3 Weeks of School

The boys have been in school for three weeks and I feel an immense amount of gratitude.

Gratitude for their wonderful teachers.  Both the boys got teachers who are perfect for them and are soo good at what they do!  Teachers are compensated so little for what they do monetarily yet in my opinion have one of the greatest impacts.  I am grateful they chose to be teachers.

Gratitude for good friends!  I am grateful for the friends that my boys have.  Scott has some great friends who he loves to see each day.  They are a great group of kids.  They are kind, loving and helpful.  They have great parents who I have grown to love and consider great friends.  They are helping him become a successful little man.  Tyler enjoys hanging out with friends.  He talks about the kids he plays with.  I don't know if he has any good friends yet at school.  His best friends are doing one more year of pre-school. He is so much more social than he used to be.  I am hesitant to invest time and energy into forming strong friendships knowing he will most likely repeat the year.  Totally the wrong attitude.  I need to live in the now and get over that.  Tyler feels like such a big boy.  I asked him if he like Kindergarten and he said it was soo much better than preschool because he is a big boy.  What a difference compared to a couple of weeks ago when he didn't want to go to school until he was six.  The kids in his class are so nice to him. He is very resilient and doesn't seemed to be bothered by much.  I asked him how PE was today and he said it was great.  He said he went as fast as someone who was five.  He was so proud to tell me that.  I don't know if he did or not but grateful he feels good about himself.  I told him that is awesome and reminded him that he had to work really hard since his heart was made differently and even if he can't go as fast sometimes because of his heart, he was doing the best he could and that was great!  I don't ever want to tell him he can't do something because he can do anything he wants and is blessed to be so healthy right now.  At the same time I want to remind him that at times he can't be like every other kid because he has a special heart.  I feel like we are doing a good job at helping him understand that.  There is no manual and every kid is different.  We don't talk about what he can or can't do but remind him every once in a while he has a different heart and he has to listen to that and understand that.  I am grateful for such nice kids in his class.

Gratitude for the school community.  It is amazing how much time and effort parents put into a school to make it function.  Our community is filled with amazing parents who make it a great school.  Blessed to be a part of it.

Opportunity to Volunteer.  I feel so lucky that I get to volunteer in their classes this year.  My parents are going to come out on Fridays to watch the little ones so I can go into Tyler and Scott's class and volunteer.  I am so excited to be able to do this.  I love being a part of their lives and classes.  I love getting to know who they hang out with, how they are doing and have them feel they are important enough for me to be with and help.  I want to be a part of my kids life and feel so blessed that life has calmed down so much since last year that I can do this.  I don't take it for granted.  Last year we were in and out of the hospital and recovering almost the entire year that I couldn't volunteer.  I recognize many parents have to work or can't be in the classes for one reason or another and feel lucky and blessed that I can do that this year.  So looking forward to it.

Gratitude for the Opportunity to Learn.  Scott and Tyler are learning so much.  I can't believe how much more Scott enjoys learning this year.  Last year he wanted to do minimum learning, which was fine and this year he actually wants to learn.  Of course homework isn't his favorite thing, but he enjoys it and has patience to learn.  I like teaching him.  Tyler is learning how to get along with others, listen and try his best.  He doesn't like doing homework and that is fine.  He is young and it is hard for him, so I just do a little each day and try not to get frustrated.  I just want him to enjoy the experience.

Gratitude for routines!  It is so wonderful having routines everyday.  They go to school, I sometimes get up early to excercise, I get to play with the little kids at the park during drop off, we do bible studies and music time, Kira and Blake get naps at home, we go swimming, we pick up, do homework, have snacks, practice the piano and reading and off to sports.  I love having an organized routine for everyone.  I am grateful school gives that to us.

Gratitude for our neighborhood.  I love where we live.  I love we can ride bikes or scooter to school everyday.  I love Danny can drop the kids off on his bike before biking to work.  It is the best!  I am grateful we live in a beautiful neighborhood where everyone says hello and lets you cross the street without being in a hurry.  I love our town!

Gratitude my kids like school.  I realize it is a HUGE blessing my kids enjoy going to school each day.  What a relief.  Perhaps one of the greatest blessings of our year so far.  Many kids do not have that joy.  I enjoyed learning but remember being such a perfectionist that school (even elementary) was stressful for me.  I hope my kids continue to enjoy the process of learning and have patience with their abilities and capabilities.

Overall, just feel very grateful that the year is going well so far.  Tyler is doing far better than I ever thought.  He loves it and that makes me so happy.  Scott is also doing so well.  Has great friends, is so well liked and learning so much.  Yeah!