The Rainer's » Striving to Live According to God's Calling

Well, ok, it’s not as grand as all of that. But, we are doing something brand new this year on a trial basis. Noah and Jonah are going to be in the same class in school for the first time ever. So for us, it really kind of is a social experiment. When the boys first started in school, I wanted them in the same grade just for my own ease of use, so to speak. I already had the two big girls in school, and thought if I only had to manage one set of 1st grade stuff, that would be great. I could do one conference, on set of home work, get to know one teacher. Well, as it turned out, the school system we were in at that time did not allow siblings to be in the same class. I was pretty grumpy about it at first, but then came to find it to be a good thing. They are very different in personality and, I think, needed their own environment to grow and mature in. And that was great for a few years. Then, forth grade happened. Let me tell you about it. Noah has always been very bright. He was using a computer mouse well by age 2. Video games were a breeze. Learning to read, do numbers, all easy peasy. Jonah, on the other hand, struggled. He had to work harder to keep up with what his brother was doing. But, he was very determined to do so. The result has been one very hard worker and one giant slacker. Guess who is who.

Jonah can do just about anything he puts his mind to do. He is detailed and meticulous in his work. He double checks because he doesn’t want to get wrong answers. Noah is so much like me. If it’s too hard, he doesn’t do it. He’s used to things coming easily, you see, so if they don’t, what’s the point? He doesn’t have any discipline when it comes to doing school work and getting it turned in on time. I got so many notes home last year about missing assignments, that I’m certain a small forest was slaughtered just for him.

As it happens, the boys are very competitive. So, we made the decision to put them in the same class. They’ve been with these students long enough to have established their own friend groups and so have their own social circles. But, with them in the same class, Noah can’t really tell me he has no home work when Jonah is, in fact, working on home work. I’m also banking on their desire to out do each other to spur Noah to do a better job of turning stuff in. We shall see how it goes. Today was their first day (another post on that later) and I peeked in when I came back for a conference with Ian’s teacher, later in the morning. They were on opposite sides of the class room from each other and doing their own thing. Noah told me later, that he forgot Jonah was even in his class.

The only down side here is their teacher. I’m just certain their teacher is fantastic. I’ve even heard other parents talk about how wonderful she is and she is, apparently, highly requested. However, we were really hoping to have Hannah’s 5th grade teacher. I LOVE her. She is a no-nonsense, crack the whip kind of gal. I ran in to her in the store this past spring. We stood and talked for something like 20 min. She asked how Hannah was doing in middle school, and talked to me about specific details. She clearly remembers who Hannah is. And who I am. She should, of course, because we spent hours over the course of the year on the phone discussing Hannah’s inability to turn in home work. See a theme here? This is one reason I wanted this teacher. She knows us. She knows this issue in our family. She understands the large family dynamic. Not just because she knows us, but because she is one of six herself. Alas, it was not to be. I put in the request way too late because we just didn’t know we were going to put the boys together. But it’s ok. I’m confident that their teacher will do a great job with them.

On a side note, because she was with us, Olivia ended up with the same 2nd grade teacher that Noah had. I adore her. I’m SO happy Olivia is in her class. She was gone last year on sabbatical to Africa where she was teaching for a year. I’m just sure she came back for the sole purpose of being able to be Olivia’s teacher. Along those lines, Ian has Olivia’s kindy teacher, too. Again, a topic for a post on Wednesday (because that’s Ian’s official first day).