June 10: The End of Kindergarten

Kindergarten is finished for Koen.  So bittersweet!  I can't believe he's going to be in first grade next year!!!  I'm not sure I'm ready for him to be gone all day, every day!  He doesn't think he's ready either.  He's said more than once that he just wants to stay home with us...not because he didn't like school, he did!  He was just afraid he was missing out on something at home.  At least we have the summer to enjoy each other! :)



FIRST DAY of Kindergarten with Mrs. VanSledright!



LAST DAY of Kindergarten with Mrs. VanSledright
(on the hottest day of the year!).

Koen enjoyed a Popsicle with his friend, Roman.

One of his last projects...a map of the letter people and their homes!  He is so proud of this!!!

March 18: Making Hats with Koen's Class

Koen's teacher recently had surgery on her foot.  She's back at school now and doing well, but I had asked if there was anything I could help her with to make her life a bit easier.  She thought it would be nice to have some help decorating paper hats the kids were working on today, so Tysen, Brielle, and I set off for school. 

Tysen loves going to Koen's school, and he considers Koen's teacher to be his teacher, too!  We got there and Ty settled into a seat right next to Koen and made a hat for himself as well (unfortunately, I forgot my camera!).  It was sweet to see how excited Koen was to have Tysen and Brielle there...he spent all his time with them!  Brielle enjoyed crawling around and exploring the classroom on her own. 

September 25: Time Line

Koen's homework assignment was to create a timeline of his life.  Even though it's not one of our planned days, I decided to write about this experience.  As Koen and I sat down to work on his timeline, it quickly became apparent that his idea of what his timeline should look like and my idea of what his timeline should look like were very, very different.  There were 10 spots to fill in with boxes for a picture to accompany the event.

The first thing we needed to figure out is what goes on a timeline.  At first, Koen couldn't remember what Mrs. VanSledright had said about it and I didn't find any written instructions, so we just went with what we thought was right. 

When I asked Koen what he thought should go on his timeline he came up with playing with Isaac, playing with Tysen, and playing with Evan.  I stopped him at this point and said that it was great that he enjoyed playing with his brother and cousins, but a timeline usually focuses on specific events.  After defining events as special things that happen at special times, he revised his suggestion to when he got Thomas and some his other trains.  I realized that to a five-year-old like Koen, getting a Thomas train IS a major event!  At this point, Koen remembered that Mrs. VanSledright said things on their time line should be super-duper important!  So I tried to redirect him again and suggest we start with the day he was born which was a super-duper important day, but I got, "Mom, that's BORING!" (emphasis his).  I suggested we look through some pictures to come up with good ideas for his timeline. 

So in the end, we compromised.  We did start his timeline with the day he was born, and also included the days he became a big brother to Ty and then to Brielle.  We added the Christmas he got his train table and the Christmas he received Thomas the Tank Engine...his first of his now extensive collection.  My suggestions of including the start of Kindergarten and losing his first tooth, major events in my mind, were met with his, "That's BORING!" response.  We went with the following:

1. May 15, 2005: The day Koen William Davies was born (6 weeks early!)
2. Christmas 2005:  Flying on an airplane to visit Aunt Jane and Uncle Mark in Arizona.
3. Christmas 2006:  Getting a train table.
4. October 18, 2007:  Becoming a big brother to Tysen
5. Christmas 2008:  Getting Thomas the Tank Engine for Christmas.
6. August 2009:   Going to a hotel with Grandpa and Grandma Davies and the rest of the Davies family (repeated in July 2010)
7. September 2009:  Starting preschool at St. Mark's Lutheran School
8. February 21, 2010:  Becoming a big brother to Brielle.
9. July 2010:  Spending time with Grandpa and Grandma Smits and cousins/family from Chicago and Arizona

(Isn't it sad that I can only remember nine of them???  I guess I need to start some memory exercises.)

So in addition to the Thomas highlights, he was able to include his initial ideas of spending time with his cousins and family which made him happy and he included a few major events like being born and becoming a big brother.

The other thing I wasn't clear on is whether we were supposed to find photos of these events or if he was supposed to draw them in the space provided.  He was so excited about the assignment, he drew all 10 pictures by himself, and he did a great job!  Apparently, everyone else used real photos on their time lines (not sure if that's true or an exaggeration) but I told him it was great he did all the pictures himself and that I was really proud of him.  And that's the truth!

I can see it's going to be tricky to let Koen, and eventually the other kids, go with their own ideas for assignments for school when I think I know more of what the teacher wants.  I definitely don't want to squelch their creative ideas, but learning how to guide them is going to be my homework for the year...and probably continuing on through many more years.

September 10: Revised Schedule & Crayon Rubbings

With Koen starting school and knowing his interests, I figured we needed to switch around this flexible schedule a bit.  Starting today the new line-up is...

• Monday - Baking Day
• Tuesday - Bible Study and Library Day
• Wednesday - Game Day
• Thursday - Special Day
• Friday - Project Day
• Saturday - ???
• Sunday - Church Day

When I talked to Koen about the change I was SHOCKED at his response:  "When will I get to do projects and crafts?"  (Project Day is now Friday -- a school day for him)  The reason I started calling it project day in the first place was that he didn't like anything resembling a craft, but if I called it a project he seemed  somewhat interested in it.  I explained that he would have plenty of projects and crafts during school, but he still made me promise that we could do some projects on Saturday for him.  Wow.

Look how fast his hand is moving!  A blur!

So today was project day!  I found a bunch of random things around the house (penny, paperclip, placemat, wallet case, nail file, bottom of a sandal, etc.) and then unwrapped a crayon.  Yep!  Good ol' crayon rubbings!  Ty LOVED it!  I took the advice from one of the idea books I have and put some tape rolled up on the table and then stuck things to the tape for Ty to color over.  The penny was his favorite, but it also had one of the most distinct rubbings.  We spent probably 20 minutes or so working on this, but then a few hours later Ty came to me with the tape roll and asked for more tape.  When I asked him to show me why he needed it, he was setting up to do more crayon rubbings with the same materials I had used with him.  Too cute!  So round two began...

And just a highlight in Brielle's life, she's starting to sit up by herself now!  Today she sat up for 20+ minutes!  I can't believe how she's growing up!

Something exciting!

September 8: First Day of School & Creative Play

It was Koen's first official day of Kindergarten!  It took him 30 minutes to roll out of bed this morning, moaning and groaning about how tired he was.  He finally got up and we were out the door on time!  (A relief on my part!)  Once we got to school we went to the playground area where he's supposed to go in the morning, he put his backpack down and almost ran off without saying goodbye!  I had to ask for my kiss, but I imagine it won't be the last time that'll happen. 

It was odd to not have Koen home.  Tysen asked, "Where's mine brother Koen?" three or four times throughout the day...I think he really missed Koen, too! 

Koen was still smiling at the end of the day when we went to pick him up from school.  He told me about his first day (prompted by my many, many questions):  story time, snacks, lunch, other kids, Mrs. VanSledright's pet owl, playing outside FOUR times, and so on.  Part of me really wants to be there to get the full scoop of what's going on.  When he was in preschool and I had to take him into school and walk in to pick him up from school it was easy to stay in-the-know, but already I'm feeling more out of the loop.  We're supposed to bring them to the playground in the morning and pick them up in front of school in the afternoon.  Of course, his teacher invited us to stop by the room either time, but often there won't be a reason to do so (besides sheer curiosity).  I'm sure many of you are laughing to yourself about that...I'm aware that as he gets older I'll know less and less about his school day.  It'll all work itself out. 

While Koen was at school, Ty, Brielle, and I hung out at home.  Tysen and I pulled out his sticker book (mentioned in a previous blog entry), and I was surprised at how good he was at knowing where the stickers were supposed to go.  He thought he was so funny pretending to put the stickers in the wrong spots, and he cracked up when I made a buzzer sound when he was wrong.  He also spent some time hanging out in the garage playing and riding the scooter and his bike.  Dirty, but fun!  It was great to keep him in the garage, first of all because I could easily keep tabs on him, but also because it was incredibly windy today!

September 7: Kindergarten Drop-In Day

After dropping off Tysen and Brielle at a friend's house, Koen and I went to kindergarten for the morning!  We had a checklist of things to do, like find his mailbox, find his locker, find the classroom library and read a book, etc.  He met a few more classmates, and I got to meet some of the other parents.  While he's been resisting the beginning of kindergarten, he asked me if we'd be coming back tomorrow as we were leaving today...a good sign!  And we were one of the last ones to leave.  I know he'll do great, especially once he's comfortable with the people, the place, and the routines.  Now I just hope I do great letting him go for a full day. :)  Here's Koen with his teacher, Mrs. VanSledright:

September 1: Visiting Kindergarten

The first opportunity to visit the brand new Grand Rapids Christian Elementary School was during a one hour window when students could meet their teachers!  The beautiful new building was packed with families (a bit overwhelming) on a hot and humid afternoon.  We honestly didn't look around much due to the large number of people; there will be other opportunities in the future to explore more.

We located Koen's kindergarten classroom and his teacher, Mrs. VanSledright.  He proudly handed her the cut out of himself he made (see a previous blog entry).  She asked Koen to find his name on the tables and told him he could keep the book setting on the table at his spot!  She knows the way to Koen's heart...he was thrilled!  She also took his picture.  I realized that Koen might be growing up a little bit as he stood there, smiled, and was happy to let his teacher take his picture.  We explored the classroom for a while before heading out.  It'll be an adjustment for Koen to stay in one room all day.  In preschool, they had five rooms for the two classes to share, each room with a different theme and set of toys.  It looked like his classroom was connected to the other kindergarten classrooms, so maybe they will share the rooms.  I'm sure we'll find out more at the parent meeting. 

On the way out to the car, we needed to stop by the media center.  I think this will be one of Koen's favorite places no matter which school building he's in.  He began wandering around the stacks looking at books, but then we ran into friends from church and he was eager to talk with them. 

As we get closer to the actual start date of school, I have mixed emotions.  I think school will be really good for Koen -- both academically and socially, but going all day, having to pack a lunch, etc. just makes him seem so grown up already.  I'll miss having him around all the time, though I am glad to have the time with Ty and Brielle.

August 26: The First School Project

Koen received an envelope in the mail from his Kindergarten teacher!  Inside was a letter introducing herself, a list of dates-to-know, and a boy-shaped cardboard cutout.  The instructions asked Koen to color the cutout as himself and then have Mom or Dad write a bit about him on the back.  Koen diligently worked on his cut out.  He's really been taking pride in his coloring and drawing these past few weeks.  The face he drew on "himself" was the best face I'd ever seen him draw, so I asked him where he learned to color like that.  Without looking up at me he replied, "Preschool."  It's funny how I never saw him do that before and three months after preschool ended he displays his drawing skills. :) 

Before I let Koen start on his cutout, I had used it to trace one for Ty to work on.  Tysen had great fun giving himself green and pink hair, on his tummy of course, and coloring all over his boy.