Navigating this school thing...
In the Shay household we are coming up on Kindergarden for Mr. Rock Shay. If I said this thought has snuck up on me I'd be lying, I've been thinking about it for a couple years now. The Nashville school system is one to navigate. Schools in Davidson County rank low and private schools are quite popular/expensive.
We moved into a sweet affordable area three years ago, but the elementary school close by is a rough one. We've felt that our hands are tied, knowing if we bought in a thriving area with one of the maybe five good elementary schools in our county that our mortgage would be more than we can handle. But the thought of committing to private school has made my stomach turn more than once wondering how we would afford tuition and how we would fit in to a community that seemed above us. My brain gave hours of thought to these questions with little peace on an answer.
My sweet Aunt Cathy (my husband's aunt/god mother) picked up the phone one day as I desperately reached out to her to chat about this whole school thing. I rambled on and on, listing all of our limitations and anxieties. Once I gave her a breath of a moment to interject she said, "Sonnie, you are a strong woman, a strong good mother, you can make these decisions." I was shocked by the statement. I had felt weak and incapable of committing to a decision about Rock's schooling. But then Cathy's words penetrated so deep and God agreed with what she spoke. I am strong. God is strong in me. Rock's school situation just like anything else in our lives would be taken care of…we take the steps and God directs them.
After sending applications in for a select few reputable public lottery schools, deciding homeschooling was not an option for Rock and I, and applying for a hefty amount of financial aid from The Covenant School, we found ourselves open handed for what God had in store.
My history as a homeschooled kid has made this abstract school idea a doozy for me. I worry about putting Rock in an environment where he's learning things I didn't know until I was 18. I worry about putting him in an environment where things are too protected and Jesus is used as a form of control instead of love. I worry about religion and bullies and emotional scars. I've had many conversations with parents all over our great city of Nashville and we ALL want the best for our kids. Our kids journey's are precious to us and our God and whether they go to public, private, or homes for their schooling God is interested in bringing them to Him every day of their lives.
We are proud and humbled all at the same time that Rock will be attending The Covenant School for Kindergarden this year. The way has been paved for us; our lottery positions were in the 100's on the waiting lists, we've been gifted with a number of extra odd jobs the first half of this year to save for tuition, and we were granted the financial aid we needed.
My prayer is that each year, wherever our school journey takes us, that our family brings honesty and love bigger than us. Kindergarden here we come.
We moved into a sweet affordable area three years ago, but the elementary school close by is a rough one. We've felt that our hands are tied, knowing if we bought in a thriving area with one of the maybe five good elementary schools in our county that our mortgage would be more than we can handle. But the thought of committing to private school has made my stomach turn more than once wondering how we would afford tuition and how we would fit in to a community that seemed above us. My brain gave hours of thought to these questions with little peace on an answer.
My sweet Aunt Cathy (my husband's aunt/god mother) picked up the phone one day as I desperately reached out to her to chat about this whole school thing. I rambled on and on, listing all of our limitations and anxieties. Once I gave her a breath of a moment to interject she said, "Sonnie, you are a strong woman, a strong good mother, you can make these decisions." I was shocked by the statement. I had felt weak and incapable of committing to a decision about Rock's schooling. But then Cathy's words penetrated so deep and God agreed with what she spoke. I am strong. God is strong in me. Rock's school situation just like anything else in our lives would be taken care of…we take the steps and God directs them.
After sending applications in for a select few reputable public lottery schools, deciding homeschooling was not an option for Rock and I, and applying for a hefty amount of financial aid from The Covenant School, we found ourselves open handed for what God had in store.
My history as a homeschooled kid has made this abstract school idea a doozy for me. I worry about putting Rock in an environment where he's learning things I didn't know until I was 18. I worry about putting him in an environment where things are too protected and Jesus is used as a form of control instead of love. I worry about religion and bullies and emotional scars. I've had many conversations with parents all over our great city of Nashville and we ALL want the best for our kids. Our kids journey's are precious to us and our God and whether they go to public, private, or homes for their schooling God is interested in bringing them to Him every day of their lives.
We are proud and humbled all at the same time that Rock will be attending The Covenant School for Kindergarden this year. The way has been paved for us; our lottery positions were in the 100's on the waiting lists, we've been gifted with a number of extra odd jobs the first half of this year to save for tuition, and we were granted the financial aid we needed.
My prayer is that each year, wherever our school journey takes us, that our family brings honesty and love bigger than us. Kindergarden here we come.
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