Back to School

The kids have been back in school for several months now!
Matter of fact the whole first semester is almost over!

Here are some of the things they've done in school this year...

Alex is in 2nd grade this year & guess what, he has the same teacher as last year! He was so excited when he found out he was going to have Mrs. Martin again. It made for such an easy transition back to school for him!

Addy is in 4th grade this year. 

And this is her teacher, Mrs. Strube.

Here's Addy on the first day of school.

And Alex!

Addy did this on the first day of school. I was cracking up reading it when she brought it home, especially the last answer!

These are from a day when I went to school & ate lunch with the kids.

The kids had Red Ribbon Week back in October. 

Some of the themes this year were...

Spot me being drug free or animal print day.

Addy was thrilled to wear her animal print.

Alex not so much!

Red, white & blue day

Character day

And it wasn't during Red Ribbon week but they also dressed up for 50s day on the 50th day of school!

On election day, the 2nd grade class preformed a musical called Vote. They sang several of the usual patriotic songs.

Plus this one... The Presidential Rap. It was Alex's favorite!

I was presently surprised that Alex actually participated! He was signing (or he said he was just lip singing, but at least his mouth was moving unlike during his Kindergarten graduation) and doing the movements.

Here's his class after the performance.

And some pictures with some of his friends.

On Friday, November 18th Alex had a craft day at school.

The kids rotated between the 2nd grade classroom making several Thanksgiving themed crafts.

Including writing picture stories on paper bags

And making beaded necklaces.

They also made felt bags, spice packs, woven placemats & melted crayons to make candles. 

And in addition to all this fun stuff, of course they've been going to school & learning everyday :)

Back to School 2014-2015

August 25th was the first day of school.

Alex is in Kindergarten this year & he LOVES it!

This is his teacher, Mrs. Lansangan & he LOVES her!
(In case you couldn't tell, Alex is quite the lover boy!)

He asked me if I can get her phone number so that he can text her & ask her to come over for a play date! Lol.

He loves the computer lab

and he loves going to lunch.

He loves school so much that he asked me if I can sign him up for extended day (which is after school daycare at the school) so that his school day can be longer!

Like I said, Alex Loves School!

Addy is in 2nd grade this year.

And she doesn't love it :(

Her teacher says that she's doing well in class, but I can see that she's getting easily frustrated throughout the day.

2nd grade is proving to be a lot of work! 

Note taking, silent reading, real grades & real tests. 

And homework! 

(And this is how Addy feels about homework!)

It's definitely a lot different than 1st grade!

We knew it was coming, but it's just proving to be a little overwhelming for my sweet girl. It's still early in the year though so we're hoping that as Addy gets used to her new 2nd grade routines, she'll return to her old "I love school" self again. 

Back to School

Last month the kids went back to school. Well actually, Addy went back to school & Alex started school for his very first time! 

Monday, August 26th was Addy's first day of 1st grade!

(Isn't she just the cutest little 1st grader that you've ever seen!)

Addy was in Ms. Phillip's class for the first week of school & then she was moved to Mrs. Lowe's class. The principal discussed it with me before moving her & I think it was definitely done with Addy's best interest in mind. BUT it has been a difficult transition for her. It's been 3 weeks now & she is finally settling back into her school routine. I'm hoping things continue to get better & better & that she has a fantastic year!

Alex's first day of school (Mother's Day Out) was also on August 26th. 

But on August 23rd, his school had a back to school night. 

Everyone met in the chapel. Father Besson had all the children hold their backpacks up in the air & gave a blessing over them. Then we were dismissed to Alex's class to meet his teachers, Ms. Linda & Ms. Sandy.

Here is my big boy walking in on his very first day of school EVER! 

He was so proud of his Transformers backpack & his Jake & the Neverland Pirates lunch kit.

His classroom door was decorated with Dr. Seuss & he quickly found his name.

He sat down at a table & got right to work.

Don't you like how he wrote his name on his paper, lol!

(He wrote the one in 4 different colors on the side of the paper. His teacher wrote the one in blue on the top.)

He took a few quick pictures with me & sent me on my way. I was so surprised at how quickly he let me leave!

When Nick & I picked him up, he was drawing this picture.

After picking up Alex, we drove to Addy's school & waited for her to finish up her first day. As we were waiting, Alex crawled into the front seat & snuggled up with his daddy as we talked about his first day of school.

I asked him how his day went & he said that he cried a little. Then as he was telling us more, he said that he cried a lot. That he went into the bathroom & sat on a stool and just cried & cried. I asked him why & he said "because I missed you Mommy!" :( That just broke my heart! But I explained to him that school is fun & he'll make new friends & that Mommy will ALWAYS come back to get him! The next 2 days that first week (he only goes to school on MWF) were tough. He begged me not to make him go. He wouldn't let go of me when we walked into his classroom. I literally had to pry him from my legs. But the second week we started car drop off & that made a world of difference. He still doesn't always want to go in the mornings (but I think that's because he's like me & not a morning person AT ALL.) But everyday when I pick him up he tells me about the new friends that he's making & he always says that he had a good time & that he loves school! Which makes me one happy momma!

Oh & after we picked Addy up from school on their first day, we celebrated by getting ice cream cones!

So all in all, the first day of school went well & this school year is off to a good start! 

(At least I think it is. We'll see what Addy & Alex's teachers have to say during parent/teacher conferences next week, lol!)

First Day of School

Today was the Addy's first day of her second year of Kindergarten. She was so excited to to be going back to school that she woke up at 3am!

A few pictures before school...

Lol, I told her to smile & this is what she did. What a silly girl!

 

 

Her classroom door is decorated in zoo animals. Perfect for Addy!

 

 

Sitting at her desk

 

Addy & Mrs. Jalifi...Addy was to busy coloring to look for a picture.

 

When I picked Addy up from school, Mrs. Barry (the special ed aide) said that Addy had a great day. (I'm so thankful for that because I was worried after the 3 am wakeup.) She had an awesome year last school year & I just know that this year is going to be even better!

 

As you can see, the first day back to school + a 3am wakeup = a very tired little girl who took a nap after school.

 

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Last Tuesday was Meet the Teacher night for Addy. Look what I made for her teachers...

 

a school supply cake

 

I saw this idea on Pinterest around Christmas & immediately thought it would be a great back to school teacher gift. Thankfully, I remembered to make them this year.

 

 I looked at the links on Pinterest but decided to do it my own way.

 

For the bottom tier, I took a box of tissues & covered it in a piece of school themed scrapbook paper. Then I used packing tape to secure 10 boxes of crayons around the box of tissues. I also taped a glue stick in each of the 4 corners.

 

For the middle tier, I covered a pack of baby wipes in a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper. And once again, I used packing tape to secure 2 bottles of glue to the 2 sides & a pack of markers to the front. I didn't add anything to the back.

 

For the top tier, I bought a small striped cardboard basket & filled it with an assortment of supplies such as sharpies, paper clips & stickers.

 

For the decorations, I bought a pack of bulletin board border & wrapped it around the bottom 2 tiers. And I used my cricut to cut the apple & the school bus from cardstock. 

 

I think they turned out super cute & both her teachers loved them!