Kindergarten

We had purchased for Nicholas a special gift that we wanted to give him when school started.  It was something he wanted, but was not expecting to get yet.  We bought him a “real” Bible.  He didn't want one with just stories in it.  He wanted one like bigger kids.

We decided to give it to him Monday night because Evan wanted to be there to give it to him.  I’ve never seen a little boy so excited.  He jumped up and down.  He thanked us profusely.  He kept saying, “I’m so excited.  I can’t stop thinking about it.”  I told him that I wished everyone felt that way about God’s word.  He didn’t hide his disdain over his old storybook Bible though.  He wanted to throw it in the trash.  Besides, it was ripped.  He failed to mention that it was ripped because he made it that way.

He realizes that there aren't really any pictures in his new Bible and that there a lot of big words.  But, he is looking forward to me helping him read it.  I told him that some people take a year to read it.  We will be using it for school each week though.  I told Evan that when we get frustrated with his behavior, we should remember these times. 

Our real first day of school started off yesterday with a special breakfast that he chose – a cheese-filled coffee cake. Then, he started his new jobs of sweeping the kitchen floor and wiping off the kitchen table.  He told me that he would clean my whole house.  While that offer did seem appealing, I fear that it would create more work for me than I want.  I do like his attitude though and I will be giving him more age-appropriate work as time goes on. 

We spent the next couple of hours working on school.  We’ve increased the workload a bit this year, but it still isn’t too overwhelming.  He did three subjects yesterday.  We also made sure that he spent time practicing his violin.  I think moving up to a bigger size violin has made him sound even better.  It isn’t squeaky anymore. 

Many people probably wonder how or what Daniel did.  He was great.  He sat on my lap; laid on his play mat; and took a nap.  If I needed to give my full attention to Daniel, I gave Nicholas some independent work to do.  It worked out well.  Will everyday be this smooth?  Maybe or maybe not.  I guess that will keep it interesting. 

We still have nap time for Daniel and rest time for Nicholas (and me) in the afternoon.  Overall, I think it was a successful first day!