Our Last Preschool Graduation

Last spring I made Class of 2025 and Class of 2027 shirts for Will and Hallie so that we could begin the tradition of trying on and taking pictures in the shirts on the last day of school. (The idea is that yearly pictures will show the kids growing into their adult-sized shirts.) Will wore his for the first time on the last day of kindergarten, but I decided to start the tradition a year earlier for Hallie and let her wear her shirt for the first time this year.

Tom, Grandma Brenda, Lily, and I attended Hallie's short (but not quite short enough for Lily, who watched the first half intently but spent the second half rolling on the ground and showing off her underwear) end-of-the-year program and graduation ceremony.

As I could have predicted, Hallie rocked the performance part of the program - the girl is always prepared for performances - and seemed to enjoy walking across the stage to hug Ms. Candice and Ms. Fran (who was also one of Will's preschool teachers two years ago) and receive her (blank piece of paper) diploma.

Hallie is SO ready for kindergarten, both academically and socially, and I can't wait for her to take on big kid school next year!

That's a Wrap: Kindergarten

I'm sure this is only the beginning of me writing "I can't believe _____ is already over, and that in a few short months Will will start _____ grade". But it's true - I honestly can't believe that kindergarten is already over, and that in a few short months Will will start first grade.

From what I remember, I loved kindergarten. I loved my teacher, and I loved everything about the "big kid" school day, from reading stations, math worksheets, and centers to music, PE, recess, hot lunch in the cafeteria, and snack. I especially loved being the line leader on my birthday.

I wanted so badly for Will to love kindergarten, and thankfully, he did. He loved his teacher (and so did I, especially after she never brought up the ridiculousness that was our parent-teacher conference), who turned out to be perfect for Will in that she challenged him academically AND helped him come up with and put into practice school-appropriate strategies for controlling his emotions. He loved the "big kid" school day, especially anything technology-related (the computer lab as well as the computer and Smart Board centers in his classroom), buying hot lunch in the cafeteria, and Road Runners (the weekly running challenge during PE).

Here he is, the kindergarten graduate and future graduate of the class of 2025.

It's hard for me to believe these two pictures were taken only nine 

months apart - I think he looks so much older as a kindergarten graduate...

Speaking of kindergarten graduation, stay tuned for lots of great photos and videos of the ceremony next week!