bendiciones

Our kindergarten school pictures came back and I love them so much.

Amaya planned everything down to her jewelry and exactly how she wanted her hair done.
* Sammy thought the blue UA shirt was boring and was much happier in his ballon animal tee.
* Steven got yogurt all over his blue UA shirt and had to wear Sammy’s, which is a size too big.

These pictures are so them.

Nana says she sees me in Amaya in this photo. <3

Grandma Betsy helped Amaya realize her vision for this over-the-top hair bow and she was excited to wear it to school on Monday. It even got another “amazing!” from Sammy and Amaya reported that everyone loved it.

We couldn’t find Sammy’s sweatshirt before school so I suggested he wear a rain coat. He didn’t want to be “the only Cline kid in a raincoat” so Steven agreed to wear his, too. Of course when he got on the bus he saw his sweatshirt in the lost and found bucket and quickly tossed his raincoat to me leaving Steven the “only Cline kid in a raincoat”.

I’m taking as many opportunities as possible to volunteer at SSA’s school. This week I went in at lunch to put together Monday Envelopes for Amaya’s class. These envelopes have standardized announcements and also individual student work. I timed it so that I’d be able to see the kids when they came back from lunch recess and, wow, it was worth it. They absolutely lit up when they saw me. <3 And the best part was that, as excited as they were to see me there, they still went happily into their classrooms after quick hugs.

I got a second chance to see Amaya because she was class messenger for the week and had some notes to deliver to the office. She was so proud.

Remember being a kid and pretending to be asleep?

Like her mother, Amaya hates the cold weather. This is a regular scene while walking the bus. She also complained that her pants don’t have pockets. So between thin leggings and no pockets, we invested in a few pair of sweatpants for her and she’s thrilled.

Hey Jason – think we should consider just taking the beds out of their room at this point? 😉

Before her sweatpants came, Amaya found a way to stay warm and stylish. (Five year old stylish.)

Wednesday was the boys’ turn for their Book Bucket Party.

What I loved was that both Steven and Amaya spent the morning trying to recreate one of the designs on Sammy’s bucket. I think he was really proud that they liked what he did enough to draw it themselves.

Amaya’s version

Steven’s version

This is the mid-October view on Cheltenham. I loathe winter but this is pretty spectacular.

Gabby was sick on Wednesday so Jason and I teamed up for the afternoon. I had another chance to take the kids to dance class which came with a double bonus of “costume day” and “bring a friend day”. SSA were so excited for their friend Emma J to join them!

Steven doesn’t take tap but he was upset that Sammy and Amaya were going to get more time with Emma so I told him that he could go in as a friend for the day. He said, “I better ask Ms. Christina first” and then marched right up to her and said, “Ms. Christina, is it okay if I come in to tap even though I’m not signed up and don’t have the right shoes?” That’s right along with his assertion to Jason that he’s “not afraid to talk to anybody.”

Sweatpants! With pockets!!

Before school on Wednesday Sammy took time to show Jason his handwriting book. “I wrote every letter myself!” Honestly, I can’t believe how much they’ve learned in less than 2 months of kindergarten. It’s amazing to see and, for me, completely unexpected. I’m really proud of how Sammy’s focus has developed, along with his interest in literacy.

At bedtime Steven kept yelling down questions to me. “How do you spell ‘from’?” “What’s your favorite letter?”[J] “What’s your favorite number? [3] “Who is someone you love who doesn’t live in our house?'” [Nana]

This was end result. “From Steven To Mommy I love you”. Even the orange is a tribute because it’s my favorite color.

Once a month or so it’s Spirit Wear Friday at school and this time Steven, Sammy and Amaya were ready with their handpicked Gator Gear. (With the new sofa, I need a new place for inside photos because the fireplace isn’t a good option any longer.)

We got a Friday photo of Amaya working in a math center. I love photos from her classroom.

These kids are really starting to read and I’m seeing success breeds more interest in reading. It’s so cool. Today Steven read the word “Fox” on the TV by sounding it out.

For me, I need to make a point to spend 1:1 time with the kids and make sure I’m not assuming they’re all on the same level of readiness & proficiency.

We had a family outing on Saturday morning for breakfast (at the counter!) and Street of Treats in downtown Northville. Since we can’t all trick or treat together on Halloween it was a great alternative and SSA had a blast.

After lunch I took Amaya to a birthday party at Airtime. It was our first time there and it was a tough start for her. (This was also the first school-friend birthday party she went to without her brothers.) First, she got upset about wearing grey and orange socks because they’re “so ugly”. Then she was upset about all of the other people jumping on the trampolines.

She finally tried it out but, on principal, wouldn’t crack a smile. That’s my Amaya. 🙂

Finally, her classmate Maia came by and asked her (again) to play and she said yes. From then on she was in good spirits, bolstered by ice cream and cake.

I met a number of parents from Amaya’s class at Airtime and then many more from Steven and Sammy’s class that evening when we went to a Halloween party at their friend Ben’s house. It was such a nice event and it was amazing to see the kids in action with their friends, especially Sammy who’d always seemed shy with the kids in pre-k. Here he was wrestling and running and right in the middle of everything.

Sammy wresting with Ben. Ben is the friend Sammy wants a solo play date with. He even brought Ben a coupon from Bring a Friend Day at dance class.

TP mummies! Ben’s parents had their nanny come to the party to help organize games for the dozens of kids.

Steven has truly never met a stranger. He loved meeting and talking to everyone at the party. He even found a box of rice krispie treats and took it upon himself to walk around the party and be sure everyone had one.

After a very busy Saturday, we had a nice relaxing Sunday morning at home.

Steven is so into reading right now so we played a few rounds of Sight Word Swat. Technically it’s a competitive game where you have to find and swat the word the fastest but, right now, the kids like playing one on one.

Steven also spent a long time, hours maybe, working with Jason to reorganize the kitchen. Like father like son, I tell you. (Except that Steven could never wear Jason’s shirt. He loves socializing. The jury is out on his feelings toward pants.)

Our afternoon event was the Dia De Los Muertos event at the Novi Civic Center. It was so cool. They had dancers, a mariachi band and a ton of crafts for the kids. Amaya and Steven even tried on some traditional clothing.

Decorating and personalizing Sugar Skulls.

Sugar Skulls and Flowers with smiles from the boys and a sour look from Amaya because she didn’t like how her flower turned out.

Custom puppets!

Cookie decorating! This activity definitely shows the kids’ personalities. Steven was precise. So precise that he used individual yellow sprinkles in the smile he decorated. Amaya had a specific plan but then went wild with sprinkles. Sammy’s goal seemed to be to load as much on as possible.