Under the Sea

Nanna, Aunt Mary, and Aunt Elaine threw another fabulous family party in Perrydise. No detail was forgotten. Those cookies were hand-painted, y'all! And the boys were happy to devour them, along with every other sugary snack. Cousin Reagan, Henry, and John were little fish in Nanna and Pa's pool. Peter was happy doing puzzles and giving hugs to his Godfather, Uncle Kevin.

Remarkable Reader

Do you remember Kindergarten?  I do.  I colored and played.  I liked glue sticks and play-doh.

Henry will have different memories.  These days you learn the letters.  You get an orange dot for that.  Then you learn the letter sounds.  You get a blue dot for that.  Next you learn your "sight" words - those words you are encouraged to memorize as a whole by sight, so that you can recognize them without having to use any strategies to decode them.

You start with about 10, and when you learn those, you get the red part of the rainbow.  When you learn another 10, you get the orange part, and so on - yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet - until you learn your first 75.  Congratulations, you earned your Reading Rainbow!  Now you have just 50 more words to go, and then you know the 125 sight words that you are supposed to know by the end of Kindergarten.

The first week of school Henry knocked out his dots, rainbow, and 50 additional words.  A week later he knocked out the sight words for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade.  I am proud of him.

John's Very First Day of School

On his very first day of school, John woke up with a smile on his face and lots to say at breakfast. "You get to go to preschool when you're three. And I'm three now. Sorry, Peter. You have to stay home with Mama so she's not alone." It's nice to know that he didn't want me to be lonely. John requested chocolate chip pancakes to eat. I stuck a candle in them and sang the traditional "Happy First Day of School to you" song, but he looked at me like I was crazy. Peter did not understand the hoopla either, but he was happy to see that his breakfast included chocolate chips.

After a brief photo shoot, we drove to school. John walked right past his classmates crying and clinging to their parents in the hallway. He hung up his bag, walked into his classroom, and found his name tag. He looked back quickly to wave good-bye and that was it.

Three hours later, I picked him up and discovered that he (unlike Henry) likes to chat about school. He told me what they ate for snack, where they played on the playground, how they sit for story time, and who didn't follow the rules. He was quick to tell me, "I followed all the rules, Mama. I listened to the teacher. I was a nice friend. I worked hard. I didn't cry. And I didn't pick my nose." And so he was rewarded with a special lunch waiting at home for him - Chick-fil-a! After lunch, he showed me his artwork. He had attempted to write his own name on his paper, "just like Henry does". I'd say he is off to the right start!

John's Special Day

It was John's turn for a special day before preschool started. He chose to start our day at his favorite place, the book store. When I suggested the library instead, he said "No, Mama, because at the library we have to give the books back. But at the book store, you will buy me a book to keep forever." Well played, Johnny boy. We read a variety of books until he settled on a new Thomas book to bring home. And he had the train table all to himself. For lunch, there is only one option for John - pizza! He was the perfect date at Mellow Mushroom. And of course, our special day included chocolate milk. My little pizza monster took down 3 slices before asking to take the rest home for breakfast. He wasn't too full for a treat though. Our last stop was Coldstone Creamery. John ordered the JAM special - strawberry ice cream with oreos, kitkats, and marshmallows. After having him home with me for three and a half years, I sure am going to miss this boy when he's in preschool for three mornings a week.

Kindergarten!

'Twas the night before Henry's first day of kindergarten. I packed his lunch, wrote a note, and tried not to cry. He set out his special confetti from his teachers. We read "The Kissing Hand" before bed. I cried, he didn't. In fact, he couldn't understand why Chester the Raccoon did not want to go to school. Cue more tears from Mama. We kissed him goodnight at 6:30 PM.

Henry woke up at 6AM sharp and reminded us that he could not be late for the bus. I made him sprinkle pancakes for breakfast, and as tradition calls, I sang him "Happy First Day of School to You". After he was dressed, we snapped a few photos just as the sun was coming up. As we waited at the bus stop, the only one who was nervous was clearly Mama. The bus pulled up and Henry walked right on without looking back. Luckily, I caught a quick wave as the bus pulled away.

Later that afternoon, Henry bounded off the bus with a huge smile on his face (and a Mt. Bethel Buccaneer hat on his head). As usual, he didn't tell me a lot of details about his day. But he was happy and excited to go back the next day. And he was even happier when he walked in the door and saw his special after-school snack coming out of the oven.