A Poem

I’m clearing some piles from our dining room table this morning, and thought I should share this poem written by Andrew. Each student in his class wrote a poem about a body part. We saw them when visiting his classroom one day. Most kids wrote about their eyes or arms. Andrew, fittingly, wrote about his brain.

My Brain

By Andrew

The best part of me is my brain.

My brain speaks to my body.

My brain sends messages like a computer.

My brain cells zap and zip.

No nick, no trick, and no need to click.

Crooked, light, and goes ummm when it thinks, also as smart as a whip.

Brains bring bubbly things to bodies.

It is thoughtful and imagines a lot.

Now my poem is almost done.

So now my brain will dream about itself, my body’s number one.

I Have a Dream

My most favorite thing to find in the kids backpacks is something they have written, such as a journal or story. In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, Andrew was supposed to write about a dream that would make the world a better place. Here you go:

I have a dream that every body would have a robot. The robot will clean your room, be your friend, do your homework, and tell you all the ansers to your Math test. They will have a computer in it and will log you on then change the password. They will chase away bad guys to the police staion. There will also be a buton to take you anywhere you want to go, even a made up place. They will turn sergrets (cigarettes) to food. They will turn litter into more robots! They will make food for you too. Robots are awesome!

I really must share more of these, because they are so worth sharing. Here’s to robots! I could use one to clean my room, too. 🙂

School for Three

So, three posts after putting up pictures of the first day of school last year … I am to the first day of school for this year. Random blogging at it’s best!

We have three kids in school this year! Yes, THREE! Andrew and Morgan started on Monday, and Paige had her first taste of Preschool this morning! They are all very excited and love school, and we are very thankful.

I was talking with a friend whose kids just switched from the local, small Christian school to the public elementary school. (According to the school website, it’s the largest elementary school in the state of Iowa.) It brought back many memories for me of how hard the “What will we do for school?” decision is. Ben and I have agreed that it was the hardest decision we’ve tackled as parents. Yet, after much prayer and discussion, we also agreed the decision we made was the way God was leading. We thanked God, once again, this summer while sitting in a hotel room in St. Louis when we got word of who Andrew and Morgan would have for teachers. We’ve had a great experience at the school, but I have to chuckle when in the big, giant public school our kids have Christian teachers and principals. Thanks, God, for blessing us in so many ways!

And, now, on to the pictures!

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First and Last, 2011-2012

I’ve been looking through the blog to find a post from the first day of school this year, but apparently I didn’t do one!?! Oh dear! It was a pretty big year, too, having two kids in school full time.

So, without further ado, here was the first day of school:

Morgan’s classroom and teacher:

Andrew’s classroom and teacher:

And, now for the last day comparisons … Andrew is wearing the same shirt! Orange is his current favorite color! Morgan is pretending to cry because she doesn’t want school to be over. Paige got dressed all by herself and did her hair, too.

Andrew’s shirt looks a little bit smaller. He has a different smile, too, with some teeth changes. He had another great year of school! He still loves math and science, and often tells me science facts he’s learned. Sometimes he’ll tell me a random fact and I’ll say, “Are you studying that in school?” and he’ll reply with, “No, I just read about it.” We found out after school was over that he was selected for the TUG (Talented Uniquely Gifted) program that starts in third grade, so we’re quite proud of him for that! Art is another favorite for him. Most of his drawings from art are “levels” in video games that he would like to design. He said he was 65 percent excited for summer and 35 percent sad. Yep, he’s our math kid! 😉

Miss Morgan has had tremendous changes this school year! She went from the preschool kid who never talked at all, to the budding social butterfly with a growing group of friends. She’s still quieter at school than at home, but that’s probably a good thing. 😉 For most of her life she has kind of been Andrew’s shadow, doing whatever he wanted and having favorites identical to him. They are still best buddies, but it is nice to see her step into her own skin, so to say. She also now has a nice group of girlfriends, something that has been lacking due to the fact that our circle of friends is missing girls her age. She also had a great academic year, doing well in school and learning how to read! If you asked her what her favorite thing about school was, she would probably say, “Everything!”

Princess Paige is the most excited to have her brother and sister home for the summer. After the last day of school she prayed, “And thank you that Andrew and Morgan can be home to play with me!” Mom tries, but she usually doesn’t play right. 😉 She is wearing a dress that was Aunt Jamie’s. She said, “This dress is too ‘mall for me, so we should give it to a baby.”

So, there you have it! The first and last day of school! It goes faster every year. Sigh.

Field Trips & Fun

Waaaay back towards the end of last school year, Mom got the fun chance to go with Morgan’s and Andrew’s class on field trips. They both went to the same places: Russel Wildlife and Edmundson Park.

Morgan started with a bus ride from preschool to Russel Wildlife. (It’s a place we’ve enjoyed before.)

We found some new friends.

Morgan revised her role as snake charmer!

She participated in a little listening game.

And cheered on a turtle race!

We hunted for some fossils.

And played games.

Not much later, Andrew took a trip to the same place!

We looked at some snakes.

And examined some animal parts.

Andrew standing in the black coat, ready to play a game.

With  his buddy, Khydin.

Fossil hunting.

And fishing! Watch out! No one caught anything, and thankfully no one snagged anyone else, either. 😉

Next, his class headed to the park for lunch and playtime. And a little pile-making. 🙂

Morgan also went to the park with her class, although on a different day than her field trip. It was her last day celebration. Dad and Paige got to come along, too.

Morgan likes to swing. Wait, she LOVES to swing.

Dad and Paige like to swing, too.

A little merry-go-round action.

And a nice class picture of some cute kids!

The end.

Last Day!

Today is Andrew’s last day of First Grade and Morgan finished preschool on Monday! It is hard to believe that another school year has passed! It is fun to look back and see how the kids have changed over the school year.

Andrew on his first day of First Grade …

I realize how much he’s grown when I see that shirt … we sold it at a garage sale a few weeks ago because it didn’t fit anymore! Here he is on his last day …

He’s wearing the same sandals. I guess his feet have grown a little, because his toes are peeking out a bit more. And he has two new teeth! And besides some physical changes, his reading and math skills have exploded this year! And reading, of course, gives him the chance to learn about anything he wants. His favorite topics vary with ever-changing obsessions interests. He was working on a report about China, recently. He also loves anything with science and building things.

Miss Morgan has changed a lot this year, too! Here she was on her first day of preschool, looking a little bit nervous …

And here she is on her last day …

It is fun to watch Morgan write her name and watch her letters improve over the year. She knows her letters and can count to 100. She practiced her counting a lot in the morning, counting every bite of her yogurt! She also loved learning some sign language and always loves to sing and have actions to the songs. Her favorite thing at school was swinging at recess! She’s gotten very good at swinging and pumping by herself!

Miss Paige has grown up a lot, too! I didn’t take any photos of just her, but here she was on Andrew’s first day, still in her jammies and looking sleepy …

And here she was on Morgan’s last day …

Once again, we were blessed with amazing teachers who love kids and do such a great job! Andrew is already planning on how he can stop in to see his Kindergarten and First Grade teachers on his way to his Second Grade classroom. (Of course, we’re hoping he can drop off Morgan with the same Kindergarten teacher, but we haven’t received official word yet.)

Our task after school today is to come up with our Summer Fun List! Hello, Summer! We are excited to see you!

And Then There Were Two

Morgan started preschool yesterday! She has been waiting for this day for, well, years! She used to ask, “Am I four yet?” when we dropped Andrew off at preschool two years ago. I think she’s going to have a lot of fun!

Here she is, in what has become our traditional “first day” photo spot.

We probably need to go shoe shopping, so she has something besides flip-flops to wear at school. The first day was only 1.5 hours and not a full day, so the shoes weren’t going to be an issue.

Here she is at her hook where she can hang her flowery backpack.

About half of the 20 kids who are in her class were there (the other half came later), so they could meet their teachers, check out the room and find out what they will do each Monday and Wednesday. They also worked on one little project.

I think she will enjoy having a nice number of girls in her class. She’s often surrounded by boys her age when we get together with friends. I noticed she was the only girl in her class without a bow in her hair. I wonder if I can convince her to put stuff in her hair more often? Oh wait, is that teaching her peer pressure? 😉

We loved this preschool when Andrew attended, so we’re excited to see Morgan grow and blossom as she learns new things this year!

First Day of First Grade!

I have gobs of vacation photos to post, but for now we’ll deal with today: The start of First Grade! It sounds so grown up, doesn’t it? First Grade!? It’s really hard to believe that summer is over and a new school year has started! It’s even harder to believe that Andrew is starting First Grade! I’ve written about growing pains before, so I’ll spare all the sappiness again.

Here are some photos from the first day:

It didn’t take long for Morgan to say, “I miss Andrew!”

Outside the school:

No tables for 1st Graders! They get a desk!

His new teacher:

And his new classroom:

Andrew had a little questionnaire to answer before his first day. One of the questions was, “What do you want to learn about in First Grade?” He thought about his answer for several minutes and replied, “A lot of things!” I am sure he will get to do that!

First and Last

Here was Andrew on his first day of Kindergarten:

And here he was on his last day: (Photo courtesy of Grandma Baumer who was taking care of the kids while Mom & Dad got away for a few days.)

He looks a little older, I think. And he got a new backpack mid-year, as his one from preschool seemed to be too small.

I’m wondering why First Grade sounds sooooo much older than Kindergarten! 😉 I’m guessing I will think that every year!

The girls have grown up, too! Here they are on Andrew’s first day of school:

And here they are on his last day:

Morgan will be in preschool in the fall and Paige home with Mom by herself two days a week! Wow! Life will be different. We’ll just enjoy the summer while we can!

Field Trip!

I got the opportunity to go along on a field trip with Andrew’s class in the last few days of the year.

We went to Hy-Vee, a local grocery store, and got to see all of the areas that you don’t usually see. It was cold in the walk-in cooler where they keep the milk!

In the bakery they have a giant mixer and a giant oven that moves the baking items around like a ferris wheel. (Andrew is the fourth kid from the left.)

Our next stop was the police department. A few officers showed the kids their police cars. (Andrew is the one in orange shorts.)

Each of the kids got to push buttons to make the sirens go off! I’m sure the neighboring businesses appreciated all the noise of four kindergarten classes playing with sirens!

Hopefully this is the only time Andrew is in the back of a police car! I’m not sure if you can tell from this photo, but they make police cars for the comfort of officers. There is not much leg room for those who get put in the back!

We also go to tour the police station. We learned about what officers do and all their different weapons. Andrew’s eyes got very large seeing everything. We also got to see the inside of the 911 call center. They talked to the kids about reasons why they should call 911. When they got the opportunity to ask questions, Andrew wondered, “What happens if a robber steals your phone?” The police officer suggest that we go to the neighbor’s to call 911 in that situation.

They didn’t receive any calls when we were there. I would have liked to see them in action. 🙂 A dad who went along with another class told me that a car accident happened when they were in the center so they got to hear several calls.

Our next stop was a local park for lunch and then play time!

At the park, someone from Musco came to talk about their big mobile lighting trucks.

We got several class photos at the park. Some serious and some silly! 🙂

We finished off the day at the Frosty Udder, a local ice cream place! Yum!

It was fun to go along with Andrew’s class! He had a great class with some really fun kids and a super teacher. I cannot tell you how blessed we were this year!