Last Day of School-Still May

 I was Caden's room mom for his class this year so I was responsible for planning the end of year party. Unfortunately, the problem with being the coordinator means that you aren't the picture taker since you are so busy doing other stuff :-( After bombing the Christmas party, I was determined that the end of year party was going to be great! And, it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. After a pizza lunch, I turned our assigned section of the parking lot into very simple carnival style games and the kids were free to rotate through them however they pleased. We had a bean bag toss, a splatter paint station, a sunglass and crazy straw scavenger hunt, a sidewalk chalk station, they used water squirters to knock cups off a stack, outdoor bowling, and a wet sponge toss. The kids made a mess, had a blast, and then ate popsicles! Success!! Here are just a couple of pictures from the party:

 

After cleaning up, Caden took a picture with Ms. Beth and Ms. Mary before we left. We had a wonderful year with them! Ms. Beth was also Ethan's 3 year teacher and Ms. Mary also had Caden in the 1's class a couple of years ago, too :-)

The next day was Ethan's party and official last day at Shadowbrook. Mason's mom, Aundrea, planned a great party for them that included a scavenger hunt that took them all over the classroom, the school, and outside.

 It included a hug someone special that you have learned a lot from clue...so cute!

 And ended with dress-up

 After the scavenger hunt, the kiddos came back to the room and had a summer gift exchange

 Ethan was on Cloud 9 with his gift!

 Then it was time to take one final picture with Ms. Jana and Ms. Marsha. I did much better this year than last year. I truly was surprised that I was not a sobbing mess by this point.

 On our way out, we made sure to get pictures with all of our teachers before we left!

Ms. Janice-4's

 Ms. Tamara-4's

 Ms. Ximena- Spanish

 Ms. Carol- Administrator

 Ms. Yvonne- Music and Movement

 Ms. Jennifer- Admin and Receptionist

 Ms. Robin and Ms. Sally- Art

Ms. Joy- Admin and Chapel

God knows your needs and He certainly knew ours 4 years ago when we returned to Georgia and I had to blindly find a place for Ethan to go to school. He abundantly provided and richly blessed us when He showed us Shadowbrook. I cannot imagine where we would be or who Ethan would be had it not been for the unconditional love and Christlike example these most precious ladies have provided both he as well as the rest of our family over these last 4 years. Thankfully, we still have 2 more years with them for Caden but I am beyond saddened at the thought that they will no longer be part of Ethan's everyday routine. We have truly reached the end of a pivotal era in his little life but I pray for wonderful new examples to enter his life and that he can model for others the good character that Shadowbrook has instilled in him.

More of May-Kindergarten Graduation

Ethan graduated from Shadowbrook. Now it's real...his time at this precious school has come to an end. I'm more than a little anxious about losing this wonderful influence on his life. There is not one thing that I can say about his time there that wasn't amazing. But, it's time for big boy school and he is definitely coming in ahead of the game!

 Graduation started with a slide show

 Then the graduates walked in one by one

 

 The graduating class of 9 boys and 2 girls. Ethan is in the first chair.

 Ms. Jana and Ms. Marsha made some opening remarks...

 

 and then the kiddos came up in groups to recite their group's assigned memory verse

 After that, the Music and Movement, Art, Chapel, and Spanish teacher each came up separately to present the graduates with a gift and share some of their memorable moments from the past year. I love how attentive the children were when others were speaking.

 Then it was diploma time!

 Our graduate!

Yep, had to test out the tassle.

Once diplomas had been awarded, Ms. Jana brought the children to the steps and they each took turns telling everyone what they want to be when they grow up...Ethan wants to be a Military Man.

 And then each child brought their mother a rose. I was extremely proud of myself for keeping it together the entire graduation...all smiling and happy...until this moment. Then I totally lost it. Complete tears!

 Once the kiddos went back to their seats, the tassle wasn't the most interesting thing anymore, it was the ribbon on the diploma :-) In his defense, it was cute watching all of the boys keep themselves entertained with their tassles and diplomas.

 At the end of graduation, the class sang a favorite song before exiting the stage.

 And that's a wrap

 The obligatory graduation picture

 Ethan with the most amazing teachers ever!

 Ms. Tamara, who was Ethan's 4 year teacher even came to graduation to see him!

 After graduation, there was a reception in the Family Life Center and graduation gifts made and presented by each of the the specials teachers, the administrative staff, and the kindergarten teachers.

What a special night!

More of May-Munchies with Mom and Strawberry Picking

Every spring, Shadowbrook has Munchies with Moms in honor of Mother's Day. The teachers prepare a wonderful lunch made from scratch and the children display sweet projects they have created as part of the tablescape. 

Ethan's Handprint on his Heart and Caden's vase

 Caden's placemat

 Ethan's placemat for me...by the way, he loves me because I let him do whatever he wants to do. Hmmmmm...I'm pretty sure the word that comes out of my mouth more than any other word is NO. But I'm glad that it evidently doesn't affect his perception of our relationship :-)

 A rare brotherly moment

 After the luncheon, all of the moms took Ethan's class to the park and since there are 11 boys and 2 girls in his class they decided that the most obvious thing to do was roll down the hill...definitely boys.

 The next week we went to Washington Farms to go strawberry picking. What a fun field trip! Sweet Ms. Jana let Ethan help her pick her strawberries because it was much more fun picking them for your teacher than for your own family :-)

 Ethan with Ms. Jana and Ms. Marsha...love, love, love these special ladies!

Getting Caught Up - May

The blog is a little behind right now since the end of the school year was so hectic and we immediately left for Disney right after school ended and THEN had to move out of our house that we unexpectedly sold the week that we returned from Disney. Yep, just a little chaos going on in our household right now. But we were super busy winding up the school year so here are a few of the things that kept us on the go...

Kaylynn's Birthday Party

Both boys actually got along and played well with each other so I had to document it!

 

 Sweet Kaylynn!

Awana Awards Night

 

Yes, that would be Ethan, an Awana teacher's son, in which said Awana Teacher/Mommy forgot to put his Sparks vest on him for Awards Night! Mom Fail :-(

Swim Lessons

Ethan took lessons all winter but this was Caden's first session of lessons. He got off to a slow start but finished strong :-)

 On the last night of lessons, the kids get to play in the aquatics center recreation pool instead of the lap pool and they always look forward to that!

 Ethan even got to go down the water slide for the first time!

 

The End of Baseball

Caden ended his first season of Rookie ball. When he was in the mood to play ball he did well. When he wasn't in the mood to play, he was quick to let us all know ;-) Ben has now coached both boys in his favorite sport.

 

 

 

 

 I love this third base hug!

More catching up to come!