The Peace, Love, and Joy Assembly

I tried WAY too many times to upload the video of Evelyn in a dance last week, but I think it was just too long. It didn't matter that Evelyn was in the back row, quite obscured (I kept my eyes peeled for glimpses of her bobbing ponytails), and that I had a hard time even seeing her--I was so proud! She was selected to participate in it for the "Peace, Love, and Joy Assembly" and I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. (It also makes me smile to write "Peace, Love and Joy Assembly." You gotta love charter schools.)

The most moving segment of the assembly was a little 1st grade boy who read--w/amazing feeling--the most famous parts of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. That speech is SO powerful. The place erupted and rose to its feet at the end. I cried big, boo-hoo tears of wonder sitting in that very diverse crowd--"sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners" sitting down "together at the table of brotherhood...."

The Kindgergarten B-day

Here's Evelyn w/her class's "guest reader" this week. (I'm sure the kids appreciated that I honed my Julia Childs accent watching YouTube for cook's voice in "Plum Pudding for Christmas.") She'd dipped pretzels in chocolate (with help from Grandma and Amelia) for her classmates as a birthday treat.

Evelyn was so cute introducing each of her classmates to me (their hands are on the book), and it was great to put faces with the names we hear about so often. We've been impressed with her young teacher and with the Tunbridge School in general, which is good, because we trust them with a very special six year old five days a week. :)

So how IS school going?

(Here are the girls with their Snoopy dogs from Aunt Cari in Iowa. Thank you, Aunt Cari!!)

After a month of the new charter school, Evelyn says the best part of school is sitting next to her friends. And they are all boys. She says, with her big goofy grin and a dramatic shoulder-shrug, "I don't know why, but all the boys in school LOVE me!", adding, "I really LOVE that!" Her best friends at school are Trevor, Zyon ("Zyon with a Y" as he is known, since there is also a "Zion with an I" in her class), and Kay'ran, whose claim to fame is that he was born with braids. ("Just like his grandfather!!" Evelyn says with a wide-eyed hush, imitating the wonder with which Kay'ran shares this amazing genetic trait.)

I think, being an active kid, she is drawn to other active kids--especially ones who will play "chase" ad nauseum. Those are often boys. Alan is hoping this is not a trend. Or at least that she'll continue in her distinct pleasure in out-running them.

Amelia had her four year old well visit this past week. "Uh," you say, "didn't she turn four in MAY?" To which I reply, "Why yes she did, but our health insurance dictates 12 months between well visits." Enough said? Uh...ok...I admit...I'm a procrastinator and between my procrastination and the occasional illnesses that have stalled our well-visits over the years, we're several months behind on each kid. But my friend Diana assures me I'll eventually catch up again. :)

Anyway, the well visit came with multiple shots, and Alan was worried about our sensitive second child's reaction to this trauma. Prepping her in the doctor's office, he told her to expect some sharp stings. "Ok," she said, shrugging, "I'm not scared." He reinforced that she might be afraid and that it might hurt. "Will it hurt like THIS?" she said, taking her index finger and digging it deeply into her own thigh. A bit stunned, Alan just said, "It might."

The nurses came in, both armed with needles. Alan held down her legs. Plunge! Plunge! Nothing. She didn't flinch, whimper, or even change her facial expression. The nurses and Alan all looked at each other. "Wow," said one of them. Plunge! Plunge! Again, nothing. Amelia's bragged ever since (in spite of the huge, rock-hard bulges on her thighs right now) that she got shots and they didn't even hurt and she didn't even cry.

Why do I share this? Because she still shakes, clings, and sobs silent, gigantic tears every morning when we drop her off for school. She says she likes school, has fun once her minutes of tears have passed, and is never anxious about going.

There are just certain things more worthy of tears than others. :)

More Firsts

Amelia started pre-K this morning (half-days, 5 days a week.) We dropped Evie off at Tunbridge, listened to "Annie" in the car on the way to Calvary, walked in together, put her book bag in its cubbie, and put her folder in its place. Then she ran to me, clung, and cried. Oh dear. My heart melted, of course. She and I put her name up on the attendance chart together, then the gray-haired aide came over, sat down, took my little daughter into her lap, and I snuck away as Amelia leaned into her shoulder. I walked out, got into my car, and yes, cried a little.

On a lighter note, last night as we were starting the bedtime routine, Evelyn was pulling down her pants to sit on the john when I noticed that the seat was up. I called out to her--too late. She sat down. All the way down. Entire-backside-in-toilet-water down.

So last night turned into bath night. It was probably for the best. I'll have to post the pictures soon of Grandma, the girls and me storming the Maryland State Fair yesterday. I'm sure Grandma took a nice bath last night, too. :)

First Week of School!

I want to thank all of you who've been such encouragements to me over the question of school for the girls. The Lord has used your e-mails, prayers, and phone calls to remind me to trust Him and continually put our children in His hands.

This week Evelyn started Kindergarten at the Tunbridge School, a brand-new charter school 15 minutes from us. The school's focus is health and fitness, and she has lots of movement throughout the day. She looks adorable in her uniform--a school t-shirt paired w/black athletic shorts.

She says she likes it (although I never quite get her lunch right--it's usually "too short," which means it doesn't take her very long to eat it), and she's made some new friends (all boys.) She had an embarrassing moment in art class when she drew a picture of herself with last year's boyfriend, Isaiah, and the class giggled when she explained it to them. I told her kids often giggle when they hear about boyfriends and girlfriends, although I did feel a tweak in my heart for her.

Tunbridge starts at pre-K, and Amelia is currently #5 on the waiting list. We are hoping at some point this school year she will gain entrance, and until then, she is attending the same school we sent them to last year, and will be in the half-day pre-K at Calvary Lutheran, with the same teacher that Evelyn had last year. It's worked out well for her to be in a familiar place, and if she has to switch in the middle of the year, she'll at least be familiar with Tunbridge through the daily drop-offs of Evelyn. Plus, she'll know her sister is there.

Tunbridge uses a curriculum that promotes peace and wellness physically, emotionally, and socially, so there is a lot to like about the way they are learning to think about and interact with one another. There is a lot of positive reinforcement and praise, and I look forward to volunteering now and then to get a peek at it in action.

One thing I think about as my kids get older and move more and more out of the small circle of our family is how they are understanding and (hopefully!) owning their own faith. I read Bible stories with the girls each morning and we pray together--usually with some eye-rolling and heavy sighing (they'd much rather turn on the TV immediately!), and I am conscious as I interact with them to be overt in expressing my own decision-making processes, sharing prayers aloud, and talking openly about the Lord and His truths.

In a strange way I look forward to facing those inevitable circumstances with Evelyn and Amelia--as they realize that not everyone believes in Jesus or even God; that not everyone believes in "asking Him into your heart," or in eternal life. At some point we as believers step out of the comfort zone of people thinking we are "nice" or "wholesome" to where they think we are over-the-top or just plain weird.

And that's where love comes in. That's where I rest in the love of Jesus for me, and pray that I will love others in a way that will prove more than mere words ever could--that God is not only real, He's personal, and He longs for us to be close to Him.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the thoughts and counsel of those of you who've gone before us in the parenting process and are on the other side (or in the midst!) of these same experiences. It makes for good fellowship and GREAT encouragement.

Who knew the first week of school would elicit such thoughts?!?

The Last of the Snow

This has all melted by now, but a week and a half ago I took the girls up to RVR to have their first bike rides of the season. They did pretty well, although Amelia kept needing to be pushed up inclines and Evelyn's one training wheel kept slipping out of place and she fell about four times. Tough kid--she still wants to ride her bike.

Don't even ask about the school thing. I have had a lot of conversations with God about it, usually shedding tears when I think about the WONDERFUL open houses I attended at both City Neighbors Charter Schools--only to have her 25th on the waiting list at one and 58th on the waiting list on the other. There weren't even 20 spots open in these kindergartens and hundreds of applicants.

She's 60th on the waiting list at the Green School. She actually got into the Spanish Immersion Kindergarten, and even though we LOVE the idea of her doing all her schooling K-8 in Spanish, we visited the school twice and there were so many red flags--quite discouraging. I kept thinking it would get better, but we just can't bring ourselves to send her there. I'm too tired to type out all the reasons.

The ONE good thing about the last visit to the Spanish Immersion school, though, was that I met a woman who told me about another charter school that will be brand new in the fall. It's not as close as any of these others, but still not too bad, and because it is brand new it doesn't have as many applicants. I went right home and looked it up and called, got an application and ran it over. It sounded like the Kindergarten was full but the waiting list was short...haven't heard for sure yet. That particular school's focus is health, and the kids will get 75 minutes of movement, PE, or dance every day, and will study nutrition as part of their curriculum. That certainly sounds good so far. There's an open house for that one on Tuesday, so you'll know where we'll be. (I'll miss another night of AWANA...between my sick kids and these open houses, I've been a really bad AWANA leader this year!)

Then there's Calvary Lutheran School. What a sweet, tender place. I'll have to upload a few pictures from the Grandparents' Day last week. All four grandparents came, and the girls felt really special. The Grandparents felt special, too, and I heard it was a great time. My father-in-law took lots of pictures, and I'll have to upload some of them.

Through all of this I've been really challenged to trust God. Not since having two miscarriages and wondering if we'd ever have kids at all have I had these knotted-up feeling in my gut that make me wonder what God's got in mind and why it's NOT the same thing that I've got in MY mind. It's been pretty humbling to realize that for most of my life God has done a lot of what I've expected or asked Him to do, and I've not learned to really trust Him when the future is truly uncertain. I know it's only Kindergarten, but it's my child--it's going to be a HUGE part of her world next year, and a huge part of her daily influence. Whew.

Looking into the Future

On Thursday we heard from our #1 hopeful school for Evelyn--there were 17 kindergarten spots and over 200 applicants. They drew the names for the lottery and Evelyn is #25 on the waiting list. Sigh. As Alan said, "At least she's not 199th on the waiting list." We've not heard from the other three yet--maybe they'll come in the mail today.

While it was my hope to pontificate a bit about our lives in the city, thoughts about the girls and school, I've got these two little people crawling all over my feet getting into the drawers below me because I made the mistake of telling them we'd make cards "when Mommy was done." That last part is a difficult concept for them. Evelyn is standing next to me whispering into my ear, "Pssst---get out the pictures! Psssst--get out the pictures!" referring to the pictures we cut out of magazines, Christmas cards, and extra photographs for making homemade cards. My favorite thing about the cards they make is that they glue all the interesting stuff onto the INSIDE of the card. I used to re-fold the cards so that their artwork was on the outside like a "normal" card, but then I figured it was kind of a metaphor for what we're always supposed to be making the most attractive and lovely.

Playing the Lottery

So TODAY is the day the lotteries will be drawn for the four charter schools to which we've applied for Evelyn. I'm driving Alan crazy talking about it...but we will know soon. Dare I admit that we'd LOVE for her to get into City Neighbors Hamilton, the K-8, project-based, arts-integrated charter school housed in a gorgeous, 1934 stone school building walking distance from our house? (And City Neighbors High School will be housed there starting this fall--so it will be a one-class per grade, community school K-12. Sigh...) It's our first choice.

We also love the original City Neighbors charter school, only a mile and a half away, and would happily drive her there. It is also K-8.

The Baltimore International Academy is a language immersion K-8, but after tonight's open house (thank you Esther for attending with me to give your perspective), we are really hoping for the first two. We'd LOVE for Evelyn to do language immersion, but to be honest the school just doesn't have a very good feel, and there was no talk of the value of the children or the culture of the school.

The Green School is wonderful, but it's only K-5. Ugh. I just have to "be anxious for nothing, but in everything, through prayer and supplication" let my requests be made known unto God...and then I'll have His peace guarding my heart and mind. Whew.

I should probably add how much we've appreciated Calvary Lutheran School this year. It is pre--school through 5, and Amelia will be there again next year for pre-K. Under different circumstances we'd probably stay. When I think of the principal or pastor waiting at the door each morning to greet each child by name with a gentle handshake and a smile and starting every meeting with prayer, I know how much we will miss this place where children are precious creations of God and the stated goal is to "Create Disciples for Christ" and a child's academic evaluation includes the question, "What do you know about Jesus?"

First Parent-Teacher Conferences

Friday my mom watched the girls while Alan attended the conferences. I was kind of bummed that they were on a Friday during the day, because that is a day I teach and wasn't able to go. But Alan gave me all the scoop, and came home with the written evaluations and some stories.

Both girls are doing well in all areas, although Evelyn still "needs development" in listening & following directions, waiting to be called on before speaking, and showing self-control. This line, right out of the teacher's notes here, makes me smile: "She would like to be in control of her peers a bit more than they are willing to allow." Apparently, every day during free time Evelyn lines up chairs in front of the chalk board and insists on teaching a Science class. Some students willingly prefer Evelyn's "class" to other activities. Her teacher said, "Evelyn has amazing leadership skills...we just need to, well, channel them a bit." Sounds like we need to encourage Evelyn to realize that her Science class is an elective.

Amelia is still not really talking in class, although her teacher is able to discern what she knows. She's got pretty much straight A's (the pre-school version, at least), except she can't consistently hop on one foot and, when she raises her hand to answer a question, instantly melts into silence when actually called upon. Over Christmas, my mother-in-law asked her whether or not she liked school. Amelia smiled, wrinkled her nose adorably, and answered in her shy, squeaky voice (the one she uses when talking about school), "Yes. And my teacher likes me...because I'm quiet."

I've saved my favorites of the teachers' comments for last. Evelyn's teacher wrote, "It is a pleasure to teach Evelyn. Her love for the Lord is evident and continues to grow every day." She also told Alan that Evelyn volunteers every day to say the end-of-the-day prayer (let's restate that--she volunteers for EVERYTHING) and that the other children have learned how to pray through her example.

And Amelia, when answering the question, "What do you know about Jesus?" answered simply, "I love Him."

Gloria!

My mom took some cute pictures of the girls during their school Christmas program last month. I've been on the other end--the planning and production end--of so many programs in my life, it was really, really neat to be an attending parent. I couldn't believe how moving it was, and how my face was stuck in smile mode the whole time. Of course we are blessed, with this little Lutheran School, to have a Christmas program that really centered around Christ, which increased how moved I was. There is something really precious about hearing your children sing with a group of their peers, "Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray. Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with You there."

How wonderful to think that because of that Savior in the manger, we CAN be fit for heaven to live with Jesus.

It's all in a name...

The girls are attending the pre-school and pre-kindergarten classes at a small Lutheran school this year. Amelia, who often requests to be called by different names, told my mom recently that her name was "Anna Lutheran."

I relayed this to their school principal today, who laughed and immediately replied, "And did Evelyn ask to be Anna Baptist?"

Just thought all you church historians would get a kick out of that one.

Pre-School Essays

So, this past summer, Evelyn went to San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. She traveled on airplanes & trains, slept for a whole week in a tent at the Ranch, attended TWO weeks of day camp, spent three days in O.C., and rode every accessible ride at the State Fair.

Then why do we have an "essay" on our frig that finishes the sentence: "This summer I..." with Evelyn's phrase "saw a mouse??" It even has her artistic rendering of the rodent, up to which she recently walked and said, "Look at my rat."

I stopped what I was doing and asked, "So when your teacher asked you what you did this summer, what did you say?" She replied, "I saw a rat."

"Is that a picture of the rat?" I ask.

"Yes."

We guessed that the teacher, knowing Evelyn can't read, wrote "mouse" instead of "rat" to either abate her own disgust or shield us from embarrassment. (No, the rat was not inside our house.)

And here's another entitled "My First Days of Pre-Kindergarten:"

My favorite thing was..............playing with Barbies.
I did not like..............................sharing.
Tomorrow I will........................try to draw something funny. (What's funnier than a rat, the most impressive summer experience of 2009? Oh, she means funny "ha ha.")

Finally, Amelia's class starts Show and Tell this month. Amelia's wise, experienced teacher put her as the very, very, last student to have a turn. Will she be talking in school by then? Perhaps I could learn from my youngest that "a prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly." (Prov. 12:23) Goodness knows I've had my share of blurting.

And a video of each of them--Amelia singing (or rather, her PONY singing), which is pretty much the soundtrack of life around here (but not at school, remember), and Evelyn spinning out of her drawers at a playground where we spent Labor Day evening.

Faces

So far so good after a month of school. Evelyn's teacher's notes are mostly positive ("Evelyn was a good moderator today"), but one alerted us to her tendencies to not respond when first asked and to be a "little mother" to her classmates. (She'll see a child out of line and will get out of line herself to usher him to his place.) Evelyn says she has her name written on the board a lot for not doing what she's told and for reading books when and where she's not supposed to.

The paintings in the picture come home daily. At first I thought she had really repetitive art lessons, but it turns out she LOVES the "art center" during "independent center time" and chooses to create these--I have about 12 more of these girls since taking this picture. Part of me wants to frame them as a collage--they just make me smile.

Amelia makes up songs & stories all the time and is LOUD and NON-STOP at home, making up for the fact that she is stone silent at school. She told us one day, "I was at school and I said something. When I did, Mrs. M. said, 'Oh look! She talks!'" I asked, "You don't talk at school?" She shrugged & replied flatly, "No, I don't talk at school." She loves going, makes up songs and stories about it, and her teacher says she does everything she's asked, so we figure it's fine.

Speaking of songs, the other day Evelyn was making up a song to the tune of "Maybe" from "Annie." Most of the words were nonsense, but the line that sticks in my head is "And his face looked a lot like his bottom." Hopefully she doesn't sing it at school.