End of School

Man, what a year. Iva's kindergarten year was wild, but she ended the year on a high with an amazing brand new teacher. Ms Stansbury is a saint. She came into the middle of the school year after a less than ideal situation and loved those kindergarteners to bits. It was so hard for Iva to say goodbye since we will be in Kingman for the next school year. Moving stinks.

Charlie had a great year in headstart. He loved his teachers and learned so much. He was excited for the end of the year performance and summer. He doesn't have quite the love for school that Iva does. 

Wolf Dog

Every morning at Preschool drop off, Charlie would have to wait and give "Wolf Dog" loves before he went into class. Merle would lick and lick Charlie's face. If Wolf Dog wasn't there or we were late and missed Merle, Charlie's entire day was thrown off. It really became a really sweet thing. Bruce, Merle's human dad, loved stopping every morning to see Charlie and chat. They even wrote Charlie the sweetest note on the last day of school and gave Charlie pictures so he could remember Merle forever. Charlie is such a sweet, kind boy. I hope that never changes.

First Day of School 2017-18

Both Iva and Charlie were excited for their first day of school.

We dropped Charlie off at the gate with no tears and no looking back.  He was out of here. He really is my brave and outgoing (and sometimes wild) dude. He was ready for school and I was ready for a break.

Iva was excited too, but you could see the nervousness on her face. There were no tears. I had no clue we were expected to come into her classroom and stay for awhile while they got situated. I was in my pjs, hadn't brushed my hair and Henry had on no pants. I made an awesome first impression. And I am sure you are thinking that it couldn't have been that bad, but it was. It was so bad another mom from the ward saw me and offered to bring me dinner that night because I looked overwhelmed. Ha! I just wasn't planning on getting out of the car.

Henry wanted in on a few pictures after school. Iva spilled her lunch on her shirt and could not wait to get home and change shirts. Iva, also, got picked as student of the day and got to bring home that black panther for the day. She was so so so excited.

Meet the Teacher

Both Iva and Charlie had their meet the teachers on the same day. Luckily, they were at different times.

Iva is in full day kindergarten this year. She is so excited for kindergarten and to learn more this year. "Last year, I learned how to be a community and this year I will learn math and to read." She is at Arrowhead Elementary in Ms Gorospe's class.

Charlie got into the Three's Headstart class. We are so excited for him to go to school and make new friends. He goes every Mon- Thurs from 8-230. He will get fed breakfast and lunch and then take an afternoon nap. He says he isn't ever going to sleep. We will see. He is at Sunrise Elementary in Ms Deb's class.

Last Day of School

Charlie went to an in home preschool for 3 year olds. He was lucky enough to be able to start when he was two. (Or maybe I was lucky that he was able to start at two.) He went Tues and Thurs from 9:30-12. His teacher Ms Dayna Abraham was amazing. She really was the best. She had 8 boys and no girls in her class. She was so kind, patient, and understanding. The most growth Charlie saw was in not crying over everything and waiting his turn.

Iva participated in the HeadStart program this year. She went to preschool at Constitution Elementary. She went Mon-Thurs from 8:00-2:20. She had a great school year and loved school. She cried on Fridays when she didn't get to go to school. She learned a ton and loved the routine. She is ready for kindergarten next year. She had wonderful teachers throughout the school year. She ended up with one consistent teacher aide, Ms Sandra, and subs for the main teacher. She handled that well and loved Ms Mary McPhee (pictured below with Ms Sandra) and Ms Brenda the most. Her teachers were so kind and supportive and reassured me that she was just fine. Ms Sandra kept telling me that she is everyone's best friend and has no problem talking to people her age and that yes she doesn't talk to adults, but stranger danger awareness is good. Can you tell who needed more reassurance? It wasn't Iva.

I am a Zoo Keeper

Iva had her first school presentation. It was entitled "I am a zoo keeper." She had to pick an animal to present on and build a habitat for them. She was trying to decided between giraffe and anteater. She ended up choosing the giraffe because she didn't want to leave her special anteater at school for a couple of weeks. Henry, Emma and I got to go to school and watch her presentation. She did so good. She stood up in front of everyone (with her back to them) and answered Ms Sandra's prompts about giraffes. I am so proud of her and how far she has come this year.

After her presentation, she had a friendship party in her class. We stayed for the party. Henry was in heaven being one of the big kids and Iva was pretty happy to have special class visitors. 

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Charlie's Preschool, Jitterbugs, went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch, Tolmachoff Farms. Iva and I were lucky enough that we got to tag along. Shawn was on call so he stayed home with Henry (and had the babysitter on standby.)

Going as part of a field trip was a lot of fun. The kids got to do everything and then some more. They picked vegetables, did the corn maze, rode the train, and played all over the farm. Charlie was really happy to have Iva there and the two of them just stuck together. They even picked tiny pumpkins to take home that were right next to each other. Goofy kids.

       

School Updates

Iva is LOVING school. She loves her friends, Ximena and Brooklyn. She is learning a lot. Most days she gets in the car and says "momma, why did you never teach me..." Her teacher told us she is advanced for preschool and passed the kindergarten intake exam except for knowing her phone number, but according to Iva, I still am not teaching her enough :)

Charlie loves school too! He has had to work really hard on not crying when he has to wait his turn. He has gotten a lot better and has gone a few days with no tears at all. When I pick him up, I always ask what did you do today. And his response is always the same "I don't know" said with a goofy smile on his face. 

Jitterbugs

After much debate, we decided to send Charlie to preschool. Lucky for us, we found an in home preschool that would take Charlie even though he is only 2. He did have to be potty trained and ended up training himself when we told him he couldn't go to school if he wasn't potty trained. He was so ready and excited for school. This is Miss Dayna's first year teaching and somehow she ended up with all boys in her class. I can't even imagine. Charlie loves school and has already learned some new random things. He cried the first day when I picked him up- he did not want to come home.

First Day of School

Iva started her second year of preschool. Last year, we did a joy school twice a week for a couple hours. This year we jumped in head first and she is doing Head Start. It is Mon-Thurs 8-230. She is loving it.

On Monday, August 8th, she had short little orientation in her classroom. The teacher turned the kids loose in the classroom while she went over everything with the parents. Charlie and Iva were in heaven playing in the classroom.

School started on Wed, August 10th. She was so excited the first day of school. She was  a bit nervous, but there were no tears shed. She didn't even bat an eye when I dropped her off. She sure is growing up. 

Her favorite part of school is eating breakfast and lunch with her friends. She gets juice that is in a box and really hopes that I can find it at the store because she really likes it. Silly girl.