At the beginning of the year, I signed up to help out in Ryder’s classroom a couple times a month.  I went yesterday for an hour, and again today for another hour.  Now, it’s been many years since I’ve spent any length of time in a classroom – and I’ve never been in class at a Christian school – and I learned a few things.

Yesterday I learned that my son isn’t the only child who makes incessant, annoying noises.  On the outside, this sounds like a slam.  But in reality, it makes me sigh with relief because if you know one thing about me, it’s that I still feel like I know nothing about boys.  And now I know that mine is normal.  🙂  I also learned that Ryder is pretty darn attentive and obedient at school.  I’ve been told this before, but it’s nice to see it for myself, particularly when I have a hard time eliciting the same response from him at home.  I learned a long time ago that it’s far better to have your child be compliant and pleasant in public, and a little wild and stubborn at home, than the other way around (thanks Dani Seaton!).

Today the lessons continued.  I learned that Ryder’s school can complete a fire drill in less than a minute and a half.  I learned that my sweet boy is learning to read - quickly!.  This might seem like a “duh” thing.  He is in school, after all, and that’s kinda what they do there.  And I was a teacher, after all, and taught children to read.  But it’s totally different when it’s your child.  He was quick to call out the answers – and they were right.  (Be still, my teacher-mama heart!)  I also witnessed a fun contrast between boys and girls.  At my table, we were cutting out words and sorting them into -ig and -it word families.  98% of the time, the boys smeared glue over their whole paper (and it was purple glue, which they all hated), and smashed the words down haphazardly.  The girls, on the other hand, delicately swiped glue across each word, and lined them up perfectly, admiring their work as they went.  Hysterical!  

Ryder was chosen as the Star Student this week, and today he got to reveal the items in his Mystery Box.  When I arrived this morning, he was seated in his teacher’s chair, fielding yes/no questions and guesses about what was in there.  They had already discovered that he found them in Hawaii, they were heavy and hard, and probably came from a volcano.  When one little boy asked if they were bricks, Ryder’s sweet teacher asked them to think about whether God makes bricks or man makes bricks.  My breath caught in my throat for a minute.  The public school teacher in me panicked a bit… what if an administrator hears that?  What if a student goes home and tells her parents that the teacher talked about God?

And then it hit me.  Again.

We’re in the perfect place for our family.  My children can safely learn about the world around them in a loving environment that emphasizes God in everything they do and see.

And I was overwhelmed with gratitude.  Again.

Can’t wait to go back next month and see what else I discover 🙂