Jonathan starts school!!

So, in May, I brought Jonathan into this GREAT school and talked to one of the teachers about whether he should start school, ie. Kindergarten, this fall. She took him into her office and kind of interviewed him. I stayed in the preschool area with Annisia. She had a great time playing in the indoor sand box (!) ( I was thankful I don't have clean up duty!!) When Mrs. U came out from the office with Jonathan, she said, "Wow! He has a great vocabulary! That's proof you read a lot and talk with him." But her verdict was he wasn't ready for kindergarten because of his pen to paper skills, or lack thereof! She asked him to draw a triangle. Instead, he told her it was a triangle, and did she know that a triangle looked like a sail on a boat, and, know what? Uncle Jon has a boat and we went out on the lake in it, and...(ahem! clearing throat) "Can you draw me a triangle, Jonathan?" You get the picture...that's my son!! She also highly recommends starting kids a little later to give them a better start and a better finish in school. With Jonathan's late summer birthday, she recommended starting him in pre-K this year and Kindergarten next year. This means he'll be older in his class hopefully increasing his maturity in decision-making skills. I like it all. Michael hesitated, but changed his mind once HE had an interview with Mrs. U!
Here's Jonathan by the journal box. Isn't he cute?! I was amazed! They "journal" every day. They have a sheet of paper with their name printed across the top. They are supposed to write their name on the line below that. Then they draw a picture in the empty space below that. Then there are more lines on the bottom of the page. They write whatever other words they want down there. It's really great to see the progress. At first, Jonathan was just writing "Jon" on his papers he brought home. Now he is writing his whole name and he can spell it off the top of his head too!
I made some homemade Koolaid playdoh for the school. Here's Jonathan giving the bag to Mrs. U. (and telling her all about it!! (refer to first paragraph!!))
Then both kids promptly sat down on the bean bags and started reading. Mrs. U was amazed! I don't know why? Don't all kids love books? Or are they all too busy watching TV? I am SO glad we don't have TV...the kids have a great appreciation for books. It's all good.
Rug time! Mrs. U (and Mrs. J) is SO enthusiastic. They have jobs every week. One kiddo says the day and date and places it on the calendar, another does the weather report including finding the word that says the weather (snowy, sunny, raining, hot, cold), another checks the foyer to see if all the coats are hung up and the shoes or boots are neatly arranged, another dusts the computers, another picks up debris on the floor and displays it to the class (!). One of the kids checks the check in area and tells the teacher who is absent from school, another pushes in all the chairs and reports where chairs were left out. One kiddo has the responsibility to hold the flag and lead the kids in the "Pledge of Allegiance". Yes! They can say it at this school!! WooHoo! (sad to think of all the public schools where it seems they don't have the "right" to say the Pledge. It's all very sweet to watch. The kiddos learn responsibility, accountability, respect, care. It's all good...
Then they have a prayer time. All the kiddos can say a prayer out loud or silently. Praying children! It's so sweet. I have listened to some of the prayers if I am still there at this time. Some prayers have the natural things like "thank you for the dolly I got at Christmas." But some show the love these kiddos have for each other like "be with Susie because she's sick today." Since this is a christian school, and they don't seek funding from the government, they can do that. The downside? Tuition. But! Jonathan is happily learning a lot.