Off to School!

We’ve graduated! Melanie started kindergarten! She started her “big” kindergarten at Mt. Stuart yesterday, but she’s spending her fourth day today at her “little” supplemental kindergarten at CMA. She runs and skips to her classes in joy. And Andrew gave us a great grin and two big thumbs up when we asked him how he likes his class and his 3^rd grade teacher. School was overwhelming for me until sometime in 2^nd grade, when I finally made friends and finally learned to read. So the chance to watch my children so excited, so ready, and so happy at school makes my heart beam.

Melanie’s perfect placement is also a testament to God’s provision and goodness. In April, after Melanie had spent months asking how many “months” (or “days”) she had until kindergarten, we received the word that our school district had decided to face our budget cuts with part-time kindergarten. My heart fell for my little girl who was so excited and so ready to start kindergarten. I also had to laugh at myself for scheming “plans” for some future service project with the money we’d be saving on childcare once Melanie began kindergarten. Chris chuckled and repeated one of his favorite questions: “How do you make God laugh?” “Make plans!”

For months we didn’t know how Melanie’s schooling would work or how we’d manage whatever schedule she'd have. The district gave us possible schedules, but told us they wouldn’t know the schedules until August (!!) But my department needed to know then when I could teach in the fall. A hope came through Melanie’s preschool at our church, which wanted to offer supplemental kindergarten. The director faced months of patient lobbying and waiting for permission from multiple groups.

About two weeks after the district’s announcement, my chair asked those of us who choose PT work if we’d be willing to teach full-time fall quarter. We teach the bulk our classes in the fall, but a couple of instructors are taking leave of absences then (including my good friend and office-mate for the exiting reason shown on her blog: http://thedringenbergfamily.shutterfly.com/#n_19?role=-1). I agreed and the extra pay for this one quarter almost covers Melanie’s tuition for the year.

So everything has come together beautifully. Melanie is very excited about her “big” kindergarten and also loves her “little” kindergarten. Her “little” class has only nine kids! It’s in the same room as her Sunday school class, she knows and likes many of the other kids, and we and she really like her CMA kindergarten teacher. God has blessed Melanie with a truly marvelous first year of school!

He provided in another way recently, while perhaps teasing me at the same time. This summer, we set up a little soccer field in our backyard and have been playing “the girls against the boys” as a family once or twice a week. Both kids love it and have become interested in learning more. Melanie, though, wants to start gymnastics, which she’ll probably do in January when my PT schedule can accommodate her age group’s class time. Unlike gymnastics, everyone knows soccer is a commitment. I know I am about to put myself out there for many of you because this is something that is so deeply a part of our culture we don’t think about it. But Chris and I do, and we’ve been hearing from the Lord for some time, “simplify, simplify, simplify.” Like most soccer programs in our country, the local one has games every Saturday, a weekly practice, and sometimes a second game during the week. Even for kindergarteners, they want a 2-3x/wk commitment. Now that Andrew is in 3^rd grade, we are late in getting him into activities like this, but we’ve been grateful he’s been more interested in art than sports, and art is easy to encourage.

In any case, Andrew’s interest prompted me to e-mail the local junior soccer league with a subject line, “Any just-for-fun soccer?” I said our son was interested in soccer and I wanted to know if any program exists that is less “intense” than I’ve heard soccer to be. The coordinator interpreted my word “intense” as “competitive” and assured me the program works hard to give it a fun spirit. But then she relayed the 2-3x/wk schedule. The poor coordinator received a thankful e-mail expressing continued interest, but an admitted regret that our culture can’t do it the way it’s done in most of the world, where kids find a field, get together and play, don’t need expensive uniforms, and “families don’t need to commit every weekend to a hobby.” I’m sure she was delighted to receive this email . . . :-)

So, behind the scenes, I’m grumbling that we’ve sensed from the Lord “simplify” and our culture won’t let us do it. Either I’m a bad mom and deny my child the chance to explore his interests or I disobey the direction I’ve sensed from God. In letting my cynicism get the better of me, I revealed more than necessary to the soccer coordinator. I should have just trusted God. As it turned out, we were late in our request, Andrew was placed on a waiting-list, he decided he wanted to wait another year anyway, and . . . God placed within Andrew’s lap, a “just-for-fun soccer” opportunity! Last week, Andrew began a new after-school program. The director had already taken Andrew and me on a tour of their wonderful facility, but she never showed us the outside: a little soccer field! Sure enough, Andrew learned about this on his first day and played soccer with a few of the other kids for an hour and a half! He came home beaming. They also have an indoor gym for soccer and other sports, so he’ll get to play in the winter too. When I saw Andrew’s sweating, glowing face, I felt the Lord whisper, “Just trust Me, Karen. If I call you to simplify, I’ll provide. Just trust Me.” Thank you, Lord!! :-)