School

I've been getting ready for school all summer.  Finding uniforms and the long list of very specific supplies Jonah needs, sewing away at lunch accessories and an art smock, and talking about school now and then with my anxious Mr. 7.  Preparing myself and him for the day school would begin.

And now it has come.  So far, it has been smoother than I expected, but it is hard for Jonah to be away so long.  We miss him and he misses us.  But, we love his teacher and are confident he will be receiving a wonderful education in a loving community.  It is a really good thing in our lives right now.

I'm enjoying more intentional time with the younger two and Rowan is determined to learn his letters so he can go to school too (I didn't encourage this, but am enjoying long workbook sessions totally led by the little man).  I'm also hoping that these fall days will provide the space to get ourselves organized into the church year and the daily liturgies that have faded somewhat in the past year.  I have such dreams and ideas...

Hopefully those will be filling posts soon, but for now I thought I'd share a glimpse of our getting ready for school.
-------------
:: I'm determined to keep Jonah's lunches trash free.  So making a snack bag and cloth napkins was one important task on my get-ready-for-school list.  This was followed by freezing muffins, homemade toaster pastries, and protein packed cookies for lunches.  I loved the ideas on this blog and an adapted version of these protein balls have been a big hit around here.

:: And then there was the art smock... the list said to send an old shirt in, but when you've moved through three countries and two states in the past year, anything you didn't need was given away quite promptly.  So, I went back to the pattern for an art smock in Little Things to Sew (minus french seams and pockets) which I used a couple years ago.  I made a large this time (my how he has grown in the past year!) out of some old sheets that came out of storage.  I thought the plain color was nice and not so "my mom made my art smock" since the other kids will have old shirts.  But upon seeing it Jonah was really sad it didn't have dinos like the last one.  So daddy was asked to draw a dinosaur found in the The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs to size on freezer paper.  Mom did the rest and Jonah is quite happy with his dino art smock.

:: And then a glimpse of the day we had all been waiting for, the first day of school.  Convocation was beautiful.  The seniors placing laurel leaves on the heads of the kindergartners, all those young voices singing Psalm 115:1 in latin (their school song), and Jonah's smile as he walked past after convocation (he was a bit too nervous for smiles before school) are all moments I'm holding close right now.