Monday, May 19, 2008

Kindergarten....here we come!


Trinity has always been a quick learner....as you guys all know, or most of you anyway, she has been homeschooling since she was born lol....but really, she has this capacity to want to learn SO much. Everyday we have schooltime, and every subsequent day she has retained all the information from the previous days teachings. Children's minds really do amaze me. Anyway, back on track. I learned of Festival Foothills, a school about 15 miles North of us that was opening last year. We toured the facility and decided that whenever the time came, when Trinity no longer wished to be homeschooled, we would enroll her. This year, around Feb., Trinity asked me when she would be going to "real school".

I contacted the Principal at Foothills and asked if she would meet with us to discuss the possibility of early enrollment (she won't be 5 until October). We were invited to the "Kindergarten Roundup" on the 14th of May. I have to say, I was a bit apprehensive, since really, the kids have never been apart from us. She went in the room, picked out her name tag from a stack of others children's names, picked a red colored square on the floor, looked at me and said "Bye mama!" Well, bye bye apprehension. She stayed in the library with the teacher and children for about 3 hours...she had a BLAST. They tested her on numbers, letter recognition, gross motor abilities, eye / hearing exam, etc., etc. They gave us a list of things that they would like all the kids to know by the beginning of the schoolyear, or at least somewhat familiar with...she knows all but one thing, how to tie her shoes.
The Principal sat down with me and said that based on her tests, her emotional stability/maturity, and her open desire to learn, she would be able to enroll for this school year! Can you believe that? Trinity is going to be a Kindergartener this year. It is still kinda surreal to me...she is growing up so fast. We want to engage her, to keep her stimulated, happy, thriving and well...ALIVE inside. I feel like this step is going to help with that.
The school is really amazing. They have done great on testing, they are slated to house between 800-1200 students in 2 seperate buildings, but as of now, they only have K - 5, Trinity's class with have 10 students. 10 students to one teacher!!! That is a great ratio. There is a little private bathroom in the classroom, the children are busy all day with projects. They have a writing hour, reading, computer, Arts, Music, Playtime, Library....so much to do. There is an outdoor Ampitheater, which is sooo cool. I am really excited for her, I think she will have so much fun.

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