First Day of Second Grade

My Little Man isn't so little anymore!

He started second grade and Mama and Daddy got to walk him to class. 

It is so fun to look back on his first day pictures.

Preschool - year 1

 

Preschool - year 2

Kindergarten

First Grade

First Day of First Grade

Can you believe my Bubs is in First Grade?!?  Where has the time gone? Mr. Man is so ready to learn and grow.  He is in a sweet little class and has the best teacher ever...his Mama!  I am so blessed to have my own son in my class this year.  It's going to be a great year!

Last Day of Kindergarten

Today was Noah's last day of kindergarten. He has had an amazing year. His teacher, Mrs. Wenger, was truly fantastic!

Bubs has grown, learned, and developed so much this year. 

There was a sweet little celebration yesterday where the kindergarteners got to walk across stage, shake the principal's hand, receive their certificated, and perform a few songs. 

I am so proud of how hard Mr. Man has worked this past year.

Can you believe how much Mr. Man has grown?!?

He's ready for First Grade...but first...he'd ready for SUMMER!!!

First Day of Kindergarten

Can you believe it????  My Little Man is old enough to be in kindergarten!  As in, all morning long, following directions, doing stations, earning Good Time Tickets, doing homework, taking tests, and receiving a Report Card, kindergarten.

The Friday before school started, the kindergarten classes had a "Meet & Greet" where the students and parents could meet the teachers, see the classrooms, and get some of the nervous energy out.  Noah was very excited to go to K-2 (his classroom) and look around.  Because he is attending the school where I work, Noah already knew his amazing teacher and had been in the kindergarten classrooms before.  He was pretty excited, however, to show Daddy and Ava all around the room.

 After a good night's rest,  Noah was so very excited to go to school in the morning. 

We tried to make the morning extra special by decorating his door with streamers.

He was so confused when he woke-up.

He asked me if bad-guys had come in the house in the middle of the night and put them up.  What?!?  We gently explained to our Super Hero loving, good-guys vs. bad-guys enthralled, son that we were all safe and nobody was going to break into our house.  I couldn't help but laugh as I thought, "Yeah...bad-guys broke into our house and all they did was put streamers up".  Ha!

After getting ready, we had to take a few pictures.  Noah wanted his toy Jengo Fet {from Star Wars} to be in the picture with us.

Look at my handsome kindergartener!

 

I put together a cute gift {thanks to Pinterest} for Noah's teacher.  It's a Mason Jar Cup filled with chocolates.  The tag reads, "I am filled to the brim with excitment to be in your kindergarten class this year".  How cute is that? 

 

Once we got to the classroom, Noah was so excited to put his name tag on and play with all the toys the teacher had put out.  It was so nice to see him engaging with other students and confident in his classroom.

I was very fortunate to be able to stick around, after all the parents left and the classroom was cleaned up, and talk to the students about Noah.  His teacher was generous enough to carve out a few minutes of her very busy day and let me introduce Noah to the rest of the class.

I started by talking about how Noah is very similar to the rest of them.  He is five years old...just like {most} of them.  He loves swimming, reading, and playing...just like {most} of them.  I explained that there were a few things, however, that were different about Noah.  He was born with only one eye, but could still see very well.  I had the students cover up one of their eyes with a hand and notice that they can still see.  I talked about how Noah's ears don't work very well and it is hard for him to hear.  Because of that, he wears a BAHA hearing device that gives him "Super Hero Hearing".  {Noah's teacher actually wears a microphone that connects directly to Noah's BAHA so he can focus on her voice and learn to tune out all the noise around him.  It works so well that if he were to go outside, he could still hear his teacher talking.  Hence the "Super Hero Hearing".}  I also talked about how Noah has difficulty swallowing and so he cannot eat food with his mouth.  Noah showed the class his g-tube and told them that his food goes right into his tummy.  I ended by answering the student's questions.  It was such an amazing relief for this Mama's heart knowing that the students in his class were aware of his challenges learn to accept him for the amazing kiddo that he is.

When I picked Noah up from school, he was quite excited to tell me all about it.  In fact, he told me we needed to "chat all about my class".  How cute it that?!?  He said that all his friends are nice and nobody stared at him or was mean to him.  Tears just welled up as I thanked God for the blessings of a safe first day of school.  I know that my Bubs will encounter challenges in the future, but was so thankful for a blissful beginning to what I am sure will be a great Kindergarten year!

It's Noah's {Last} First Day of Preschool 2013

Noah is so excited to go back to school.  This is his last year in preschool...next year he transitions into kindergarten.  Bubs is feeling so confident about heading back into his old classroom. 

I can't wait to see what this year brings!!!

Preschool Program 2013

Once again, Noah's teachers outdid themselves for the end of the year program.  Both the Regular-Ed and Special-Ed classes worked together to create a memorable event for the parents and students.

Our interm-principal introduced the teachers and students who were ready to wow us by their singing, signing, and dancing.  Noah is right in the middle...front and center.

Noah's amazing teacher welcomed us all and thanked the parents for all of their support over the past year.

Seconds before the first song started, Noah turned around to see who was behind him.  I guess he just wanted to reassure the other students that they were going to do great.

He then gave the poor, unsuspecting girl beside him a "we can do this" hug.  She was less than thrilled by Noah's encouragement.

During most of the program, Bubs sang the songs but either played with his grass skirt or held his hand in front of his mouth.  Perhaps he was pretending it was a microphone?!?

Here he is doing a bit of dancing while holding his hand/microphone in front of his mouth. 

 

 On a rare occasion, he did decide to sign with the other kiddos.

They sang his favorite song, Slippery Fish, and he does finally get into it at the end of the song.

When Noah grows up, he wants to be a whale doctor.

I am so proud of my little preschooler!!!

Last Day of School 2013

I can't believe how fast...and at times slow...this year has gone by.  Bubs has grown so much and I am so proud of him and all his hard work this year.

What a difference a year makes!

Spring Pictures

This was Noah's first full year in preschool and he absolutely loved it!!!  He had amazing teachers, amazing friends {although some of them moved away}, and got to come to school with me in the morning.  

This is Noah's fall picture

and here is his spring picture. 

My Little Man continues to grow and change.  I can't wait to see what next year, his last year in preschool, brings.

School Picture

Finally {oh, so sorry it has taken me this long} posting Bubs' school picture this year.

Isn't he just the cutest little Bubs you've ever seen?!?

First Day of Preschool

Can you believe it?!? 

Here we are again.  

Both Bubs and I started back at school but this time he started on the official "First Day of School" rather than in the middle of the year.  Mr. Man was so truly excited to be back that he walked right into his room {didn't even say goodbye to Daddy or me}, sat down on a beanbag, and started reading books. 

 

What a big boy I have!

Preschool Program

Last week was the last week of school for both Noah and I.   It was a BUSY and fun week filled with field trips {Noah}, class parties {Mama & Noah}, Olympic Game Day {Mama}, Talent Show {Mama & Noah}, and Preschool programs {Noah}. 

The Preschool program was attended by both the Special-Ed and Regular-Ed preschool classes at Copper Hills.  The cafeteria was transformed into a Luau oasis

and all the kiddos were decked out.  Bubs simply LOVED his grass skirt and lei.

The classes worked so hard learning five songs.  They signed the songs as well.

Sometimes Mr. Man was a bit late in the signs.  Oh well...at least he was trying.

Bubs looks so short compared to the four and five year-olds around him.  Most of those kiddos will be heading to kindergarten next year.

 

Here he is singing and {trying to} sign, "My Mother is a Baker".  It was too cute!

 

All the kids got to walk across the stage, receive their certificate, and tell the audience what they wanted to be when they grew up.  

 

 Bubs with his beautiful teacher! 

We have been so blessed with an amazing Preschool experience.  Not only have Noah's teachers been EXCEPTIONAL, but the confidence and knowledge that Bubs' has gained is phenomenal.  We are excited for a glorious summer and cannot wait for school to start again in August!

Mini-Olympic Field Trip

Noah had his first field trip with his pre-school class last week.  Our school district hosts a Special Olympic Event for all students in the Special Education program as well as a Mini-Olympic day for all the pre-schoolers.  

 

This year, the Mini-Olympic Event was open to all regular-ed and special-ed pre-schoolers in the district.  Nana did an excellent job as a chaperone and took some fantastic photos as well as videos and I stole some pictures from my friend Erin's facebook page...Thanks Erin!

The kiddos all painted their own shirts...aren't they just the cutest???  The CH is for Copper Hills and the pick represents our school mascot, the Miner.

The kiddos were divided into small groups to complete each of the four games.  The first one was a bit of a challenge for Bubs.  They had to pick up a wet sponge from a bucket, jump through the rings on the ground, squeeze the water into the bucket on the other side, and return the sponge to the first bucket.  Noah didn't really want to touch the wet sponge {cold, wet, and slimy are still not his favorite} and then once he did pick it up he wanted to squeeze the water out immediately, in the first bucket.

Nana did an excellent job stepping in and helping Bubs understand the "rules" of the game. 

The next activity was definitely MUCH better.  Who doesn't love music, bubbles, dancing, and pom-poms???

Mr. Man had a great time shaking his booty.

 

 

After all that activity, snacks are a definite must!   

Don't get me wrong, Bubs was not actually eating anything...just licking the salt off his crackers.

The parachute was definitely Bubs' FAVORITE!!!  He had so much fun running and jumping and playing with his friends.

It's so fun to watch Noah doing what the "big kids" are doing.

 

All good things must come to an end...but not without an Otter Pop.   Bubs is quite the fan of Popsicles and found the Otter Pop to be quite enjoyable!

We are so blessed that Noah is a part of an amazing Special Education program through our district.