• Home
  • About
  • Connect
  • Press/Media

The Pinke Post

  • Life in North Dakota
  • Recipes
  • Small Town Living
  • Women In Ag

Posted By Katie On August 19, 2011 9 Comments

Rural school kick off

Filed Under: Life in North Dakota, Small Town Living Tagged With: advantages of rural education, first day of school, North Dakota, prairie, rural education, rural life 9 Comments

Our rural school kicked off today. It’s not a one room school that our son went to today like my grandparents attended. 
We don’t homeschool either. 

Instead of homeschooling, private school, boarding school or a one room school on the prairie, today our son, all 6’3″of him, started his fifth year in our little rural public school on the prairie. Grades K-12 are all in one building. Everyone knows every single person’s name and today the few new students are quickly introduced and made acquainted with students and staff. It’s the same school that my husband attended. It’s different than the private Christian school our son attended in Fargo prior to our prairie move and yet parts of it are very similar.
We share common values, love for our community and kids. Hunter has 20 kids in his class which is two more than my husband had 20 years ago in his class. 12 pre-schoolers and 16 kindergarteners started today in our little rural school. There is a next generation out here on the prairie. In the next few years, our girls will start pre-school and kindergarten in the same school their brother attends.

And, I, their mother will take their picture every single first day of school. Even on their first day of 8th grade like their brother started today. Even when they think I, their mother, is weird for taking pictures and isn’t that cool.

As much as Hunter didn’t want me to take him to school today, he obliged, turning to his sisters in the back seat to say, “When you start school, Mom will tell you to be kind, respectful, honest, trustworthy, to be a leader and to not talk too much.” Ahh, he has listened all these years of first days of school, ever since his first day of kindergarten when I was a nervous mom wearing a purple business suit, pulling up to school in my trusty Honda, gripping his little hand as he wore his “Hunter” monogrammed blue backpack. As I walked him into his new private Christian school, I prayed that no one would judge him because of his unwed working single mom or the fact we lived in an apartment, unlike every other in tact, home owning family walking into that school. All these years later and through the long journey we’ve traveled since the first day of kindergarten to become the family of five we are today, I couldn’t be more proud of our 8th grade son. He is kind, honest and trustworthy. He is learning to be respectful. He does his best to be a leader. He talks too much. He is always a work in progress. Yet all the advice and instruction I had this morning as we were trying to get out the door was, “Everybody put on shoes and be happy.”

What are your memories or traditions of “back to school”?

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
  • Print
Previous Post: « Wordless Wednesday: Summer Sunflowers w/ linky
Next Post: When you leave a 2 year old alone… »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Beth says

    August 19, 2011 at 2:20 am

    Not once did I judge Hunter or you for being an unwed mother living in an appartment when you walked into Park Christian kindergarten. Instead I felt comfortable with you (perhaps because of our family farming background, similar values and faith)…I thank God everyday for our special friendship that only He could have orchestrated. 🙂

    Reply
  2. themnfarmwoman says

    August 19, 2011 at 2:21 am

    Great story, brought back many memories. My school was in a small town and my class had 96 graduates. Everybody knew each other. All these years later, they still feel like my brothers and sisters.

    Reply
  3. Emily @ Zweber Family Farm says

    August 19, 2011 at 3:12 am

    Aww, we don’t start until Labor Day (MN law), but I cannot wait to take my “first day of school” pictures. LOVE the advice you gave this morning! It sounds like our house 😉
    Also, thank you for linking up to my Family Friday Linky!

    Reply
  4. Sara Hondl says

    August 19, 2011 at 3:12 am

    What happened to that little boy I use to know? Hunter has turned into a handsome young man. I can’t believe school has already started. Tell Hunter happy early birthday.

    Reply
  5. Prairie Mother says

    August 19, 2011 at 3:20 am

    Wonderful post. I just love reading about Hunter. I can tell he is a wonderful kid and you are a fabulous mother for raising him to be so.

    I graduated in a class of 130 and at my last class reunion I couldn’t tell you the names of half the people there. But my kids are in a class of 20. Very small and very rural school and I am so happy they have the opportunity to know each and every one in their school building.

    Reply
  6. Sandi says

    August 19, 2011 at 10:52 am

    My graduating class was 107. I was in the first class to go all the way through a new Jr/Sr Highschool following a consolidation of three smaller schools. There are disadvantages of small schools, but I’m not convinced they out weigh the plusses. Blessings for a wonderful school year!

    Reply
  7. TexWisGirl says

    August 19, 2011 at 12:16 pm

    this is so sweet. what a great son you have there. 🙂 with a pretty cool mom too…

    Reply
  8. Leslie says

    August 19, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    I grew up in a school that was K-12. I graduated with a class of 32 other students. I loved it and wish my son could have the same experience, but alas, we’re in the wrong district. There is an elementary, middle school, and high school this year, but next year will be different. It will just be K-6 in one school (what is now the middle school) and then 7-12 in the high school. I’m looking forward to those changes as it’s much closer to what I’m used to. He’s got a class of about 70, more than double what I graduated with, but luckily, they have the class split into 3 sections so they get more one on one attention that I initially expected. Good luck to Hunter, who looks so much older than 8th grade.

    Reply
  9. Karla says

    August 19, 2011 at 6:25 pm

    Ahhhh, what a wonderful post. Sniff, sniff, sniff. I can’t believe Noah is 6 today and reading your post reminds me that in the blink of an eye he will be an 8th grader, senior, college kid, it goes too fast!! If my boys turn out like Hunter I will be happy, he is a great kid. Tell him happy birthday tomorrow for us!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to the Prairie…

I am a mom of three kids and a wife to Nathan. Together we live on the North Dakota prairie, 97 miles from a Starbuck's. I share about family, food, farming and the prairie that I love. I used to commute 98 miles one-way to work but it required too much coffee. So now I am home, consulting, speaking, writing and primarily, juggling family life.
See more of our life on the prairie... Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Stay in Touch…

Get the news from the prairie delivered directly to your inbox when it's hot off the press!

from my kitchen. . .

Pioneer Woman’s Breakfast Pizza Recipe

Southern Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Pie Baking Artist

farm life

Favorite Farm Girls

  • Beyer Beware
  • GOODEness Gracious
  • The Wife of a Dairyman
  • Fresh from the Farm

Griggs Dakota

Visit our 5th generation family farm...

Latest Recipes

How To Make Snowman Sundaes

Real Farmwives & Friends: My Favorite Christmas Entertaining Recipes

Rhubarb Sauce Recipe

More Posts from this Category

Life on the Prairie…

More Posts from this Category

Women in Agriculture

Ladies Night on a North Dakota farm

Sarah Nasello’s Party on the Prairie Giveaway

Debbie Lyons-Blythe of Kids, Cows and Grass & The Need For Organ Donors

More Posts from this Category

Footer

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2025 ·Captivating Theme ·Custom Designed by Design Chicky· Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.