Katie Anne's Pre-K Graduation

Today was Katie Anne's PreK graduation and end-of-the-year party!  

They had the party outside, and it was - obviously from the squinting - a sunny, beautiful day!  They had a luau theme for their celebration, and the kids all looked so cute.  Katie Anne got a certificate and memory book from her teachers Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bolen.  They had lots of wonderful things to say about her - especially about how much she's grown up this year, how much her behavior has improved, and what a great helper she is to her teachers!

After the certificates were handed out, the kids ate their special snacks and had a dance party!

Katie Anne with her friends from class:

Katie Anne and one of her best friends, Diamond:

Katie Anne had such a great year with her teachers!

We're so glad that it worked out with Mommy and Daddy's schedules - we could both be there to see the fun and be a part of the end-of-the-year festivities with KA!

We're so grateful for her fabulous experience at the PreK.  Katie Anne really loved this school year and isn't excited about leaving.  She is so at-home at the PreK, and she's a bit nervous about kindergarten.  Last week, she asked me, "Can't I just stay at the PreK next year and be Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bolen's friends?!?"  Even though she hates to leave her wonderful preK, we know she's ready for kindergarten and will do wonderfully there, too!

PreK Family Fun Night

In May, the PreK hosted a family fun night at Dellinger Park.  Katie Anne was so excited to go!

SJ was excited, too!

There were bouncy houses, music, and lots of food!  This was such a fun night for PreK students and families to celebrate the end of the year.  We had a great time and stayed for almost two hours, playing, eating, and having a good time!  Here are some pictures from the evening.

Katie Anne in the bouncy obstacle course.

SJ loved dancing to all the music!

What a daredevil - she came down the slide headfirst!

Katie Anne and some preK friends - McKenzie and Alexis:

Our family!  We had a fun night!

Katie Anne's First Field Day!

Today, Katie Anne got to be a part of her first Field Day!

Field Day at Dellinger Park is a big tradition for Cartersville City School students.  It's a great day filled with games, fun, and a picnic lunch at the park.  Katie Anne was so excited that the preK students got to be a part of Field Day, and I was beyond excited that Mr. Gordon let me take a half day off to be with her!  Of course, I took tons of pictures of the Field Day fun.  Here are just a few... to see more, click here to view the Facebook album.

Katie Anne's Easter Egg Hunt at School

Today, Katie Anne had her Easter Egg Hunt and party with the PreK! 

They made a whole morning of it and went to Dellinger Park.  They had a fun time playing basketball, going on a nature walk, having a picnic lunch, and hunting their eggs!  

Katie Anne was excited that both Mommy and Daddy got to come to her morning out, although not at the same time.  Saunders took off a few hours in the morning and hung out with her at the park, and then he headed back to work.  I came to see the egg hunt for about twenty minutes on my lunch break because today was a critical day for me at work (my class had their egg hunt and party today, too).   No one took a picture of Saunders and KA together, but I did ask Mrs. Bolen to snap a picture of KA and me!

It was a fun day, and Katie Anne had a great time!

Katie Anne's PreK Halloween Party

Katie Anne had a great time at her PreK Halloween Party today!  She made crafts, ate snacks, and played games.  It was one of the best school parties I've seen - and I've seen quite a few.  Mrs. Carter and Mrs. Bolen ran the party in stations, and I think I may copy this idea.  The party ran smoothly, the kids loved all the activities, and everyone had a wonderful time!

Katie Anne's First Day of PreK!

Today was our sweet baby girl's first day of PreK!

I made her a special dress to wear to school today since it is her first day in public school!  She looked absolutely gorgeous in it, and I know she made a great first impression on everyone.  I made lots of pictures of her at home before we left.

So excited!

 

Last night, we laid out all of her school starting goodies.  She has a new backpack, a new lunchbox, and surprises for her teachers (which look awesome thanks to Collections by Tara Nicole!)

She looked so precious with her backpack on this morning - all ready to go!

 

 

 

This year, there were some changes to the Bright from the Start Program - that's the grant that funds the PreK program in Georgia - because of all the budget problems.  That meant that PreK teachers were furloughed a signficant number of days, and the start of PreK was delayed by 20 days.  (These students will be in school for 160 days instead of 180.)  I was very sorry to see those changes be made to the program, but selfishly I was excited that Katie Anne's first day was August 30 instead of the official first day of school on August 3. If KA had started PreK on August 3, I wouldn't have been able to take any time off to take her to school. So, with the delayed start, I was able to take the whole day off. I got to walk her into school, make lots of pictures, pick her up in the afternoon as a car rider, and even take her out for a special cupcake treat before we picked up SJ!  I am extremely thankful that I got the opportunity to experience this milestone with KA. Saunders had already adjusted his schedule so that he could be there for her first morning at PreK, too.  Katie Anne was very excited to have both her parents with her when she walked into PreK!

 

Then, it was time to go into class!  Katie Anne was very excited to put all her things away and see all the new faces in the room, but she got very nervous and teary when she realized it was time for Mommy and Daddy to go.  Luckily, another little girl - McKenzie - who was playing with blocks stuck a microphone (aka a big block) in Katie Anne's face and started interviewing her, asking her questions about herself.  KA was shocked for a second - just enough to stop the almost-flowing tears - and then she picked right up with the game with McKenzie and another little girl named Alexis.  We were so thankful for McKenzie pulling KA in right away!  When we said goodbye to her, KA was so busy that she barely noticed us leave.

 Putting her things away

 

 Choosing a book to look at on the rug

 McKenzie and the distracting blocks, which I believe had turned into handlebar mustaches by this point!

 

I was nervous all day long for her and couldn't wait to pick her up and hear how her day went!  She was very tired, but she'd had a great day! 

 Peach came with me to pick KA up, and she was so happy to see him!

A thirsty thumbs up

I took her to Heaven Scent Bakery for a cupcake treat after school, and we ran into Vanessa, Lily, and Bear getting cupcakes, too!  KA was happy to be able to eat her treat and chat with her friends.

 Chocolate face!

Katie Anne wanted to tell Daddy about her day at school right away, so we stopped by the bank and visited him in his office for a few minutes.

Then it was off to get SJ from daycare!  He was excited to hear about Sissy's day, too!

Katie Anne had such a wonderful start to her school career!  We know it's going to be an awesome year in PreK!