We’re Gonna Rule the School

Today it was back to school day for Lauren, Drew and Jack. As the oldest kids in preschool, now, that means they get to rule the school.

We did our usual routine of taking pictures for the first day (you have to capture those new backpacks and haircuts, right?). And even though I am just trying to capture 3 smiley faces at once, I always find one picture that seems to capture their personalities. (You can look at last year’s pictures here and see if you agree.)

For the individual shots, they got bored with waiting their turns and took off on their scooters and bikes down the driveway. So, we were far from early on the first day, but at least we got these pictures out of them:

First, we have Drewski….

then, Jack Attack….

and, finally, Laurenowski

They handled the drop off like real pros, and I had to stop them to give me a hug goodbye. No tears or clinging at all! They went right into their Monkeys class as if they had been there all year. (Yeah, ignore this post that says they won’t be Monkeys anymore. Oops.)

At pickup time, they came out to give me a big hug and seemed to have a great day. They couldn’t wait to show me their papers and tell me that they got to have animal crackers and brownies, played on the playground and made new friends.

I love these crafts that they made with the story they heard:

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a sucker for anything with my kids’ little handprints on it. It was so sweet, and you’ll have to read that poem that was on it:

That almost brought me to tears! Can’t believe that’s it for first days at preschool for us. It went fast, but I’m enjoying this phase with my “big kids”, too.

God bless,

Amanda

Have No Fear, Nadia

We gave the kids some choices of one sport they could do this summer. If you missed it, you can click here and read Dave’s blog entry about Drew’s choice of sports this summer - baseball.  The girls decided early on that they wanted to take a gymnastics class. Jack has decided that whatever the girls do is where the action is, so he joined in, too. We figured if anything, he would enjoy the different pieces of equipment and how they worked.

It was definitely a beginner class, with lots of silly games. They learned about stretching and strengthened their core muscles. The kids seemed to really enjoy it, and the teachers made it lots of fun for them.

They also got to use a few pieces of equipment like a trampoline

the balance beam

the uneven barand the parallel bars

But by far, I think their favorite thing that they did the whole time was this. (Wasn’t it nice of the teacher to let Drew join in, too?)

(Click here if you can’t see the video.)

And at the end of every class, they didn’t get a trophy like Drew, but they got stickers, and a pat on the back or er head.

The girls didn’t get to learn how to do cartwheels like they were hoping, but they still had a pretty good time. Even if they won’t be dethroning Nadia Comaneci anytime soon, having fun is what it’s all about, right?

God bless,

Amanda

Our 1st Grader

So, you got to read here what the end of last school year was like for the triplets. I didn’t get around to the exciting conclusion for Alyssa’s school year. They had the cutest ever graduation for the kindergarteners. I actually teared up a little as the graduates came out to “Pomp and Circumstance”. It hit me hard how fast time goes!

They prepared a really cute program from things they had learned throughout the year in Music. Here’s an excerpt from one of the songs that they sang. As you can see from the video, Alyssa had a good time with it.

(Click here if you can’t see the video.)

They also featured each student up front for one song. Alyssa was up front for “Wee Willy Winkee” and played the xylophone (one of the many things I couldn’t believe she learned as kindergartener).

(If you can’t see the video, click here.)

They read the poem “All I Ever Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten” and sang “Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to 1st grade we go.” Next, they came back in individually with their hats and got a diploma from the principal, after her teacher read her name. Then, her teacher presented her “graduating class of 2010”. It was so adorable!

On the last day of school, they had the Kindy 500, where the kids raced in little carts in the gym. Everyone got a medal, and it was a fun way to end the year.

Then, before we knew what hit us, it was time to start school. Alyssa got a new backpack for her birthday party this summer, my mom took her out to get a new outfit, and we squeezed in a haircut just before bedtime. Then was time to send off my baby to school for 8 hours!  I tried to prepare the trio for her being gone all day. (Lauren’s response was, “Who’s going to play Bahbies [Barbies] with me?”) However, I didn’t prepare myself enough, as my heart ached all day while she was gone. I couldn’t wait for her to get home and tell me all about it. I barely drudged anything out of her before she threw some papers at me, changed her clothes, and asked to go play with her friends. From what I can tell, it seemed to go pretty well, but was not as fun as kindergarten. There were lots of new things for her to learn, like going through the lunch line and which bus stop to get off at. But I think so far she likes being a big 1st grader. As for me, I’m not so sure! Time is going way to fast!

God bless,

Amanda