A Series of Firsts this week

It has been a good week. James and I have moved into our second week of homeschool kindergarten and with that came the first Friday with the Legacy co-op through the group in which we are members. I was very nervous going into it. See, I would be teaching a class for the first time...for other people's kids! And James would be taking two classes in which others were teaching him. It was a great experience!!

First day with Legacy (each Friday for 8 weeks).
James just knew there would be Show & Tell and he wanted to take the horn worm he had caught on Thursday evening. I, hesitantly, allowed it. I figured if it didn't go well, we would release him and no harm done. He stood up in a room FULL of strangers and talked about his horn worm. He told them where they live and that  they turn into pupa and then into hawk moths. He told them about the white cocoons that can grow on their backs and turn into wasps. I almost cried. What a wonderful Show & Tell. As soon as he sat down, a little boy came and sat next to me on the floor and stared at me; willing me to look at him. It worked. I looked at him and realized exactly what he wanted. He wanted an up-close view of that horn worm. James was making friends. I should have known. He was also a big hit during snack time too. Even little girls wanted a close-up look.

Show & Tell

First time teaching kindergartners.
After Show & Tell and some announcements, James went to Geology class as I went to my Five in a Row reading/crafts class. My co-teacher, Diana, was leading our first class so I helped with getting the crafts set up. We have about 10 girls and 2 boys in our class. Wow. Girls are soooooo different than boys! And Diana and I are a great team because she has a daughter in the class so she knows about little girls...and of course I know about little boys. These two boys weren't much different than James. They can't sit still and the little girls can! it's uncanny! We read "Three Names". It's a story of a boy and a dog. Then we moved to the craft table. They are decorating paper plates each week so that by the end of the class, they will have a complete mobile of all the stories we have read. I take no credit for this. Diana is great with crafts. After that, Diana took the kids to the floor for a game of marbles. There was a part of the story in which the boys play marbles. Everyone enjoyed that.

A game of marbles

After the first hour class (the kids who are a part of Legacy take 2 classes each Friday morning), everyone goes to the big room for snack time. Lordy!! I forgot that I was supposed to bring snacks for James! I was mortified! Luckily, Diana came to the rescue. She had an extra granola bar. But as soon as I saw James come into the room, I realized I had nothing to worry about. He had a chocolate mustache!!! I was thinking to myself, how did he get a chocolate mustache in Geology class?!?!?! I soon found out. He comes up to me (still carrying his creature peeper with the horn worm inside) and, with a big grin, tells me, "Mom! We made the center of the Earf (Earth) with marshmallows and chocolate!!! Well, well, well. Geology IS a great class! Rocks, fossils AND chocolate! No doubt! He loved it and told me that he knew his class was WAY better than my stupid class. Yes, he actually said that but in the car on the way home he says to me, "Mom, tell me about your class. I want to hear allllll about it.". Ha! One of the benefits of Legacy is that the Moms teach a class and then they get an hour break to have some R&R with the other moms. It was nice to have that time built in. My group had about 15-20 moms and we introduced ourselves and decided on how we would use our time for the remaining 8 weeks. We prayed for each other in small groups at the end of our hour. It was touching. I haven't prayed with others so intimately in years.

First 5K
As a way to carve out some time for myself, I started the Couch to 5K training program. I had seen some of my girlfriends via Facebook running and having a great time doing it. I ran in high school and I have always thought of myself as a runner even though I haven't run in years. I was a sprinter in high school, did some road races in college and I thought it was time to reconnect with the runner in me. So, the Couch to 5K program was perfect. It's a 9-week training program and I signed up for a 5K that would take place 10 weeks after beginning the program. James watched me train each day. He tried to run with me sometimes. I ran yesterday. At the North Carolina Zoo. There were about 500 runners there. And I did it! It was so awesome! Chris, my husband, and James were with me and it made it so wonderful. I loved that they were with me. My men. So, it's official. I have the bug now. My next 5K is on October 6th with one of my very best friends from high school. We haven't been in touch for a while and I am looking forward to running and reconnecting. :) The one after that....is Thanksgiving Day!!! Haha. See? I have the bug!

Run Wild 5K

I have another blog post in me right now but on a totally different subject. The next topic will be about knowing your child and readiness. :) Can't wait to tackle that one.