I had planned to blog in the day while Brady was away doing some warranty work this afternoon, but I’m SO glad I didn’t! It was a very rocky day for us around here, and the post would have been really sad. Honestly, I’ve blogged about days like before, and you guys have always been more than supportive, but I just didn’t want to write a mournful post about how terribly I had failed. So I decided to wait and blog this evening. If nothing else, it would give me a little bit of room from the hardship that was the morning and afternoon, and would possibly offer a fresh perspective.
What did come from waiting, however, was a very exciting, eventful evening, which I am MUCH happier to tell you about! Brady and I attended an evening at the elementary school that Dekker will be attending in the fall, and learned about what we could do as parents to help prepare our kids for school. I was able to leave Dekker and Laela with my mom for the evening, but as she’s not really allowed to lift over a certain weight, Rowan came with us. Childcare was offered at the school, which was lovely, and the girls babysitting were really excited to have a little one around among the group of older children they were watching. We’ve never left Ro in a childcare setting before, and the moment he was distracted, we left the room. We stood in the hallway for a minute and after hearing no crying, we headed into the library and grabbed a table. We sat with some people we knew, and grabbed some refreshments while we waited for everything to start. It was very nostalgic for me to sit in the library and reminisce. I used to attend that very school as a student, and while not too terribly much has changed, I know I’ll have a lot to relearn, even just about classrooms switching around. While they didn’t recognize me, I saw a couple of familiar teachers, and that alone made me feel comfortable. I know my kids will be taught by excellent teachers.
I won’t break into details too terribly much, but hearing about what is expected of us as parents, of Dekker as a student, and how we can start preparing him was SO much fun! It made me really really excited! Of all of the things we discussed, I could pick out Dekker’s strengths and weaknesses, if you can call them that. I was able to pinpoint the places where he might struggle a bit more, but that doesn’t mean he’s not “ready,” but rather that I know where we’ll need to focus on with helping him prepare.
I won’t gab forever about little vague thoughts, but I am VERY happy to learn that the kindergarten teacher, occupational therapist, speech therapist, and principal, who we all met this evening, have the same idea as I do about what kindergarten should look like. There will be gentle pushes and lots of learning, but they won’t be on their own. The teachers are eager to help and teach and PLAY with the kids! They want to teach our kids through the things THEY are interested in. They want our kids to be able to be with their friends. I really left this evening feeling like they wanted our kids to love school. I really want them too, as well. I have high hopes.
When we went to collect Rowan, he was sitting on a girls lap, on a chair, watching a movie. She noticed us right away and brought him over. He was totally calm, though happy to see us. As Brady got Rowans shoes and coat on, I asked how he had done. The two girls nearby gushed about how much they loved him. They said he was the funniest, happiest baby ever. They said he laughed the whole time. “We’d show him his feet, and he’s laugh. He’d touch his forehead, and laugh.” They all seemed pretty smitten with him, and truthfully, he was making eyes at them too. He seemed quite enamoured. As we left the room, the girl who had been cuddling with him said to her friends “THAT was so much fun!” Warmed my heart that he did so well.
Now, we’re home, and after such a crazy day, the kids had a fabulous, happy bedtime, which was a HUGE relief to me. I love those kids. Completely, over the moon, in la-la-love with them! They are all truly exceptional.