the end of the school year means.....

.....class parties.....swimming....cherry-picking.....summer fun!

Second-grader

and just for fun..... here is her picture from the first day of kindergarten in 2009:

school portrait

4 October 2010

Third day of school

What's so special about the third day of school? Nothing, really, except it was the first time I had a chance to take the obligatory "back to school" pictures of Evyn. (Bad Mommy!)




Each morning Andrew and I walk her over to the bus stop at 8:10, then back to our yard to wave at the bus as it goes by. Evyn LOVES riding the bus to school. She was not particularly excited about going back to school (starting first grade - all day, being with a new class of children, and the end of long lazy summer days), but riding the bus cheered her up a bit.



Andrew had a tough time adjusting to his sister not being here all day. The first week he ran around the house calling for her, looking in every room in hopes of finding her. Even now, with two weeks under our belt, he whines and sometimes cries when she gets on the bus and heads off. To say he misses her would be quite an understatement. He goes a bit wild when she comes home each afternoon!

Evyn has been doing well so far, although her writing skills have really regressed over the summer. (She's still doing well for her age/grade, but not nearly as well as she was three months ago). My plan for writing and sending lots of letters over the summer - part fun, part practice- wasn't met with much enthusiasm. Hopefully she'll get caught back up in the next few weeks.

class pictures

Aren't they cute?

(pictures of pictures = poor quality)

Last week the kids got to dress up as their favorite storybook characters. Evyn chose to be the kitten from this book that we've read so many times over the years that we both have it memorized:

first field trip (and more tooth news)

Evyn's class (both morning and afternoon sessions) took a 4-hour field trip to East Lampeter Park. Evyn and I used to go there often.... thumbing back through old posts I realize, we hadn't been there since August 2009!

40 kids, 16 parents, 1 teacher = crazy, chaotic fun. We lucked out with great weather!


pictures aren't the greatest - I was trying to snap them while keeping an eye on the kids! click on any picture to enlarge. look for Evyn in a striped, long-sleeved top :)














There was a large group - 50+ - of Amish having an Ascension Day social while we were there. made for an interesting mix.... the other visitors to this usually serene park must have felt a bit overwhelmed by the gaggles of screaming 6-year-olds, and young Amish! (Julie & Andrew below, on right)









Tooth news..... Evyn lost another tooth this morning! It wasn't very loose a few days ago, but it came out quick after the first one fell out on Monday. No more shark teeth, hurray!

first school picture

kindergarten!

Our first 'baby' started school on Monday August 31st.

I was very worried that I would cry when I dropped her off at school.
Not because of school, really. For the last 5 years, it was just the two of us.... "we're a team," as Evyn would always say. But since Andrew's birth, we haven't gotten to spend a whole lot of time, just the two of us.
We've both really missed our mornings jumping back into bed to watch Clifford, lunches at restaurants, and other 'girls' outings. So I was a bit apprehensive that morning.



Evyn is in afternoon kindergarten, their class starts at 12:35 pm. I had some documents I needed to drop off at the school to complete her registration (long story - I'll just sum it up and say bureaucracy is maddening) so we left home a little early. Good thing, because when we arrived at the school I realized Andrew had a blowout! Poopy diaper - as well as poopy shorts, poopy belly, poopy back, poopy legs......

I changed him as quickly as I could in the back of the car, and then I heard - the school bell. I looked down at my watch to see if we were late (she can't be late on the FIRST day of school!) and - my watch had stopped.

When we got to the front door of the school, there was noone around - no kids, no parents. I buzzed the front office to let us in the door and signed in with my visitor's pass. As we started toward Evyn's classroom, she saw a line of students down the hallway and told me she recognized some of the kids. Told me she had met some of them at the practice day and that they were in her classroom. I asked her if she was sure, and when she said yes, I kissed her and told her to join them.

As she walked away I snapped a couple pictures. No time for a good "first day" photo..... and no time for tears! I would just email the teacher later and apologize for her being late. Then I headed off to the nurse's office to drop off my documents.



Afterward, as I left the school it dawned on me that none of the other children in Evyn's class were carrying backpacks. Hmmm, that's odd. So I pulled out my camera, checked the photos, and sure enough - she was the only one with a book bag. That's when I realized - I had sent her with the wrong class! I got back in the car, turned the key, and the car's clock lit up: 12:30 p.m. A full 5 minutes before her class was supposed to start. She wasn't late - she was early.

Ah well, it all worked out in the end. The teacher of the class I sent her with, got her to where she needed to be. (I think they must have been the EDK students, who attend both AM and PM kindergarten sessions- ?)

A few hours later, not knowing what Evyn's bus arrival time would be, Andrew and I waited outside for her.... for 45 minutes! I tried not to worry (did she miss the bus? did she get on the wrong bus?) Good thing it was a sunny afternoon, and Andrew could play in the grass.








Evyn got on the correct bus after school, and rode home, so proud of herself! Turns out, hers is the last stop on the route. Of course, She told us all about her great first day (!) and how much she loved school. Our big girl!