Constant Beginnings

Claire--1st Grade w/Ms. Garcia Mya--Pre-K w/Ms. Alvarez

Claire is in her 2nd year at Ramstein Elementary. She is in the 1st grade and has a wonderful teacher, Ms. Garcia. It is a great fit. She pushes Claire academically, is creative and makes learning fun. That's what it is all about. We'll see how things pan out as they are wrapping up their first unit in math and will begin differentiated small groups in the next couple of weeks. Claire is especially proud that she's had 3 spelling tests thus far and has earned a perfect score + bonus points on each one. Claire is in the same class as her best friend, Emma though she pretty much meshes with everyone. She seems to play with different kids each day. Chris and I kid that this girl will be in politics one day. She can negotiate like nobody's business and is a chameleon, blending in with whatever group she is placed. Claire is very rule based and does her best to ensure everyone follow those rules. She is also the kindest and sweetest big sister--most of the time. This is...

Every once in awhile, Mya's teacher emails me pictures of her doing something crazy, well actually, they are essentially of Mya being Mya, but to the rest of the world, it is craziness. Check these out. I LOVE the lip action. She is strutting her stuff. This girl has dance moves like no other. Her favorite at this time is the "robot."  Photobombing? What 3 year old does this? Judging by her classmates' expressions, Mya is the only one :) 

I frequently wish I could bottle my children and keep them as they are. Right now. They are so innocent and pure... I asked Claire how she and her friend Diane were different. She responded with this...."MOOMMM, Diane wears glasses and I don't." Duh. I should have seen that coming ;)

It's no secret that this blog is our record of life events and the love we share. I keep no diary, so this is it. I hope our kids will look back someday and read about all the amazing things they experienced, adventures we shared and the immeasurable amount of pride, we as they parents, feel on a daily basis. So, without further ado, is my pride filled post about Claire's reading success. She entered kindergarten on level A, which is knowing all letters, sounds they make and beginning to put words together. She is a stubborn little child. When Chris and I would work with her, she'd get frustrated and give up. We didn't push the issue, knowing that she'd get it when she was ready. Get it, she did. She moved up through the ranks until she was at a level D around Thanksgiving (1st grade level). I raised question to this as I felt this was a lower estimate of her skills. I was suspecting maybe a level E. I am not a reading teacher, but have a general understanding of ...