2nd Day of Kindergarten

Last night we went back to the school for the Kindergarten Open House.  We found their classroom and were introduced to their teacher, Mrs. Duty.  Patrick and Finnegan brought all their school supplies and put all their things in their desks and cubbies.

 This morning we walked the boys to their room.  They quickly put away their backpack and lunch box, found an activity bin and got right to work - playing dominos.

This afternoon, Patrick and Finnegan came home all smiles, they told me their day was great!

Let's hope that the entire school year is filled with so many smiles.

Swinging with Little Friends

It's a rarity to be at the playground and have the oldest kids in the bunch.  So, it was a sweet treat to spend the afternoon with Athena and Sebastian.  While the little guys aren't yet ready for the big twirly slides (and Sully isn't either, but does it anyway), there is one thing all 5 kids can agree on - swinging!

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of Kindergarten

Today Finnegan and Patrick started Kindergarten!

After a special breakfast, Nannie arrived to stay with Sullivan (who was still sleeping) while Gill and I took the big guys to school.  

 Patrick and Finnegan chose their own outfits for their big day. The boys we wore their new shoes (Lightning McQueen and Spiderman) and carried their new backpacks & lunchboxes (Batman and Spiderman).

 Gill and I walked the boys into the school and found the kindergarten hallway. 

They introduced themselves, spelled their names for their name tags and put away their gear in their cubbies.  This was their staggered start day, they will not have their assigned class/teacher/cubby until our next day back at school, Friday.

 

The boys sat right down at a table and got to work!

 There were no tears (from the boys) when we left them.  Sully and I spent the day with Johanna, Liliana and the kids and waited for the big boys to get home.

 That's right - the guys are taking the school bus home!!

 Finn and Patrick were all smiles when they got off the bus.  Maybe it was because of the exciting day, maybe it was the crowd of people waiting for them, but whatever it was, I was so happy to see smiling faces!

 (or maybe they knew we had cupcakes inside!)

 

 The kids seemed to have had a great day.  They brought home some beautiful artwork - a picture of their school, a puppet, and a handprint with the Kissing Hand Poem.  The boys told us about making a snack that looked like a school bus, visiting the library and gym, having lunch in the cafeteria, meeting the music teacher and, of course, riding the bus.  

Today was such a big day for our family.  I hope that Patrick and Finnegan find this new adventure to be filled with new friends, new subjects and new ideas.  

On the eve of Kindergarten

The boys are in bed, on the eve of their big day.  While I hustle to get everything ready for tomorrow, I thought I'd stop to post this prayer that a friend of mine sent to me today.  It totally sums up exactly how I'm feeling as they start their new adventure.  

Playground Fun

Before the official school year began, we spent a morning with the Weltz Girls at the park.  

Sully proved that just because he's not starting school, doesn't mean he can't hang with the big kids!

After digging in the sand, swinging, and having a picnic lunch, the kids threw stones in the pond

and posed for one cute picture before our outing was over.

Family Gymboree

While Patrick and Finnegan started Gymboree when they were 2, and this past year, Sully continued while the big guys were in preschool - this summer we had a very special experience.  We enrolled in a family class.  It was an opportunity for Big Brothers and Little Brothers (and Mommy too) to have some quality time playing, singing and bonding.   

It was an outstanding class, we had so much fun and P&F had the opportunity to show Sullivan all the tricks of the trade.

Silliness...

Rolling on the log with big brothers...

Rocking...

Bubble Time..

Going under the parachute...

Gymbo Stamps on Hands, Feet and bellies...

I'm so glad that we had 10 weeks of this special family class.  Sullivan will continue going to toddler classes with me, but it was a special treat to have the time with Patrick and Finnegan.

Thanks Gymboree!!

Durham Museum

Today we piled a lot of kids into 2 mini-vans and headed to Life and Science Museum in Durham.

The boys were excited that Bridget, Emily and Kara joined us in our car.

The kids were so patient in the drive, but thrilled to arrive and have a picnic lunch before going into the museum.

 The museum was fantastic, especially because a large part of it was outdoors.  After a great playground and caboose, we found a petting zoo.

 Our group of 10 kids stopped for some silly pictures...

 before boarding a train.

 We had lots of great adventures through the park, we watched the lemurs being fed, played in a park filled with mist (and got soaking wet), went to the Butterfly House, explored the dinosaur park and built sailboats and watched them float in the water.

 At the end of our day, we finally went inside the museum and found a whole other days worth of things to explore.  We will need to come back and see the rest of it, but couldn't leave without seeing the AeroSpace exhibit.  The boys got to climb into an ERV Space Capsule and take a picture for Daddy in front of the Lunar Module.

With a week left before Kindergarten, this was a new and exciting adventure, 

I'm so glad we made the trip!