David's school year began with a unit on trees. (This unit led to a successful family nature walk and the best field trip ever.)
During the course of this unit, David discovered a deep and abiding love for conifers. He points them out to us with the same level of enthusiasm as when he sees a crawler crane in action. (That's a lot of enthusiasm, trust me.) He has also decreed that if (if!!) a baby were to join our family, his name will be "Conifer." (I asked him what would happen if--if!!--a girl baby joined our family. Then her name would be "Conifer Strawberry." Just so we're all clear on that.)
Anyway, this post isn't about conifers. It's about David's favorite broad leaf tree: The birch tree. He is enamored by the ghostly white bark with its black striations. (Me too! I remember the hike in Ohio when I fell in love with birch trees too.)
David made this painting of a birch tree in art class. I love it!
Actually, this post isn't about birch trees either. It's about Kindergartner David (with whom I am totally smitten).
As many of you know, we struggled with the decision to send David to kindergarten this year or not. I think I asked everyone I know about it (and their third cousins twice removed). We carefully considered the consequences. I was leaning towards holding him back because I was so worried about getting off on the wrong foot. What if it was a disaster and he ended up hating school for years? Even forever? (The reasons as to why kindergarten could be a disaster for David are varied, and I'm not going to describe them here.) Many people gave us thoughtful, helpful reassurances that keeping David back another year could be a good thing. (The only people who were pretty adamant about sending David to kindergarten this year were my Aunt Marie and our real estate agent's best friend--I told you I asked everyone.)
After months of worrying about it, one day late last spring I had a rude awakening. I'm not sure it was any sort of warm, fuzzy God-showing-me-the-way thing. It's was a plain old REALITY CHECK. What was David going to do next year if he didn't go to kindergarten? By this point, we knew we were moving to Madison, and I knew there would not be many options for David. When it came to finding a private kindergarten or challenging Pre-K program, we would be limited by cost, distance, and availability (best case he would be put on a waiting list). It was then that I realized, whether I liked it or not, that David was going to kindergarten.
And I felt great peace.
The rest is history. Well, actually, the rest is current events. And the point of this post.
At the beginning of the school year, David was asked to draw a tree. Then his teacher asked him to tell her about the tree, and she recorded what he told her, no more no less. This is what he came up with:
Then a couple of weeks later the children were given the same assignment. Here is David's product:
Isn't it amazing?!
This is from the child who, just a few months ago, given the instructions to draw himself (i.e. two eyes, a nose, and a mouth) could not do it without step-by-step help. The level of detail brings tears to my eyes. (Literally!) He learned so much about trees. And the best part is how EXCITED he is about trees. The more he learns, the more excited he is. I love kindergarten! And I'm so happy he's there.
Oh, and did you notice what kind of tree he drew?
It's a birch tree.
