End of school WHIRLWIND

The school year ended... oh, about a month ago... coincidentally riiight around the same time we had a baby! It was a busy stretch of time for the Izatt family :).

End of school = field trips, hooray! Will's kindergarten class got to ride the bus (highlight of Will's life) to a cute petting zoo/farm in Caldwell, Babby Farms. And Chuck got to go along!

Will had a blast; he was a bit hesitant at first but warmed up really well to feeding the animals.

 Funny story: this camel apparently tried to eat Chuck. Like seriously. It opened its mouth and went for Chuck's head. Twice. Like, the top of Chuck's head was inside the camel's mouth. I know, I called him a liar at first also, but apparently the entire field group witnessed the occurrence, and Mrs. Keene and another mom both backed up the story when questioned.

 Just for fun, we'll use this uncropped picture (taken by Will) as an example of how Chuck would look now had the camel succeeded:

 So glad he lived to tell the tale, head intact.

 And now for Clyde's field trip! They took the bus (again, a highlight) to Boise and did a scavenger hunt and lunch and played at a park. Chuck wasn't an official chaperone for this outing (it was the last day of Carma's and my hospital stay) but he did sneak over to eat lunch with Clyde and hang out for a bit.

Chuck took a few pictures and then Clyde and his compadres decided to play a ninja/spy game and hide from the camera, leading to these adorable pictures of their sneakiness. Goofy kids!

These pictures are from the last couple weeks of school; one morning before the school day began the PTA hosted a "Pastries with Parents" event. I'm not sure if it was planned explicitly to see if the allure of doughnuts was enough to get the Izatt boys to school on time, but it worked!

Will's class had a 'pajama day' and he was more than thrilled to wear his Batman shirt to school. And I just love how cute Jack is as he greets his brothers each afternoon :).

 

As I said earlier, Carma was born the Friday before the last week of school, meaning that two of her first big ventures out into the world occurred the following Thursday and Friday for (respectively) Will's kindergarten graduation and Clyde's awards assembly.

It was so fun for the boys to introduce baby Carma to everyone at school. Miss Emily (top left and center) and Mrs. Holman (bottom left and right) were especially excited to meet and snuggle her.

 Here's our cute little kindergarten graduate:

(To the right is the school principal, Miss Christensen. We love her.)

 The program was so cute; the kids came out and sang a couple of songs (one with an accompanying dance number) and then each teacher said a few words before presenting the students with their certificates. 

Two things to note: As their names were read, the teacher also announced what that particular kindergartener wanted to be when they grew up. Naturally, Will's answer was 'missionary'. Secondly, the kids had practiced pausing up on the stand for a few seconds for pictures, so when Will got to the right spot, he loudly proclaimed, "Okay, you can take my picture now!" Chuck and I pretty much died laughing :).

  Some pictures back in Will's classroom after the program. Most of the students left with parents right then, but there was still technically an hour left of school and Will wasn't inclined to cut his kindergarten year short, so he stuck around and got some good quality time with Elle and Mrs. Keene!

 Ahhh, Mrs. Keene. I'm not sure who will miss her more - Will or me! I loved helping out in the classroom and getting to know Jen. She was the perfect teacher for Will this year; she was patient with him but also held him accountable and encouraged growth in his behavior and made sure he stayed busy and challenged and we just love her.

 I love her so much that I insisted on a picture of us together, despite the fact that I was six days postpartum. [Lots of people sweetly commented on how nice I looked and I was quick to share that comfort-wise, it was either this dress or athletic shorts pulled up high above my incision, Urkel-style, and an extra baggy t-shirt.... aka what I immediately changed into upon returning home :).]

The next day was Clyde's last day of school, and we got to attend an assembly to watch him receive his Accelerated Reader award. Clyde was a crazy reader this year. Crazy. Because he earned 70 AR points as a first grader, Mr. Eilers set a high but attainable goal for him this year (60 points)... which Clyde hit by Thanksgiving. And then went on to quadruple it, ending the year with 250ish points, thanks in great part to reading the first four Harry Potter books (we stopped him there; he gets to finish the series this fall), parts of the Indian in the Cupboard and Chronicles of Narnia series, some Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and all five Fablehaven books. Harry Potter and Fablehaven were definitely his favorites and our copies are now falling apart as he reads his favorite parts over and and over.

 Kindergarteners don't usually participate in the AR program, but they make a few exceptions and Will was able to begin taking tests in January, which he loved. We sneaked into the library several times a week after school so that the boys could take tests and check in/out books.

Will made it through almost the entire Berenstain Bear collection (including a few of their chapter books) and a couple of the Littles series and ended the school year with 29 AR points.

 Mrs. Frazier sweetly made Will a certificate to match Clyde's :). She was such a great librarian and so patient with our many visits!

 And here is Mrs. Frazier presenting Clyde with his award at the assembly:

 We sneaked down to Clyde's classroom afterwards so that his classmates could see Carma and to get a picture with Mr. Eilers. Again, we completely lucked out - Mr. Eilers was the perfect teacher for Clyde's second grade year. He kept Clyde motivated and accountable and was so patient and understanding with Clyde's absences, especially last fall. I really appreciated the time I spent in the classroom and watching his teaching style and how well his students responded to it.

 Family picture- happy one week birthday to Carma! 

(Holy moly, I want to take a nap right now just looking at myself here...)

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I love public schools. I love Park Ridge. I love what a great year both of the boys had. I love caring teachers and staff. 

And even though it freaks me out and prompts a slight 'mychildrenaregrowinguptoofast' meltdown, I love seeing these side by side pictures of the boys' first and last days of school:

 Will, kindergarten 

August 2013 // May 2014

Clyde, second grade

August 2013 // May 2014