Our Strong Family: School Full Swing

The boys are in full swing at The River Academy. We have had parent night for orientation and the activities are stacking up. Evan loves riding to school with Dad and Maddeck after being the boy in the window waving goodbye for the past three years. Miles has adjusted well to the 9 hours a week he gets at home with just Mom. I love loading the boys in Kyle's car in the morning and seeing them off to school. I am always reminded of God's provision in providing such an awesome opportunity to be loved on and taught by the teachers, staff, and families at TRA. I am so thankful. I also love that Kyle gets time with just the older boys on the ride to school.

Evan loves Kinder-Prep. He tells me about his day and how they are practicing their good manners. He loves the songs and story time. He bring two books home everyday that he "checks out" from the Kinder-Prep library. They make fun crafts and study different units throughout the year. They just completed the ocean unit and he is excited to bring home a big crab that he made this week. His teacher is Mrs. Hurst and she also goes to our church so he has been right at home at school. We think he may be ready to go straight to 1st grade next year and skip Kindergarten since he is old for his class, but we'll just see how he progresses throughout the school year.

Maddeck is loving 2nd grade so far, except for on Tuesday and Thursdays when he wants to stay at home with his brothers and play. The work is getting more difficult and he is learning that school is going to take diligence and hard work. I love that he is learning this lesson so young. He does a great job on his homework at night and he is quick to get to work when I ask him to read to his brothers or practice his spelling. Mrs. Walsh is a great teacher and Maddeck seems excited about all that he is learning. I especially love hearing him sing the songs and sound offs he learns. He got 100% on his spelling test this week. He chose a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson titled "The Good Boy" for his upcoming Speech Meet in November. He has a copy of the poem in Kyle's car and reads in on his way to school everyday to help him memorize it. This year the 2nd grade class is working together for Haven of Hope women's shelter and is supplying the women with toiletries. This is part of the annual fund raising event previously called 'Day of Service' and now renamed 'Community Clean-a-thon'. Maddeck will participating serving Haven of Hope in the morning and then cleaning up at a local State Park in the afternoon. It is awesome to be a part of a school that loves and serves the community.

Love this pic from their first day of school. They look so handsome and grown up.

Not surprising that Miles is leading the way into school for the boys.

Maddeck standing at his desk between the two tallest boys in his class.

Maddeck and Caed on the first day.

Evan and Noelle with Mrs. Hurst on the first day of Kinder-Prep.

Sometimes Evan is so tired after school he will fall asleep in the car.

Maddeck drew his self portrait. This must have been on his mind the day he made this. When he was a baby he would just sit and Caed, being 5 months older and bigger and stronger would pretty much pummel him. Caed would roll on him, grab his face, and squeeze him. Apparently, Maddeck has learned the word "chilled" from us and used it in his sentence. Oh my.

Evan painted a fish with watercolors as part of his ocean unit.

Here is Evan on his birthday at school. We brought rice crispy treats to his classroom. Miles was happy to sit by his brother.

Me with my birthday boy!

Mimi surprised Evan with a visit to the classroom and a special birthday balloon. He had a mouth full of rice crispy treat in this picture. My mom looks so pretty!