First Day of 1st Grade!

My little baby boy had his first day of ALL DAY SCHOOL!!! How did we get here?!?! He was so excited and I hope his enthusiasm for school never fades because his attitude is awesome!!! He jumped out of bed and was so excited to get ready! He picked out his outfit way back when and could NOT wait to put the whole ensemble together (down to the socks and underwear!). He only wished his backpack was red and black so he would totally match! We walked to school together and took Grant to his class first because I knew his drop off would last 1 minute or less, which it did. We walked down to Wyatt's pod and he confidently walked into his classroom, found his desk, looked at the instructions on the smart board and got busy putting his things away. He had some fresh playdoh on his desk and he got to playing. He seemed very quiet and nervous, but once his buddy Matthew sat down two desks over from him, he perked up and started chatting, which was my cue to leave. After school, when he saw me, I got a giant hug and I could tell he was a little relieved to be done for the day! But he said his favorite part was having 2 recesses!! We went and celebrated his first day with a celebratory Blizzard and it was well-deserved!!!

Last night, as I was tucking him in, I prayed that his teacher would know how to teach him in the way he learns best, that he will have confidence from knowing he is a child of God and remember the God and mommy and daddy love him SO much, and that his year will be filled with learning, growth, joy and fun!! I will keep on praying those words every single day this year Wyatt, so you will love 1st grade even more than you loved Kindergarten!!!

Grant's Last Day of 1st Grade

I'm not sure how this is possible, but 1st grade is OVER!!! I mean, didn't it just start last month? Crazy!! This kid has grown soon much this past year- not just in height either!! He has far surpassed any expectation I had for him this year!! He's a rock-star reader, mathematician, science whiz, and history buff! He was a great friend, responsible student, and just an all around good guy!! (Hopefully I'm not just biased when I think all that!) But truly, he had a remarkable year, with a fantastic teacher, and an awesome class! Couldn't have asked for a better time!!!

Comparison pictures, because I just love them! His face literally changed before my very eyes!!

The obligatory Last Day of School photo in front of the Morse Elementary sign!!

 Who doesn't have lunch at Orange Leaf on their las day of school? It was totally warranted!

 And again for comparison sakes, 1st Day of School vs Last Day of School for these sweet friends!!

Yes, Grant chose his outfit on purpose! :-)

And now, its on to SUMMER VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grant's School Supply Obsession

Sometime around Spring Break, Grant's love of school supplies went to the extreme. Every MWF at school, the 5th graders host a school shop called the Marksmen Market, where they sell pencils, pens, folders, etc. Of course, they aren't just plain on pens and pencils. They are gel pens, or shape erasers, or mechanical pencils. You know, things that just sing to Grant's heart. So every MWF he was trying to scrap his money together to buy little treasures. His little buddies would do it too, and then after school they started trading school supplies or little trinkets. It because this thing they'd do EVERYDAY. One Sunday, while prepping for the week, I was trying to put a snack into Grant's backpack pocket and it was literally bulging at the seams. I thought, "What in the world does he have in here?" Well, this is what he had in there..

In one pocket!!! From them on, I honestly never knew what I'd find in his backpack. 

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He likes to "organize" his school supplies in his backpack or special box quite often! Even with just 4 days left of school, he took 2 quarters to school to buy a special eraser at the market. He's so silly!! 

1st Grade Bake Sale

The first graders were learning about consumers and producers and goods and services, so what better way to end the unit and the school year than with a Bake Sale!!! Our school has very rigid terms for what types of food are allowed in the classroom, so it wasn't your traditional bake sale. The parents supplied the ingredients, the kids supplied their imaginations! Each table group had to come up with a name for their "bakery" and what types of treats they were going to sell. They had to use Twinkies, Rice Krispy Treats, graham crackers, Oreos, Skittles, licorice, marshmallows, and some sort of sugar-free, gluten-free, dye-free (and probably flavor-free!) frosting as the glue! Oh, the ideas that came out of their little imaginations was AMAZING!!! They worked for over an hour making their baked goods! After that, they had to prepare to open their bakery to the public. The teacher staff came shopping first, followed by kindergarten, and then their buddy class- 4th grade! Each group had to make 100 items to sell just to make sure there would be enough!

Each item was 1 penny so that math was easy! It was so cute watching them sell!! Grant was quite the salesmen, and definitely the leader of their bakery. He'd welcome anyone that came close by saying, "Welcome to Yummy Goods! What would you like to buy today?" He really was the only vocal one in the group! A born leader!!

 Some of Grant's bakery goods their group created!

Such a fun and memorable way to end the year!!! Good times in 1st grade!

1st Grade Boat Regatta

Grant's class was learning about density and how and why think sink and float. They put their knowledge to use and designed boats and had a regatta to see who's boat would go the furthest! The kids were so creative with their designs. We used all sorts of recyclables and the kids really got into it! 

The kids took turns racing each other with a single elimination race. After narrowing it down after a few rounds, we had the winner- it wasn't Grant! He changed his design up in the finals and it was a flop! Oh well, guess he learned a little more about how things sink and float! Lesson  learned!! But it was a fantastic time!!!

Look at the dedication to winning!!!!

Grant's Musical

The first graders just put on their musical, How Does Your Garden Groove? It might possibly have been one of my very favorite things I have ever watched!!! But I find it highly impossible NOT to smile while listening to little ones sing joyful noises!! But singing AND dancing WHILE wearing costumes really is just the best thing ever!!

We all had been working very hard on the musical for a few weeks- kids and parents alike. I had volunteered at the beginning of the year to help out. I had forgotten about that so when I went to the volunteer meeting and only 2 other moms were there and we found out we basically had to start all the costumes over from scratch, I was a little overwhelmed. I tried my best to stay away from costumes that needed actual sewing, as I have ZERO sewing skills. But thankfully my mom does, so she swooped in and helped me with some of the costumes I had to make! In all, we made 3 lettuces, 3 carrots, 3 peppers, and 4 string beans. I'm slowly starting to regain feeling in my fingertips after burning myself over and over again on hot glue! But I have to say- seeing those little veggies up there all excited and joyful was well worth it!!

Grant had really wanted to the Freddy Farmer! While I guess he was a "main character" he didn't have a whole lot more lines than any other kid. But he really wanted to stand out! Although he was happy to be one of two cabbages and had a line all to himself! Which by the way, he did AMAZING at!!!

A big shout out to his music teacher, Mrs. Morrison. She is so awesome with the kids! Every single one of those kids was excited to be up there, singing and dancing! That says a lot about how hard to works to make music fun!!! Good good stuff!!

Ernie Miller Park

I was a lucky mama and got to go on TWO field trips with Grant this year! They try and limit each parent to one field trip per year so every parent has the opportunity to attend, but someone backed out at the last minute, so of course I said yes when Mrs. Knapp asked me to come!!! It was a chilly day to be outside, but the sun was shining and no bug were out yet, so it was an awesome time for a wilderness field trip!

We got to search for bugs, learn how to read trail signs, talk about habitats and weather conditions. All that good sciencey stuff that Grant just loves!! And seeing him enjoying time with his friends always makes me smile!!!

Grant and his best buddy, Max. They sure don't have any fun together ;-)

 Grant and Owen!

 Picnic lunch with my fella!

 All that hiking and these kiddos (and their teacher!) needed some R&R in the sunshine!

 Such a great group of kiddos!!

Grant's Birthday @ School

Grant had to wait all the way until March 25th to celebrate his birthday at school! That darn Spring Break always gets in the way! But at least its a good excuse to make the birthday celebrations last a while longer! Our school has a very strict guideline when it comes to bringing in food. Nothing homemade, nothing with peanut butter. So we searched over the Approved Food list and decided on Rice Krispie Treats! 

I got to come in and help celebrate! He passed out his treats, and everyone sang to him! While the rest of the kids wrote Grant a letter, he and I got to sneak over to the reading corner and read a book together! We love any chance to read a Bean Dog and Nugget book (I'm Nugget!). 

It was special day celebrating a special guy!!

1st Grade Gingerbread Day

It's a tradition at Grant's school that the first graders have a gingerbread house making day on December 1st. I knew I couldn't miss this, so Wyatt got to spend the night at Mimi's the night before so I could devote three whole hours to this special event! I so love being up at school, in Grant's class, as often as I can! Someday I don't think he will appreciate it, so I have to get my time in while I still can!

 Their houses were displayed throughout the library for the month of December for the whole school to see!

 Here is Grant's masterpiece! Here is the front...

 ...and here is the back! No detail overlooked!

What a special tradition!! And guess who brought it home on December 18th and has eaten the majority of the candy off it?!?