Kindergarten Celebrations

May is moving right along. Not a whole lot has happened, but enough to keep us busy and to not feel like the month is just dragging on. Mother's Day weekend was great. Gaupo was so kind to go to the store with me where we bought bagels for both breakfasts and lunch. We did that on Saturday. Then on Sunday he got up and made me bacon, eggs, and a toasted bagel for breakfast. I was so amazed because he didn't feel like breakfast, so he really did just cook it for me. Then to help top off spoiling me he made one of my favorite meals--chicken fried steak and oven roasted potatoes. It was really good. I felt very loved, so it was a great weekend. We didn't do anything too exciting because it was rainy all weekend, but that is okay we still had some good family time and enjoyed the things we did.

Anyway, now that I have kiddos in school the end of May is quite a big deal. I don't know that I have ever been quite so ready for school to be over. Everyone asks if we have big plans and even though we are traveling to visit family and things we aren't doing anything too big. I am just excited to have my kids home. We can do things on our own. We don't have a schedule that we have to be ready for in the mornings we can just be and do our own thing. I probably am not making any sense, but I am so ready for my kids and no school. However, I think it is impossible for the school year to end, especially the kindergarten school year, without some celebrations and special activities. Last Thursday was Kylee's kindergarten celebration. The kids came in from recess and all us parents were there and waiting. The kids performed a few songs for us and a cute little poem. Then they were all presented with a certificate and then we had some cookies. It was really cute to watch all the kids. Kylee memorized both of her parts and she LOVED learning and singing the songs they did. Lately they have been learning songs in Spanish and boy have we heard those songs. I can almost sing one of them now and I don't even know Spanish and I didn't know the song before either. Its okay though she loves it.

Kylee and Mrs. Spencer

Kylee and Jensen with her certificates.

Kylee getting her certificate from Ms. Spencer

Song time.

Isn't this such a cute picture.

It is amazing to me to see how Kylee has grown over the last school  year. I took a very worried five year-old to school in the fall and now I have a full grown six year-old who wants to take on the world. She has conquered a lot of her fears lately. She can ride her bike to and from school especially if properly motivated. She can now jump off the diving board, go down the watersides by herself, and swim pretty darn well. She still loves to play with her friends and is not afraid to say hi to her classmates when she sees them. Over the course of the year, she went from not knowing all her letters to being able to read beginning level books, she can add and subtract with small numbers if she wants to, and she loves to write. She can even right stuff you can understand if she will slow down and make sure she is writing what she is thinking. She is quite the kid, I am so proud of the challenges she has taken and succeeded at. She is quite the girl.

Anyway, Kindergarten Celebration was on Thursday, and the on Friday they had field day. The do a field day just for the kindergartners. Tia and I went and watch and lets just say Tia had a really hard time just watching, but she did really good at the same time. Field Day is where the kids get to go outside and play relay type games. Some have water and some don't. The games they played were filling a bucket with water using a sponge, gunny sack and hippy-hop racing, picking up marble with your toes from the bottom of a kiddie pool, parachute games, filling a bucket with water using a bucket that has holes in it, carrying a ball on a plunger and an egg on a spoon, filling a bucket using a cup that was glued to a bike helmet, and then an obstacle course. It was really fun to watch. I think my favorite part was seeing Kylee play with the other kids in her class. I have been a little worried that she wouldn't have any friends and be kind of  alone in first grade, but after watching her at field day, I think she will be fine. Mainly because when she needed a buddy she found one and the one she found was pleased as punch to be with Kylee too. I don't know it was just really fun. I was super proud of Kylee and how she tried everything. By the end she was pretty tired, but you know she worked hard, so her and Tia totally deserved the Popsicle they earned at the end. It was a fun morning and Kylee took a good nap after.

After those two days of festivities, I totally didn't understand why they had to go to school this week. I mean they brought home all their stuff to do work with, and they had all of the end of the year things, but they still had to go. Luckily Kylee loved going and they have actually done some cool things. Like yesterday they mixed up all the kindergarten classes (there are 4 of them) and then they did some activities together. They also let them meet the 1st grade teachers, so that was fun. Kylee says she like Mrs. Higgin's the best, so we will see who she gets next year. This year of school has been challenging I know, but right now I look back on it and I just think about what an amazing year it has been. We have learned and grown, so much I can hardly believe it, but we did it and not only that but we enjoyed it and are better because of it. That last sentance is a giant tender mercy for me, because I may have taken that 5 year-old to school, but this mama was just about as scared and hesitant about it all as she was. I didn't know how it would go, if I would like it, if my kids would be behind, and a whole bunch of other worries and concerns. Now I am here at the end of the year, still a little bit worried about a new year and full day school, but knowing it will be okay because I have grown-up a little too and know that we can do anything. So proud of my Kylee girl!