So I'm determined to try and do at LEAST one post a week - two if I'm lucky. I've been very lax in putting up the mundane details of our life, but I know some of you actually like reading about them (never mind the fact that those interested parties are all related to me!).
Today's post is about Alex. We have come to realize that we have a very shy boy on our hands. We really try to not say that in front of him, but he has heard it (either from us or his teachers) and now has his excuse for not doing anything new ("But Mom, I'm too SHY."). It started about two years ago. All of a sudden he got extra clingy when I dropped him off at school and no longer wanted to participate in swim class (I'd have to leave the room and wait in the car for class to be over). In addition to being shy, the boy is the most stubborn kid I've ever met. If he doesn't want to do something he will shut down - cross his arms over his chest, drop his head and just become unresponsive. He is horrible with change, which made the move up here and subsequent entry into a new preschool after almost a 6 month hiatus a nightmare.
With this in mind, I've been agonizing lately over whether to send him to the public kindergarten next year or pay for a year of private kinder at the school we are currently at (which he loves). On one hand I know staying at Wesley Hall would be wonderful for him, and there is at least one of his very good friends this year that will be in that class. On the other hand, the whole reason we sucked it up and moved to Westfield (versus a less-expensive neighboring town) was because the public schools are awesome. But due to crowding the town instigated last year the program where all the kindergarten students go to one school together, rather than at their respective elementary schools. Luckily the school is a half mile from our house, so it's easily walkable. But I worry about Alex dealing with a new school next fall and then ANOTHER new school the following year. And the chances that he will end up in a class with someone he knows (or even very many kids that will continue to our elementary school) are pretty slim - they have 7 morning classes and 7 afternoon ones, and from what I understand they don't try to group people at all.
But the big consideration of course is the money. His friends that are going to the public school are going to try to get morning classes so they can do enrichment programs at Wesley Hall in the afternoon. So if we stick with the private route we'd really need to see about doing full day kindergarten (to the tune of over $7K). Hard to stomach that when I'd been getting so excited about having NO MORE tuition payments (until college of course). And once again, we are paying outrageous Westfield property taxes already BECAUSE of the great school system. So I think for now I'm going to try for the public school with the afternoon classes at his current school (but I'll probably still put that deposit in on the private kindergarten just in case).
Big beautiful blooms here.
It got very tall. It measures 31 inches from the base of the pot to the top tip of the flower.
Yes, this is how I "staked" the plant. In my defense, I noticed right as we were going upstairs to bed that the plant was leaning precariously. Twine for recycling and scissors were handy. Problem solved.
