It's here! Today was Jonas' first day of prekindergarten. It was a pretty big deal so I commemorated the day with lots of photos.
Yesterday we started off with hygiene patrol...cleaned teeth at the dentist(by our good friend, Julie) and haircut(by our good friend, Hayley).
For months we agonized over what school Jonas was going to attend this fall. After prayer, talking with friends, reading about school at this age, and of course discussing together as parents, we chose Highlands Classical Academy. A school that provides a classical and Christian based education. Since we made the decision, we talked with Jonas about his school. As most of you know, Jonas is typically internal with his thoughts until he figures out in his head when the best time to discuss those feelings. Jonas did not give Matt or I any feed back about his feelings toward the beginning of the school year, however today his elation and excitement about the big day was extremely apparent. He eagerly woke up at 6am(normally 7am) and immediately got dressed and made sure his new Lego backpack was still hanging next to the door.
I printed off a banner that said 'Happy First Day of School' and baked Blueberry Muffins for breakfast requested by Jonas.
Silas was joyful to be apart of this journey for Jonas as well.
By 7:00am, Jonas lead me outside to take a photo opp. I suggested taking some photos next to our new water feature. Seen on Pinterest, I wrote on a chalkboard the date and 'When I grow up I want to be'..and Jonas answered Astronaut(of course).
Then Jonas proceeded to explain that we have to take a photo on the rock that he sat on last year for 1st day of preschool(which he went for half year).
One year ago! Wow, what a difference!
Jonas then insisted on taking a photo of his new Star Wars Lego backpack(stuffed with paper towels for the classroom). May the Force be with you!
Brother shots
Arrived 10 minutes before they opened the door so he played outside with friends from church that are attending the same school.
Once the teacher announced to come in, he told all his friends, "Let's go to school!" He quickly found his name and walked into the classroom with not a glance behind for mom.
We said our goodbyes and kiss on the head with him focused on playing with Legos(duplo size which he was never into but they are Legos) and left. I kept it together and walked out with Silas.
We came straight home and Silas immediately looked in our hutch of school things and said "let's do our ABC's". With his lightsaber, we talked about each letter and it's sound. I couldn't believe it. I haven't worked on him with letters like I ever did with Jonas, but he gets it.
Then I set up a station to find foam letters in a pan of rice. Of course, making a mess was more fun and then vacuuming up the rice was a blast! He even found rice between his toes.
Silas suggested playing trains downstairs, which we haven't played with since winter.
Back to school to pick up Jonas and one of the teachers, Miss Jenny approached me and said,"Are you Jonas' mom? Jonas is really smart. When we played Bingo today, he knew all the letter sounds. Incredible." I didn't know how to respond other than a thank you. As a parent, you are always biased about your child being smart but I truly believe God will take him far with how he learns and understands the world around him.
Walked to an ice cream shop with all his buddies. What good looking boys in their uniforms.
Came home and Jonas wanted to make a treat for dad's first day of students. Popcorn balls with cheerios, pretzels, peanuts and popcorn. They were a hit!
The rest of the afternoon, Jonas and Silas were inseparable. I believe they missed each other and loved having their wingman back.
At the dinner table, we talked about each other's day. Jonas wanted to hear all about dad's day with the kids. Matt responded, "I enjoyed meeting all my students and preparing for another school year."
Questions we asked Jonas:
1)What's the best thing about being in PreK now?
-"Meeting new friends. Guess what? There's a Silas in my class."
2)What does your teacher do really well?
-"Everything. She read 'Chicka Chicka Boom Boom' today. And she will ask us everyday what's the weather like outside. I will look out the window next time and raise my hand."
3)Who did you sit by at snack today?
-Everyone
Happy First Day of School!
