New kid in class

Shark backpack? Check.

Camo shoes? Check?

Old enough to go to Pre-K? Well...almost.

So technically he wouldn't be in the pre-kindergarten class at the homeschool co-op Abby attends until next year. But he's almost four, and that was good enough for his teachers. They said he would be more than welcome to try it out and see if it might be a good fit for him.

And he loved every minute of it.

I guess you can only drop your big sister off at her super fun kindergarten class so many weeks in a row before you start to feel a little left out. Now, one day a week at least, there's something special for both my biggest kids to enjoy. The adjustment to a few hours alone with only two kids was a big one for me, and Jacob is totally digging being the only child when the bigs are at school and Levi's down for a nap.

Caleb comes home with a packet of completed art projects and extra worksheets after each class and insists that Abby sit down with him at some point and help him with his "homework." I don't have the heart to tell him the worksheets are just for fun. He really feels like he's moving to the head of the class, and Abby enjoys helping him practice whatever it is he's learning that week.

Except for the incident where he yelled at some boy for taking a toy from some girl (I praised him for sticking up for his friend Emerson, but asked him to remember to speak kindly to everyone, even if they're being mean) and the time when he accidentally kicked some boy and refused to say he was sorry because he didn't do it on purpose (I explained that apologizing isn't necessarily an admission of guilt) his transition into a classroom setting is going pretty smoothly.

And his favorite part?

"I get to talk to everyone at lunchtime and everyone listens to me!" he told me when I picked him up. A peek into his lunchbox confirmed my suspicions that he is, in fact, conversing in lieu of eating, much like our meals at home. I guess he figures he can eat anytime, but that kind of captive audience is hard to come by.

Sounds like he's got this pre-k thing all figured out.