My little man decided he was ready to start school. And even though I hesitate because I am not ready for him to venture out into this big world, who I am to stop him from growing, learning, and experiencing what he came here to experience.
He said to me, a few days before he was to start, "well, I guess I am ready to start school." When the big morning came he was so excited, he got dressed, he helped pack his bag and lunch box, and he was ansey to get out of the door. We took some pics of him before he left. I wanted to capture his big day!
He also got a blessing from Daddy. It was so sweet to sit there and watch him be reverent while he got his blessing. He was blessed to be a leader, to be a light, to be kind and be an example to others and to not give in to peer pressure. He was blessed with courage and bravery, with an intellect to learn and retain things, to enjoy school, and to have the spirit guide him and inspire him to know between right and wrong. I am so grateful for the priesthood in our home, that we can instill our children with the power of God as they venture out into this big world.
As we neared the school he said "mom, I am a bit scared." I reminded him that is how he felt when he first started Karate and that it was okay to feel apprehensive. When we got into the classroom I could tell he was excited but nervous at the same time. He looked around with a big smile on his face but when the teachers asked him questions he got quiet (although he did tell them how old he was with his fingers :). Before leaving he had to go to the bathroom and after washing his hands he said "mom, I am a bit nervous." I said "it's okay buddy, I was nervous my first day of preschool too but you will get used to it and love it!" He walked out to all the toys, I showed him a book he loved that was lying in a basked "if you give a pig a pancake," and he was perfectly fine after that. Amari had a hard time leaving (he wanted to stay and play with all these new toys too).
It was hard for me but I was excited for him. I thought about him all day. It was a bit strange just having Amari but we stuck to our regular schedule: gym and some errands and then we had a nice lunch alone together and spent some time with each other before having to pick up Becks. I thought for sure he would run to me when he saw me but he didn't. He was right in the middle of finishing up his palm tree craft and he was just so cool and collected about the entire thing. He said to me "here, let me show you around Mom!" He told me the letter they learned, "L", the shape they learned, "circle," and all the things he did. After he said goodbye to his teachers and put on his bag pack he said "mom, they took us out of the classroom and we got to play basketball and other sports in this sports center; here let me show you!" He walked me down the hall, remembered exactly where to go and took me into the sports room. I just beamed with pride, I was so, so proud of him!
After walked out of the sports room he said to me, "mom, this is the BEST SCHOOL EVER!!! I just love my teachers!!" He was a natural.
The rest of the day I observed how much more confidence he had about himself, how much nicer he was, how he was saying please and thank you more, how much kinder he was being to his brother . . . He unloaded his lunch box and said "mom, how come you put these hearts in my box?" I asked him if he saw them while eating his lunch and he said yes. I also put a picture of our family in there and he said "mom, my teachers saw our picture and they thought it was so cute." Mom, I loved my hearts! You are the sweetest!!" I seriously melted.
Coming home the first thing he said was, "mom I want to practice my preschool." Me: "it's quiet time becks you just had preschool." Becks: "Fine, I'll do it by myself,"and then he took his preschool folder and walked over to the steps. After putting Amari to bed I came out to find him on the steps going through his flash cards saying his abcs. He LOVES learning!
After quiet time we went to Karate and although he was tired he pushed through it. These are the things I was noticing and thinking about his character as I watched him:
Becks watches his karate teacher to learn how to do the moves right (even when the teacher is helping others)--he wants to learn and do things the right way.
He pushes through things and is dedicated ...even though he had a long day at preschool he was obedient, attentive, and dedicated to karate.
He's got such a great sense of humor, when he couldn't do his side kick he looked at himself in the mirror, made a silly face, shrugged his shoulders, laughed and kept trying
He's so full of light, he wears a huge grin on his face doing karate
I was so proud of him for getting his two stripes today: for balancing and remembering all of his listening positions. He just LOVES Karate; he is an over achiever and he loves seeing himself accomplish things. (After Karate I took him to eat at the "smoothie place" and he was practicing his Karate moves on the chairs).
In the car on the way home he said to me, "The teacher said I was all over the place" with a huge grin on his face. He obviously thought it was a compliment :)
On the way home from the Tropical Smoothie, he said "mom, this was the BEST DAY EVER! Karate and Preschool!!!"
My little man is growing up so fast, and I couldn't be more proud of him. He is such a smart little boy. Later that night when I was telling Mike about how he did at preschool, we sat there recalling all of these old memories of Becks. He has always exuded intelligence, it is his gift. Ever since he was a baby he has loved reading books, he has always excelled at puzzles, and he has this amazing ability of memorization. We read him books 3 times and he can read the book almost word for word as you flip through the pages. He truly got the Lee Eastman gene.
Of course our budding photographer had to take a pic of us before leaving. "Kill it little man," love mom and dad!
Killing it with his black stripes! So proud of him!
A few days into school his teachers told me how impressed they were with him, how fast he caught onto learning Spanish and how he raised his hand to answer the questions they had on the board each day before they even got to the next question (they were impressed with his memorization capabilities). School is so fitting for Beckahm, he has such a thirst for learning.
Becks has been in Preschool over a month now and he loves it every single day. He looks forward to the lunches I pack him and he loves wearing his bag pack to school. He has already told me he can't wait till he turns 5 and gets to go to "big school." He is learning so much and he is building his confidence. He loves the crafts he gets to do each day, the kids he gets to play with, the time he gets to spend playing sports or swimming, and all of the different centers he gets to do each day (science, reading, crafts, etc). Each day they learn a scripture and the teacher (who is phenomenal) plays Christian music in the morning (another reason I LOVE the south). The teachers always tell me what a smart kid he is and how sweet he is. Ever since attending pre-school he says "yes ma'm when I ask him to do something." :) What a fun experience for him to go to school in the south for a while.
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