First Days of School

Last week Gabriel had his first day of Ms. Fuller's Kindergarten class, and I must say he's been looking forward to it for most of the summer.  It was not an easy decision for us to make to have him do one more year of Kindergarten, but at drop off any lingering worries melted away when we saw how confident he looked.  He loved his first week, and is just hoping he'll get to know his new classmates better in the coming days.

Lorelai on the other hand has been struggling a bit with idea of going back to school  She had such an amazing year with Mrs. Troxel in 2014-2015 that I think the idea of having someone else greet her at her classroom door seems just wrong somehow in her mind.  I can't say I blame her, Mrs. Troxel was quite a blessing as her first school experience.  But, I have no doubt that with time she will come to feel right at home in Mrs. Cambrice's class.  Lorelai will be attending a full school day for the full week in preparation of Kindergarten next year, so these are some BIG changes to overcome.  But, she's totally got this, despite the worried face and eyes holding back tears that she had today on her first day.

It's over!!!

Woohoo!!! Today was the last day of school (for the teachers...the kids were done yesterday) and all I can say is that I'm ready for a break. This was a rough year, and I firmly believe that although we get ridiculed like crazy for having the "summers off" (which we actually do a lot of school stuff in the summer) we totally deserve it.

Parents go nuts with their own kids for just a weekend...imagine having 20 of them for the school week.

But...it's notes like these that make it worth it in the end: (from one of my students)

Love,
M (I don't want to put his name on here)

I love you evne win go to 2st grade.

: ) He told me he doesn't want to school to be over because that means he'll be a second grader and he won't see me every day. How sweet is that?

Christmas Party 06

Today we had our class Christmas Party. We had early release but these days feel like the longest. There isn't a single second of down time as the teacher. There aren't any specials classes, lunch is with the kids, and parents are everywhere! Don't get me wrong...I like having the parents around, but sometimes it's just too many people in one room.

The party was good though. The kids had a blast, and we played a word game with kids and parents. Whenever I have a timed activity in my room the kids have to start and end by putting their hands on their head. We made the parents do this as well, and it was a sight to see! You could also see their child's traits in them. What parents couldn't follow directions (or felt directions didn't apply to them), which ones needed directions repeated multiple times, which parents took over the game from their child and wouldn't let the child participate (i.e. control freaks).

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The kids enjoyed their presents...my mom went all out again for the kiddos this year, and they loved it. They think I have the best mom in the world...and I would have to agree with that statement.

Most of all I loved seeing their little faces light up with excitement. There were sad moments (saying bye for 2 1/2 weeks). As much as I like to get a break from them sometimes I worry that their time away from me isn't as enjoyable for them as my breaks used to be when I was a kid. One of my little boys asked if he could take some of the party food home, I gave him permission, because I know that will be his dinner tonight. : ( It makes me want to cry. So, this Christmas keep my little ones in your prayers, that they have a FUN and SAFE holiday.