School Age Chronicles

Summer 2016:

A year in review!

Who would have guessed how quickly time would pass... Alas, we've made our way through 1st Grade and are on the threshold of summer vacation.  Looking back through the year, there are so many areas of personal growth for Evelyn.  Learning to read has been the most obvious, but growing in confidence and her sense of self has been most rewarding to see!

We have a thoughtful, friendly, funny, imaginative girl... who still loves to dance and sing, play Barbies and dollhouse, garden and play outside, go on adventures with her parents and be read to at bedtime.  Oh, how lucky we are!

Spring is here!

Hello again!

It's been a very busy winter, indeed!  In fact... it's barely been winter at all with our surprisingly mild season.  Alas, into spring we land.

Miss Evelyn has sure grown socially this year!!  She's spending a lot of energy keeping up with her newly turned four year old friends (sometimes a frustration for her - trying to "keep up").  Our big transition this year was that she's now in the gymnastics class on her own, without mommy!  I think the transition was more difficult for me... she's adapted quite well since two of her closest friends from daycare are in class with her.  They give each other courage.

Still in ECFE school on Monday evenings, though sometimes she's so worn out at the end of the day that she falls asleep on the way to class.  Last week, she didn't wake up until the last ten minutes of class!  We've also been planning more playdates!  A few friends have come over to our house and vice versa -  I'm so proud of how well Evelyn plays and acts as a host! We also finally filled the sand box and have been able to spend many evenings before dinner outside in her little house and sand box!

Friendships

Sunday Birthday Party

Friendship #1

Evelyn's attended Thalia's third birthday party - her best friend from ECFE school.  You can tell how much they enjoy each other by how comfortable they are and how intently focused they are on each other.

It's interesting to observe how Evelyn has evolved socially in the last three months.  She talks constantly about her friends and what they did that day and what they were feeling/thinking/saying.  She looks forward to seeing her friends and constantly asks for playdates!

sniff, sniff... my little girl is growing up!

Play day

Saturday Play Day:
Friendship #2

We successfully hosted our first official playdate at our house!!  I think I'm almost as excited as Evelyn - venturing into the world of friendships!

First off, we now have excellent play space in our house!  From Evelyn's "little house" outside to her "little kitchen" and table in the living room to her new "princess tower bedroom" - there are many spaces to play.

Next task - invite Evelyn's "best friend" from daycare over to play... decorate and stamp a pretty little card to send along to little friend's mommy to introduce ourselves, exchange phone numbers and suggest a meeting time. Check!

Saturday - the day of the playdate finally arrives!  Friend brings two princess dresses so they can play dress up; Evelyn is excited to show the Little House since she talks about it all the time at daycare - I bring little plates and cups and juice and fruit snacks outside for a mini tea party and it's an instant hit!  It's a good thing to start outside just to get the silliness and excitement out.

Dress-up time came next and the girls put on a "Princess Show" - this consisted of twirling and bowing, dancing and singing "I'm Sleeping Beauty and my mommy is Snow White".

Finally, in fits of either hunger or exhaustion, there is a minor melt down and we know it's time to call it a day. Successful playdate ends with the girls swapping princess dresses for the weekend with promises to return them on Monday.

Next time: I think we'll have one slightly structured activity and the rest of the time for free play!  The girls got along great and us mother's found we had so much in common!

Evelyn phrase of the day: she tells me "mommy, we swapped princess dresses.  I want to swoop again!"

Photos (a month in review

Eagle's Nest: Having a ball in the Ball Pit

Art: Stamping and gluing Valentine's

Sensory Exploration: Fun with Bubbles at the Children's Museum

Art: Our own Chick, Chicka, Boom, Boom tree

Tea Party and mini muffins!

Birthday Party: Pizza, Cake and Old Fashion Party games

Halloween 2.0, Volume 2

Harvest Party on the Farm: a gathering of all our high school friends and our respective children out at the farm we used to hang out at for fall bonfires.  Brad did a fantastic job organizing a kid-friendly fest!!  There were hayrides, donkey rides, horses to look at and of course, a bonfire with bales of hay to sit upon.  Inside the pole shed, there was a festive feast of chili, sloppy joes, hotdogs, baked goods, hot cocoa and candy.  Also, beanbag games for the kids to play.  

Before dusk, all the kids (ages 1 to 9) were shepherded to the side yard for a piñata and were lined up by age and height. The children circled around five or six times, each taking a fair swing or two at the dangling jeep piñata.  Someone finally caught a good swing that disabled the piñata and dropped it to the ground.  Like a scene from the movie Office Space, Emily intervened and took a few harried whacks at the piñata until it split open - candy spilling forth and toys for the little girls and boys.  

One of the best moments for me was watching  the older boys take Evelyn under their wing and keep track of her - playing, entertaining and protecting her!

Great friends!  Great children!  Sharing our seasonal traditions with a new generation!

Como Zoo Boo and our Evey Bug-aroo!

We are fully in the throngs of fall and autumn weather.  The leaves have all changed and many have fallen to the earth.  The days are becoming shorter and there is a crispness in the air - a subtle signal of the change of seasons.

Little Lady Bug!

Our activities on the weekend take full advantage of the outdoor harvest activities!

This weekend we visited Como Zoo for their annual fundraiser Zoo Boo!  It was the perfect atmosphere for Evelyn to trick-or-treat; all the volunteers were dressed as various animals and there were cute and clever scenes set up throughout the zoo grounds.  I think that Alice in Wonderland's Tea party was the most interactive and a big hit with Evey.  She fell in love with butterfly and flower scene and kept climbing the little fence to run up and touch the flowers!  Oh, what a little rebel!

We had the debut of Evey-lou the lady bug-aroo!  She cooperated with wearing her costume and was enthralled by all the other kids in costumes too!  A strawberry blow pop was by far her favorite candy (the only candy we let her have).  We even ran in to our friends from ECFE - Thalia the buzzing bee!  Quelle chance!

I would recommend Como Zoo Boo to people, especially with younger children.  Though there were people of all ages, I think 2-6 years old is the perfect age for the awe and activities.

Tips, tricks and notes to others:

• Purchase tickets ahead of time - the lines are long to get in; 
• Either Park and Ride the shuttle or plan to park a ways a way and walk;
• Come early when it opens - we spent close to 90 minutes at Zoo Boo and had a great time!
• The food vendors are all open during Zoo Boo - you can grab a snack or dinner; some of the treats handed out suffice for nourishment 
• Attend the event and bring your friends!  It's a great fundraiser for the Como Zoo!!!