Lucy at School

Our lives have not been easy for me to put into words for the last few weeks. I can't yet really summarize all that has happened, so I'll just start with the picture. Rob and I got to join Lucy at school for her "golden star" 6th birthday celebration. It was so much fun to be with her and to see the kids in action over the course of the day. The class started the day spending over an hour kicking around in the woods, doing their work, I suppose, of sensory integration, socialization, physical exercise, and nature time - but the children seem convinced they are just playing and having fun. A bit of the backstory: the weeks leading up to her birthday had been fraught with sickness and troubles, involving a classmate of Lucy's strangling her, miscommunication with us about the event, Lucy getting very sick with a swollen throat, and then us almost taking Lucy out of school; many discussions with Lucy's teacher, other parents, the school's administration ensued. As it stands now the other child's family has chosen to leave Kinderhaus - much to everyone's dismay.
But the birthday celebration did happen and we were all so pleased with it. We had a large family gathering the night of her birthday and her first real "friend" birthday party - with parents dropping off and us orchestrating the festivities. It was all a lot of work for Rob and me and we were pretty exhausted but also so proud of Lucy and so pleased to mark this time for her that feels like the threshold of a very different stage of childhood. We have to admit that Lucy isn't little any more. She has very strong and clear ideas and preferences that are truly all her own. She has self-confidence, clarity and a refusal to get caught up in or sometimes even to notice the reactions of others. She is utterly original, often surprising us with her spontaneous and sometimes, uh, unusual creations.
We're still planning to home school her next year, but I waver as to whether that is really best for Lucy, or the rest of us. She is so social; can we find the right homeschool community? Will she and I drive each other nuts? Will Jasper drive us both nuts? Should he go to some kind of preschool? In theory, I love the idea of another year at home, to let us all have a break from days dictated by school schedules, traffic and the mini-van. And Lucy is quite clear she wants to check out homeschooling for one year. But we are leaving community and entering unknown territory. It is nice to know we can still bail back into Waldorf, or some other avenue we haven't even considered yet. But for now we move somewhat cautiously ahead...
Today was the Spring Parade at Kinderhaus. All three kindergartens, with parents and sibs, walked, slogged and scrambled to Woodland Park to a little meadow. Then we sang songs, held hands and twisted in and out of a long spiral, and then had hot cross buns the children had made the day before. The children all carried God's eyes that they made. It was slightly rainy and cold, but still fun. The park is so beautiful with blooming trees everywhere. And it is fun to be there with a big, but mostly familiar, crowd, not doing too much - just singing and moving about, and then having a snack together. Now that the kids and I are home, we all feel so warm and cozy and happy. They always play very sweetly at home after a nice long outdoor adventure - something I have to keep in mind for next year's homeschooling plans!