First Day, Last Day

The Sophia edition:

Preschool Year 1?  Check!

Oh, my baby girl.  She's growing up so fast!  A whole year of school under her belt with lots of great memories and new lessons learned.  And how much older she looks!

See for yourself!

 

First Day - September 4, 2012

Last Day - May 23, 2013

 

First Day

Last Day

 

First Day

Last Day

 

First Day

Last Day

 

First Day

Last Day

(p.s. she asked that we leave her lunch bag out when taking the pictures, so her first day bag looks fuller and heavier)

 

First Day

Last Day

 

And then just a bunch more last day pics I took on the morning before school...

The end of the year was a fun wrap up.  Sophie's cousins, Mya & Stella, celebrated their 4th birthday at school.  Sophie's teachers planned a Tastes Around the World day, where the kids got to taste test foods from different cultures.  And the last day included a picnic lunch outside, where Sophie, Mya & Stella were joined for lunch by Great Grandma Verna & Papa Skees.  It was a great year with so many fun opportunities! 

For Sophie, this year brought a lot of great practice for behaving in a classroom, learning to stand in a line, following directions & listening to the teachers, meeting new friends and playing alongside them, potty training accountability, understanding and respecting rules, etc.  Sophie IS a good and sweet girl and can definitely demonstrate that... buuuut, she can also demonstrate her stubborn, ornery, defiant side as well.  So getting into these school routines and learning her responsibilities will be so helpful for her entry into elementary school later.

We were/are so blessed to have the driving arrangements and accommodations that we did/do for school days!  Sophie's school days were Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. until noon.  On Tuesdays, she brought a packed lunch and rode with Nana and then ate her lunch while Nana cleaned up at the end of the school day and spent the afternoon at Nana's house until mommy & daddy finished work.  On Thursdays, she was picked up from our sitter's house by a carpool with the other kids at the sitter's and returned there after for lunch and afternoon.  Thank you to everyone who made that possible!  We are so grateful!

We had four special helper days throughout the school year and Sophie loved those.  It's such a special honor for the kids and a great way to let the parents be a part of this new experience.  Sophie loved playing outside on the playground, playing with the kitchen and babies, listening to stories, participating in arts and crafts, learning new songs, recognizing routines and definitely sharing a snack with her classmates.

I think our girl looks so grown up here!  I don't know if it's her posture, but she seems to be standing like a teenager to me.  She's definitely grown taller since the beginning of the school year!

Sophie still needs a lot of work on handwriting, but she's getting much more interested in drawing - especially stick people and faces.  She scored well on her reports - which cover many of the basics for this age - and surprised me with some of her recognition of teen numerals.

Lots of times, Sophie had to be reminded to stop sucking her thumb at circle time.  Her cooperation really improved as the school year went on.  Same goes for sitting still during circle time and picking up toys at clean up time.

Sophie LOVED school and was almost always excited for it.  That's exactly the sort of attitude we want to instill!

And now we're looking forward to a fun and active summer with our silly girl!  She is most looking forward to swimming in the pool, berry picking, trips to the beach, bike rides, picnics and play dates.

Summer, here we come!