Saying Goodbye & New Beginnings

Hannah had a wonderful preschool to attend (Volga Christian Preschool) while we were living with Lois. She attended 2 mornings a week and loved her teachers and classmates. I thought it would be hard for Hannah to say goodbye to her friends and teachers on her last day of school. But she had a great outlook -- she told her teachers -- "I'll meet new friends at my new school".

I took a picture of Hannah with her teachers and her friend Marika on the playground her last day of school.
I am thankful for her teachers and the friends she made. She always came home from school cheerful and happy to share with us what she had learned in school. She made great progress on writing her letters and has a love for school thanks to Miss Stewart and Mrs. Algood.

Jacob's goodbye was a bit harder -- he was sad to leave his classmates and move on to another school. He really enjoyed Sioux Valley School -- playing on the playground, the AR reading program, Physical Education and his teacher, Mrs. Vostad. On his last day of school, each of his classmates made him a goodbye card. He enjoyed reading the cards over and over again on our trip out west. Jacob was well liked by his classmates and he misses them. I'm thankful for Jacob's time at Sioux Valley and for all he learned in Mrs. Vostad's classroom.
Here is a picture of Jacob on his last day with Mrs. Vostad....
A New School for Hannah and Jacob -- Bethesda Lutheran School
After touring both the public school and Bethesda, we decided to send Hannah and Jacob to the Lutheran School. It's a small school and they are both getting a lot of attention as the small class sizes can allow more individualized instruction. Hannah and Jacob have both made new friends and it helps being at the same school - they have recess together every morning. Jacob was excited to find out that Hot Springs only has school 4 days a week. They enjoy a nice long 3-day weekend. And he has Phys. Ed. every day! It's also much nicer for Jacob and Hannah to be able to walk to school. The long bus rides to Volga made for a long day for Jacob. Hannah is attending preschool 4 days a week - a nice break for me and Hannah was ready for more time away from home. Tomorrow they are singing at the Bethesda Lutheran Church service for school. The church supports the school and they sing at church about 4 times a year. It will be fun to hear them sing.