First Day of School

Excited and smiling on her first day of Pre-K!

This was taken LATE last night as you can see it's dark outside.

Dining room table

Supplies ready...

Here's our whiteboard and easel (IKEA).

Both my kids like watching Barney so we sing this verse to the Barney song. It's quite long for a little kid to memorize, but there are two reasons why I chose it:

1. because it's the AWANA verse and she's going to have to memorize it since she's in AWANA

2. because Avonlea is a perfectionist (like me...oh oh!) and when she doesn't get something right the very first time and it isn't perfect, she flips. So, this verse says "Do your best..." and I quote this whenever she's struggling with schoolwork or anything for that matter. We sing the song and I remind her that God only expects our best, not perfection.

Avonlea began her first day of Pre-K today. I stayed up extra late last night to decorate the house in red streamers and apples. To be perfectly honest, her first day of school was supposed to be yesterday, but I wound up pushing it back to today since I didn't have the house decorated. Yes, that's right. The house had to be decorated! =) I had to make it extra special and so, Tuesday it is. Avonlea woke up to apple cut-outs hanging in her doorway. She came into bed asking us why she had apples in her doorway and I said, "Don't you remember? Today is your first day of 'big girl school' !" She smiled and asked if we could begin school right away. I told her we needed to all be out of bed first and get some "brain fuel" in our tummies, then we'd start school.

We started off with our circle time which consists of:

calendar, singing songs, counting to 100 using our number chart, saying our Bible verse (which we put a song to...II Timothy 2:15), saying phonics charts, sight words, fruits of the Spirit and this week, we're talking about kings and queens/royalty.

Then, we had a snack and began her first A Beka reader. We have math (also A Beka) after she wakes up from naptime and then a craft. Then, we're off to playing outside which usually consists of getting wet, doing bubbles, painting at the easel, playground and sometimes we go for a swim if Norah is asleep, BUT our pool tore open yesterday, hence draining our entire pool and breaking it. No more pool...tear, sniff, sigh.

I have enjoyed venturing around on others' blogs and seeing how other families have started off their school year. Gotta love the fresh smell of school supplies, the "special breakfasts" being prepared and the excitement of it all! Here's to a great 2009-2010 school year!