Luke, the Kindergartener

My prayers came true.

1. Went as natural as possible. (Wasn't given Petosin. Had the epidural, but just in the knick of time.)
2. My water broke on its own. (Not in the way I expected, where it would be in the middle of the night at home, or cause a scene at Walmart or at Luke's enrollment…)
3. AND THE BIG ONE… WE WERE ABLE TO SEE LUKE GET ON THE BUS!!

I was kind of upset about giving birth on August 10th because generally after giving birth you stay in the hospital for two days. So we would leave on August 12th, which was Luke's first day of school. We wouldn't get out until the afternoon… we'd be lucky if we saw him get off the bus. BUT, that's not what happened. I asked the nurse when we went in on August 9th how many days she expected us to be at the hospital. She said that some people could go home a day early if both the mom and baby were healthy and the doctors signed off on it. And that's what happened! So we got to see Luke go to school. Kind of an unspoken rule or right of passage or something for parents of first-time bus riders/kindergarteners. 

That morning Daddy surprised us with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Luke already had his bag packed and everything. I kind of failed in one area in that he didn't have a First Day of School Outfit, but we made it work with his cool shark shirt. Luke didn't have to get on the bus until 8:00am. We went down a little early - glad we did though because the bus came early (and has ever since…). Luke gets on at 7:45-7:50am. Luke was so excited AND he got to choose where he sat, which was right at the front of the bus, next to the bus driver. My child… who would be excited to sit next to the bus driver? My child. He's so precious. I love him! Mila was there too with us and she was a perfect sister, sleeping quietly, letting Luke have his big moment.

First Day Pictures 

August 12, 2015 • Kindergarten 

 First Time on the Bus

The house was quiet. At 4:00, we were eager to pick Luke up at the end of the drive. Mila and I sat on the front porch looking for the bus while Aldo played with Bullet. When we saw the bus in the distance, we began to walk down and we reached the end of the drive way at the same time Luke did. I wish I would have caught a picture (I recorded a video, but accidentally hit the record button twice. So when I thought I was recording I wasn't. And when I thought I shut it off, I was recording feet and grass.) - When Luke got home, he looked like he spent a full day in school… his hair was WINDED! He looked like a cute peacock. He told me that he made four friends - Westin, I can't remember the names of the middle two, and Porter (originally he told me the name was "Quarter… like the money", but we figured out the real name later). He also told me what he had for lunch. That's about all he remembered.

The next day, he made another friend - Aden, who rides the bus with him. (Since then he has made plenty of friends and even wrote their names down on a list.) Some of the things he says he's done at school are: read "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and search for the letters of the alphabet, do exercises in P.E., check out one book at a time from the library, play the drums in music class, push the letter Q over and over and the apple button over and over in computer class, play games in computer class, play with the blocks in down time, and run from girls during recess. We went to Parent Night the other day to meet his teacher (who we already know because I used to work with her at the library) and to find out more about how their day goes. They're still trying to get in the swing of things. Mrs. Eder said that at first Luke was quiet, but this past week he's been getting more out of his shell. She also said that she has no worries about Luke, he's way ahead of the game - you can tell someone worked with him on reading. (That would be ME at homeschool last year. And this summer before I allowed him to play any games on iPads or phones, he had to read some pages from Dr. Seuss. Who's the bomb dot com?)

Luke's List of Friends

(Talin, Aden, Berit, Macy, Violet, Westin, Porter, Julia and Mila)

But he loves school. He's excited to go in the mornings and never wants to miss the bus (which we've almost done already…). And when he gets home, he's excited to be home with us because the days are long. I can't wait until he really gets into the swing of things. And when he starts learning, and sharing, and going on trips, and making things. He's going to have so much fun. I'm proud of you my big Kindergartener!

Best quote so far… 

Me: Luke, what did you learn at school today?

Luke: Ohhh yeah… "Dismissal" means you get to go home!

(Nice Luke. Real nice. That's a word everyone should know… and what even adults look forward to.)