William ready to walk to his first day of school!

William's first assignment (a coloring page, and writing his own name). Needless to say, he wrote his name as nicely as he could (Capital W, lowercase illiam, curved m), colored right in the lines, and "gave each crayon a turn."

William and his K teacher, Mrs. O'Donnell (Mrs. O.)

Well, it is official. William had his first day of school on Friday. No, I did not cry or even get weepy. (I guess I'm just a mean mom...) But, actually I had been unhappy about him going off to all day kindergarten , UNTIL, I woke up early Friday morning. When I woke up that morning, I knew it was the right thing. I had finally said a quick prayer the night before that I would feel good about it. (I don't know why I am still amazed at the power of little prayers. I guess I forget that Heavenly Father wants us to ask for his help, and it is right there waiting for us.) I have always had my doubts about public school, whether they will be able to support his advanced skills, why does he have 21 kids in his class!!!, and does he really need to be gone all day. I will miss him, but I know without a doubt that it is right, which is good because I still can't believe they allowed 21 KIDS!!!

Anyway, William has been struggling with obedience for a couple of months now, spending LOTS of time in time-out. I guess he started to not mind it so much, and while we all struggle with obedience (me included), he was definitely not utilizing his known ability. He is a little too smart for his own good, and thinks that sometimes he knows better than the grown-ups. You can imagine where this will get him at school, besides the lack of fun at home. Kevin was out of town on Friday, his first day of school, but he was able to give William his first father's blessing for school tonight before he went to bed. I know that Kevin carefully listens to the promptings of the Spirit in giving blessings rather than forming his own ideas, but Heavenly Father also had reminders in his blessing about learning obedience, listening to authority, and learning so he can be a good example at school. He even told William that He was watching, and that some things were tests. He also comforted William that He is there, He loves him, and knows all of his concerns. Overall, William felt a little humbled and comforted. We can only wait and see. (Well, we can say prayers for him as well.)

Tonight, I also realized that I had forgotten to teach him a couple things. I forget to remind him that he can ask for help when he's not sure of what to do, whether from his teacher or from us. He tries to be so independent (which we do encourage to a point) that he forgets to ask for help or direction. If he's not sure of whether he should do something, ASK. :) A lot of times he can figure the ways out on his own, but obviously not all of them, and we need to check up on that more often.

The other thing I forgot is teaching him that sometimes he will not learn the reason for a rule until later. He likes to know the reason behind everything right then, but we need to remind him that he can't learn everything all at one. Sometimes he won't learn the reasons behind them until later. We will fill him in as best we can, but sometimes there isn't time to explain right then, and he will have to wait until later that day, or sometimes even when he gets older. I can see so much of myself in him sometimes, though thankfully not as much. As long as he doesn't get suspended in first grade, he is already doing good. :) Kevin said something to him on Friday night I found funny. He said, "William, do you know how many times I got in trouble at school? (and he held up his hand in a zero)" Too bad, I couldn't help by saying that myself... :) Thankfully, I got it all out of my system early!

Oh, and after Kevin gave William the blessing, Kate climbed right up in the chair, folded her arms, and looked up at daddy. She wanted a blessing too! After waiting a little bit, and having Kate keep getting in the chair and folding her arms, saying yes when we asked her each time if she wanted a blessing too, Kevin also gave a her a short little blessing. And, Kate folded her arms and stayed completely still during the whole thing. It was really neat.

Anyway, we love William. We know that his is a wonderful spirit, and sweet boy (really), and that he loves the gospel. We are so thankful to have him as our son. He will be a great example to his siblings. We love him so much. Enjoy his pictures from the first day of school. In his words, "School was Awesome!"