredible care and attention. John and I consider ourselves the primary educators of our children...we always have and will. We believe this is true of all parents. Our children are learning from us at all times, for better and for worse! I'm just thankful to have more members join our team for this leg of the journey. I've always loved being on teams!
Thank you Lord for taking care of us in this stage, and for reminding me of your promise to care for us every step of the way...
Hooray for Ryder! Thank you, Heavenly Father, for giving Ryder another place to explore, have fun, and learn about You. May Ryder grow each day to be all that You have planned for him to be!