Well, here we are. All back to school. You know what that means. It’s time for all the first day pictures. I, for one, absolutely LOVE seeing everybody’s pictures on Facebook and Instagram because it truly is just such an exciting time. I love that parents celebrate the First Day. I love that kids are excited. I just love when people love school… and I think it’s so important to make a really big deal out of it every single year. That doesn’t mean we go all out and have a party, but it does mean that we spend a lot of time celebrating the fact that a new school year is starting. I also believe that how our kids perceive school can also be altered by how we, as parents, talk about school around our children. If I want my children to have a successful year, then it’s VERY important that I don’t talk negative about the teachers, the school supplies we have to buy, or the kids in their class. And that isn’t always easy. It’s so much easier to get into a “we have to do this this and this” “we have to buy HOW many folders?” and “we didn’t get the teacher or friends in our class that we want” mentality. But any bit of negativity can completely change the way our kids walk into that building on the first day.
Off my soapbox now.
Now let’s talk about the first day! Our kids are to the point where they can be almost completely independent in the morning. They woke up to their alarms at 6:15, got dressed, brushed their teeth, Joelle put her NEW contacts in, and did all of their lotion. Then, they came downstairs to finish up their hair. I will say… having them get up, dressed, and almost completely ready BEFORE seeing us is AMAZING. We started this last spring and it has been a complete game changer. Now we aren’t dealing with grumpy, groggy kids. By the time they come downstairs (which usually takes about 15-20 minutes), they are fully awake, ready for breakfast, and happy to have a conversation! I’m sure they have a few arguments while they are getting ready, but I don’t know about it, so I don’t care, ha!
We started our morning with breakfast and a family devotional. Our evenings are normally a bit more chaotic with sports and church, so we find it’s best to do our devotionals at the breakfast table!
After that, it was time for ALL THE PICTURES! Which, they weren’t too annoyed about 😉 Both of the kids picked out their backpacks and lunch boxes this year, so they were happy to show them off!
Joelle has a new obsession of JoJo bows. She’s a couple of years late to this trend, but I have to say I LOVE IT! I am THRILLED she wants to wear a big bow on her head… and if that means I have to buy a certain brand, I’m okay with it! Give me all the JoJo bows!
The lighting was actually MUCH better outside, and I love how these pictures turned out!
{Message boards from Amazon HERE (Amazon Affiliate Link)}
Ohmiword, look at that face! Can you tell he was excited???
I mentioned above Joelle got contacts and we are SOOOOO happy to see ALL of her beautiful face again! Plus, she can finally see what is happening in the world, so she is happy too!
Israel came downstairs and said “What’s up pretty lady?” per Joelle’s suggestion…. we all thought he looked so handsome!
Once we got to school we went straight to Israel’s class. Joelle was so concerned that he wouldn’t know where to go, what to do, or how to function at school. I assured her that EVERY kinder student is just as lost as he is, ha! But, it did help having her see that he got to his classroom okay 🙂
Side-note… Israel had to put his lunchbox in a certain place, open his locker, and put his bag inside. While it took him MUCH longer than it would have taken us, it was SO very important that HE was the one getting his stuff where it goes. It would have been much faster for us to take his bag, open his locker, and stuff it inside, but he has to know how to do it. Independence is very, very important to us! {There’s another soapbox for you ;)}
After getting his things situated, he found his number, sat down, and got right to work! No tears at all!
Then we walked our sweet girl to her 4th grade classroom. Thankfully she isn’t embarrassed by us, so she gave us some smooches, posed for a picture, and then started her day!
I can’t wait to hear all about how it went! We have been covering our kiddos and their teachers in prayer all day!
