That's a wrap!

Oh what a year - beginning PK and 1st to end of PK and 1st!

Time to make like a tomato and catch up!
AND KETCHUP - get it? Get it? tomato-ketchup-catch up....

I love a good corny joke.

I rarely blog in May and this is why. All my teacher fraaaans and moms of school age kids are lifting their hands while singing PREACH!

I have so much to catch up on that I am just going to try to get it all out in one big blog. Disclaimer off the bat, most of this is keep my memories alive and update our extended family on our happenings.

Luke's PK Program
I swear just a few short days ago Evan was preforming in his PK program. (Oh.my.gosh - when I went back to find this blog, I saw I titled it AND started it with the exact same joke I used in this one. Take me out to pasture now...I'm starting to repeat my stories without even knowing it...)

Anyway, Luke performed SO well. I will speak a truth here. I was scared to death. Luke doesn't like crowds and he really doesn't like crowds staring at him. I might have mentioned to his teachers I didn't think the whole PK program was going to work for him. Like "we were going to be absent that day", didn't work for him. Amazingly, in Luke fashion, he surprised me. He did GREAT thanks to his amazing teachers and Mrs. Broadway! He even had a small special part where he played the wood block. He was SO proud of himself! He lit up!

 

Evan's Recognition Chapel
Evan's last chapel as a 1st grade allowed the first graders to be acknowledged for their accomplishments for the year. These big kids just mean so much to me. I quite literally have known some of them since they were in their momma's bellies!

Evan received an art award for his Book Week Poster, and AR award, physical fitness recognition, and received his Tiger badge. He's grown so much this year and has amazed me not only with his academics but his heart.

End of the Year
The end of the year is always so bittersweet for me. I love wrapping things up in a nice neat bow, but I hate moving on. I don't do goodbyes. Period. I just don't do them. So to say "I'm done" or 'goodbye' doesn't come naturally. I get all awkward and dodgy and just plain weird. Saying my kids are done with an entire grade makes my stomach ache and I never have the right words for my kids teachers.

You see, I was a teacher for 9 years before I had kids. I knew what the kids meant to ME as a teacher. I loved my students....I mean, LOVED them. I worried about them. I celebrated with them. I cried for them. They were my babies. When I had babies of my own, the way I viewed a teacher became an entirely different thing. I was handing my beating hearts over the them for a full year. The way Mrs. Lawo, Mrs. Ruffin, and Mrs. Field took my children into their heart will forever stay with me. I am constantly amazed by the teachers at SG. This year was no exception. We all left a little bit better than when we came.

Game Ball!!

Super proud of this boy right here! He got the game ball last night for ripping a triple the first time up to bat. But that isn’t the real reason I am proud. It’s the character he showed out on the field and the lesson he learned from a mistake he made a couple games ago. While some of the boys on the other team were smack talking and saying they were going to "kick their butts", Evan just smiled and shook his head no. He could have engaged (and has engaged before) but chose to take the high road and keep his mouth closed. I am sure their words didn’t feel good while they were on the field, but I am super proud of the sportsmanship he showed both his team and the other team. Way to go E!! You totally earned that game ball for not only that slammin’ triple, but your amazing character!!!