"I'm so proud of you!"

Since I have shared some of our "trials" w/ Luke in the past I thought it was only fair to him that I to take a moment to share his strengths as well! Yesterday I was very pleased to get information home from his Kindergarten teacher stating that they tested him to see what level he was reading at. This was a great relief to me b/c I was very concerned that they were not going to "push him" at all this year. After 3 years of preschool, and being one of the oldest in his class, Luke is more than ready for Kindergarten, and I was concerned this year would not challenge him.. Today I had another chance to volunteer at Kindergarten. When the kids went to the library the teacher called me in to the classroom and said she'd like to talk to me for a moment.. I said "I'm not in trouble am I?!!" She sat me down and said she'd like to talk to me about Luke. I thought oh… no….. what happened now!?!? She quickly assured me that Luke is very well behaved at school and that she just wanted to talk to me about the reading assessment they gave him yesterday, and what it meant. The paper she sent me home stated that he was reading at a first grade level, actually, the end of first grade.. when I talked to her today, she said he's actually capable of reading at a higher level then she marked him (and he's more at a beginning of 2nd grade level), but b/c he missed a few words, they wanted to keep him there to master the words before moving on. She spent a long time talking w/ me about various opportunities they could give Luke to challenge him. She assured me that he is not "bored" in school

I was so proud of Luke, and thrilled with this teacher who is so willing to work with him and keep his best interests at heart. :) Our preschool teachers had strongly recommended this particular teacher, to the point of encouraging me to write a letter asking that we not be placed w/ the other teacher. I felt uncomfortable doing this when I really didn't know either of them, so I was thrilled to know we got our first pick w/ out asking!! :) God is good!!

I was so concerned about sending Luke to school this year. I certainly considered homeschooling him, but since he's been in school I can say I'm very pleased with the opportunities he's been given so far. I'm so happy to have gotten a peak in to the school to see how they work. It's really helped me feel better about where he is and what he's learning. Luke is all smiles walking tall and proud in line on the way to library, and the various activities they get to participate in during the day. Every Wednesday he rushes home to share what he learned from the gym teacher. This week he was amazed at all the tricks the gym teacher could do w/ his jump rope! :) I love that he comes home teaching me things that I have not thought to teach him. I love that he's getting exposed to various styles of learning. I wish I could be a fly on the wall everyday! But soon, new responsibilities will come my way. Hopefully. I'll still find time to sneak in to school, b/c it gives me the best of both worlds, being involved, yet allowing him to experience school and new opportunities.

I was also very pleased to hear from the teacher that the children who came from our preschool have done very well in Kindergarten. She said they have a very good program over there, and she can tell which students came from our school. I was happy to be able to pass that information back to the school, and thank them for the wonderful reading program they have provided us with. I feel more confident than before about sending our kids here b/c really it's almost a stab in the dark when you're trying to pick between so many good options!