Kindergarten is Here!

Well, it happened...our "baby" started Kindergarten!  I think it's safe to say, we both walked out of dropping her off at her first day, scratching our heads and wondering where the last 5yrs and 9mos have gone??? One of us (I won't name names...ahem, Justin), walked out pretty misty-eyed, after dropping her off.  I was really surprised to walk out the door, turn around and see him having a hard time with this...man, he LOVES his little girl like crazy!  I will remember that moment for a long time!  :)

After MUCH searching and praying as to where to send Hailey for Kindergarten, we both feel incredibly thankful to have found this little school!!!  From the moment I walked in the door on that first day, I felt a HUGE peace in my heart, knowing this is the school God had chosen for her to start her education at.  She has a total of 16 kids in her class (hallelujah!) and not one, but two awesome teachers.  Her classroom is split into two adjoining rooms, where each teacher takes half the class to work on certain subjects and then they switch mid-way through the day.  Hailey also has another awesome teacher on Tuesdays, when she attends the "Fine Arts" portion of her curriculum.  Fine Arts day is a blast and she is already bringing home the neatest projects that correlate to her core curriculum!  On Fridays, the entire school participates in Chapel, where they have a worship band and a mini-sermon...how cute is that!?  Love, love, love that the foundation we give her at home, is also carried through at school!  

When selecting a school for her, I struggled (as did Justin) SO much as to where to send her...public, private, charter, etc???  There are so many options out there today and while all of them have their benefits, there are so many directions where education is headed (or is currently in) that I truly did not have a peace in my heart about.  We knew regardless of where we sent her, she would be gaining a stellar education, but it was a matter of where did we feel like was the best "match" for her and her personality, at this particular point in her life.  I want her to love school and always look back upon her schooldays with fond memories.  I've seen how much she thrives in smaller-to-moderately sized environments (let's face it, studies show that most kids do).  It is in those types of environments that she lets her guard down, feels comfortable and shines.  One of our biggest objectives was finding a good balance in a school for her...a balance of academics, arts, etc.  Having taught in the classroom, I've seen how ingrained it has become to produce great test scores...test scores, test scores, test scores...blah!  My feeling on that is worthy of a whole separate blog;)  Anyway, neither Justin or I wanted that for her.  We want her to enjoy learning, without being solely focused on test scores.  Does she need  to know test-taking skills..of course!  However, did we want her main focus in education to be testing...NOOOO!  Another "plus" that we are loving is the perk of uniforms!  If you know Hailey at all, then enough said in the uniform department;)  This has made my mornings dreamy:)  Oh, the list goes on but, one thing is for sure...we are SO glad our decision has been made and the school year is off to a really positive start!  Yay!! 

The Piot Four! 

The whole ensemble!  (God bless the person who invented school uniforms!!) 

Love this one!

 So excited for Big Sis!

Here we go!

One of Hailey's two teachers, Mrs. Berney:)

Hailey and her friend, Lexi 

Seconds after snapping this pic, she whispered to me, "okay Mom, that's probably enough pictures and you should really be going, now."  Ummm, okay...you're hint was taken, kid! 

...and the journey begins!