After we got unpacked I started to get the school registration process started. One of the reasons we chose this neighbourhood is because of the school. Phil had come here last year and this school was his favorite so I headed off to register Dylan and Jayke. I had researched the California school system and found that the cutoff for kindergarten enrollment is in December and their curriculum is about a year ahead of what our kids were doing in Edmonton. I had decided even before we moved to register them in grades 1 and 3 even though they were in 2 and 4 when we left. They understood the reasons and were ok with that decision.

When I got to the school and handed the secretary the forms, she told me their grade 1 classes were full but there was room in grade 3. I knew kids had to go to their neighbourhood school but I had no idea there was a reason they couldn’t. We had 2 options: put Dylan in grade 3 and Jayke in grade 1 at a different school or put them both at the alternate school. Since we didn’t want to break them up, they needed to go to the same school.

I spoke with the principal of our school in Morgan Hill and he suggested testing them to see which grade they should be placed in as they had room in grades 2 and 4 at their school. I agreed and the boys did some math and language arts first term tests. The boys both did great in language arts and Jayke did really well in math even though it was above what he had learned but I really noticed the curriculum difference in the grade 4 math test that Dylan took. In their first term, they did division, algebra and factorials. Dylan had just started multiplication at the end of grade 3 last year and hadn’t even touched division so I knew he’d be in way over his head. The principal felt that he would do ok with extra help and so after discussing with Phil and the boys, decided to go ahead with registering them in grades 2 and 4.

I woke up the next morning feeling completely distressed over this decision and for the next 5 days, I constantly had to try and convince myself that this was the right decision. It was a miserable time. There was the whole church thing, Ty was really sad about not going home to his house in Edmonton, Christmas was coming and we’re feeling very far from home. I felt that it was not the right decision to put them in those grades and I woke up early Wednesday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. I started to pray and for probably an hour and a half, asked God to give me wisdom and peace. I finally fell asleep and when I woke up in the morning, everything was different. Everyone seemed happy and it was a great start to the day. I told Phil that I thought it was a mistake to put the boys in the grades we did and that I felt we needed to change them to 1 and 3 even if it meant them going to a different school. He agreed to the change, as did the boys, and I felt total peace about the decision.

It was an amazing day and after supper, Ty asked if we can stay here in California. He said he really liked it here. Our homesickness has gone and we are really enjoying our time here as we get ready for Christmas.