Chapel

Jack's preschool has a monthly chapel visit where the school director leads the kids through a few bible verses, they sing some songs and then get an opportunity to participate. Jack's class was going to be singing a song so I arranged to attend. It was short but sweet.

Jack was invited to come up and help light the candle. He was very proud.

Mrs. Tuscany read to them about Jesus and why we celebrate Easter.

She then proceeded to explain Easter by using a felt board and making sure to use words the children could really understand. *sadly, my camera was really struggling in the low light of the chapel.

Here is Jack's class singing their Easter song.

April 3rd

Jelly Beans

I like to leave "things" i.e. worksheets, coloring sheets, etc. on the kitchen table at night so that the boys have something new and fun to do when they wake up in the morning. I left this jelly bean number/coloring match worksheet a few weeks ago (well, actually in March) and I was so impressed with how well Jack did with absolutely no adult instruction. That night we colored around the word with the corresponding color which was next to the number inside the jelly bean (does that make sense?). This was the first time I had given him one like this and well as you can see he had no trouble at all. It was actually complete by the time I got out of the shower. He was VERY proud of himself.

It really wouldn't have been any big deal at all if he wasn't able to figure it out, but I have to admit that I was pretty happy that he was able to. Jack is starting kindergarten in a few months and with the proposed shortened day (8-11:20) and the increased class size (from 20 to 30 kids) we worry a bit about the learning environment. We know that we as parents will need to fill in where his school is falling short and thankfully I am confident that I/we can do it. However, it does ease my heart knowing that he is entering school with some good skills.

Okay, I'm done bragging, but what's a family blog for if not to brag about your kids a little :-)

Snow Day

Last week Jack's preschool had a "Snow Day". That is when they truck in some ice for the California kids to play on and attempt to make a half way decent snowman. Jack had a blast and was super excited that I stuck around to watch him play and take a few pictures.











Jack thought it was pretty crazy when I explained to him that in other parts of the country a "snow day" meant that it was snowing so hard that the kids didn't go to school.

Exciting first day of school - 1/26/10

Today Jack started his new preschool and we couldn't be happier at how great it went. He was really happy and seemed to have a great time. He was understandably nervous at first but within about 10 minutes was answering questions and fitting right in. It's a small group of kids - 3 boys and 3 girls and seems like it's going to be the right fit for Jack until kindergarten starts in the Fall. He will be going Tue/Wed/Thur from 12:25 - 3:25.

They said the months of the year, days of the week and counted the days in the month

He got to turn the "weather wheel" to cloudy/rainy and dress the "weather bear"

Check out that happy face!

He was chosen to hold the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance

When I picked him up his teacher said he had a great day and seemed as if he had always been there. I love that! When he said grace tonight at dinner he thanked God for helping his parents find his new school - it was super sweet.

They studied penguins today - it was even dress like a penguin day (notice all the black and white). We found out a bit too late so he wore navy and it was just fine. They did a penguin craft and learned a bunch of cool penguin trivia. He loved sharing all that he learned at the dinner table tonight.

Leaving the boys previous preschool was a difficult decision, especially since it's a great place with great teachers and administrators, but it was the right decision for us. Our hearts told us it was the right decision when we made it and now we have even more proof. It feels good to know that we have made a move for Jack even if it makes life a bit harder for mommy. I know we will all adjust to the new schedule and will be happier in the long run. Benjamin is ready to start his new adventures now that he will be home with mommy and sister full-time! Will update on that next week.

Surprise visits can be the best kind! 12/21

We were SO excited when Mrs. Bailey came by for a short visit. Mrs. Bailey was Jack's preschool teacher last year and someone we miss dearly. She is a wonderfully kind, loving, fun and all around super great lady.


Jack felt so special to have her at his home.

We were so glad she was finally able to meet Annabelle. Mrs. Bailey's prayers and friendship were a great source of strength for me when I was pregnant.

THANK YOU MRS. BAILEY FOR COMING TO VISIT!
PLEASE COME BACK OVER ANY TIME.

Jack's Preschool Photo Album 2/08 - 10/09

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Raising A Reader Graduation 12-11-09

The Raising A Reader mission is to foster healthy brain development, parent-child bonding and early literacy skills critical for school success by engaging parents in a routine of daily “book cuddling” with their children from birth to age five.

We have been lucky enough to have this program available at the boys preschool for the last two years. We love reading with the kids and it's fun to get the different books each week. Many are bilingual reading books or multi-cultural tales so its a great opportunity for us to be exposed to new and different books than we would have probably not chosen during our library visit. The boys were each awarded a certificate of completion as well as a book bag full of books. We hope their love of reading with continue to grow into adulthood.

Benjamin's Preschool Photos

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City Boys on the Farm

Tanaka Farms that is! On Saturday, October 10th, Benjamin's preschool met there. It was a special day for Branden and the boys. We decided it would be easiest for Annabelle and I to stay home this year, but looking at all the fun they had we are super excited for next year's visit.

Branden with his boys


Ben really enjoyed the petting zoo ~ Jack, not so much.

They were allowed to pick 4 of each vegetable - Jack and his first radish!

Picking green beans

Carrots and onions right from the ground ~ how cool!

Poor Mr. Scarecrow - looks like he had a rough night :-0


This is quickly becoming their signature pose. I have to admit that I just LOVE it.
The boys really have a strong love for each other that just warms my heart.


Pumpkin jumping! Branden said they were having so much fun.


The long walk back with their pumpkins


They made it!

Jack carefully washed all of the vegetables

Benjamin was SO proud of their vegetables.
They even shared some radishes with the neighbors.

Costume Day at Preschool

Today was costume day at Jack's preschool. He was really debating on which costume he wanted to wear but finally settled on his Knight / Prince costume. He was so cute and proud of his outfit when posing for this picture. He wore it the whole day at school.

Butterfly Class today

The boys and I took a class today at the Nature Center and it was lots of fun - just what we needed this week. It was all about butterfly's. The kids got to make two butterfly crafts, wear butterfly wings or carry a Caterpillar puppet, walk along the trail on a nature scavenger hunt, catch a bug in a magnifying box and then set it free, help out with the felt board as the teacher read "The Hungry Caterpillar" and sing a few songs. It was a jam packed hour and a half and well worth the $15.00 it cost for the three of us to attend. Here's a few pictures and videos of our fun morning.

They really liked teacher Erica - so cute!

Jack's Preschool Open House

Tonight was Jack's preschool open house and his class performed an "Our Gang" style Variety Show. Each child was given the opportunity to either perform a dance, song, musical instrument or whatever they chose to do or they could help out in another way like taking tickets, or refreshments, etc. All of the children did a wonderful job! Jack has a lot of very talented classmates.

Jack decided to dance to a song from Cinderella - not sure of the exact name but we call it Cinderelly, Cinderally. He said he was wearing his Belle Beauty outfit (not really sure why). However, it doesn't matter because his high energy dancing and confidence on stage was just great to watch. Benjamin and I were in the audience cheering for him and we were so very proud!

After all of the individual performances were completed a group of kids went up and did the chicken dance and a few other songs (itsy, bitsy spider and head, shoulders, knees and toes). Jack invited his brother to join him - it was SO cute! Of course my battery on my camera died so I didn't get any video of Benjamin showing off his dance skills. I did get this cute video of the kids.

Mother's Day Tea Party

This afternoon Jack and I attended a Mother's Day Tea Party at his school. He has been SO excited and talking about it all week. He called it our special date to celebrate "Me". He told me that I needed to wear a fancy dress and that hats and gloves were okay too. He said he was thinking about wearing a tuxedo. He was a bit disappointed when I told that he didn't have a tuxedo. He is SO cute!

We drink tea and lemonade and had some yummy strawberry shortcake.


This is us posing with his wonderful teacher Mrs. Bailey - we just love her!

Here's some video of Jack and his classmates singing us an adorable song.

The children sang 2 songs and Mrs.'s Bailey read us a book. Love you Forever by Robert Munsch - one of our favorites. The children each presented their mommies with a hand made card and a beautiful pendant made by each child. This picture doesn't do it justice but I wanted to show it. It is a very pretty pink with lots of sparkle and shimmer.

The card was pretty funny. It was one of those fill in the blanks. Here's what it said:

1. I love my mommy because she is so nice and is very good.
2. My favorite thing to do with my mommy is to play amusement park with her
3. My mommy like to eat pasta with sauce
4. My mommy is 20 years old
5. My mommy has kinda blackish brownish hair
6. My mommy has brown colored eyes
7. My mommy's favorite thing to do is go to Fresh and Easy, Trader Joe's and write me cards
8. My mommy's favorite place to go is Knott's Berry Farm

It was a VERY SPECIAL start to my Mother's Day weekend. Thank you Jack!