Puppy Dog Tails (Now With Sugar and Spice!): First Day of School 2011

On August 23, Christopher started 2nd grade, and Will started kindergarten! Will has been so excited to go to school with Christopher. He was a little nervous the week before school started, until we realized he thought he was going to have to do timed math in kindergarten. Once we cleared up that misunderstanding, he didn't seem hesitant at all about the first day of school. He was still concerned that it might not be as fun as everyone said. He waited patiently in the hallway with his best buddy Iain, and by the time I got back downstairs after taking pictures of Christopher, Will was already seated at the table, coloring his picture, and informing his teacher that he had already written his name on the "Name" line at the top. After school, he said it really was fun! He's off to a great start with school!

Christopher is loving 2nd grade so far, too. He was nervous the week before school I realized he thought he was going to be doing algebra, and I set him straight. :) Science is new in their curriculum, and it is his favorite! He's also excited to learn about the Ancient Egyptians and make a mummy this year. We are so thankful for the boys' classical, Christian, university-model school. I was volunteering at the school the week after school started, and I walked into Will's classroom just in time to see his teacher pray with the class to start their day and then lead them in singing "Holy, Holy, Holy." I love our school and our kids' amazing teachers!

It's also sweet to see the boys sharing the school experience for the first time. They have one of their electives together, and they enjoy working together on their at-home days. In fact, one day I returned from the laundry room to find that Christopher had drawn a little Spiderman for Will on Will's writing assignment. I had to tell Christopher that he can't do Will's work for him, although I think he was just trying to be helpful! On the first day of school, we were in the van in the parking lot, and Sarah Kate started saying, "I go to school, too!" I told her you have to be five to go to this school. Later, after we had dropped the boys off and were driving home, I heard Sarah Kate in the back seat saying, "I five! I five!" Poor thing--she misses her brothers when they're at school!