Brag Book

I'm going to take a break from our series on failure to brag on some major successes. I'm kinda feeling like a Debbie downer on the blogosphere with all this talk of how to fail, and although I love the Debbie downer skit, I don't want anyone to associate me with feline AIDS.

My little guys finished up their school year today. Asher had an amazing year in first grade and Simon finished kindergarten strongly. I couldn't be prouder of either of them. Or both of them. Or all of them, Adeline included. She had great year in preschool as well. Don't want to leave her out. All that coloring and painting is hard work!

Both the boys have come so far since August.

Heck, in August, Simon wasn't even in kindergarten!

Confession: I wanted to wait until I thought he was "ready." I looked at him, so small and vulnerable in my eyes, and I didn't want him to struggle, or to fail, or to be overly challenged before he was ready, because life in general was so challenging for him in my eyes. I wanted to protect, protect, protect.

But you know what I learned throughout the year? What Simon taught me?

He may not have been "kindergarten ready" in the classic sense, but he was more ready than I gave him credit for.

He would never have gotten over all his shyness, or learned how good he was at math, or art, or rhyming if I had waited until we could check all the boxes off on those dumb kinder readiness tests.

And he would have never learned that he is not that small and vulnerable child that I was treating him like, but a strong and capable little boy. That was the big take home.

School was a big change for Simon.

Although he was technically enrolled in a school in Uganda, he was one of about 40 students in his class that met in a very small room. His school only had paper and pencils. They had no books or teaching materials, no desks, nothing to actually assist his teacher in teaching her students. Consequently, Simon had a very negative idea of what school was.

Simon's school in Uganda:

But, in reality, that is what many of the schools are like that the world's poorest children attend. Crowded, under-resourced, and under-funded. Can you imagine trying to learn about animals without actually having pictures of animals to look at in books? Or trying to learn to read without books? Or trying to learn about much of anything without books?

There is an amazing organization called Libraries of Love whose mission is to create libraries in schools in Uganda. It was started by my friend Melissa's aunt, right here in Austin. (Melissa is a fellow Ugandan adoptive mama).  Books. Libraries. They sound like such a small thing, but they can really make a difference. Next time you are taking a haul to Goodwill or Half-Priced Books, consider donating them to Libraries of Love instead.

I am so grateful for the teachers that have poured their hearts and energy into my kids over the past year. I am grateful for all the advantages that my kids enjoy and all the resources at their fingertips. And most of all, I am proud of how they have all persevered throughout the year. I can't believe I will have a SECOND grader and a FIRST grader next year!!! Good thing we have Adeline to pull up the rear :)

(pics of Simon,  Asher, and Adeline with their teachers this year. I think I might have the cutest kids ever).