First Steps
Last night, Sarah and I attended an open house for Parkside Christian Academy. My favorite moment was when we visited the Kindergarten teacher, and she asked us what questions we had. As we both stared blankly back at her, I nudged Sarah and said, "You're the teacher." Her response summed up our evening with, "Well, it's very different when you're a mom!"
Joseph will start kindergarten next year (K2 in Boston), and so we have already begun the looooooooong process of looking at schools to choose from, both public and private. Yes, "choose", because in Boston, kids don't automatically go to the public school in their neighborhood, or down the street, or at their town center, like most places in America.
To go to public school, we submit an application with our first 5-10 choices. If there are more kids that want to get into a school than they can seat, we are entered into a lottery. Our chances are weighted based on your distance to the school and if there is a sibling already going there. But basically, it's the luck of the draw. Only 50% of kids get into their first choice school.
So last night, we made what will be the first of many school visits. Parkside is where Sarah taught for two years when we were first married and moved to Boston, which made it a good transition to looking at schools for our own children (a little less scary that walking into a completely new place). A lot has changed in the 5 years since she was there, but we still see the Christian community and care of the staff, and appreciate some of the new academic vision.
Please pray for us as we continue to look at schools. If we apply for Boston Public, we do so in January, so we will be busy this fall. A lot seems to be looming as we think about buying a house, enrolling Joseph, and having a third kid. I'm not sure if we've gone through a year like this yet in our marriage, so we are thankful for your prayers and encouragement.
