Tomorrow is the last feast I will attend at Shadow Rock Preschool. I am feeling a bit sentimental over it. Madeline’s and Annie’s and Kimberly’s feasts were wonderful and I have no doubt this one will be as well.

The feast will always be one of my most fond memories of their time spent at Shadow Rock. Each class makes a dish to share with all the other preschool classes. I can’t wait for my last loaf of Mrs. Thurman’s pumpkin bread. I will savor every moment of the feast and try to fight back the tears. It is funny how it really is the little things that get me the most worked up.

*It is interesting to note that I am not one bit sad that Paul is growing up and becoming a more mature boy. To see him grow and become less immature brings me such joy. My sadness only comes from closing the chapter on our lives shared at Shadow Rock. I will certainly miss it.

We all have a couple from our childhood that we look back on and wonder, “wow, really?!?” Now they offer all kinds of photographs and different angles but I just go with the standard photo so that I can get a good gauge of how they are growing and changing each year.

Paul’s Preschool Photo

Madeline’s First Grade Photo

Kimberly’s Second Grade Photo

Annie’s Second Grade Photo

I love how cute they all are. I explained retakes to Annie but she didn’t want to have her photo redone because her earring was so shiny. Crazy girl. Now we know that one day she has a picture to look back on and wonder, “wow, really?!?”

We take them down to the school the next day and get them settled into their classes. Since we now have two second graders and one first grader there really isn’t any clinging and everyone goes happily off to their classes.

Once Bill and I get home we create their first day cakes. This year we colored them with each girls favorite color. Kimmie’s was purple.

Annie’s was pink.

Madeline’s was yellow.

When the Girls arrive home from school we have the cakes set out and we sing “Happy First Day to You”. We replace the words birthday with first day and sing it to the tune of Happy Birthday. The kids make a wish for the school year and they blow out their candle.

This year I borrowed an idea from a friend and did a Girls Night out for the kids in each class. On Friday night we hosted girls from Annie and Kimberly’s 2nd grade class. It was so nice and easy to do, we served pizza, fruit, veggies and homemade cookies. The girls swam and screamed and bonded. We did the same thing for Madeline’s 1st grade class the following night. The kids had such a wonderful time I know we will continue this tradition.

The school year is off and running. Paul and I are at home adjusting to the quiet. (Paul doesn’t start preschool until the end of the month.) I know the kids are going to grow and change so much this year, just like every other year. So many memories will be created and cherished.

Hard to believe we have two 2nd graders and one 1st grader now! The years certainly are flying by.

The kids all did really well in their classes.

Kimberly is a wonderful swimmer but still hasn’t ventured up to the high dive, and I doubt she ever will. She would be an even faster swimmer if she were able to concentrate on her own swimming instead of checking if she is ahead of the other swimmers. I think swim team would be great for her for next year.

Paul is now a full fledge swimmer. No more need for floaters or life vest in the pool at home. His stamina is good and he doesn’t tire after an hour of swimming. His favorite thing to do is dive down and touch the bottom.

Annie is fearless when it comes to diving. Her teacher thinks she would do well on the diving team next summer. While she still struggles with coordinating her body when everything works together she does some amazing dives.

Madeline has become a good swimmer. While she doesn’t take to the water like the other kids do she can get around and she enjoys it. This is the first summer she has had the stamina to swim for an hour without needing to put on her life jacket. She can dive down and touch the bottom of the pool.

As I have mentioned many times on this blog this award is ridiculous. It rewards children for doing what they should be doing anyways. Behaving shouldn’t be going above and beyond, yet that seems to be the norm these days.

As I sat there watching each and every single child in the entire first grade get called and handed an award I was appalled. Annie and Kimberly go to school with a nice bunch of kids but let me assure you that they are not in some sort of amazing school where nobody acts out or misbehaves. So to give this award to everyone, including twice to all the kids who got it the first time, was disgusting. (BTW 12 kids got “honored” with the award back in January.)

I know I have high standards, but this is just abhorrent. I am disgusted and disappointed.

As a parent of a child bringing in their projects on the due date I am far more annoyed. Not only are at least 75% of the projects made by adults, but this time the children who feel dumped on are mine. At home when they were creating their projects they were happy and full of hope. They liked what they were doing and it made sense to them. As they stood there looking at the other projects their faces fell.

Annie drew a wonderful picture of Pluto and it’s 6 moons. Each moon is labeled in her own handwriting and since pluto is made of rock her poster is very dark. She used pencil outlines of the planets. Colored Pluto black and even used a cotton ball for a 3D representation of Pluto. She wrote the title on the top of her poster and used silver glitter to jazz it up. It was simple, to the point and when Annie talks about the moons and facts about the planet she loves every moment. Annie needs to stand tall. Her project was FABULOUS. She did an awesome job learning about Pluto and creating a project that represents things she learned.

As we were standing in line she asked another child what something was on their poster. The kid said he didn’t know and that his mom had just printed out some things from the computer. How sad is it that Annie felt inferior to that! The kid had learned nothing.

Kimberly created a poster about the constellations. She drew some constellations on paper and glued them to her poster board. She drew block letters to spell out CONSTELLATIONS across the top of her poster board and colored them all different colors. Her poster was great and all morning she was practicing saying the harder names like andromeda. Kimberly’s presentation was flawless and her knowledge of the material was vast. But, even she felt like she was shrinking around these other flashy projects.

I want my children to stand tall. I want them to know that they did an awesome job and that by doing it themselves they learned more. I don’t want them to feel inferior to these projects created by parents. Yet, they did. Hopefully over time they will come to realize that they are as great as I think they are.

Yes, their projects look kitchy and underdeveloped, but they are first graders. They did the best they could. This Mom is proud of the work they did.

Last night I received her results. As I sat there reading her scores I was brought to tears. Not over the fact that she didn’t qualify, but over the fact that she did so well. This is not an easy test and my little Mimi did very well.

I sat there with emotions falling all around me. This is my baby with the brain damage! This is my baby that almost died. This is my amazing Mimi who has overcome so much in her little life. This little lady with a big black spot on her MRI is above average. The little bitty who we weren’t even sure if she would ever be able to fully speak to us excels.

Brains are amazing and my little Madeline’s is no exception. I stand in awe of her brain and am so proud of her.

I am proud to report that this year she was tested again and she is now classified as gifted.

The only kink that this places is on the fact that now Annie and Kimberly will have to be in the same class. They only have one gifted cluster class per grade level at their school. I guess we won’t be splitting them up any time soon. Once they are in 4th grade they will have pull-out services so being in the gifted cluster classroom won’t be as pivotal, until then they will be in the same class.

She was so proud of herself. Way to go Kimmie.

One of the biggest changes is that I actually get about an hour a day all by myself. I haven’t had that kind of time to myself in a long time. I have always had one kid awake while the other is napping. Right now I am just using the time to rest and just enjoy the quiet. I know in time I will use this time much more productively. For right now I just want to be lazy.

The older Girls are adjusting to their new schedule and demands. Yesterday was gymnastics night and it proved to be a very long day. It even included a meltdown from Annie which is pretty much unheard of. Annie and Kimberly love their new teacher and are excited about learning.

Madeline is adjusting to Kindergarten. She is EXHAUSTED when she comes home. She has had many tantrums and outbursts this week, which I think are due to her exhaustion. She even yelled at her Grammy yesterday, something she never does. It is a hard adjustment. She really enjoys her alone time and she now has to figure out how to spend 6 hours a day surrounded by people and stimulation. (You would have thought our busy house would do that, but she goes off on her own and ignores us a lot.) She is excited for her learning and can’t wait to read chapter books. I told her she won’t learn this in Kindergarten but she says she will and honestly she is probably right. Mimi loves to push the envelope.

We are all trying to find our new normal. Soon, very soon we will be back to “normal”.

Madeline had her first day in Kindergarten.

We celebrated the day with First Day cakes.

It was a nice day. The kids all enjoyed their classes, except for the fact that Annie and Kimberly said recess was way to short.

The kids really took their time in the bath tonight making sure they would be clean enough for school. We reviewed their morning checklist. They laid out their sassy outfits to wear in the morning. I snuggled each one individually and we talked about their thoughts about the upcoming school year.

When I was talking to Annie she changed the subject and started telling me how to take care of Paul. She was telling me that he likes to play trains, and that I will have to help him make the track. She gave me many pointers on his care. I didn’t say anything to her but inside I was busting up laughing. Who does she think taught her how to play with him? Who took care of her when she was a baby? We certainly didn’t have a 6 year old around to tell me how to do it. How did I manage? I told her that I knew how to play with Paul and that he would be okay while she was off at school. It is always interesting to me how her anxiety is manifested.

We read The Kissing Hand and I drew hearts on their hands. This year they asked if they could draw a heart on my hand. Each girl drew a heart on my hand so that I would have their love while they were away.

Unfortunately we could not find our copy of Owl Babies to read. We had to go without this year.

Then I kissed them goodnight and I went off to make their First Day of School Celebration cakes. This is a new tradition for us. I am excited to see how the kids react to their individual cakes. It is clear that my cake decorating skills need quite a bit of work. Maybe by the time they are in college I will have it right. At least I have star candles to adorn them with and that should make up for the lack of pipping skills I have.

While waiting for the cakes to cook and cool Bill and I created their first day lunch.

They are all so excited. I know this is going to be a great year for them.

Tonight we had the ice cream social and the kids were happy to see teachers and friends. They start back on Monday and I can’t say I am all that sad. Yes, I will miss them but it is the start back into our routine that I crave the most. Bedtime has gotten later and later as the summer has drawn on. The house is in a constant state of mess in one area or another. I can’t even remember what it was like to not have a messy house. I hope to someday find that again.

Mimi is going to be a kindergartener. I just can’t believe it. It seems unreal to me that she has grown and matured enough to go to school. I will miss her but am excited for the burst of maturation that will occur in her.

Annie and Kimberly will be graders. The time with them has flown by. I can see them literally maturing right under my nose. We got their haircut earlier this week and it shocked me how grown up they looked. My girls are getting to be so big and independent.

One more day of summer left. Seems so unreal that the summer is already gone. . .

Today the letters came in. One envelope a little thicker than the other. My heart began beating faster and I felt afraid to open the envelopes. The moment of truth was upon me and I knew my fears had been realized.

The wonderful news in all this is both of the Girls are bright. Of course they are my children and I am swayed to believe they are the greatest thing since sliced bread but now I have documentation that they both are, in fact, above average. They have different strengths and are smart little monkeys.

Annie qualified for gifted education. This comes as no surprise to us. She has always thought about things in a different light than most people. The other week I bought them a new toothpaste that had a pump. She brushed her teeth at least 10 times in a row because she had to see how the pump was working. After her study she had a hypothesis on how it worked. She is amazing and curious and odd, at least to me. Let’s face it most gifted people are a little odd, it is what makes them gifted, if they weren’t odd they would be average.

Kimberly did not qualify for gifted education. The test showed that she is very bright, so bright that she only missed the mark by 9 points. I am sure that in the coming years she will qualify because she is smart and eventually she will have enough experience to offset the testing.

Tears welled in my eyes as I read the results. It was the moment I had dreaded from the moment the testing was suggested. It isn’t that I feel sad that Kimberly didn’t qualify, it is that if either one of them would care about this sort of thing it would be Kimmie. If she understood these results, which she doesn’t and won’t for some time, she would be devastated. It is my job to continue to help her to understand that her self-worth isn’t defined by tests like this. She is an awesome girl, she is very bright, and she shouldn’t feel less because of this. Yet, I know she would.

The results don’t really mean a whole lot in their education except that now one of them is identified and the teachers should be taking that into account. The school they are in doesn’t offer differentiated instruction until 4th grade so they are just going to be in the high cluster class until then.

When Annie and Kimberly were little people used to say, “oh one like Mom and one like Dad.” Meaning one with brown hair and one with blonde, but now it seems that comment is even more true. Bill is gifted and I am not. Annie is gifted and Kimberly is not. Funny how things work out.

Madeline did an excellent job at introducing her Mom and Grammy. We listened as she sang us two songs. Then we helped her decorate her Valentine box. It came out so cute!

Madeline made some yummy sugar cookies that we ate and then we listened to a book and it rained hearts on us!

It was a wonderful evening. I am so glad I was able to share the time with Mimi.

As you can see from the picture above Annie and Kimberly were overjoyed! They were both able to find the right column and check for the numbers on their own. They got close to bingo once but didn’t win—sounds like bingo to me.

Mimi had fun too, though it was much harder for her to follow the numbers. I had to help her out a bit, but she still had fun!

Paul was not into bingo at all and was fairly hard to wrangle most of the night, with the exception of the 10 minutes he was eating Dippin’ Dots.

They were excited to celebrate the day at school and had tons of fun.