Our Star Student

Austin brought home a Star Student Award! How awesome is that?

His award was for showing responsibility. We're so proud of him!

Pre-K Christmas Program

Austin had his Christmas Program today at school. I also video taped this performance, I just need to figure out how to get it onto the computer!

All the Pre-K students

Can you spot him?

He was very animated during the entire performance. They even got to do it twice. I guess some parents walked in the door as it was ending the first time so the teachers decided to do it again.

After the program I headed back to work and Austin got ready to ride the bus to the CDC.

I'm so glad I only work a block from Austin's school and was able to attend the program.

He did such a great job. I'm so proud of him!

F is for FLY!

I can only imagine what the letter "G" will bring...

Any guesses?

The missing "E" hat

We learned at our parent/teacher conference on Thursday that Austin would be making an Eagle hat on Friday. When I picked him up from daycare on Friday, the eagle hat was no where to be found. I asked Austin where it was and he mumbled something about not being finished so he had to throw it away. I really can't imagine his teacher telling him to throw it away, but I have no idea where the hat is at.

Any guesses for the letter "F"?

****

Our parent/teacher conferences went well on Thursday. Austin needs to work on recognizing his letters, but is average in everything he's been tested for.

I know he's absorbing something because he can do a lot of things he didn't know how to do at the beginning of the year.

He can now:

* Write his name unassisted and without looking at it to copy the letters.

* He can recite all the months of the year in order.

* Counts objects, recognizes the correct number and matches them together.

* Is learning how things rhyme with each other. He tries to rhyme all the time.

* Recognizes some upper and lower case letters. And even knows the sound they make.

There are more, but I can't seem to think of them now. He's done well, and has only had one color change for his behavior. He got a green smiley face last week for hitting others with his lunch box. Apparently he wasn't the only one so that makes me feel a little better. Still doesn't make it right, but we had a discussion about it when we got home.

Overall, we just need to work on recognizing letters. We bought some flash cards and some work books so he can practice.

Tomorrow is picture day. It should be interesting to see how they turn out!

Showing my love at lunch

Austin has said several times that he doesn't like eating lunch at school because he doesn't like to use the trays in the lunch room. So, we I pack his lunch every morning. I keep looking for new ways to get him to eat more of his sandwiches. On this particular day, I used my heart cookie cutter and made him a heart sandwich.

Of course Daddy told me I should never do that again, it probably embarrassed him. (At least I didn't send a love note with his lunch too!)

So when Austin and I found a dinosaur sandwich cutter this past week, we put it right in the cart. He now only comes home with a head or a tail not eaten.

Too bad he won't switch anything up. He takes the same exact thing every day. A ham sandwich, doritos, some sort of snack (fruit snack or crackers) and a juice box. As long as he eats everything, I guess it doesn't matter what he takes.

I'm one of THOSE Mom's

Yes, this is a L.L. Bean backpack.

Yes, it has a matching lunch box.

Yes, they both have Austin's initials monogrammed on them.

Yes, I'm one of THOSE Mom's.

(But guess what? Austin couldn't be more excited about them! Can you say spoiled??)

Day 2

Day 2 turned out to be a better day for Mommy, but not so much for Austin. I walked him into school this morning and he didn't want to let go of me. We walked into school with some of our friends where the boys then posed for a picture.

I also had Austin pose by his class list, but you see how well that turned out!

The teacher mentioned this morning that Austin had an excellent day yesterday. She said he even received a compliment from a 4th grade teacher about how well he was walking in the hallway.

He must have had a good day again today, he came home with a blue color listed on his discipline chart!

Blue = Excellent behavior

I expect him to come home with blue on his discipline chart every day, we'll see how well that goes.

I'll leave you with some Pre-K art Austin brought home today:

The first day

It seems as though the first day of school went off without a hitch. I prepped myself the whole way to school, but it didn't seem to help in the moment I left my son at school for the first time. I really shouldn't be surprised, but I was an emotional wreck as I made a bee line for the doors heading out of the school into the parking lot. And of course, Austin did great!

From what we were able to get out of him, he had a great day at school. He was very excited that he got to ride a school bus to the Child Development Center (CDC) after school. The ladies at the CDC said he was great on the bus and was very polite while at the center. He was just finishing up his snack when I arrived at the center to pick him up.

Hopefully I'll be in a better emotional state when arriving at school tomorrow. I'm hoping to get a couple more pictures other then him standing by his clean underwear and walking to school! Tomorrow is the last day we can walk him into the school without getting a visitor's pass. After tomorrow, I'll be dropping him off at a circle drive where an aide will assist him with getting to his classroom.

He already knows his teachers name and is excited to take his own lunch in his backpack. (Which is on it's way!) He'll be in the swing of things in no time!

Now if I could only get him to stop growing up so fast...

Meet the teacher

Monday is the day I've been excited sad nervous about since I registered Austin for school.

Austin and I went to his school last night to meet his teacher and see the school. Once we found his name on the class lists, we went to his room where we were greeted by his teacher and went on a scavenger hunt to explore his classroom.

We first found his cubby where he will keep his backpack every day. We unloaded his school supplies and headed on to the next place, the place where he will read books.

(You know I brought my camera for this!)

We next moved onto the place where they can wash their hands and go potty.

Next it was on to the place where they might play house and pretend to cook. Austin's first meal he made at preschool was chicken. He was loving the kitchen part!

He then had to find his desk where he's going to do his best work. He had to find the spot where his name tag was and draw a picture for the class quilt. His teacher is going to take every one's picture and create a quilt for the first day of school.

His teacher took his picture and we continued on to check out the library and the cafeteria. We put some money in Austin's lunch account so he can eat lunch at school without having to carry actual money.

I think the cutest part was when the little girl who shares Austin's cubby came into the room. She'll also sit at the desk with him and I see a potential little "girlfriend" for him! She is so cute! She was wearing a little dress and even has an L.L. Bean backpack with her initials on it like Austin. Of course, I really slacked on getting Austin's new backpack (the shark one) ordered, but it should be here by next week. His backpack and his lunch box will both have his initials on it too.

We've been practicing our routine in the morning and it's gone pretty smooth. We'll be preparing ourselves all weekend for Monday. Let's just hope my emotions stay in check Monday...

I hope he's ready

I registered Austin for school today. In exactly 40 days our son will be attending his first day of Pre-K.

I have so many thoughts running through my head about his first day of school. While I'm excited that he'll be attending school, I'm also scared to death.

This is where our parenting skills thus far are put to the test. Will he behave himself? Have we taught him the right things? Will he be polite and mind his manners? The list goes on and on.

I guess we'll find out after his first couple of days.

I'm going to ball like a baby the minute I leave him at school, I already know it.

What was it like when your first child attended their first day of school? Any advice on making the day any smoother for me?