Last Day of Grade 3

It’s hard to believe that Grade 3 is already complete for Hannah!  How can that possibly be??

This picture was from her first day in September 2017.  (Mommy is missing those sweet baby teeth!)

Hannah has been beyond blessed to have the same teacher for both Grades 2 and 3.  We love you Mme N and will miss you so much! 

In these pics you can really see the changes as it was taken her first day of Grade 2 in September 2016. 

Hannah was in a great class in Grade 3

Praying she will have at least 1 of these special friends with her in Grade 4!

Hannah you are doing so well in school and mommy is so proud of you!  Enjoy your summer vacation!  You deserve a wonderful break from school.

Jump Rope for Heart 2018

One of the annual fund raisers that Hannah’s school does each June is that the children participate in Jump Rope for Heart.  Hannah has an early lunch hour of 10:50 – 11:50am which means many activities start at noon.  This works wonderfully for me as I can quickly head to her school from work at lunch and share in the activities that she’s doing.

I don’t often tell her when I’m going to do this just in case I get held up at work so it’s a special treat when I can surprise her!

My Grade 2 Graduate!

Hannah graduated from Grade 2 this past Thursday! 

She was in a 2/3 split and did so well!  Her teacher was absolutely amazing and brought the very best out in Hannah!  Mme N took an interest in each child in her classroom, learned what made them tick and focused in on their personal needs and how each student learned.  Hannah’s confidence in the classroom grew by leaps and bounds as she went from a little girl who sat back and observed others to one who fully participated.  It was an amazing transformation as I had watched Hannah be an observer for all of her earlier years in school. 

I am blessed to have a job that allows me the option to work a little extra each day and then have every 3rd Monday off. 

On these Mondays I volunteered in Hannah’s classroom in the mornings.  It was neat to observe her grow as well as get to know her classmates and teacher too.  I often didn’t understand what was being said as everything in the classroom is done in French but it was amazing to see Hannah confidently fully participate in French and also make many new friends!

We went to the school fun fair earlier in June and Hannah enjoyed hanging out with many different friends from her class.

We are both very thankful for Mme N and are hoping Hannah has her for a teacher again next year!

On the last day of school each child was presented with a ‘Classroom Award’ and Hannah’s was perfect for her!!  She has always loved digging through the recycling bin in her classroom and making creations out of what she found.  (Mme would tell me that she’d bury things down in the bin so that Hannah and he little friend B wouldn’t find them as they’d both pull them out to make their creations.  LOL!)

Her award was accompanied by this adorable pic!

For now, it’s summer!!  Goodbye’s are hard but the break is welcome! 

I like to pick Hannah up little treats to celebrate her accomplishments on the last day of school.  This year is was Canada 150th Birthday Day Tic Tacs and water balloons.  I love how excited these little things make her!

Have a great summer Hannah!!

Grade 3….here she comes!

Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo!

This week Hannah went on a field trip with her class for the very first time since she was 5yo and in JK.  I was excited when her teacher invited me to join them as a parent volunteer.

The day was overcast yet a perfect temperature and the zoo was empty!  In our past experiences we’ve always need to dodge other people to see the animals so it was such a treat to walk up to exhibits without fighting crowds.

The day was really well organized and run too.  We started with about a 30 min session in a classroom where the children learned about habitation, migration and more.  This picture brings tears to my eyes as Hannah is adding a picture to the board after raising her hand and answering a question. In the 4 years that I have helped in her classes I think I can count on one hand the number of times that I have seen Hannah raise her hand to answer a question or participate in class this way.   She’s always been concerned with not giving the correct answer so she just wouldn’t offer an answer.  Her teacher this year has been working with her to help her gain confidence in answering questions and it was breath taking to sit back and see Hannah not only raise her hand more than once!  Thank you Ashley!!!

After the classroom session we headed out in small groups to visit the animals.  Each small group was assigned a zoo worker who discussed things they had been taught in the classroom. 

Our first visit was to see the baby pandas who are now about 18 months old. 

My how they’ve grown since we saw them a year ago!

From there we saw a number of other animals. 

I am so thankful for this day with Hannah as well as the opportunity to get to know her classmates a little better.

First Day of SK!

I woke Hannah up this morning with, ‘Good morning my sweet SK girl!’ and she jumped out of bed exclaiming, ‘Oh!  I almost forgot!!’  It was too cute!  She was up and raring to go!

We made a last minute decision to change her outfit of choice (her Rapunzel dress) since it was forecasted to be humid and 33oC (around 91oF).  She checked her closet and pulled out this cute dress handed down from Ro and Ree.  Thanks M3!

I’m sure I’ll say this every year but I can’t believe my baby girl is in SK already!!

Rapunzel is her current princess of choice so she was excited when Auntie Trish found this backpack at the Disney store last month.  Thanks Trish!!

One of the things that is done at Hannah’s school that I’m really happy about is that the kids have the same teacher for JK and SK.  What a wonderful school foundation she’s being given!  We love her teacher and she was excited to see her this morning!

She was also happy to see her classmates from last year.  1/2 of the class is the same which is great for the kids and the teachers.  The now SK’s know the teachers, the routines and they’re a big help to the new JK’s joining their class.  Hannah and Jennifer.

When I picked Hannah up she’d had a GREAT first day in SK and she shared little bits of it with me.  It seems to take a while before Hannah opens up easily so for now I tried to ask questions that led to discussion. 

Her best friend last year has moved to a nearby school and the girls missed one another terribly so Meghan’s mom and I surprised them with a play date this afternoon.  They had such fun together!

When we got home I gave Hannah a little ‘Yay you’re in SK gift’ which she loved and danced around the room squealing with it.  Before I knew it she had the entire puzzle put together!

Hannah, Mommy loves you so very much and I can’t wait to see what you learn in SK both in the classroom and as the sweet girl that you are!  It was neat to watch you walk up to a couple of the JK’s this morning and introduce yourself.  You have a big heart and oh how I love you!!!  xoxo

So Many to Thank!

As we prepared for Hannah’s final days of JK by preparing thank you notes and gifts, I was reminded just how many people share a part of her school day and how important each of them were in making her school days hum along.

In the morning Hannah was with her daycare provider Ange for about 20 mins. as they wait for Hannah’s bus and then went back to her after school.

I tell you, on those windy, –20oC days last winter I felt guilty (and very thankful) for Ange who was willing to wait with Hannah to make sure she was safely on her bus.

The bus took Hannah to school where Mrs. C and Miss H taught Hannah so much!

After school Hannah would go back on the bus to her final daily helper – Miss Marcia. 

Because of the difference in the time from when Ange’s kids get out of school and Hannah’s bus arrived 40 mins. later, I needed to find someone to walk Hannah from the bus drop off to Ange’s.  We met Miss Marcia in October of last year and she has been a huge help to us and I was so thankful for her!  Unfortunately Miss Marcia is moving this summer so once again I will be trying to find someone to walk Hannah to Ange’s beginning in September.  I thought I had a lead on someone but that didn’t work out.  Please pray with me that God will once again provide a person to help us out in this way.  Who knew my biggest child care challenge would be the 5 min walk home from the bus each day?

Thank you to our small daily group of friends who ensured Hannah was well cared for each and every moment from the time I dropped her off until I picked her up almost 9 hours later!  We are thankful for each of you!

Our Week With The Village People

They say it takes a village to raise a child and recently our village kicked in to high gear!  Ange and her family went on a well deserved vacation to Disney.   (Wouldn’t you need a vacation after spending 5 days a week with 6 young kiddos under your care for the summer?  I know I would! )  While they were away I needed to find alternate care for Hannah before and after school.

Enter….our village!  Mornings I would drop Hannah off at Nana and Papa’s house

and after some playtime Papa would walk her to school.

After school Grandma and Grandpa helped out. 

Grandma picked Hannah up at school or from the bus each afternoon and they hung out together until I got home from work.  ‘Go Fish Grandma.’

Thank you for all your help Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Papa!!  Thank you for being our Village….all the time!  We love you!