Back to School

It's official: I have a kindergartner!! I can't believe it!

And I have officially been through some back to school drama - self made, I might add. As some of you know, we have had Landon enrolled in a bilingual school (Spanish immersion) for the last year - that's where he did preschool. I was SO excited about this school and I honestly still have a bit of a crush on it.....it's a pretty awesome school as far as I'm concerned. Unfortunately, Landon's subconscious didn't agree with me. I say subconscious because he actually loved being there (loved the teachers, loved the activities), but he was just NEVER excited to go! Last year he did great in preschool, but even at the end of the year he was saying "Ugh. Time to go to school". I figured it was just a transition thing, but when it started up again this year, I felt like we needed to make a change. I talked to him about it and it seemed like it was mainly two things making it hard for him: 1. He didn't like being gone full day - that was the only kindergarten option at that school and 2. He thought he wasn't good at school because he didn't understand all the Spanish. Now, this is the kid that's already reading at a grade 2 level (probably higher, but they don't test past that) and can READ IN SPANISH. What!? Not good at school? What I realized, though, was that all that really mattered was how HE felt about himself and he didn't feel good. He was really quiet in his class because he "felt dumb" when he tried to speak Spanish.

Yeah....that's about when we decided to pull him out. I prayed about it like crazy and it was a really hard decision for me, but definitely the right one. It was a great experience and we're still working on Spanish at home (I'm currently in a class and learning tons!) but I realized that right now, the most important thing was for him to feel good about himself and to really like school. As soon as we switched him to our local, neighborhood school he's been SO happy and excited. One of his friends from church is in his class and it's half day....and in English :). He loves it! At first I felt like he was going to be so bored, but he's not! He loves helping the other kids in his class and loves feeling like he knows it all....surprise surprise. Mom and Dad, it's not like he's MY kid or anything! Anyway, if any of you are going through something similar, here's my two cents: it is SO awesome to have your kid enjoy school and I would always make the choice to get that outcome even if it's illogical! Can't wait to seem him enjoy the rest of the year!