School's Done and Summer Fun

With the unofficial start of summer around Memorial Day, it meant an official shift in our daily schedule. All of our "school year" activities have ended and while it was a little sad to see such fun things come to a close, there's also a sense of anticipation for what the summer ahead holds for us. Here is a recap of the activities that we enjoyed so much over the fall, winter, and spring!

Kendall and I loved our ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) class on Wednesday mornings. It was a gradually separating class, which meant over the course of the year we transitioned from an exclusively parent/child class to eventually a parent/child portion with the last half of class with just the children (as the parents moved to a different room to discuss various parenting topics.) This gradual shift allowed Kendall's confidence in being separated from me and being cared for by her teachers to grow and flourish. She was always so proud when we reunited, as if to say, "I did it, Mommy! And it was fun!" It was a great year with amazing teachers and sweet little pals.

Katelyn's first year in preschool was wonderful! She made some good friends, learned so many new things, had fun, and grew in both stature and skill. Below is a picture from her Easter concert that I forgot to post a couple months ago. Oops!

It's hard to believe she's now done with three-year-old preschool; it feels like I was just posting her "first day" picture! We had Katelyn's conference back in April and here are a few of the things that her teachers shared:

- She plays well with peers. She adapts well to leading and also playing at the suggestion of a peer. Katelyn especially leads play in the large muscle room (playing tag or racing).

- She's always attentive during story time and likes to participate in Q&A after the story.

- Katelyn listens to and follows directions well and expects her peers to do the same. It can be frustrating to her when the rules are not followed.

- She's eager to learn and try new activities.

Katelyn always enjoyed going to preschool. They learned and discovered all kinds of things from units on community helpers (bus drivers, police officers, fire fighters, etc.) to dinosaurs, from fairy tales to sea creatures, and from friends to farms. Her favorite part of the day was craft/art and snack time.

Here you have her: our 3 year old preschooler in September and our 4 year old preschooler in May... Wow! She has grown so much!

Katelyn's weekly dance class ended with the grand finale at the end of May: the recital! 

Kate loved every minute of the recital festivities. Their dance was called "Hippity-Hoppity Frogs" and it was a tap number. The dress rehearsal was such a great preview for her (and me!) It felt like the real thing to her and she kept calling it the "dress recital." I took the above "on stage" picture during the rehearsal since photos weren't allowed during recital. 

The other pictures were taken before the recital. Katelyn's little tapping feet worked hard up there on the stage and she did her thing without a moment's hesitation. She even smiled and exuberantly sang along to the song a la karaoke :) That's my girl! She certainly made our hearts swell!

Gramma Kathy and Papa came to the recital too. Since I was in dance for many years, they have seen their share of recitals, but this was the first grandchild recital. And it was a memorable one!

This picture was taken on Kate's last day of Tuesday afternoon class. It was another great year of boogying, friends, and simply darling dancers!

(Katelyn in hot pink in the first row)

After a 12 month run of swimming lessons, we have decided to take the summer off from swim class. When I think back to a year ago, I'm reminded of a little girl reluctant to let even a couple drops of water touch her face. Today, she's dunking, swimming, floating, bouncing, and jumping into the water! She's also learned to backfloat for long stretches of time and can also successfully dive for rings (with a little push to reach the bottom of the pool). She has come such a long way! We credit Foss Swim School and their unique, kid-friendly approach to swimming lessons for Katelyn's progress. Here is a (really poor quality) phone pic from her final lesson...

Our weekly bible study also ended back in April, so we pretty much have a blank canvas for summer. Katelyn already had a week of Vacation Bible School at her preschool the first week in June. She has a different VBS week in July and a week of "dance camp" later this month, but other than those couple things, we are very much looking forward to playing at parks, play dates, picnic lunches, splash pad visits, pool trips, bike rides, bubbles...

...new discoveries...

...time at the lakes...

...making memories...

...lounging together and being silly (with pirate Kate :)...

...playing outside at home...

and soaking up, savoring, and appreciating every last ounce of the beautiful summer weather. After this most recent winter, we've undoubtedly earned this one!