Henry had his last day of kindergarten a week ago. We were already a couple of months into the school year when
we felt inspired to start a family
homeschool, and we gave Henry the option of finishing out the year in kindergarten since it was in the afternoons and he could participate with us in the mornings. Even though the scheduling was often a pain (interrupting lessons so that we could rush him off to school, for instance,) I am so glad that Henry spent this year in kindergarten.
For one thing, Henry fell in love with his teacher, Mrs. R. I know that this is a pretty common occurrence, but up until last fall I don't think that Henry had been in love with anyone but his mommy. This was a big deal for him. And I watched him blossom as she poured out love on him, praised him, and appreciated him. She always had something special to share with me and acted like he was her favorite kid, but I watched her with other students and their parents; I think that one of her gifts is to make everyone feel like her favorite. When she and Henry said good-bye on the last day of school, both she and I had tears in our eyes. Henry looked between us, confused by our weeping. But I knew that she had touched his life, and he, hers.
Henry also made big strides in overcoming some bashfulness this year. I hadn't really realized that he was bashful until sometime last year when I observed him in a large group and saw that he always gravitated toward the adults or just hung back from the crowd. At home he has no problem asserting himself, but I watched him struggle to keep his place in line or ask for something he needed, especially if it involved getting someone's attention. Now he seems much more confident in himself in big group situations.
Henry has been able to see himself as smart. We make a big effort to not compare him to his brothers, especially when it comes to intelligence, but Henry has grown up
comparing himself to his older brother. Kimball is advanced academically for his own age, but even if he wasn't, it would be hard for a younger sibling to measure up to that at this point in his life. We have always reassured Henry that Kimball is older and a lot of the skills that Henry will acquire as he gets older. Being in a group of his peers has helped him to gain confidence in his abilities, as he found that he excelled in the kindergarten curriculum. He has always loved learning and never complained about spending all morning in homeschool and all afternoon in kindergarten. He just drinks it all in. Now Henry knows what we already did--that he
is smart and capable.
All of these reasons will surely have my critics wondering if we should be moving forward with the plan to homeschool Henry full time next year. I will admit that it gives me pause as well. But we will move forward with the faith that if the Lord has prompted us to do it, then it must be the right thing for him. I know that Heavenly Father will continue to direct our family as we strive to rely on Him and seek His guidance. If we feel prompted to return Henry (or any of our kids) to public school, you can bet we will do so. Until then, I feel so grateful that he had these experiences and opportunities in kindergarten. Perhaps they will prepare him for what lies ahead in homeschooling.
What I want to know is this: if we homeschool year round, how will we know when to have a celebratory last-day-of-school lunch, like this one at Red Robin? The kids ate like they'd never seen a french fry before!
What have you been up to this week?
For one thing, Henry fell in love with his teacher, Mrs. R. I know that this is a pretty common occurrence, but up until last fall I don't think that Henry had been in love with anyone but his mommy. This was a big deal for him. And I watched him blossom as she poured out love on him, praised him, and appreciated him. She always had something special to share with me and acted like he was her favorite kid, but I watched her with other students and their parents; I think that one of her gifts is to make everyone feel like her favorite. When she and Henry said good-bye on the last day of school, both she and I had tears in our eyes. Henry looked between us, confused by our weeping. But I knew that she had touched his life, and he, hers.
Henry has been able to see himself as smart. We make a big effort to not compare him to his brothers, especially when it comes to intelligence, but Henry has grown up comparing himself to his older brother. Kimball is advanced academically for his own age, but even if he wasn't, it would be hard for a younger sibling to measure up to that at this point in his life. We have always reassured Henry that Kimball is older and a lot of the skills that Henry will acquire as he gets older. Being in a group of his peers has helped him to gain confidence in his abilities, as he found that he excelled in the kindergarten curriculum. He has always loved learning and never complained about spending all morning in homeschool and all afternoon in kindergarten. He just drinks it all in. Now Henry knows what we already did--that he is smart and capable.
Last week was Henry's first kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin farm. It didn't matter that we've been to this particular pumpkin farm multiple times, the excitement level was as high as the mercury on an Arizona summer's day. I knew that there would be zillions of parents going along on this field trip because it was the first, and thought that I might escape being a chaperone, but Henry really wanted me to come and I couldn't say no. For a class of 2o kids there were about 15 parents along, so none of the chaperones had to work very hard.
and a heavily made up "Mother Goose" as the emcee of the pig races. 
She told corny jokes (no pun intended) and told us when to laugh, cheer, etc. I found her to be barely tolerable, especially since I have sat through the program a few times before, but the kids seemed to enjoy the show. After the pig races (our pig came in third out of four), we headed over to the train ride. This meant standing in line while we waited for the train. The kids were just sure that we'd miss the train somehow and were very concerned. Here they are watching for the train to pull into the station:
Henry and I got to ride with Sammy and his dad (Henry's soccer coach) and I snapped some great shots of Sam pouting. I can't even remember anymore why he was mad at us, but check out that face!
After a few minutes, he didn't want to admit that he was having fun, so he turned around, hoping his dad couldn't see:
I sat out the hayride, since I had smuggled Bronwen along and she needed to eat. That proved to be torture because the spot where I sat and waited was just near enough the bakery that the most exquisite smells wafted my direction. At one point I went over and looked carefully at each item before deciding that it wasn't worth the money or the calories. I returned to my bench with a very hot cup of cider, which took me ages to sip because of its temperature, and got me through until the class returned.
Brycen's not my kid, but I can't help but snap his picture when he's around. I just love those sweet little freckles!
Ditto for Eliza. What a doll!
The apple trees line the pumpkin patch.
Henry didn't care for the noise in the train tunnel.
And he wasn't about to do the chicken dance, no matter how much that crazy Mother Goose yelled for everybody to join in! He can spot ridiculous from a mile away.
After a lunch and cider under the apple trees and a few rides down the Coyote Mountain slide, the kids climbed the buses and headed home. Something drew me to the bus logo!