"The heart of education is the education of the heart." ~ Harvey Mackay

1st day...in the big K! 

Here is Dawson's 1st day of Kindergarten at Ruff Academy;) I spent a lot of summer nights worrying myself to sleep about home schooling, but I absolutely love it. I also foresee many days when I will feel the complete opposite;)

Our 1st unit was on creation. Day one: God separated the darkness and made light, so we made these fun light jars together. Here we are hiding in my dark closet;)

And here he is leaving for his 1st day at the NWC Home School Link, which he goes to on Thursdays for a full day! They do science, Spanish, P.E., art, music, and history each day. And the all-important, favorite subjects of all time, lunch and recess.

Angry Birds back pack: check. Toy Story lunch box: check. Fake smile: check. Hiding behind this cheesy grin is his upcoming melt down:(

 I love how his eyes are suspiciously surveying what's behind me...a scary place called "without my Mom for a whole day." Bless his little heart.

Poor, sweet boy was so nervous. This is a kid who hasn't made it to Sunday school without tears but twice in his life, so all day away was a BiG deal. He cried and cried, then freaked out, then cried again. I finally had to leave him because the twins and I had to scoot to a doctor's appointment at 10. It saved me because I think I would've caved and stayed even longer if I didn't have somewhere to be. I held it together for his sake, then as soon as I turned the corner out of his classroom I lost it in a puddle of tears. This is familiar territory, I remember Ella's first full day of school and I did the same thing. But leaving Dawson when he was upset added another heap of pain to my heart. It was such a long day for both of us, I looked at my cell phone 72 times to see if they'd called, and at the clock just as many times. The minutes just inched by and I really missed him and was worried about him. I talked to the director and she said "it was so cute, but so sad ~ Dawson started crying again in P.E. and when the teacher gave him a hug and asked what was wrong, he said 'my family left me here all alone with nobody I know, and my Mom is never coming back!" 

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Here's Ella on the 1st day in the 3rd grade! Holy macaroni necklaces, what a big girl. Growing like a weed, or like a Bean in her case. 

She's a pro at this whole thing now. Although I have to say, she was really nervous on the first day and I love seeing that vulnerable side to her. It makes her seem so innocent still, and when she's nervous she's sorta mellow and calm. I enjoy that, very, very much;) Amazing that someone so little has to figure out division, multiplication, adding and subtracting 17,000 numbers at once. Book reports, memory verses, science projects, geography, cursive, grammar...Poor girl is gonna need a spa day and a massage once a month just to get through 3rd grade! Ella's only complaint about her first day was that one of her friends got upset when she wouldn't play with her at recess. I asked Ella why she didn't want to play and she said "cuz I was playing football with the boys!" Go figure.

To  my Bigs,

I love you and am so proud to see you growing and changing and becoming the people that God imagined you to be when He created you. You are so different and unique, but I love you both the same ~ with all my heart and with every little piece of me. Enjoy your school days, they seem hard now but believe me, it gets harder, and in college they don't have recess. Be good listeners, respect your teachers, don't eat your boogers at school {or home for that matter}, wash your hands before lunch and after you go potty, be brave, don't be afraid to stand up for what's right ~ even Christian school kids can be naughty, just take a look in the mirror for proof. Ask questions but raise your hand first. Tell Mommy if someone hurts you, your heart or your cute little body. Remember that I love you, that I think about you the whole time you're away. Oh, and eat your healthy stuff first at lunch, if I find out that you ate your treats and threw away your sammy and fruit, you're in big trouble.