First Grade Goodness

Conner brought home his first grade journals today.

What a treat.

I could spend all night turning these pages, admiring his stories, and loving his illustrations.

I love that multiple pages are filled with"I am haveing a baby sister" declarations.

 

His Chinese characters are cute.

And let's be honest.  That Phineas and Ferb episode when Candice was under the impression that she had been transformed into a vampire had a significant effect upon Conner.  Multiple pages contained with graphic descriptions of vampires and blood.

With "I love my dad" messages nestled in between.

I love the attempted block letters, fire friends, peak nestled school buildings, and love letters to mom.  The latter are my favorite.

 Pictures of home, Q-burt, sunshine glasses with a b, and fruit men are creative and fun.

But first grade goodness didn't just occur in the pages of the journals.
Love notes were composed on the back of math worksheets.

Holiday art projects.

One hundred day glasses to celebrate one hundred days of school.
I swear that was yesterday.

Haunted houses drawn from library how-to-art books.

Love you mom rainbows, I see books, and word study notebooks.

20/20 spelling tests with classic sentences like "you should not smoke" and "could you take my only duck?"

Environment art, Leprechauns, and sun sets.

Dragon masks in celebration of the Chinese New Years.

Witches.

Stockings, Dr. Seuss hats, Word study notebooks (again), and Christmas Poinsettias.

But my favorite of all favorites are the little love notes he brought home to me.  The Chinese immersion program in addition to longer days away from home were stressful at the beginning for Conner-man.  At the beginning of the year, Conner spent a lot of time writing love for the family notes during class - swoon -  to help with his frustration.

The love notes became almost non-existent around Christmas time as his confidence grew.
I will always cherish these memories:

First grade was an amazing year for Conner.  He learned a lot about the world, the English language, and Chinese potty talk.  First grade was good, very good.  And now that it is over, we are very excited to explore the world of second grade... after a long summer vacation.

ribbon dance and the eyeball show-n-tell

"I am so glad my mom doesn't take pictures of these things," said the boy sitting next to Conner. 

The end of the year dance festival is a big deal and I wasn't about to let the moment pass without taking a picture or two.

Completely embarrassed by my camera, Conner decided to share his eyeballs instead of a smile.

And then... all the sudden it was okay that I was there with a camera.

Eyeball show-n-tell had begun.

First graders performed a traditional Chinese ribbon dance.  For weeks Conner has been complaining explaining just how tired his arms were from swooshing that ribbon around in the air at school each and every day.  Ribbon dancing is hard work.

Sitting on the sidelines, my heart filled with pride.
This incredibly cute kid calls me mom.

School is ninety minutes long tomorrow morning and then his ribbon-dance-arms can take a much needed break.
I am excited to squeeze every moment of fun I can with this kid during summer vacation.
And yes, my camera battery is charged and ready to photograph every eyeball we possibly can.

arrr... it's talking time

There is something so exciting and equally sad about watching your children grow up.  On one hand, I want them to remain small forever while on the other hand, I am excited to witness their growth and maturity. I dream of the men they will become while silently holding onto the memory of how small their feet once were.

Graduations from preschool and first grade are big deals at our house.  Where have the last seven years gone?  I will forever be grateful to the beloved teachers that dedicated their time and energy to my kids over the last nine months.  Their influence has had a strong impact upon my family.

For the last year and a half, Caleb has been enrolled in a special speech therapy preschool provided by the school district.  Class lasted for an hour once a week with many of our new found friends and our very favorite teachers.  As crazy as it sounds, his teachers have become some of my favorite people in the whole wide world.  Their dedication, love, and willingness to help my child with one of his weaknesses is very humbling.  The one-on-one attention with specific homework exercises for his specific impediments have been amazing.  I am truly going to miss them.

Today was our last day of talking time.  In celebration, the teachers hosted a pirate day party for the kids.

"Arrr" you serious?
Yes. I am.
Caleb woke up bright and early with a pirate smile spread across his face.
Aye, today be the day he ben long a-waitin' fer.
  
In addition to awesome speech assistance, talking time always provided me with one-on-one time to craft fun projects with Caleb each and every week.  I truly cherish the time I had to sit next to Caleb - with glue sticks in hand - just the two of us.

And because I hoard everything my kids make, here are some of our favorite projects:  

book baby count down...

image source

Newborn baby toes, the scent of their fragile heads, and the sweet sounds they make when they sleep.  Crisp pages of a new book searing with adventure.  Yum.  Two of my favorite things.  Nothing in the world competes with holding your newborn and reading an amazing book for the first time.

Because my soon-to-be-newborn is not ready to greet the world, I decided to put together a book baby count down.  The goal?  One to two books a week until baby girl is born.

I can think of no greater way to spend the last nine weeks of pregnancy.


Book Baby Count Down

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
• A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibboston
• A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund
• Moonlight Masquerade by Ruth Axtell
• Love in the Balance by Regina Jennings
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• Sixty Acres and a Bride by Regina Jennings
• Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof
• Janitors by Tyler Whitesides
• Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade
• Catch a Falling Star by Beth Vogt
• Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed by Glennon Melton
• Parlor Games by Maryka Biaggio
• Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Pride and Prejudice made me smile... again.  "There will be no butter in Hell!"  Simply put, Cold Comfort Farm was amazing.  A Countess Below Stairs - amazing.  A Noble Groom?  Fantastic.  Daring Greatly is my new BFF.  Ten pages into Moonlight Masquerade and little boy nap time can not come soon enough. Janitors has been fun to read with the boys at night.

Five books into the count down and I am in Heaven.  

I could stay pregnant forever.

Just kidding.

preschool graduation

As of Thursday morning, we have a preschool graduate at our house.  Mr. Caleb, the new proud owner of a very cool graduation cap, is ready and excited to spread his wings into kindergarten.

The highlights of preschool included show and tell, field trips, writing activities, outside play time on the cool airplane teeter totter, and fashion shows.  According to his teachers, Caleb was beyond excited to show off his wardrobe each and every day with bold declarations of "look what I am wearing today!"

Caleb loved meeting new friends, playing games, and singing songs.

And... you know... because Caleb is a boy and boys love food... this preschool graduation post would not be complete without a word or two about the awesome graduation cupcakes with BLUE frosting!

Kindergarten... here we come!