Lessons Learned… Gabe’s First School Year

I am a little behind when it comes to posting Gabes first and last day of school photos this year. I love taking these pictures because it always amazes me how much each child changes from the first day to the last (scroll through the above carousel to see his first day photo). We had a fun year at CMS and Gabe took his first round of karate classes (not sure if karate is really his thing but hey we tried).

I will be the first to admit that I was so worried about how school would go for Gabe since 2023 was his first year. We were on the road with our company for the first few years of his life and I always had him with me. He visited more states in his first 12 months than some people will visit in their lifetime. We had a great time being on the road but it was much more challenging as I was getting toward the end of my pregnancy with Shep. With the impending birth, staying close to home made more sense so we decided to enroll Gabe in school.

I think the biggest lesson that we learned throughout Gabes first year, is that finding the right school can take time and its ok if you don’t get it right on the first try (or the 2nd or 3rd haha). Coming from a small town where we only had one school option is a far cry from the city that we currently live in. We are tremendously blessed to have multiple schools with a variety of education styles to choose from but it can truly be daunting to decide which school is right for your child.

My best advice to anyone that is currently looking at schools for their children is to start early. I used to think it was a joke when people said you should start applying to schools before you started trying to conceive (its not a joke….trust me). Good schools are had to get into and that takes time. Choosing a school for your child is much like choosing a college. You can take tours, set up interviews, and your child may even have to take a series of tests to determine placement. All of these things take time so START EARLY!!!

Quick Tips:

• Start early and if you’re the praying type then pray for Gods guidance and provision
• Get recommendations from friends
• Do your research – Knowing what you want in a school can help narrow things down
• Set up school tours and interviews – this is a totally normal thing to do so do not feel like you’re imposing when you call to ask
• Be prepared for waiting lists – this is why I tell you to start early! Great schools can have waiting lists for well over a year but don’t get discouraged because you never know when something might open up.

We loved the Montessori style of learning but ultimately decided that the school we had Gabe enrolled in did not align with our religious beliefs and lifestyle. Don’t get me wrong, CMS is an amazing school, it just wasn’t the school for us. I had already applied to multiple other schools prior to being accepted to CMS so I got busy praying that God would open the right door at the right time. In true God fashion, He did! Gabe got into a wonderful Christian school that we think will help him thrive in both academics and his growing spirituality. He fell in love with the school as much as we did and cried when we left his tour because he felt so at home with the wonderful teachers and smaller class size.

I write all of this to say, don’t give up until you find the perfect match for your child. It’s ok to try different schools and different learning styles until you find the right fit. This is your child’s future and you are their advocate so don’t be afraid to do the hard things to set them up for success. I will step down from my soapbox now, but I hope this post makes you feel a little more empowered to make a change if your child is unhappy or not thriving in their current environment. I also hope that this post will encourage anyone that is about to start the process of searching for the right school to get a jump on things because if you’re like me, you truly had no idea what you were getting yourself into haha!

As always, I am an open book and I would love to connect with you if you have any questions about my blog topics! Please leave any comments or questions that you have below or feel free to just say hi!