Big Bad Kindergartener

I called Sam exactly this the other day, and his eyes got wide, "Mommy, I'm not bad!" I had to explain to him that I meant brave, cool, gutsy, awesome.....he accepted that description of his character much more easily.

We applied to CMP back over the holidays and were both heartbroken when he wasn't selected from the lottery in February. We live in the Twin Rivers school district, and so I felt like one of those moms in Waiting for Superman, sobbing and frustrated that my child's educational fate was being left up to a random process that turned out not to be in our favor.

We can't afford private school, and God has not put homeschooling on my heart. I work three days a week and Sam exudes my stubborn streak 7 days a week....it would've been a disaster. We believed God answered our prayer when we nabbed a remaining spot at a charter school nearby. Literally 3 minutes from our house with a performing arts emphasis? Yes please!

But my heart was still sad. Every mom thinks their kid is exceptional. And my boast is that Sam has a 4th grade reading level and is just crazy absorbent with learning. He loves people, he loves to explore the world around him - I didn't want to see that desire die. But what choice did we really have?

Imagine our surprise when we receive a call Monday night letting us know that Sam's spot on the waitlist had come up and he had a spot at a CMP campus after all! And the first day of school was Wednesday.

What a crazy scramble for all new school stuff (bye bye Angry Birds backpack and Darth Vader lunchbox) and attempting to find a store that carried the CMP uniform in a size that actually fit. (Our burly 5 year old is currently sporting a 3T).

But it all worked out and we couldn't be more thrilled with where he's landed. An even bigger answer to praise, there are only 14 children in his class (I hate the lottery process but love the small class size mandate!) and his head teacher is the mentor teacher for all the Kindergartens. In other words, she is a total rockstar. Sam loves her and so do we.

Next year, he will be in a Grade 1-2-3 combo class - he will have the same teacher for 3 years and will have so much room to grow at his own pace - whether that continues to be advanced or if he chooses to take things a little more slowly :)

                                                   With Miss Darcy at Meet and Greet Day....
                                                   ....12 hours after we found out he got in!

                                                   Assistant teacher Miss Marina

                                                    Feeling victorious after his first day :)