Last Day of School!

Today was Caitlin's very last day of kindergarten.

We've come a long way since the first day!

• She's made friends.
• Survived bullies.
• Tamed the bullies.
• Fought with friends.
• Made up again.
• Went into her shell at the beginning when she didn't know anyone and came out of it again and stopped reading books in the corner to avoid the other kids (I can't imagine where she gets that from?!).
• Got better and better at reading (GRI 5, baby! I'm still trying to figure out what that means. Somewhere around 4th or 5th grade level, I think.)
• Got really involved with music and art.
• Got much better at playing in gym, although she still won't do anything that feels like she's in competition (i.e. running races).
• And lots more!
  

It's been good and bad; up and down. And now? Now she's in Crested Butte for a week with Grammy while we get ready to go to Vancouver! Yay!

Child-free for a week! Well, at least free of the sort that drags their feet about brushing their teeth. The remaining children are safely under wraps and can't talk back (yet), although they do make me uncomfortable in more physical ways.

Caitlin had an end of school party. Here she is showing me how she can ignore the teacher on her last day of school, along with friend D.
Ice cream sundaes, gummy bears and cookies. Oh my!Caitlin with her friend discussing the merits of said Gummy Bears.We then left and came back to get her after school. Grammy had sent a present for her very last day. That Grammy knows her stuff!

Opening.
Reacting.
Displaying.
Then it was time to say goodbye to her favorite teacher, Mrs. M., but not until after she got a chance to show off her latest acquisition.One teacher can make all the difference in a child's life and this one made Caitlin's first year go a whole lot better than it might have otherwise. She's a great woman, Mrs. M!
As we were leaving, we ran into L, Caitlin's 5th grade buddy. They really hit it off together and I think they're going to be penpals this summer! L's mom raves about Caitlin and how well L gets along with her while I rave about how much Caitlin loves L. It's a mutual admiration society!
They were paired up because they had a great deal in common, the uncommon reading level was part of it. I hope Caitlin some day returns the favor to some unsuspecting kindergartener!

Ahhh, the end of school. The beginning of summer. A short vacation. A chance to escape.

I hope your summer goes smashingly!