Clayton's First Day of School

My Clayton started the 3rd grade on Monday, August 19th.  I used to LOVE the first day of school - just the thought of new school supplies made me giddy.  But...  it isn't nearly as much fun now that I have a school-aged child.  I love, love, love Summertime, and this summer was particularly great.  I was sooooo sad to see it end.  The only consolation is that it still blazing hot outside and my kids only go to school on campus two days a week.  So, we can still hit the pool for "P.E." on our homeschool days for at least another month.  ;)

A little Back to School decorating eased my sorrows a tiny bit.  :)

We took the obligatory back to school photos, but it has taken me a couple of weeks to actually put them on the blog.  The natives (a.k.a. grandparents) have gotten restless!  I have gotten calls from all four of them itching to see their grandson on his first day of 3rd grade.  Here ya go, Grands!  I now present to you the cutest 3rd grader EVER!

 His sweet principal, Mrs. Campbell, is such a precious lady!  We all adore her!  She always has a huge smile on her face and greets each child by name.  I'm hoping she won't retire before Owen is out of Grammar School.  Eight more years isn't asking too much, is it?  ;)

I think that Clayton's teacher is going to be PERFECT for him this year!  She is the mother of three grown boys (love that!), is from Louisiana, and has been teaching for 25 years.  She is so kind and loving, but you can tell that she means business.  She was so sweet at our parent orientation.  She said that she is dedicating this year to her parents, both of which have passed away.  Her theme is love & inspire - advice gleaned from her parents.  Her mother would say, "Love those babies." and her father would have said, "Inspire those children."  She had all of the moms crying by the end of her spiel.  So endearing...  Word on the street is that she does a cartwheel in front of the class if everyone makes a 100 on a test.  How cool is that?!?!  She is going to be so good for my boy!

Clayton had an awesome first day!  He was all smiles in the car on the way home.

Our first homeschool day was, well, interesting...  Drew and Owen play so, so well together, but even their happy noises are loud.  It doesn't take much to distract Clayton, so it is a bit tricky to have them all home at the same time.  We'll get a system down, but it will take some trial & error.  I'll have it down to a science by May, I'm sure.  Ha!

We did have a funny moment first thing in the morning on our first homeschool day.  Clayton walked up to me and said, "Salve, Magistra!"  To which, I said, "Huh?"  Super intelligent, I know.  ;)  Apparently, that means, "Hello, Teacher!" in Latin.

Medieval Europe is the emphasis in 3rd grade history.  They started by studying St. Augustine's Conversion to Christianity.  I saw this quote on the back of his paper and it made my heart smile.

I ran across this quote years ago and it has become one of my favorites!  "You have made us for Yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."  Seeing it in my Sweetheart's handwriting makes it even more meaningful!

I have a good feeling about the 3rd grade!  I think it is going to be a good year for my Boy!