First Week of School: Success!

There have been a lot of "firsts" for us these past few weeks. This past week was Milkanu's first week of school and longest time he had been separated from his family. For the first time in 14 years, my oldest child Taylor enjoyed her first week of "traditional" school (I had homeschooled her for the last 10 years; she is a freshman in high school). Last Sunday we attended church as a family for the first time since coming home with the boys, and this Sunday Milkanu went to Sunday School all by himself. Preston had his first full day of school away from me at a local homeschool co-op: he takes three classes plus lunch with other homeschoolers on Mondays. For the first time in 9 years, I am only homeschooling one child (much easier!). And for the first time in 9 weeks, I could take a nap in the middle of the day if I wanted to!!!! Hasn't happened yet because I fill Taddie's naptime with all the stuff I don't get done when he's awake, but I do hope to take advantage of that sometimes. :) And one more first: Milkanu told me "I love you" without me having to say it first to him. Wow, that one really melted my heart!

Okay, back to Milkanu and school. Some of you may be surprised that we decided not to homeschool him, especially since he has only been home with us for 9 weeks, and because we have been a homeschool family for the past 10 years. Before even bringing the boys home we had talked about probably putting them in traditional school instead of homeschooling. Brian and I had many reasons for making this decision, but it all boiled down to it being the right thing to do for our family at this time in our lives. I am still VERY supportive of homeschooling, and I am SO glad that I homeschooled Taylor and Preston up to high school. Also, nothing is permanent. If Milkanu begins to have trouble in school, or the Lord changes our hearts in the future we will go back to homeschooling our younger boys. Christian education is very important to us, so we definetely plan to keep them in this small Christian school if we don't homeschool them. I had originally planned to homeschool Milkanu this year, and then put him in Taylor's school next year. But by about Week 2 home with the boys, we were talking about alternative plans! I knew that I needed the break from Milkanu during the day and that he also needed the break from me and to be around other kids his age. Trying to take care of a toddler, homeschool Preston (8th grade), AND keep a bored almost 6-yr-old busy and happy would have been much too difficult for me. No one would have gotten the attention they deserved. M also tested me more than anyone else, so I thought that having another authority figure with him during the day other than me, might help. Plus, since he was attaching so well to us, I didn't have that fear of him losing that or taking steps backward.

Before school began last week, we did everything we could think of to prepare him for this big step in his life. Thankfully, he had several months of school in Ethiopia while he was in the orphanage from September to April, so the concept of school was not foreign to him. Also, the fact that Taylor and Preston and all his friends from Ethiopia go to school has helped. We also went to the school and met with M's kindergarten teacher about a month before school began. She was able to evaluate him a little and make sure that he understood directions spoken in English. I also know it is a big help that Taylor goes to his school and that the school is very small. There are only 10 kids in his class--8 boys and two girls. They are dropped off together and Taylor walks him to where his classmates line up, then after school she picks him up and walks him to my car in the pick-up line. When we were buying supplies for school we let him pick everything out and we emphasized how much fun he would have. Most importantly, a few days before school began we took him to see Asmeret (my Ethiopian friend here) and she explained to him in Sidama exactly what to expect during the school day and what was expected of him. The principal, his teacher and myself are in good communication about his speech limitations, how to help him succeed, etc., which we also know is very important. And of course we are covering this whole venture in prayer and asking for prayer from many of you.

Oh, one other amazing thing and answer to prayer: there are several black children that attend his school, and he has one black boy in his kindergarten class! There are also several hispanic children in his class and children of other non-Caucasian races in the school as well. That is a very important thing to us for our boys to not feel completely isolated and different. We were very afraid that in a private school we would have a problem with this. You cannot understand how happy I was to see his classroom filled with children of different races. I had prayed about this issue a lot, and I cannot express to you how much this gladdens my heart. (On a side note, we are also thrilled that his soccer coach is a black man that we know very well. He is a wonderful coach and will be a great role model for our son.) Praise God!

Okay, back to that first week: we were SO nervous how this was going to go. Our last big, violent tantrum was because he was afraid to go to church and be separated from us, and that was the Sunday before school! So I was so anxious about how he would do come Monday morning. Lots of prayers went into it, and I just had to trust the Lord with how the outcome would be. We only paid for one month's tuition in case it didn't turn out positively. As usual, my faith was too small. God really worked a miracle last week. Not only did Milkanu do great in school all week, he never even hesitated when I hugged him goodbye before he walked into his classroom that first day. My mother-in-law had come to stay with Taddie at home that first day so I could stay at the school with Milkanu for a little while if he needed me to. However, he was doing so well, that I didn't even go into his classroom with him after walking with him in line with the other kids/parents. As I drove away, tears streamed down my face. Of course I was a little sad about sending both he and Taylor off to school (especially Taylor!), but I was crying also out of joy and relief. I just praised God the whole way home. My faith is often so small, yet God takes that tiny mustard seed and says, "See what I can do."

Thanks to all of you who were praying for us before and during that first day of school. Your prayers were truly heard and answered by our Lord. What a weight this has been off my shoulders. Last week was truly a blessing. The time away from M was needed. Even though he is doing SO much better now, he still needs a lot of attention and takes a lot of my time each day. This week gave me an opportunity to miss him and appreciate him more. Homeschooling just Preston was really enjoyable, and I look forward to having the time each day to focus on him and his schooling alone. I think it will be a nice time of bonding with him that we have never really had on a long-term basis. Also, it will be good to have more focused time with Taddie. I am really looking forward to this school year for all of us. I'll keep you all posted on how things progress (and hopefully don't regress) over the next several weeks and months. Keep up those prayers for us please!

Blessings to you all.