Kindergarten Bound

Bittersweet, I tell you.

Check out this handsome devil on his last day of pre-school!


I can't say enough great things about Drew's preschool teachers.  They were two of the neatest ladies and helped Drew to grow so much this past year.  Academically Drew has always been very strong, but his emotions sometimes get the best of him.  At his first conference in Oct/Nov the lead teacher remarked about how sensitive he was.  While he is still on the sensitive side (according to the end of the year conference) he has gotten SO much better.  I always thought Izzy would be like me - cry when another student in class got in trouble - but I guess it will be Drew.


Wednesday was his last day.


Thursday was his graduation.  Boys had to wear khaki bottoms and white tops while the girls wore white dresses.  I was fortunate that I didn't have to video any of the graduation because we were able to purchase a copy from a videographer!  I don't think I would have been able to video tape the ceremony anyway because I spend the majority of it crying.  Silent tears continually rolled down and while I tried and tried to stop them, I just couldn't.  I think even Pete felt bad for me because he just kept squeezing my hand.  ...heck, I am tearing up just typing this...  How was I not supposed to cry with those sweet little voices reciting poems and singing songs.  ...and don't get me started on the video montage set to sappy music!

Walking in, Drew had the whole place laughing as he announced "Boy, they weren't kidding when they said this place was gonna be crowded!"



The Pledge


Prayer Hands


A Poem



Each child was given a "christian characteristic trait" by their teachers.  Drew was given the trait of LOGIC (his teacher told me she debated between logic and humor).  As he was called to get his diploma his teacher said, "Drew's Christian virtue is logic.  He has a keen mind and ability to reason - we can almost hear the gears turning.  Clear thinking is definitely an asset to the Kingdom of Heaven!"


The celebration party after...with Jack of course :)


Drew with Miss Leigh, Miss Jean and Jack


And no graduation is complete without a gift...Skylanders!


I can't believe this mama loving boy will be in school all day next year.  My heart aches at the thought! My greatest comfort is knowing his sister will walk him to his class each day and keep an eye on him!

Mother's Day Tea

Today was my last preschool Mother's Day Tea...unless I have a mini meltdown after Drew begins kindergarten and decide a third is needed!

It was the sweetest tea yet!

When we arrived in the classroom we were served muffins and coffee (we were told to bring a favorite mug) by our child.  ...but not before Drew signed in.



While we were eating we played a super fun, yet very hard, game.  Each child had drawn a picture of their mommy and we had to match the portrait to the mommy.  I guessed which one Drew did on my first try.  As to not give the answer away, I whispered to him, "Am I number 9?"  He told me I was wrong and  then I felt bad for not knowing.  I re-guessed #3 and he said "yes!"  A couple minutes later he informed me that my first guess was in fact correct.  Phew!  I felt so much better.





The back of the picture had these questions and answers.  I like that I am 20 something and that Drew knows what upsets me is when he whines.  He is correct on both account!





After the game we opened our present...how awesome is this!!!



Then the kids recited a poem called "Daffodils" and sang a couple songs.  My favorite song was "Mama Loves Me" sung to the tune of "Jesus Loves Me".



Here is Drew and his great teacher, Miss Leigh.  We will miss her something fierce next year.  She did an amazing job preparing Drew for kindergarten.



And no school post would be complete without a picture of Drew and his buddy Jack.  I kid you not when I say these two talk non-stop!  They make silly faces at one another and just crack each other up all day.  I don't know how I haven't gotten a more notes home regarding Drew/Jack and issues with listening.  When they are together they are in their own little world.





At one point I looked over and Drew and a couple friends were playing with baby dolls.  It was just so funny...and it made me smile :)



I'm pretty sure this is my most favorite time of the year!

Bad Boy Drew (wink wink)

Drew got in trouble at school again today. This is the second time in the last two weeks.

When I picked him up from school I asked if he got a sticker (stickers are put on the calendar date in their folder for each day if they had a good day, otherwise a note is written in the box)? His response was, "I don't want to talk about it."

I asked him again. Silence.

I told him either he could tell me himself or I could read the note from his teacher. Drew softly told me that he and Jack had to sit on the bench because they didn't stop talking when Ms. L told them too. I began to have a mother/son chat with the boy about where certain behaviors are expected, and how rowdy play is for home, not school. Apparently Drew didn't like my tone because he said, "I don't like when you talk to me in your serious voice."

Once at home Drew asked how much longer until Jack was coming over to play? * When I explained to Drew that he would not be playing with Jack today due to the school incident he told me, "you're not very nice these days!"

And finally when I explained to Drew that when you get in trouble at school, you not only get in trouble at school, but at home as well he told me, "I don't like how your brain thinks!"

I don't know what it is about that kid, through it all I never got mad or lost my cool...I just kept thinking how much I adore him! He screamed, yelled, kicked, threw things, and was just play rotten and all I kept thinking was how my parenting was going to make him better in the long run. Gotta stick to your guns even when they are in preschool :)


*Jack lives 4 doors away and Drew and Jack seem to play daily! Many days I pick up both boys from school and bring them back home with me while Jack's mom stays at the preschool for meetings (she is a teacher).

**Now being one day later I got a note home today saying how much better both he and Jack behaved today. One day at a time, baby!

My Little Artist

I am crazy impressed with Drew's preschool this year. They recently finished up a unit on art/artists and had a little art show.

Here are Drew's masterpieces...

This first picture was "copied flowers in a vase...just for fun!"



This picture was inspired by Georges Seurat who created a painting technique called pointillism. He used little tinny dots of paint instead of a long brush stroke. It took him as long as 2 years to complete some of his paintings. This is Drew's painting with "dots".



Here is Drew's Michelangelo painting. Michelangelo painted on ceilings and walls all over Italy. His paintings told stories and his sculptures looked like real people. Just as he painted the Sistine Chapel laying down on a ladder, Drew used oil pastels to draw and color while lying under a table. How fun it that! Drew's painting is titled, "Angel on a Cloud".





This is Drew's rendition of Henri Matisse. Matisse was too tired and sick to paint, so he used colored paper shapes to make collages. Drew was to make a colored paper collage to imitate either a "snail" or "polinesia" . I'm not sure what Drew "imitated", but I am also not sure what a polinesia is?!?



Here is Drew's self portrait...he did it with him sporting a faux hawk ;). The artist studied for this piece of work was Da Vinci since he did portraits depicting facial expressions - the most famous being the Mona Lisa.



Van Gogh liked to use bright colors to paint pictures of things outside, especially skies and sunflowers. He used a lot of paint. This is Drew's version of "Starry Night".



Finally this is Drew's Pablo Picasso picture. Picasso was a famous artist who liked abstract art and bright colors. He turned things around in his mind and painted them in different ways. When Drew's showed me this picture at the art show, he paused at one point and told me it was upside down. We immediately let his teacher know who corrected the problem by flipping it the other way. Drew's portrait is titled, "Upside Down Airplane"...you can see how this might be confusing ;)


There are so many things I have loved about Drew's preschool teachers and units studied this year, but this one, by far, is my favorite! ...I even learned a thing or two :)