Just like that, he’s 5!

Oh, (not so) little boy…

Another year has flown by, and you are still the same independent, stubborn, sensitive, creative, smart little boy you’ve always been. You started preschool a few weeks ago, and even though you’re a tiny bit sad every morning when I drop you off, and require me to stay until you walk back to your classroom, you have a blast – every single day. I love to hear about the friends you’re making and the adventures you have.

Not a single day goes by that you don’t simultaneously challenge me and amaze me. After a morning meltdown because I asked you to brush your teeth (like I do every morning…), you might later do some quick math in your head to figure out that if our family of four wants to ride the train at $3 a person, it would cost $12 for all of us.

You love to help with projects, whether it be handing dad tools while he works on his bike or helping me put together my latest IKEA purchase. You loathe cleaning up, but most games you play involve moving a large quantity of toys from one room to another. You want to keep every box ever delivered to our house and have an overflowing “art box” that I would consider filled with junk, but you insist on keeping and never use.

You love hummus, and generally just eat carrots or sweet peppers as a conveyor for your hummus. You recently discovered that you like Sweet Red Pepper hummus the best, although Original and Garlic are also good. The Cilantro Jalapeño got a thumbs down. The only way you’ll eat most meats is in a casserole or covered in ketchup – it doesn’t matter if it’s steak, pork chop, salmon or chicken – it needs ketchup. You have always liked clementines, but recently discovered a love for navel oranges as well. I’m not sure if it’s the flavor or the fact that you can do this.

I love being your mommy and can’t wait to see what the next year brings. Hopefully, you don’t lose your squishy, kissable cheeks. You haven’t outgrown them yet, so I’m just going to assume you never will 🙂

And without further ado… Here are the answers to the 20 questions I ask my kiddos every year on their birthday. Or at least close to their birthday. Remembering things is hard!

What is your favorite color? Blue. 

What is your favorite toy? MagnaTiles

What is your favorite fruit? Clementines and oranges

What is your favorite TV show? StoryBots

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Macaroni & Cheese

What is your favorite outfit?  “My Paw Patrol shirt. And my Paw Patrol pants.” *smirk*
(Note: He does not have any Paw Patrol pants. I can confirm that he likes the shirt.)

What is your favorite game? Hide & Seek

What is your favorite snack? Oranges

What is your favorite animal? Cows

What is your favorite song? Go Tell it on the Mountain

What is your favorite book? Zootopia (book on CD)

Who is your best friend? Judah

What is your favorite movie? Planes: Fire and Rescue

What is your favorite thing to do outside? Set up American Ninja Warrior Courses

What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice

What is your favorite holiday? “My birthday!!” (We then had a discussion about how it’s not technically a holiday, but we do celebrate it.)

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Clifford, Snuggle Duck and Taggie

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes!

What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Walking Tacos

What do you want to be when you grow up? “I don’t know. I’m not decided yet. Hmmm… A pool lifeguard.”

Loyal Reader Q&A

Since posting about D’s first day, several people have asked why we’re homeschooling C and sending D to public school preschool this year. Here’s the quick-ish answer, just in case you’re also wondering…

When C was preschool aged a few years ago, I was still working for the City 30 hours a week. In Iowa, preschool is offered to all 4 year-olds free of charge, and it seemed like the logical next step for her, so off she went. Throughout her year, we loved the experience she had. She was in a classroom of 15 kids, with a lead teacher and two assistants, plus an occasional ISU student or foster grandparent thrown in for good measure. We never felt like she was getting lost in the shuffle. Her mornings seemed to be spent mostly playing at centers or outside at recess, reading books and singing songs together with her class. I know she did some learning as well, because soon she was able to write her name and use things she’d learned against me. (My favorite example of this is when she kept getting up one night at bedtime. I told her the first step to falling asleep was to lay down, because she couldn’t sleep standing up. She responded with, “But astronauts do, Mommy. I learned it from Ms. Jill!)

When C went to Kindergarten the next year, she was in a class of 26 with only her teacher present. There were many times she was left to figure out right and wrong without an adult around to assist. The educational expectations outlined for the kids seemed overwhelming for a 5 year-old and C came home exhausted, frustrated and sometimes confused at the end of the day. That’s when we decided to give homeschooling a go. We are lucky enough to live in an area where there’s a great support system for homeschoolers and we’ve loved it so far.

As the time approached for D to start preschool, whether at home or at school, we decided that it would be good for him to spend a little time away from Mom and second-Mom (aka – his sister) to have a chance to play with other kids his age on a regular basis and figure out how to feel safe away from me, in a safe environment. So, because we’d had such a great experience with C, we decided to send him to Northwood.

I felt even better about this plan after attending the parent orientation a couple weeks ago. D’s teacher explained the vision and mission of the Northwood Preschool Center. It totally fits with my thinking of how I want my kids to experience school, especially at a young age.

Vision:
To create a positive learning community that fosters life-long learning by cultivating five core traits of successful learners: curiosity, persistence, flexibility, collaboration and reflection.

Mission:
To engage all learners academically, socially and emotionally, and physically.

With this in mind, we’re hoping to have another great year in preschool! Then our plan continues to be to homeschool both kiddos next year when D starts kindergarten.

If any other readers have questions, please submit them in the comments below, by email or in person and I’ll answer as time permits 😉

She’s a 2nd Grader!

We deemed today Chloe Mae’s first day of 2nd grade. It’s really pretty unofficial, because we’re been slowly adding more structure and school back into our days since the beginning of August. And today (or this week for that matter) we still won’t be doing ‘everything’ that’s planned for this year. However, we needed a day to take pictures 🙂 and I plan on us really getting back into the groove this week. In addition to the fact that it’s “just time,” Devon is at preschool most mornings and Aaron’s out of town for work, so we need something to keep us busy!

We’re excited to continue our homeschool journey this year! We are continuing with the math, language arts and history curriculums we used last year. Additionally, we’re adding Spanish and Cursive and using a Magic School Bus kit for Science.

We aren’t using an official reading program, which for a planner like me is a bit intimidating, but Chloe is looking forward to picking out books she’s interested in from different genres. Today at the library, she picked out a book called, “Who Says Women Can’t be Doctors?: The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell.” She has been reading the Judy Moody chapter book series for fun, and apparently Judy mentions Elizabeth Blackwell several times, so Chloe asked if we could find a biography about her to start off the year. I’m looking forward to seeing what other choices she makes!

After we dropped Devon off this morning, we came home and Chloe Mae was all set to take pictures. She said to me, “I know you didn’t do your hair or anything, so you don’t have to take a picture with me like you did with Devon if you don’t want to.”

Stop.

Hold it right there.

There is no way I want my daughter thinking that her hair has to look good, or she needs to have the perfect make-up, clothes or anything before she gets her picture taken. So we enthusiastically took a selfie. Honestly, this is probably a better representation of what I look like during my children’s childhood years anyhow (and maybe beyond. Who knows??) So, for the official (blogosphere internet) record, here it is:

He’s a Preschooler!

I have had almost 5 years to prepare for this day. It’s been 3 years since I dropped off Chloe Mae for her first day. But, somehow, I was not ready to drop my baby boy off for his first day of preschool. I cried. Three times. The first time, we were waiting with Devon’s class in the lobby before he went back to his room. I hid behind Chloe while I cried – no joke. I cried as I was leaving the building and I cried again when Chloe asked me why moms sometimes cry even when they’re not sad.

While I was a mess, Devon bounced back and forth between excited and scared. While eating his pancake breakfast (because Daddy is awesome like that) he went from rambling about what he might do at school, to snuggling up to my side and telling me that he was “just a wittle bit nerw-vous…”  While waiting for the magical minute when he would walk into his classroom and his day would officially start, he literally bounced with excitement, then pulled Chloe and I into a giant around-the-neck-hug and whispered in my ear that he was scared. In the end, he bravely walked back to his room without a backward glance.

Chloe and I spent the morning without him, doing a little schoolwork (I swear we’re going to start in earnest next week!) and running some errands. At one point, Chloe Mae looked at me and said, “It’s so weird without Devon here. It’s just so quiet!”

We were back at the school 10 minutes before pick-up time, just waiting for our little buddy. When we picked him up, we walked out of the building, each of us holding hands with Devon, all the way to the car. He let us know that preschool was awesome and announced, “Snuggle Duck must have had a very boring day! He just sat in my backpack the whole time!” Turns out, he didn’t need any comfort from any stuffies, because school was just that great 🙂

This is what Devon had to say about his day: “I had snack, we read a few books before we left, there’s a art station, I have a blue folder and we got to learn about the stations. I made lots and lots of mail at the art station. I played at cars, the block station, the toy station, art station. That’s all. At recess, I played in sand. I can’t really explain the tools they had, but there were lots and lots of shovels.”

From the “lots and lots” of artwork he brought home, it looks like he was thinking about me while we were apart 🙂

He is so excited to go back tomorrow. And I am so excited that he’s excited. I am most looking forward to watching him grow into his own little man and make new friends as the year progresses!