Saturday Stuff

Another cold, steely Saturday is wrapped around us, yet no winter snow storms in sight (to the chagrin of the kids as well as myself). Don is upstairs with our friends from PA, going over "marriage stuff" in preparation for their wedding in a couple of weeks. Don dove right in, like riding a bike -- Prayer Book ceremony, "samples" of previous weddings and sermons, and the like. He calmly said to me that he'll be needing a clergy shirt washed, as well as a collar and stole -- all of the accouterments of his priestly life that has been sitting on that dusty shelf. He seems fine on the outside; I have no idea what might be stirring in his soul.

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Aidan brought his report card home yesterday, which thankfully didn't cause nearly the amount of angst in me as his first one did a few months ago. From the last marking period to this one, his three "U's" on the last report (meaning "usually" -- as in "usually" waits his turn, "usually" writes his name with capital and lower case letters) pared down. He improved on writing his name with the appropriate case letters (now a "Y" for "yes") as well as now easily recognizing names and numbers from 0-20 (now he can soar to 100). One "U" remains from last period -- waiting his turn. And - gasp! - one "Y" went down to a "U" ... "cleans up after work/play is finished." (Somehow I'm not surprised).

And where am I on the decision-making front regarding school? It's funny, really. The responses I received -- whether via comment, phone call, or separate email -- were as broad a range as you could imagine. A wonderful friend in PA -- who was also a public school teacher before her stint now as a stay-at-home mother of three -- called me yesterday with great insight and advice. My sister-in-law emailed me with her own feelings on the matter, and I had a long talk with an old friend in Maine ... Three very different views (all greatly appreciated), all in one day. My PA friend laughingly said I should take a poll, and I might as well! Weigh in, friends! The categories are as follows:

half-day kindergarten
full-day kindergarten
public school
private school
And any combination of the above ...

But so far, here are some of the outcomes of the early primaries:

Number of voters for:
half-day kindergarten at Christian school: 2
full-day kindergarten at Christian school: 3
full-day kindergarten at public school: 2
first grade (which really isn't even on the table but was voiced anyway): 2
homeschool, montessori or magnet school: 1 (again, not on the table but ... I guess this is the "Ron Paul" of the debate)

Interesting stuff, eh? So where do I stand? Who knows. Honestly, I really have no idea. My post from the other day is pretty null and void by this point (well, maybe not entirely -- I'm quite settled on kindergarten rather than first grade. A little solace). Back on my calloused knees, pounding the gates of heaven. This is a biggie for me.