That's a wrap!

The school year, that is. And what a wrap up it was . . . concerts, programs, field trips, and field days. Ideally, I would have done a post on each of these events and there would be videos of the programs and concerts, but alas, it just didn't happen. Actually, there are videos . . . it is just an unfortunate reality that I can't figure out how to get them on my computer. Feel free to come by for a private viewing though.

So, the first end of the year big event was Grant's Spring program. As you may remember, this was our second round through kindergarten. While Grant has been crazy smart all along, this second year has been wonderful in terms of leveling the social and maturity playing fields. It has been fun to go through the various events this year and compare them to last year to measure how far Grant has come. And oh my, what a distance he has come!! I was so proud of Grant during the kindergarten spring program! Sure he was one of the wigglier kids on stage, but he stood in his spot the whole time, sang every song, and even did the motions to the songs. I could not have been more proud.

You can see Grant in this picture in the red shirt at the end of the middle row.

This is Grant and Mrs. Bryan at his program. Susan has been Grant's aid for the past two years has been wonderful for him. She worked hard each day to help Grant learn to be more and more independent and "normal" at school and was very dedicated to keeping me informed about the details of Grant's day--something I definitely appreciated. She'll be moving on to work with other kids next year. (It isn't good for kids to have the same aid for more than two years.) I know that we will all miss her!

Sophia had a Spring Program too. I think Sophia's program was a testament to the courage and patience of her teachers! Can you imagine teaching 16 four year old how to do the Boot Scoot Boogie? The picture below is of Sophia during the dance And if that were not enough, Sophia's class also wrote and performed their own version of The Three Little Pigs. Adorable!! Sophia was the pig who lived in the house made of sticks. She is a born actress.

Brother and sister hug after Sophia finished her part of her program.

This is Sophia with her teachers after the program. Miss Lori and Miss Donna are creative and patient individuals who made school a fun and exciting place where Sophia wanted to go each day. We couldn't have asked for more.

Grant had several other big events at the end of his school year. First was a field trip to Kaleidoscope, a children's hands on learning center. On the way back to the school his class stopped at Penguin Park for a picnic and some play time. I was able to join them for a little while at the park. Here is a picture of Grant eating with his friends.

Then there was literacy week at Grant's school where they did a lot of fun reading activities. At the end of the week, the school had a special activity day at Barnes and Nobel. Grant was asked to read one of the stories that he wrote this year at Barnes and Nobel. I was a little nervous about how he would do, but he was FABULOUS!!! There were probably 50 people in the audience but it didn't phase Grant a bit. He waited patiently for his turn and then read a story he wrote about when the three bears were captured by a dragon. Here he is reading his story. (Apparently he wears that red shirt a lot.)

Then there was field day. Travis was able to join Grant for part of field day. The highlight was definitely the giant inflatable obstacle course, followed closely by eating ice cream. And of course, what is field day without tug-of-war . . . some things never change.

These last few pictures are just because. The first one is of Sophia and her bug cage. Despite all of her princess tendencies, Sophia loves bugs and worms. She loves to find them and keep them as "pets" in her cage. I believe the find on this day was a ladybug.