The Big Playground

I am SO not ready for this.

I just got an email from Ben's teacher (she mass emails the monthly calendar, news letter, etc. to all the parents); it states on the calendar that the senior kindergarteners will start going to the big playground on May 25th (instead of playing in the fenced kindergarten area). This is a in preparation for grade 1 next year.

Grade 1?

It just hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I want my baby to stop growing up!

So incredibly proud of Ben!

This is what my boy - the one who finds reading and spelling 'boring' - did at school last week!


I'm so, so incredibly proud of Ben. I burst into tears when his teacher showed me what he'd done (she invited me in at the end of the day to see). He worked so hard on it and was so proud of himself. What a kid.

The Fox

Ben told me this morning that he wanted to give all the money in his piggy bank to "the fox that runs on one leg". He means Canadian legend, Terry Fox. He'll be participating in The Terry Fox Run at school at the end of the month.

Ben's spring concert

First, I wish I had photos, but I knew his teachers would be taking lots so I'm waiting for theirs.

Second, it was SO, SO cute!

Ben sat right up front and center for his public school concert debut. The theme was the ocean and titled 'Oceans of Fun'. His class sang The Beatles' Octopus' Garden and an unnamed dolphin song.

Based on Ben's level of enthusiasm we'd say his favourite parts were the air guitar segment of Octopus' Garden (adorable) and putting on a pair of super-cool shades during the dolphin song.

Here's a pic of Ben looking handsome in his hand-crafted octopus hat. :)

Little update on Ben and kindergarten

Let me start by saying how much Ben's learned since starting school. His printing and drawing has come a long way; what were once random scribbles (at the beginning of the year) are now legible letters and images. There's nothing more enjoyable to see in his school folder (which comes home at the end of each school day) than pictures Ben's drawn all on his own.

From a social standpoint I think it's been a bit tough on him being the youngest. He's incredibly social and engaging when he's playing in a small group outside of school, but at school he's not interacting a whole lot with the other kids, even during free-play time. It's a departure from preschool where he made friends and played easily with the other kids. I think part of the problem (for Ben) in kindergarten is that there is a 'three kids to a bin' rule, presumably to cut down on squabbles over toys, and Ben isn't forward enough to get himself into a group early on and ends up either playing alone or spaces out a bit, off in his own imaginary world.

I think next year will be a bit easier for Ben since he'll be in senior-kindergarten and still in a JK/SK blended class, so there will be children younger than him. And he'll have had the experience of JK behind him.

Our independant boy

When we got home from school on Monday I'd noticed Ben's entire outfit had changed: shirt, underwear, pants, and socks. So naturally I asked him what happened. He tells me he tried to pee standing up and proceeded to explain that the toilet was in one direction and his pee went in another (and apparently all over him - oops!). So I asked him if his teacher helped him and he said 'No, I handled it pretty well all by myself. I cleaned up all the pee with paper towel!' (And he was so proud of himself!)

Anyway, I had a feeling his teacher wasn't aware for a few reasons: a) his wet clothes didn't come home in his bag, b) he'd forgotten to transfer his epipen to his new pants (he told me he didn't know how to clip it on), and c) she hadn't mentioned it to me when I was chatting with her at the end of the day.

So, forward to this morning. I asked her if she'd known and sure enough she didn't. He really did handle it all by himself! He made a mess, cleaned it up, went out and got his bag of spare clothes, changed, put all his wet clothes in the bag and put them back in his cubby. I'm impressed!

Ben is printing his name!

Ben recently learned to print 'Ben'. I'm so proud of him. He's come leaps and bounds with his fine motor skills since starting school. I'll have to take a photo of his printed name and update the post later.

School drop-offs

My poor boy. He cries every morning that I drop him off at school. Last Friday, however, we were running late so everyone was inside when we got to school and I just ushered him in, said a quick good-bye, and all was fine. But usually when we arrive on time the kids are in the school yard with a few playing, but many just standing in line waiting to go inside. Most times Ben will bring his bag into line then run back to me sobbing, telling me he'll miss me, and it's so heartwrenching (but I remain calm and don't show any upset myself as I know he'll settle in when he gets inside).

But this morning. Oh man. My heart was bleeding for my boy. He said good-bye to me at the gate, we had a hug, talked about the fun stuff he does at school, and off he went. He stood against the wall with the other kids outside, in line, waiting to go in. But when I looked at him I could see he was fighting back tears and wiping them away. And then his face began to contort and I knew he was crying. He tried so hard and couldn't hold it in, yet he didn't come back to me. He was trying so hard to be strong. I so wanted to just give my boy the biggest hug ever and hold him forever.

More JK pics!

Today is Ben's first full day on his own. He was a little hesitant this morning, but his teacher came over and then he was more comfortable going in to join the other kids on the playground.

There were tears today (mine), but I saved them until we had dropped Ben off and were walking away. I might have been fine if Grandpa hadn't started first. :)

I managed to snap a few pictures this morning. It's hard to get pics of Ben posing or facing the camera because, a) he doesn't really like having his picture taken, and b) he had enough to deal with without me pestering him for photos too.

Ben's first day of junior kindergarten (JK)

Ben started JK today. My big boy. It was a half day (afternoon) and parents were welcome to stay, so we did. Fortunately Nic's on holidays so he was able to come too.

Here are some photos from today.












Ben's first full day will be this Friday. He had a good day today and was really cute at the end of class when their teacher played a couple of songs. He was dancing up a storm!

School snack/lunch practice

With Ben starting junior kindergarten next week (who can believe it? where did the time go??) I've started packing his morning snack and lunch in his school lunch bag and putting it into his backpack so he can practice at home. It's allowed him to become familiar with getting his food from his bag, opening the containers, and packing things back up. It's going well. And it seems to be building his confidence too. One less hurdle for him to jump when he starts school.

And the bonus - he is genuinely excited to see what's packed and eats it instead of complaining that he wanted something else!

Teeth and gettin' around

Caitlin now has five teeth. Her two upper central incisors, her two lower central incisors (the first two to cut), and now a lower lateral incisor with the other not far behind. Teething seems to be going easy on her, and if not she hides it well!

She's also getting around a lot by rolling. She rolls all around the family room. I really need to get rid of the coffee table and free up some space for the kids, because between Ben 'making movies' and Caitlin's rolling space can be a rare commodity in that room.

No crawling yet, but I don't think she's far off. My guess is she'll be crawling in a month's time. Maybe a bit sooner.

And such a funny girl too. Caitlin has become so much more giggly and easier to get giggling. Ben gets some really good laughs out of her. Watching the two of them together is really heart-melting. Well, until someone starts to cry. Usually Caitlin because occassionally Ben forgets she's not ready to wrestle yet.