Frog Theater at Preschool

I took my first turn volunteering at Todd's preschool today.

We started off eating lunch together.  Usually there would be twice as many students, but on Thursdays half the class comes in the morning and half in the afternoon so the teachers can do activities that require more one-on-one attention.

Today the kids practiced writing, made wide-mouthed frogs out of paper plates, made up their own little plays about frogs, then performed the plays for their classmates.

Then they went outside to play on the playground and blow bubbles.  The end.

Dressing Up for Picture Day

Joy was going to wear her usual T-shirt and leggings to school, but then she remembered it was picture day, so she put on something nicer: 

Her fanciest Sunday dress.  With grey leggings.  I wish she was still wearing her metallic pink flip flops; they really completed the ensemble.

And I'll bet she smiled just like this for the camera!

First Day of Fall

Today is the first day of autumn (Yay!), and the weather was very pleasant . . .

. . . so we decided to take a family nature walk through a nearby park this afternoon.

We saw lots of interesting bugs . . .

. . . figured out how many little Hendricksons you can cram onto one rock . . .

. . . played a rousing game of tag at the playground . . .

. . . then went home to make pumpkin cookies . . .

. . . with butterscotch chips, of course!  It was, indeed, a happy first day of fall. :)

Math Lesson After Church

Joy loves to ask adults to give her math problems to solve.

After church today, she asked this guy for a math problem and got a little more than she bargained for.  Which she didn't mind in the slightest.

The Second and Third Day of Preschool

Todd is enjoying preschool . . .

. . . although my number-conscious son thought it was downright silly that the "1st Day of School" sign was still up on the SECOND day.  Fortunately, someone took it down before Day 3.

When it isn't raining, the kids like to ride bikes on the sidewalk loop before and after school.  Today I arrived to pick up Todd, and I found his teacher pushing him along while he made a token effort at pedaling.  Hopefully he'll get the hang of it (or catch the vision of it?) soon, if only for his teacher's sake.

Today the teacher and her assistants traced the students on butcher paper, then the kids colored in their self-portraits.  Striking resemblance, don't you think?

The kids can also send each other mail, and Todd was pleased to receive a note today (even if it was addressed to "Tobb").

Most of the notes are written on unused Christmas cards the parents have donated.  The snowy picture may seem out of place on a summer day, but friendship is always in season. :)

Todd's First Day of School

It's Todd's first day of preschool, folks!

He started the day off with a little light reading at home . . .

. . . then our Little Man awkwardly put on his big backpack and headed off to school.

I tried to get a picture of him from the front, but he likes to get to the van first, so every time I quickened my pace he sped up to keep ahead of me.  Oh well.

We took advantage of the First Day photo op . . .

. . . and here he is with the preschool class of 2019.  They all looked excited, and I was sure Todd and his new classmates would have a great time, but for the first time in my life I had a case of nerves when I dropped my child off for the first day of school.

Perhaps it was because every other time I did it, I had some other little Hendrickson at home needing my attention, so life carried on more or less as usual.  This time I was dropping off my baby, and there was no one else at home who needed questions answered or tears dried.  That's a big change after nearly twelve years of perpetual parenting, and big changes always make me a little nervous, even when I'm confident that they'll be a good thing for everyone involved.  

And so it was today.  Todd had a fun time at school, and I enjoyed having quiet time to work and relax at home.  We're both looking forward to the second day of school tomorrow.

A Slinky for a Lamp

Joy recently heard about something called a "paperclip challenge," where you start with a common paperclip (or some other common item of low monetary value), then trade it for something of more value to you, then trade that for something that is more valuable, and so on.  She was intrigued by this idea, and decided to give it a shot.

In her most recent trade, she gave Daniel a slinky for his new bedroom lamp.  I actually like that lamp a lot better than the old one in my bedroom--I wonder what I could trade her for it?

Preschool Preview and Reading Day

Todd's preschool had a short get-together today so the kids could see their school and meet their teacher before class officially starts next week.

Todd had fun listening to a story and a song with his future classmates. 

During play time, he headed straight for the magnet letters.  His teacher Miss Judy came over to see what he was up to, and he told her about his quest to put all the alphabet letters in order.  The letter H proved surprisingly difficult to find; I don't remember whether he ever unearthed one in the letter bin.

On a side note, this picture reminds me how weird it would be to suddenly become 4 years old again, and be surrounded by people who were twice my height.

After Todd's preschool preview, we headed over to Thunder Hill, where parents and grandparents were invited to read stories in the classrooms.  I read one to Anna's second grade class . . .

. . . and then Daniel's fourth grade class.  It's sweet to have kids who are still excited when their mom visits their classroom to read a story.

The Abacus and the Catamaran

Todd's preschool starts next Tuesday.  The parents took turns cleaning the school this week and getting everything set up.

I brought Todd along during my cleaning shift, and he was bored and clingy until I found an abacus and showed him how it works.  Forget those little one and ten beads at the bottom--let's work with the hundreds and thousands!

After he got tired of the abacus, Todd found a little friend to do tangram puzzles with while I cleaned the painting easels.  I don't think preschool will advance Todd's prodigious math skills much, but I do hope it will help him develop friendships with kids his own age.

In other news, Daniel competed in his first Cub Scout raingutter regatta last night.  He had zero interest in decorating his boat, so he let Joy decorate the hull and sail, and he handled the racing.  

His mom added a helpful suggestion to the back of the sail: "Apply oxygen here."  Upon reflection, I should have written "Apply carbon dioxide here," but oh well--he got the idea.

Daniel was eliminated in an early heat, which really disappointed him, but after the official race was over he cheered Joy on as she raced their boat against another scout sibling.

First Day of School 2018

Today was Joy's first day of middle school.

I can't believe how grown-up and mature she's starting to look.

And there she goes, getting aboard the big kid bus.  Sigh.

An hour later, it was time for Daniel and Anna . . .

. . . to climb aboard good old Bus 754 on their way to Thunder Hill Elementary.

Then it was just Todd and me in a quiet house for the next six hours or so.  It's been fun to have everyone home this summer, but it was nice to have some quiet time today to get things done without interruptions.  I'd forgotten how rejuvenating that is.