Kindergarten Ph.D.

I just got home from a parent orientation for Zakkai's new preschool and I am feeling 1000% sure that this is the right decision, the right place for him! Thank you, Lord!

I got to meet his new teacher, who is very nice and Zakkai gets to go meet the teachers and see his classroom tomorrow.

I am so amazed at how accelerated preschool is these days. It used to be that preschool was such an optional thing and people barely went. It was pretty much like childcare. Now preschool is the new kindergarten and kindergarten is the new first grade! And so on...

I can't believe how quickly and how hard the schools are pushing kids these days. You are waaaay behind if you enter kindergarten without knowing numbers, counting, independent skills and even pre-reading. Crazy! I don't know how I feel about it all. On one hand, the poor kids are going to be in full-time school for the next 13 years and that ONLY high school. Then you add 4 years of college and possibly more for graduate school.

What is the rush?? On the other small hand, I am impressed at how quickly Samuel increased his knowledge this past year, although it was overwhelming in the speed at which it came at us. It kind of makes me sad that Zakkai is starting it already and pretty soon I'll be rushing him off to kinder-college.

I think I'll keep Eliana at home forever.
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We actually set up the ladder to the boys' bunk beds tonight! If you remember, we put it off when we first put together the beds last summer for safety reasons. A.K.A. Zakkai.

But Samuel has been sleeping on the floor all summer (his own choice!) due to the heat and getting up in the early hours of the morning to use the bathroom. Now that the weather's cooler, he wants to be back in his snuggly bed so to prepare for happy sleep for all of us, we put together the ladder. Hopefully, Zakkai won't fall out of bed in the middle of the night and bump in to it...
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Eliana has become my little shadow buddy lately. She is starting to crawl to my legs and pull-up partway, wanting me to pick her up. She even reaches out for me sometimes if Ben is holding her, after she's gotten in her daddy snuggles:) We went to a friend's house to play Monday and she wouldn't let me even think about putting her down for at least a 1/2 an hour. And then she played within a 6 inch radius around me;)

She is starting to pick up sign-language which is so fun to see!! She signs "All Done" after us and "Light" and is trying to do "Train," which is a very important sign when you live right next to a train track! It's so fun to watch this explosion of development in her. She is such a happy baby who clearly knows she is loved and loves in return.

Zakkai's heart melted in a puddle yesterday when, while he was playing on his stomach on the ground, she crawled over and got halfway on his back and laid her head down on him:)

She's a heartbreaker, this one!