Dog Days Of Summer

We're winding down the summer over here.  That diddy my parents used to torture me with come the end of summer keeps playing over and over and my mind 'time for pencils, time for books...' or something like that.  So we've been completing our back to school shopping, complete with new backpacks, pencils, notebooks, crayons, oh - you name it.

Anna helped me fulfill her back to school shopping list the other day.  It was fun to wander around the Back To School section of Target, collecting needed items, this time with Anna reading us the laundry list of supplies, including quantity and brand.  And kind of funny to see her so particular - when we couldn't find the exact brand of pre-sharpened pencils - I opted for another good brand.  'But that is not what it says Mommy!'  Funny to me to see her be so black and white and such a rule follower.

James is starting a new pre-school mid-August.  It was a big decision for us - to move him from the University setting where our children have been since birth - that we've been a part of for the better part of seven years.  But the Center is taking a different direction that we don't feel comfortable with - the founding beliefs we agreed with for child care are changing - and it was time to move on.  (That and the ever-increasing tuition coupled with the ridiculous number of days the Center is closed made it a no-brainer.)

So he starts at a local church pre-school that comes highly recommended.  In fact, so highly recommended that the wait list is typically years long. When we put his name on the list late last spring, I had little to no hope he would ever get in.  The fact that he was accepted for the fall term leads me to believe this was the right decision - the stars must be aligning somewhere for us.

He's very excited to meet new friends, play with new toys, see the new PLAYGROUND.  I'm excited to have him in a Christian setting - where he'll say a proper blessing before meals, attend chapel once a week, and have the chapel story incorporated throughout his week in books and crafts.  That is one thing that has always been missing from the academic-heavy setting our children have been in.

Of course Jack is on the list as well - but there are no two-year old spaces right now.  His age waiting list is also typically very long - but thanks to James getting into the 4-year old class - he's now at the top of the 2's waiting list as a priority sibling.  I've got fingers and toes crossed that he can make the move soon.  Come August 22 when James starts at the church - we'll have three drop-offs and three pick-ups.  Grant me patience now... the loading and buckling and unloading and unbuckling and piddling to show Mommy everything and playing in each older siblings class is sure to be a long process. 

But we'll make it.  And it will be all worth it in the end.