Kindergarten!!

This is my 4 year old daughter, Jordan, and this week, this girl started Kindergarten!!!

Jordan has, hands down, was the biggest worldly factor in the beginning of my walk with Christ. She is the one who, at 5 months old, led me back to Him. Children are amazing blessings, and something that I never wanted a single thing to do with until I was blessed with one of my own. It was an Ah Ha! moment, if you will. Suddenly, life became serious.  At that time, I was a full-time working mother, and Doc was getting ready to re-enlist in the Navy. Daycare was the obvious choice, and for he and I both, growing up, it's just "what you did". Everyone went to daycare. Then school. There was one school in my neighborhood, and when you turned 5, you went to it. It was that simple. Now there are all these choices. It's wonderful, but maddening at the same time.

Doc and I have never been opposed to public school, though we've had our doubts about the different local school systems in some of the places we've lived. We've always agreed to choose an education style that fits the individual child. We home-preschooled Jordan in Hawaii, and it was wonderful! We knew that we wanted to give her a solid biblical foundation at home before she went into a more formal school. During our curriculum, Jordan absolutely soared! She has a zest for learning, and she catches on to things so quickly. She remembers every little detail about everything we do, and it's made things like scripture memorization, reading, counting, math, etc., all come very easily to her. She's also a very social child. She's very extroverted, and gets her energy from being around other people. (That's right folks; she may look like Doc's twin, but that personality? It's all Mama!) We were advised by a Kindergarten teacher in Hawaii that we should really consider trying to enroll her early, for many different reasons. We researched this idea, and decided it was something we needed to pursue. We prayed over it, and we were absolutely convicted that it was the right decision for Jordan.

We had a fight on our hands with this school district over this because Jordan's age doesn't meet their requirements. But, after a developmental grade level evaluation by a child psychologist, a meeting with the director of elementary education, a meeting with the superintendent, another report from the psychologist, another meeting with the superintendent, countless pressure-cooker phonecalls (as I like to call them) and a whole lot of prayer.....my baby is a Kindergartener!

Her first day of school was Monday, and she had a blast! She and I prayed together before we went in, and with the biggest smile on her face she ran to get in line with her classmates. I talked to her teacher afterward, and the first thing she said to me was, "I am so glad she got to come to Kindergarten this year!"  <---A little reassurance from God that we're doing the right thing here. Our advocating was not for nothing, our daughter is exactly where she needs to be. Thank you Lord :) She asked me the other day if it was ok to pray before her snacktime, since schools don't talk about Jesus. I reassured her that it was absolutely ok, and she felt much better. I love the heart of a child, is there really anything more pure?

I'm sure there will be many more updates regarding Jordan and her school as we all figure out this new chapter in our families' life. Thank you all for the prayers during this process! 'Til next time, Happy Friday friends!!