The End of an Era

Today is a day that has been full of all the emotions. Today was the twins' last day of second grade. Today was our last day as a Catalayah family as we have officially made the decision that Brooke and Brecklyn will be homeschooled next year along with Brianna and Brenson. Today is the end of a season . . . of an era, if you will. 

Brecklyn and Brooke . . . the last day of second grade!

Brooke Ellie

Look how much her face has matured!

Brecklyn Sarah

Looking so much more grown up!

Yesterday, we went to Rise & Shine with the girls knowing it would be our last day attending Rise & Shine as a Catalayah family, and I can't even put into words the flood of emotions I felt. I remember so clearly going to Rise & Shine when Brianna was in Kindergarten (in 2015!) and feeling very emotional. Today - 7 1/2 years later - going into Rise & Shine was just as emotional for me. Catalayah has been a major part of our family during this season . . . so many relationships built, milestones reached, hours volunteered, and obstacles overcome. 

Brecklyn at Rise & Shine

Brooke at Rise & Shine

In so many ways, our family has grown up at Catalayah. While I'm excited, confident, and hopeful for the next season of life that Catalayah will not be part of, the feelings are very bittersweet today. 

The last day going through the morning drop-off line

Watching my babies walk into the building for the last time

I'm a different mom than I was 7.5 years ago, and I'm ready to embrace what that means for me and my children. However, in order to fully embrace it, I have to let go of what is comfortable for now. I have to walk away from a part of life that has been meaningful, impactful, and wonderful. I am confident that homeschooling all four children is going to be amazing and what is best for everyone, but that doesn't mean letting go of what was is easy. I am ready, but also a little sad. Somehow at the same time, though, today feels like a weight has been lifted. 

Brecklyn and Brooke have both done wonderful in second grade, but I feel that has more to do with who they are than with where they were. They each had 28 students in their class, so for two girls who are academically high and well behaved, being in such large classes meant they were essentially invisible. Brecklyn had an excellent teacher who we really loved - and she did her very best to meet Brecklyn's needs - but her hands were just too full. Brooke had a teacher that was good for her in many ways, but she also had a class full of rowdy boys who needed most of the teacher's time and attention. 

I'm so proud of the girls and how they handled the challenges of the year, but we are all very excited for them to be home with us next year. For a while, I really thought they would go back to Catalayah for third grade, but I feel so much peace knowing I get to teach them, pour into them, and really meet their needs academically starting earlier than we had initially planned. 

Both girls let their good character shine this year when there was a lot of chaos going on around them. I love the little awards Brecklyn received from her teacher because they really are so fitting for her!

She received the 'Ray of Sunshine' award for "shining your bright light in our classroom each and every day".

This one says, "for having a gentle and quiet spirit that is empathetic and compassionate to others". I hope to continue to foster these good traits in my girl!

Brecklyn's teacher has been sharing with me her plans to leave the classroom after this year and most likely homeschool her own kids. That tells me just about all I need to know about the challenges they faced at school. And Catalayah is one of the good ones!

Brooke's teacher did not do any sort of classroom awards (which was disappointing to me), but Brooke received several 'Character Counts' throughout the year. My smiley girl was always lending a helping hand to others!

Brecklyn also had a few 'Character Counts':

While my girls (and all of us) have many good memories from our time at Catalayah, it's time to close this book. Today, it feels little more bitter than sweet, but I know we are all ready for this change. I am truly so excited to have all my babies home for school, and I can't wait to get into a new routine. 

We all appreciate Catalayah for what it has given to us, and we all sincerely hope that we brought something valuable to the table, too. More than anything, we hope we let our lights shine for Jesus every day!

Back to the Books!

I've probably said this on here before, but one thing I did not anticipate when becoming a parent was how difficult the education decisions would be. I kind of just took for granted that we would send our kids to public school and that would be the end of it. But things have been MUCH more complicated than that, and I pray constantly that we are doing the things that are best for our kids.

When we put the twins back into public school for first grade, I was pretty confident that we would keep them there through third grade. We are really just taking things one year at a time, and for this year (2nd grade for Brooke and Brecklyn), we have decided to keep them at our favorite local public school, Catalayah Elementary. 

On August 16th, we were able to go to Catalayah and meet the girls' teachers. Open house is so different than it was a few years ago. We have to sign up for a specific time to go to the school so that there are only a few families at the school at a time. It's kind of lame, and definitely takes away from some of the excitement of open house!

Brooke and Brecklyn are ready for 2nd grade!

Brecklyn was so excited to find her desk and move a few things into her classroom.

Her teacher is Mrs. Wallace, and we just know it's going to be a wonderful year!

Brooke was also excited to see her classroom, even though it wasn't fully set up yet. 

Brooke has Ms. Desy (who we know from years past).

She matches Brooke's energy!

School started on Thursday, August 18th. Brooke and Brecklyn were excited but not nervous. I'm always thankful for that!

Brooke

Brecklyn

Ready for 2nd grade!

Even though the big kids had been doing some school work for a few weeks, I went ahead and took their first day of school photos on the twins' first day of school. 

Brianna (7th grade)

Bren (5th grade)

My crew ready to tackle another school year!

Love these four!

Daddy with the crew

 Mommy with the crew

We all went to Rise and Shine with the girls, and it was nice to see all the teachers we know and love in that building. Brianna and Brenson were very popular . . . Brianna really enjoyed it, but Bren not-so-much :-). They were both happy to see their names on the Runner of the Year plaques in one of the main hallways. 

Brooke and Brecklyn both had a great first day, and their teachers even sent me these photos of them to mark the first day. 

Brecklyn

Brooke

I mentioned this in another post, but LIGHT Academy started school on August 1st. We were in Kansas City that day, but it didn't stop Bri and Bren from beginning their studies. 

The flexibility of homeschool is great, and we enjoy "doing school" in various environments as needed. 

It seems a little strange to many people that we homeschool two of our children while the other two attend public school. I don't know how long this arrangement will last, but for us right now it is exactly what we need. I'm so grateful to have the freedom to do what is best for each child in my family, and we are looking forward to a great school year!

Another Year Down!

This is totally a cliche' thing to say, but I can't believe we've come to the end of another school year! I feel like we've been kind of all over the place with school the last couple years . . . after school was canceled due to Covid in 2019-2020 and we were thrown into homeschooling unexpectedly, then we chose homeschool for the 2020-2021 school year, THEN we decided to homeschool two and send two to public school for the 2021-2022 school year, I'd say my feelings are pretty valid. 

I wasn't sure how this school year would go with Brianna and Brenson homeschooling while Brooke and Brecklyn were in public school, but overall it was pretty smooth. There were days I felt a little like I was a slave to the public school schedule, but it also helped me stay on track with the big kids. 

Brianna was in 6th grade this year. Homeschooling has been a great fit for her, and she has expressed to me several times how glad she is that she doesn't go to our local public junior high. She excelled in math this year, even though her confidence in that area isn't high. She also did great with our units on South America and Ancient Civilizations. She enjoys grammar and reading, but really disliked the dictation portion of her ELA because she's not strong in spelling. We studied land mammals in science, and that was just okay for her. 

Running cross-country and track & field with the Falcons has been a big part of Brianna's school year (as a 6th grader, she still competed as an elementary student), and she also really enjoyed participating in color guard through our homeschool co-op. In addition to her regular Bible classes, she took an online OABS class on Women of the Bible with me this past semester. 

Brenson really thrives in homeschool because it allows him to dig deeper into the subjects he's interested in. He was technically in 4th grade, although he did the same math, grammar, and science as Brianna, as well as the same South America and Ancient Civilizations units. Academically, he is "high", but he sometimes get overwhelmed with his workload. He devoured so many books this year. It seemed like he would finish them as soon as he checked them out from the library. 

Archery piqued his interest, and he was able to participate in an 8 week archery course through co-op this year. He also took guitar through co-op, participated in cross-country and track & field with the Falcons, and played basketball with Owasso Prep. 

Brooke was in 1st grade and attended our local public school. I think she and Brecklyn both really enjoyed having a place they considered their "own" at Catalayah. Brooke had Mrs. Lewis this year, the same teacher that both Brianna and Brenson had for first grade. I was thrilled when we found out Brooke had Mrs. L, but it was a unique year for her. She missed the first quarter of school because her husband had terminal cancer and passed away. Brooke had Mrs. Christian during the time Mrs. L was out. 

Of course, Brooke's favorite subject was recess 😂. She had some drama with another girl in her class, but I never got a call from the principal about her! Brooke also loves art and math. When Brooke was tested in reading at the beginning of the year, she tested at a level 11. The school was looking for the first graders to be at a minimum of level 5. She started the year as one of the better readers in the grade, and continued to grow as a reader all year long.

Brecklyn had Mrs. Ward for her first grade teacher, and we loved her! I was nervous about how it would be having someone different, but Mrs. W was wonderful! Academically, Brecklyn is very high, but Mrs. W worked hard to keep her challenged and engaged with the class. Brecklyn tested at a level 16 at the beginning of the year in reading. 

Brecklyn said her favorite subject was "specials", and she is especially drawn to music. Mrs. W always sang Brecklyn's praises for being sweet and helpful with the other students. She doesn't love math, but she does love reading. She thrived with the structure of traditional school. 

My babies are so big 😢

Rise and Shine on the last day of school (most of the year we were not permitted to attend R&S due to Covid policies)

Mrs. W was wonderful to constantly take photos of the students and post them to the private class FB page. I loved being able to see what my girl was up to all day. 

All done with first grade 👏

No surprise, Brecklyn was awarded the Star Reader award for her class. 

Sweet first graders!

Brooke is finished with first grade 👏

We are so thankful to have had Mrs. L three different times!

See ya, first grade!

Our favorite elementary school!

Brecklyn

Brooke

Catalayah used to give out "Catalayah Cash" to recognize students for going above and beyond in their character. This year, they changed it to "Catalayah Character Counts". Each of the girls received several of these this year, and I loved reading these words about them. 

It was a great school year, and I certainly don't take for granted that school is an overall great experience for us. Now, it's time to soak up our summer!