4th of July

We had a very nice 4th of July.  It started with the Ashers' annual Grown-Ups only party on July 3rd.  We had lots of neighbors this year, along with other friends, and we had a great time.  Here are the only pictures I took that night....very late in the night as evidenced by the fact that Jason is "dancing."

The 4th was on a Friday this year, so we headed up to the O'Fallon Freedom Festival with a group.  Jack got his first face painting and they rode rides and played games.  They even had a craft area where the kids each made a visor.  This was the first year the kids were old enough to stay until the fireworks (in previous years we went home to watch them from our driveway).  They loved it!

Our next door neighbors, Anthony & Natalie

Summer Bucket List #36

Creve Coeur Days

The Creve Coeur Days carnival came to town again, so the boys and I invited Grandma and Grandpa to go with us on a Thursday night again.  It was a fun night of rides and games.  We used our last ride tickets just before it started pouring rain, so it worked out perfectly.

A fun little Thursday activity.

T-Ball Take 2

Jack played in a second t-ball session in June and July, and as I mentioned before, Jason was the coach this time.  We had a lot of fun.  Jason did great with the kids, and Jack loved having his dad and Uncle Todd as the coaches.  He got to play with his cousin Lily and some neighbor friends too, so that made it extra fun!

Splash Pad Fun

We had some fun playing at the nearby splash pad in June.  It's fun to watch the boys get braver and braver each time we visit.

Bucket List #23

Transition to Kindergarten Prep

The week after Jack's orbit, it was time for him to transition to the Grasshopper room for Kindergarten Prep.  We were very sad to say goodbye to Ms Marcie and Ms Erin in the Blue Jay room.  They have been wonderful teachers for the past year and have taught Jack so much.  Here is the card Jack made for them to thank them:

We are also very excited about the new classroom.  Since Jack had been a Blue Jay for over a year, he was ready for a change in pace.  He missed the kindergarten cut-off by 17 days, so he is the oldest in his class (and will be his whole life).

His new teachers, Ms Amy and Ms Kristen, have been great so far and Jack is having a great time.  Each morning he has a sign-in sheet where he makes a weather observation, logs his mood, and writes down the two words of the day.  They also have a "Super Friends" chart where each time the child does something nice for a friend, follows classroom directions, etc, they get to move their picture over one space on the chart.  Once they get to the end (I think it's 10 spaces), they get to pick a little prize for being a Super Friend.  Jack is ALL ABOUT the Super Friend chart.  He has picked a little stuffed animal, a Ninja Turtle highlighter (which he promptly left on a table when we were out to eat - oops!) and a Ninja Turtle bubble wand.  So fun!

Here are a few pictures of him in his new classroom:

Jack and his buddies Bryant and Alan drew the Ninja Turtles

Planet Parade

Jack's class has spent a lot of time learning about the planets and space.  His teachers said they tried a few times to switch to new topics but the kids just kept going on about the planets.  That prompted them to do a class project!  Each kid drew a planet (or moon or other space object) out of a hat, and then they spent weeks working on their costumes.  The parents were told about the project, but we weren't allowed to know much about it.  It was top secret.

The end result of their hard work was a presentation for the parents.  The kids put on an "orbit" for us.  It was too cute!!  We were so proud of our kiddos and all their hard work.

Jack was Mercury, so he was first after the Sun

 

Jack's teachers recorded the whole thing and then dubbed the music on top for us.  It's a little bit long, but SO cute!  The second song is a little more upbeat and starts at the 4:18ish point if you don't have time to watch the whole thing.