And by "highlights", I just mean some cute stuff that I acquired pictures of from my mom's camera. :) Certainly, there were plenty of learning activities that didn't make it into digital memory, but I do appreciate getting snapshots of Will's school time as often as I can.
Way back in September, when the school year began, the classes were doing a bubble theme as an opening topic for activities. They had cute bulletin boards to welcome new friends and they incorporated bubbles into the decor and discussion quite a bit.
I just love to see unique "art" projects that use unusual props/tools to create a cool texture on the paper, i.e. painting with aluminum foil (stamping) or with bubble wrap as they did recently to create a honeycomb effect for their bug unit. In this activity, the students used a straw to blow bubbles in a mixture of diluted paint colors inside a cup. Once the bubbles rose above the rim of the cup, they'd quickly press a piece of paper over the top to make a "bubble print" on the paper.
This was Will's. I love it!
Then later at snack time, the kids blew bubbles in their milk. :)
A few weeks into school, they did a safety unit for quite awhile. If you remember, they had the fire safety day and also had a policeman come and discuss seat belt safety and being careful in and around cars. On another day, they had someone come in to discuss bicycle safety. All the kids brought in their bicycles/tricycles and safety helmets and they set up a little course with street signs and designated riding areas. (P.S. Will totally has his helmet on wrong.)
This was just a cute pumpkin that he painted around Halloween.
Sometime in early December, they had one of the student's dads come in from the State Highway Patrol, (I think?) as part of their community helpers unit.
I'm sure Will had lots of questions for him. :) You can see him asking one here...
...and then moving directly in front of him to ask some more. Haha. ;)
The officer gave each of the kids plastic hats and badges and we made lots of play time out of those at home!
Outside, the kids took turns sitting in the patrol vehicle.
This is a blurry pic, but at Christmas time, the teachers presented each of the kids with a super cute gift: pillowcases with the child's hand stamped on the center and made into an angel, and a message that said "Sleep in Heavenly Peace". Soooo cute.
This wasn't Will's class (it was the older MWF class), but I'm sharing just because this little guy is ridiculously adorable. One of the moms (I think?) who works with raising and training zoo animals (I think?) brought in this baby tiger cub! She bottle fed him for the kids and he just wandered around letting the children pet him!
This picture was in March when the kids were practicing for their upcoming music program. Will's in front in the blue shirt. 
And this was at the actual performance. 
They did a "bell choir" song too, which turned out very cute. The program was held during a church service so the children in the congregation were invited to come up and join them. 
Later in March, as a continued part of their "community helper" visits, Aunt Kelly (Craig's sister) came to talk to the children about taking care of animals. Kelly is a veterinarian and has her own successful practice in Genoa. 
She talked to the kids about x-rays and showed them some samples.
Will brought in his stuffed dog that looks just like one of Kelly's own pets and Kelly showed them how she sometimes bandages an animal's leg.
And just to make it even more realistic, she brought one of those cone head pieces that the animals wear to keep them from licking/biting the wound.
Haha!
Kelly also brought her new (huge!) puppy, Bentley, with her for all the kids to see and pet. 
This is such a cute pic. :) 
Here's Will and a friend listening to Bentley's heartbeat. :) 
Isn't Bentley cute? He's probably quadrupled in size since then! 
On another day in March, "Grandma Joy" visited and showed the kids some new exercise moves. Joy teaches fitness classes and is always on the move with her grandkids and her workouts.
Will's in the maroon shirt in front. 
Stretching! 
Field trip day! The kids walked across the street from their school to have lunch at a local pizza hot spot. 
Will and a friend checking out the juke box.
This is just a cute picture of the creativity some parents get into to go along with the learning themes. Ladybug cookies for their Bug-a-palooza theme! 
I have a few more pictures that I need to get off of Will's camera to share. He took in "his camera" (one of our old ones) for Show & Tell one day and it was interesting to look at his snapshots of the day. :) I'm also so proud of my mom for the amazing graduation program she put together for the older class that will be moving onto Kindergarten. The whole music program went along with the bug theme and the kids did such a great job. Really unique songs, props and dance moves. And the parents pulled together a nice reception to follow. Will and I attended so I could take pictures for my mom. I'm so excited (and a bit in shock) that it will be Will's turn to graduate next year!
