Ralph: 1st Grade is in the books!

 

The sun is definitely not in the same spot at 7:10 am on a morning in May as it is on a morning in August.  In hindsight I did not take a picture of Ralph on the last morning of Kindergarten outside the house; just as he was coming out of school.  Guess the future is bright . .maybe he should have worn shades?!!

Ralph has completed 1st grade and is now a 2nd grader!  No, it is no surprise he completed 1st grade.  His grades were not much of a surprise either.  The biggest "surprise" is the simple reflection of the past 9 months and thinking about how much he has learned (either in school or just because he is Ralph).  Not having had a child go through 1st grade before I can't say anything about any of the other teachers but I do know we are very glad Ralph had Mrs. Campbell.   She kept Ralph challenged in a way I'm not sure all teachers would have and we are most appreciative.

We encouraged Mrs. Campbell to keep Ralph challenged in any way possible.  He "participated" in the diff program in both math and language arts as noted on his report card.  He was also given 2 additional spelling words each week in addition to the regular 10 words, the 2 challenge words, and the 2 beyond words.  She also worked in ways to stimulate his thinking in other subject areas as well. 

Ralph's love of reading continues to flourish.  During the 4th quarter assessments he passed a level 30 which is an ending second grade level.

Many times Ralph would bring a handwriting sample home and it had a "2" on it.  Luckily he knew when to perform his best and somehow got a "3" on his report card for handwriting. 

Ralph was supposed to read for 15 minute/day and work on words for 15/day . . .at least 5 days a week the whole school year.  The reading part was never an issue.  The "words" part was tough.  There were some weekends we were doing 2-3 sets to make up for missed days.  We got through it but it might have been the toughest homework assignment he had!

I'm looking forward to seeing what is in store for 2nd grade!

Ralph's class had a student teacher this past semester.  Ralph had great fondness for Miss H (Hinrichs) as well.  The kids were asked to bring a book in as a gift for Miss H on her last day.  Ralph selected a Berenstein Bears Book "Momma's New Job" . . .because Miss H was going to get a job and he though it would be a good book for her to have.  I thought it was a very thoughtful gesture on his part rather than just pick out any ol'book.  

Miss H is pictured on the left.  Mrs. Campbell is on the right.

Henry: PreK Graduation!

Fingerprints held a graduation program on Thursday, May 13 . . .and Henry became a PreK graduate!  The program started with the children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance followed by "singing" three songs with actions (Hip Hope Alphabet Song, Numbers Help Me Count, and Time to Graduate).  They wore shades for the first two songs - because the future is so bright!  The action songs were fun to watch.  They did some freestyle dancing during "Hip Hop Alphabet Song" - so entertaining to watch the kids' moves.   
 

I was glad to be distracted taking pictures; when I caught myself actually listening to the words during "Time to Graduate" my eyes may have gotten a little teary.

Watch me as I graduate 

as I move on in my life it's really great 

this is what I've waited for 

now it's time to graduate!

 Following the songs a video was played entitled "When I Grow Up" - Each child described what they were going to be when they grew up - and why.  Henry declared he was going to be a train engineer when he grows up because he "likes trains"  Woo hoo!

The program ended with the kids being presented with their diplomas.

Fingerprints PreK Class of 2015!

 

The PreK kids were divided into two rooms with a total of 23 kids between the two rooms. About 1/3 of the kids were new this year - either full-time or part-time.  Many of the remaining two-thirds have been together since they were infants and the others were added throughout the years.

  

 

Eli, Maxemos, and Henry were born within a month or so of each other and were either moved up together or within a month or so of each other.  Henry was "held back" for a month in the infant 1 room before moving up to infant 2 so he and Max could be separated briefly.  Henry will never be the biggest kid but they did let him be the oldest for a just a bit.  Unfortunately, the three of them are heading to different schools in the fall.

Swimming Lessons: Ralph completes level 3!

This past Thursday Ralph and Henry finished up another round of swimming lessons.  Ralph seemed a bit more apprehensive this round even though he had been in level 3 three other times.  He has been close to moving up but I think she just wanted to make sure he was comfortable.  At the end of the 3rd day I was told (really quietly) that Ralph would move up to level 4.  Ralph had a great parent day show - he even  treaded water for 40+ seconds!  The look on his face when he received the progress card from Rhonda was priceless - and left him kind of speechless with a genuinely wide grin.

Henry will continue in level 3.   He is hopeful he'll get to take the belt off next session.  We will keep trying to make weekly trips to the Y to get more exposure to the water and hope to make that wish come true for him.  Once a few more things click with him he'll be a great little fish.