Monday, August 4, 2008

Kindergarten - Take One!

July went by in such a hurry, I didn't even get a chance to give an update on how Ashleigh was doing at her Early Start program LOL! Well, she had a great time and I'm glad we got the opportunity to get her acquainted with her new school, the teachers and the kindergarten routine. The first day, Dave & I were a ball of nerves. Ashleigh was completely stoic; she wouldn't even wave goodbye to Dave when he dropped her off at the carpool lane LOL! She was strictly business. I'm kind of glad Dave had the dropping off duty. I would have been in tears driving away from my baby. Luckily, I got the afternoon pick-up!

For some reason I had it in my mind the program would be almost like my college summer courses. An aggressive, cram everything you can into six weeks, kind of deal. But the focus was mainly on interpersonal skills, learning about feelings, resolving conflicts and making friends. And there was a big focus on learning how to write their names the "kindergarten way" - first letter capitalized with the rest in lowercase. They also took a field trip over to the public library. Ashleigh really enjoyed riding an actual school bus during the trip! And she's now the proud owner of her own library card!

On the last day of the program, we got to watch the kids perform some of the songs they did in class. They also got a certificate from the teacher and ice cream sandwiches as a treat. In talking with Ashleigh's teacher, she paid me just the best compliment ever. She told me Ashleigh followed directions to a tee and all the kindergarten teachers will be fighting to get her in their class come Fall! That's my girl!

Each day I drew pictures for Ashleigh on the napkin in her lunchbox. A is for Apple!


3 comments:

Laura said...

Awww, I got a little teary myself reading that! What a big girl...

Yay Ashleigh!

Corey~living and loving said...

ooooooo this post just made me smile so big. I would be fighting to have that adorable Ashleigh in my class as well, if I were them.

Love your artwork on the napkins. You are such a sweet mama.

Megan@SortaCrunchy said...

Oh my gosh, Mary Ellen - I TOTALLY got teary reading about this! AHHHH! I can't believe how big she is. That is the best compliment EVER. (Well, you know what they say about AP kids. *wink*) Oh, this is just all so exciting and bittersweet. Can't wait to hear and see more.