Wednesday, May 28, 2008

One year down...

A few weeks ago Ella finished her first year of school. Only preschool, but still, it counted as her first year of school in my book. I know that kindergarten is truly there first year, but since I'm at home with the kids, going to school, even if for only two mornings a week, is a significant step for us and for them. We all came to school for the end of the year program.


I have a picture of the whole class, but one little girl right in the middle chose that moment to lift her dress up. Way up. You can't see her face, and I'm sure her family would never see it, but even so I'm sure her mom unknowingly appreciates me not posting that one! So instead here is another of Ella with a beautiful smile on her face.
And another one. About a week later, right before bed she asked me if I saw her up on stage "smiling so big." She told me that her belly was going thump thump thump. I asked if she was nervous or excited - of course she replied - excited!
She wasn't the only one who was excited! Catherine sat there beaming the entire time - clapping after every song - she even sang some of them the next day (and week).

Here is Ella being a bumble bee - or a mosquito. Not sure which in this picture. I'm pretty sure she's a mosquito...
Finally here she is receiving her "diploma" for her completion of the three year old program.
Not sure what's going on with her dress there - looking a bit disheveled.

On the way out with a backpack full of end of the year projects, I realized that we also had our first report card. It was simple and basic - just "+" for good and "N" for needs improvement. I felt so proud of Ella when I saw that she had all + 's along with some areas that were noted for being extremely good. For example, apparently she has excellent scissors' skills. I thought back to all those times that she shredded every piece of paper in sight with her new found love of cutting and realize that she was basically studying - not driving me crazy with the amount of clean up I had to do. If only I had known.

Also, the teachers wrote a little note about Ella. It was all positive and the first line read "Ella is a sweet and happy little girl." My heart swelled with pride for my Ella and I just wanted to give her a big squeeze and let her know how proud I was of her. Literally thirty seconds after I read those words, Ella started what would become a wopper of a tantrum over a misunderstanding about having a friend come over. It was so ironic that Matt and I continually repeated to each other "sweet and happy little girl" as we tried to deal with Ella's out of control behavior.

I am proud of her and so glad she did so well in preschool. If we have to have occasional tantrums, I'm glad they are at home rather than at school. My new mantra will be "sweet happy little girl" as I spend the summer listening to her whine about not being surrounded by friends. Fun times ahead!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awh! What a happy/sad milestone. We have our oldest registered for his first year of preschool next year as a 4. I am excited for him to gain all those experiences.

Teri said...

You know, Megan - it's so funny that you mentioned the "sweet happy little girl" story because the parents of my preschoolers are continually coming up to me, cautiously asking what their child's behavior is like at school...they are amazed when I tell them that their kids are sweet as pie. And that's the way it is...and I guess the way you would like it to be...respectful and pleasant with their teachers & classmates...and let out all their frustrations (although not too often, I hope, for your sake) at home! Congratulations on a great first year! :)

Happy said...

Ella is such a pretty name. I love it. Congrats on a good school year and many well wishes towards a fun summer...hopefully, tantrum free for the most part. I admire that you do the job that I know is the hardest...staying home with your children. Thanks for your encouraging words on my blog.

Anonymous said...

Made me chuckle! What a milestone--graduation from pre-school! It is hard to believe she is old enough. Next year you better believe that this Nama is going to be at the last day ceremony. Love, Nama

Renee said...

congrats on finishing your first year of preschool ella! love those pictures - a beautiful smile indeed!

Kevin and Amy said...

Megan, you have the most beautiful little girls!! Those smiles are absolutely incredible! It must be so fun to be entering those years where your kids spend time with a "third party" that can objectively tell you just how great they are! Congratulations to your new graduate!

Oh, I loved the Special K entry, too...I should get better with entering my comments. More times than I can count I have begun some sort of diet and then ended up with fistfuls of cookies in my hands wondering where it all went wrong!

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