First Day of School: 1st and 3rd grades

Our little chickadees returned to school on Tuesday and were full of excitement* as the day approached. (* Annika wants it pointed out that she is NOT excited about homework.)

A few days before school, the kids went to their class meet-and-greets with Eric so they could see their new classrooms, find their desks, and drop off their school supplies. (Whoever decided that was the way to go was a genius!! I love not having that on our first day of school to-do list!)

Conor was so excited for his first day of first grade that he was up and dressed in his uniform before I knew what was happening. Annika was only slightly less revved up for the day. (She arrived at the breakfast table still in her PJs.)

Before long, it was time to do the last-minute checks (teeth and hair brushed? check! backpack? check! coat? check! shoes? check!) and head to school to start another year of academic adventures. I couldn't help but think back to last year and how apprehensive Conor was about being a big kid in kindergarten; he clung to my hand as we walked from the van to the school. This year, I could barely keep him from sprinting through the parking lot!

The kids had a blast seeing their friends (many of whom they hadn't seen in 3 months). As for me, it was fun to see them interact with their buddies and to see how much some of the kids had grown over the summer. There were new hair cuts, lost teeth, and many kids who grew quite a bit over the summer.

School let out at noon and as an extra bonus, I brought my sister with me to pick up Annika and Conor. It was fun to see their excited "back to school" faces get even MORE excited when they saw her and exclaimed "AUNTIE ZUZANNE!!!" (No, not a typo.... that's how they say her name.) :)

Both kids had marvelous first days and couldn't stop chattering about how fun it was to see everyone, how nice their teachers are, where their desks are, etc. Not every day will be filled with this much enthusiasm, so I soaked up what I could from this day to carry me through the "bumpier" days ahead, when homework is a chore, friends are mean, and life is just terrible.

We wrapped up their big day with a celebratory trip to Menchie's for fro-yo. Seriously, our kids couldn't have been happier!!

Annika; First day of 3rd grade

Conor: First day of 1st grade

Each year on the first day of school, I take their picture in these shirts to
show their growth, One day, these adult-sized shirts are going to fit
them... and then I'll be a blubbering mess.

Off they go for a new year of learning, adventures, and growth

Annika's last day of kindergarten

Today, I dropped off the kids at school. I do that most mornings, so what's the big deal and why does this merit a blog post? Well, the big deal is today is Annika's last day in kindergarten.

About 9 months ago, we set her off on a new academic adventure called kindergarten. Over the school year, she got 2 adult teeth, lost 3 more of her baby teeth, developed a love of math, started learning how to read and write, started to learn how to speak and understand Spanish, took a jump roping class, went on fun field trips to places like a pumpkin patch and Greenlake (to test out the sea worthiness of the wooden boats they made), and so, so, so much more!

We feel so blessed to have had Mrs. Galvan and Mrs. Silva teach Annika this year. They are incredibly gifted (read: intelligent, patient, humorous, creative, etc) women and true assets to our school.

This has been a wonderful year. We are sad to know it has come to an end, but are consoled to know that so many more adventures are on the horizon.

Next stop: 1st grade!