School, Preschool, Ect....

Sorry, I don't know where the past 3 weeks went! It's been so hectic getting Trever ready for school and just keeping the boys entertained until then. But last week was Trever's first week, and we've got our new routine down now, so I'm ready to get back to the blog.

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Trever was so excited to start first grade! Every day for weeks, he's been asking "When does school start? When does school start?"  So I tried to keep him and Nathan busy--to help the time pass quicker--by taking them to all sorts of parks and random places. One of the last places we came across was this strange little sculpture "zoo."

                                                 Haha.! It definitely brought out their silly side!

Well, before we knew it, school started--just this past Tuesday, in fact.

The day before, we were able to go meet his teacher and see the school, which made me feel better, knowing that he'd be in good hands. The first day I dropped him off was still a little tough for me, though. I felt so much anxiety driving away and watching him wander alone on the playground, knowing he didn't have a single friend yet, and that I wouldn't be able to see him until 3pm--to know if he was doing okay.

 But, before I knew it, it was time to pick him up and he was so happy and excited about his new teacher and new friends and school lunch, the extra recesses and learning new things. It was just the assurance I needed and after that, I was fine sending him to his new school for the days that followed.

He's been doing really great, too. The teacher sends home his school work with stars all across the pages and he's brought home "Green Notes" for Good Behavior every day! I'm so proud of him!

 Nathan, of course, was so excited to come pick him up after school, too. During the first day that Trever was in school, Nathan said, "I'm excited to see Trever again!" But Nathan's also loving his time alone with me.  We started home preschool on Trever's first day of school, too. 

I had taught Trever home preschool when he was four, too, and it was such a great experience for both of us that I was eager to do the same with Nathan.

 I'm using the same curriculum books that I used with Trever for preschool, but for Nathan, I've added in Sign Language. We practice 2-3 new signs each day, along with our lesson and activities. When he first got his hearing aid, his doctors advised us against using sign language because the hearing aid allowed him the ability to learn speech. So, until now, we've focused very hard on speech, having a specialist work with him weekly. But now, we feel like he is definitely speaking well, and deserves the opportunity to learn sign language. Whenever he's around water, he has to take off his hearing aid. And when we are in noisy environments or at a distance that restricts his hearing ability, he struggles to communicate. So, learning a few signs will definitely be an advantage for him.  He's picking them up really quick, too, and asking me for more signs all the time.

 I just love teaching preschool to my kids! It is so rewarding and it's amazing what a difference it makes in our parent-child relationship. Nathan has had the best week, doing preschool every morning. He's been so much more cheerful and cooperative and enthusiastic about learning. I could go on and on about the benefits of home preschool!

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After our first week of school, we spent the weekend outside and with friends.  Saturday morning, TJ had work, so I took the boys to the lake for a service project with our ward. We helped pick up trash and pull weeds, and I was so impressed with how well the boys worked. They even said, "This is fun!" a few times! They were the youngest helpers there, but definitely hard workers.

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Later that day, TJ, the boys and I, joined some new friends of ours on a scenic drive through the Rocky Mountains that led to a beautiful picnic destination up in mountains. The mountains here are so literally ROCKY! haha. I don't know why that came as such a surprise, since they are named that. But once we got up into them it was beautiful! We had a great time!

We are loving Colorado, Trever's school, preschool with Nathan, and everything in between.

Life is good.