We have had a lot of added activity at our house due to two things:
1. Anna starts kindergarten next year, and I have been busy getting her registered and screened at three different schools. THREE!?! you say? Yes, three...here is why. We live in the district that I grew up in, a wonderful district. I got a great education in it, my mom taught for 30 years in it, and we love it BUT they have had MAJOR troubles passing a levy and are having such financial struggles that I'm afraid that in a few years the district might actually dissolve. Which is why I was very open to the idea of sending Anna to our local Catholic schools and had her registered and screened there. Larry grew up in those schools and had the benefits of an excellent education. Because I had no personal experience with our Catholic schools though, I went to observe and talked to several other parents who had children in the schools. I ended up deciding that it might not be the best choice for Anna. So then I went to open enroll her at the school I taught at ( a WONDERFUL school, that I would love for her to attend, but it comes with the added complications of providing transportation, etc). The number of open enrollment applications there is astounding (primarly due to said district with levy problems), and we won't know until July or August whether she will get in there or not. SOOO, just to be safe I registered at our home district, went to observe and request a teacher should she end up there, and then had her screened again! So...not doubt that she WILL get a kindergarten education...the question remains, however, where. I put a lot of time and effort into making myself knowledgeable about all of our choices and I hope that it all pays off when she starts next year.
You've probably forgotten by now that there are actually two things adding to our daily activity.
2. I have started baby-sitting for a family in our church. There is a couple who joined our church around a year ago that have an eight month old baby. The parents are both from West Virginia, and so they have no family here. The mom is back to work part time and I (correction, WE...Anna and Alaina take great pride in being baby-sitters) are baby-sitting for their adorable baby boy, Mason. So far it is working out great. It is only two or three days a week and Anna and Alaina just ADORE him. When he is here the girls do not leave his side for anything. They literally have yet to play (any of their normal play) on his days here yet. They just sit and adore him and try to entertain him with his toys and their own silly antics. One added bonus of this arrangement is that Candice (Mason's mother) loves kids too. One week, when I was having trouble arranging my own baby-sitting (so that I could take care of above kindergarten arrangements) she watched my kids for one day in exchange for a day of care of Mason. I even ended up getting to go shopping ALL BY MYSELF, in an actual store where they don't sell food. I haven't done that in AGES and I had SO much fun! And so did Anna and Alaina. They loved being at Mason's house.
Final reflections from Jay Tew's most recent trip
13 years ago
Can't blame you for searching for different schools for Anna! Mom had trouble finding a good place for Becky back when she started because West had already begun to decline. She went to St. Thomas up until 5th grade. We loved it there, but when the school combined with St. Nicolas, there was a lot of drama with parents, etc. and mom felt it was time to move Becky to John Glenn- where both mom and dad live anyway. Becky has LOVED the school district and has benefited so much from their great choir and orchestra that you can't hardly find in any of the other schools anymore. Don't know if you've considered JG or not, but you're smart for thinking about the options!
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