From First to Second

Our toothless, budding first grader has grown and learned and is now a confident second grader! Regan worked very hard this year and managed to get through hours and hours of homework (but not without a LOT of encouragement). Her report card came home with the rest of her year-full of desk items yesterday, and to celebrate her accomplishment, I took the girls for frozen yogurt at our beloved Cherry Berry. When she started first grade back in September, she was apprehensive and nervous about what to expect for the next 9 months. And when she walked out of school yesterday, she bounced with certainty that she had mastered all that was set in front of her this year. We are very proud of who she is becoming and couldn't be more grateful for some amazing teachers/staff at her school. 

Congratulations Regan! 

Welcome to summer, we are so proud of you!! 

Busy days of school

With the end of the school year upon us, I am spending endless hours with Regan at her school. Today was their "Olympic Day" (think track and field day in elementary school fashion). The kids look forward to this day where they spend ALL DAY outdoors doing various relays/activities. 

Oh who are we kidding, it's not the activities that Regan is excited about....it's the socializing! 

In order to volunteer on a Friday, I need some back up support.
Enter my mom to the rescue. This woman is a saint!! 

She drove 100 miles, with the possibility that the rain wasn't going to clear up and I wouldn't need her help. 

 She knows how important it is for me to volunteer at Regan's school and didn't hesitate at my request for help. Well, the rain stayed away, and she/Sidney came to cheer on the kids all morning.

I love getting to see Regan at school; with her friends and listening to other parents or teachers as her leader. She's the same sweet Regan we love so much! 

Snowy adventures

When I volunteered to chaperone Regan's nature center field trip on April 22nd, snow was the last thing I anticipated. Nonetheless, I ventured into the cold and took in the white winter wonderland. I have to admit, it was a beautiful back drop. The thick white snow clung to the branches. Now if this were January, I would have been in full delight. But let me remind you, it was April. 

The twenty-second! 

Pretty isn't it. 

Regan was very interested in the nature walk, though we all admitted, it was difficult to go on a nature walk when the plan was to learn about spring and tree buds and all we saw instead was brown and bark. Plan B, we got a lesson in bark and animal snow tracks.  

After a long (and cold!) walk through the woods, we finally came inside for what the kiddos agreed was the best part of the field trip: meeting some animals. 

First up was a snake. Regan's teacher is petrified of snakes so she politely waited in the hall and allowed us chaperones to keep watch on the kiddos. 

Regan didn't bat an eye at taking her turn touching the slithery thing! 

The barred owl was my favorite. Those things amaze me, and watching as she got spooked a time or two was incredible. She "flew" (not really because she was tethered to the lovely staff), and showed us the wing span is incredible! The kids were so well behaved, listening quietly and not making a peep as instructed when she started "flying" which would only have spooked her more. Let me tell you, it was a bit scary, especially for the front row. 

I am so grateful to be able to skip out a few hours on work volunteer to tag along on these adventures with Regan. I know a day will come when she doesn't want me there; but so far, she's loving my presence as much as I love being with her. Too bad I have officially lost my first name, and am known solely as "Regan's mom" throughout the entire school. Awesome.  

In search of warmth

This is what Regan wrote for part of her homework yesterday. All I can say is, I'd like to join that butterfly.

First grade music program

Today was Regan's first grade music program. As her teacher gave introductions to the program, he joked that he should have titled it "Rain or Shine....or Snow". 

To say she was excited is an understatement. She wanted it to be a complete surprise to all of us so for the last several weeks, has refused to talk about music class and what they were learning. This girl is a natural on stage. She has no hesitation, no fear, and loves the spot light. Click HERE to watch her singing solo; she did also have a speaking solo but it's not nearly as entertaining as the singing one!

She also continues to be one of the tallest girls in the first grade so gets placed on the back riser for all performances. I'm not really complaining, it's a good view for her. 

There were close to 100 first graders on stage tonight. And it was a lovely performance which sure impressed all of us in the audience.  

 I was pleased as punch to have Regan pose with her first grade teacher and student teacher at the reception afterwards. These two teachers have an incredible amount of patience and a grace that marvels me as I watch them take over a group of rowdy 7 year olds and turn them into quiet learners in 3 seconds flat....now if only that grace worked for me at home! 

We are so very proud of you Regan! You did an excellent job today and are so much fun to watch! 

School work

Each day, the girls come home with various papers that show us what they are working on in class. And each day we tell them just how proud of them we are. Yesterday, I could hear in Ryan's voice that he was REALLY proud of Regan. Check it out....
(The 'sandy desert' paper is a task where each student has to come up with other words they can make. Finding a big word is always the challenge).

Twin day

Regan participated in twin/multiple day at school this week. Her/Katie spent an hour at Target (driving their mothers crazy) as the scoured the racks for the perfect outfit and accessories. Katie's mom reminded me that now the girls have realized we will let them go shopping every year for twin day. We are in for some trouble as these two get older!
Unfortunately, I made it to school only for lunch and Regan had left her scarf in the classroom during my photo op.

Smarty pants

 Tonight we were invited to school for smarty pants, aka: Regan's conference. 

It was one of those proud parent moments where we got to hear all about her wonderful attributes pertaining to academia and beyond. 

We talked about her reading levels, math lessons, behavior choices and friendships. 

Sending her off to school each day, we know we are only going to hear about a fraction of her day when she comes home. So getting an overall picture, from an outside source (her teacher AND student teacher), is something we look forward to. 

And that overall picture is that she is our shining star! 

We are grateful she loves to read and is reading beyond expected grade levels. It struck me tonight when Mrs M. said "First, we learn to read. And now, she reads to learn". 

Incredible. Seriously incredibly amazing. To think, just one year ago, we were getting through sight words. And now, she's breezing through chapter books like it's nobody's business.

She's picked up on her daddy's knack for numbers too, and for that, this mommy is GRATEFUL!

We love you smarty pants! 

Thank you for making us proud! 

Valentine's Day 2012

I love love love that I get to spend time in Regan's elementary school. And I'm incredibly grateful that I work for a company who supports not only time at our children's school functions, but also provides a monetary donation for my volunteer time at the school. How awesome is that?! I get to spend some time with a great group of 1st graders, and the school is doubly rewarded (my time and my company's money).

Today was Valentine's Day fun. Lots of hearts, lots of sugar and lots of love.

 The kiddos in Regan's classroom are getting used to me around class, snapping pictures for their year book. I received hugs from all sorts of youngsters today. So sweet. They worked so hard on their art projects, frosted cookies and "fortune teller" games.

 

Thank you for letting me share in your day Regan! I love you love you love you!

This n That

It's been a busy week. and a fairly stressful one too. 

Between work, home and activities, sometimes I'm not certain if I'm coming or going, up or down. 

I started painting the 'open concept' of our house which is the largest area to master. One room runs into another and it just feels like it goes on forever. But it had to be done, the previous paint was not washable and didn't handle four hand prints very well. About 7 walls down and 2 to go, I moved into a second gallon of paint only to realize the next morning it wasn't a perfect match and looked hideous. Lovely waste of time. 

We bought new dining room chairs (courtesy of the grandparents for my b-day). I put the first one together, looked great. Moved onto the second, was about to attach the last 'leg' and saw a rip in the material. Lovely waste of time. 

But each day, I'm reminded how blessed we are to have these two fabulous cuties in our lives, and it makes everything worth it. 

Regan came home with her report card this week. As I scanned it, searching for high marks ("3" is expected, "4" is exceeding expectations), I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few 4's. I praised her over and over for such good marks in reading, comprehension, math and art. I then moved onto the 3's....let's just say they all circled around being a bit too chatty or not having a desire to participate in gym class. 

Ah well, you can't win them all.
On the bright side, she is in the top 94th percentile for flexibility. 

Atta girl, that should count for something in physical education! 

Oh sweet Sidney. This girl lights up our lives over and over again. She's the first of the two to be picked up after work, and boy does she brighten my day. On a particularly rough work-day this week, we drove along to collect Regan, and as I do everyday, I asked Sidney "what was the best part of your day?". 

Her reply: "when you came to pick me up mommy". 

melt. my. heart. 

Now I know she didn't spend the day longing for me, or crying all afternoon waiting for me. She loves school, and her friends, and her teachers. This much I know. She's happy to be there, so don't be sad that she was waiting all day for me to come. Her usual answer is "playing with (fill in the blank of a friend)". This girl just has a sense of what to say and when to say it. 

Lately, she will climb up on my lap, or ask to be held and then say "I just needed some love". Oh little one, I did too. On the flip side, she's also been calling me "you old man"...

just keeping it real :) 

Rollerblading

Regan's been focusing on a rollerblading unit in her gym class this January. She's been having a great time and each day comes home telling us it was the best part of her day. Today, Sidney and I went to school to take some pictures of Regan in action and help out the class get all of their gear on. Wowzas, that's a lot of elbow pads, wrist guards, knee pads and helmets! Safety first!

 

Lunch dates with Regan

Today when I dropped off Regan at school, she turned and asked "can you bring Subway for lunch?". I normally prefer to giver her teacher a heads up about our monthly lunch dates, but couldn't pass up Regan's request for a spur of the moment date. After all, I know eventually she won't be asking me, let alone allowing me to come! 

So I obliged and off to school we went. 

Not to fret, Sidney came too. This sweet girl soaks it all in. Notice how she's not sitting next to me or Regan!? Nope, she just plops herself down next to Regan's BFF and chats with anyone around her. She fits right in. One smooth talking adorable boy said "are you going to 5th grade now?, cuz I think you could just skip first grade and go straight to 5th!". 

Thanks for the lunch date Regan! 

Class Winter Party 2012

Regan's first grade class held their winter party on Friday. I adore volunteering and this year, my volunteer job is to take pictures of the class for the yearbook...I kinda like that job :) Don't worry, I take more pictures than of Regan that get submitted to the yearbook. 

They changed it up a bit for this party and took all 4 first grade classes to various stations around the school rather than staying within your own class and separating into 4 small groups. 

So that meant 21 kids diving for "snowballs" for the start of the snowball fight!

Who knew balled up white socks could be so much fun!! The class had a blast tossing the balls at this innocent photographer.

Gosh this is a good looking bunch of first graders. They have a LOT of energy but listen so very well to their fantastic teacher who loves them each to pieces. 

 The "bobbing for donut" station cracked me up. It was a hoot!

Regan chased that mini donut in circles before realizing she needed to get it from below. I couldn't contain my laughter and ended up in tears it was so funny.  

What's a party without crafts. Each child created their own beautiful masterpiece to bring home to their tree. Awww, so cute :) 

Grandparent Breakfast

Each year, Regan's school hold's a "Grandparent/special persons" breakfast. And for the second year in a row, all four grandparents joined her for breakfast (add Sidney this year). I don't think Regan quite realizes just how lucky she is that all 4 grandparents make the 100 mile trek for a 45 minute breakfast. Not to mention, how lucky she is to simply have 2 grandmas and 2 grandpas in her life. Trust me, she loves each and every one of them. So much so that she can't imagine life without any of them. We are so thankful that they love her (and Sidney) so very much!

"giving thanck"

Regan went to work this evening and created her own "thanksgiving poem".

We have one very proud little girl on our hands, and she can't wait to hand over her poem to her teacher.

Read it phonetically, and you'll get the words: "I love giving thanck and...I hoop you do to. It is vare fun to see you haveing fun to!"

First Grade

We attended Regan's parent-teacher conference this week. Her teacher, bless her heart, has some amazing patience. Not necessarily for our chatty, sweet first grader, but for teaching first grade in general! Mrs. M keeps a classroom of 23 first graders in line with her wonderful abilities. 

At conferences, we heard how Regan is doing in reading and math, how she does socially and physically and in general, about her life academically. As predicted, she loves to chit-chat, but thankfully, is starting to figure out there is a time/place for her favorite past time. She attends the top reading "club" of all the first graders, and for this, we are thankful. Her favorite subject is art and while she couldn't pick a least favorite subject, my sense is it is math. Not that she's terrible, it just doesn't come as easy as reading. We had a chance to peak in and chat with her gym teacher too.....let's just say that Regan is going to give her future gym teachers a run for their money. She's the "girl" in class, you know, the one who would rather stand in the back, ask to go to the bathroom, or walk around the track. *sigh*. I can't win all the battles.

We were given a sample of her hand-writing too; Regan has some pretty impressive handwriting (when she puts forth a bit of effort). 

Keep up the good work Regan! We are so very proud of you. 

Regan for President

Regan filled this out at school today...I love her ideas. 

Friends as her VP, living with Sidney (they talk about this ALL the time and plan to live with each other forever!), a pet "fisi" (aka: fishy) and helping people by sharing. 

Great vision Regan! 

Trick or Treat!

That time of year again, where the kids dress up, their school's host parties and this mama does her darnedest to make it to two parties and through trick or treating with a big smile on my face. 

Thankfully I have a pretty awesome coworker who picked up my slack this afternoon...on his birthday nonetheless! It allowed me to dash out of the office around 12:30 and head to Regan's class. 

I arrived just as the kiddos were getting into costume for the parade. The shape of the school creates a natural indoor parade route and all the kids line up along the hallways and one class follows the next.

Aren't they so cute! 

From there, four of us parents supervised 'stations' for the next hour; I was tasked with candy corn relay. Other stations were cupcake decorating, bowling with pumpkins (that was a LOUD bang against the wall with each throw) and Halloween bingo. The kids love holiday parties and I love helping out! Getting to know all 21 classmates makes me feel like I know so much more about Regan's day. Her teacher and student teacher are wonderful and I remind them constantly how impressed I am not only with their teaching ability but their incredible patience. 

Just as Regan's party wound down, we dashed out the door and raced a few miles north where Sidney was waiting (tears welling in her eyes) for us to arrive. Ryan beat us there and she thought that meant I was a 'no-show'. Oh my sweet mama's girl....how I love her drama. She spotted me walk into her room and flew across the table into my arms. I love those warm welcomes! 

Their new 'treat' policy means no more cupcakes and cookies and candy. I thank them for this policy. Instead, the kids snacked on fruit kabobs, yogurt and granola bars. In all honesty, they had just as much fun with those "treats". 

Our little ham then shined in front of a group of parents as she sang the months of the year while doing the Macarena Dance. Man alive that is cute. She has been practicing hard and sometimes I just ask her to sing/dance so I can watch her talent. 

Finally after an early dinner, it was time to head out trick or treating. Leigha joined me once again and I'm sure glad to have her with! It makes the walk much more enjoyable, because frankly, the girls don't so much need my help anymore climbing the stairs or remembering to say "thank you". They just bounce from one house to the next, or stumble...only two falls (one each), and one with any substantial blood. After all, it is dark outside! 

 Here are Ryan, Sheri and Hope's masterpieces! Me and the girls have the sole job of cleaning out the guts, the rest was up to them. Don't they look awesome!? 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! 

Big day with the MN Vikings

Earlier this month, we received one of those mass-generated phone calls from Regan's school. They come about once/month, reminding us parents about upcoming school events, safety reminders in the parking lot, conferences, you know the drill. This particular phone call caught my attention quickly as it went something like this: "....and at the end of the month, we will be getting a visit from FOUR Minnesota Vikings players to talk to us about bullying". 

It wasn't the bullying that really caught my attention, though I do believe it is a very very important topic, and I'm incredibly happy to know her school takes this issue seriously. 

I have to be honest, it was the fact that FOUR Minnesota Vikings were coming to her school to deliver the message that grabbed my attention. 

I was so excited for her! Keep in mind, we like us some football in this house. 

So today was the big day. I have spent many nights talking to her about bullying (we don't seem to have this issue and I'd like to keep it that way), so she knew what the topic was about. Then we decked her out in Vikings gear and sent her off. 

She came home telling us all about the players, who was big and tall and one that seemed to be "a lot smaller" than the others. I think she was pretty star-struck too. Then she showed me her autographs! 

Needless to say, I think Joe Webb, Harrison Smith, Robert Blanton and Jamarca Sanford made an impact on her. She got the message about bullying and I'm happy her school found a very creative way to deliver this message. 

Fairy fairy

Regan received this note in her desk on Monday afternoon: 

Boy was this slightly OCD extreme germ freak mom so proud of her for keeping her space at school tidy and neat. Regan then told me that she helped her little friend clean up his desk in hopes that he too could earn a "treat" from the desk fairy. I think I need to use this love of fairies to my advantage in hopes of eliminating one little girls' whining skills. 

Because she could win an award with her ability!