Kindergarten

My goal is to post a weekly "happenings" from Jakob's school so you can see what he is doing each week. I am already behind and will probably never catch-up. However, I will still try to post his "happenings" as often as I can.


Two weeks ago they worked on the letter M. Jakob's teacher introduced a puppet named Marvin and he was a Mouse. Jakob loved it and had lots of stories. There are centers in his classroom and during Learning Centers they drew pictures of things that begin with M, marble painted, played with magnets and made play dough M's. There was an oral presentation (show and tell) where Jakob showed his microscope and mosquito slide. He loved it.

At home last Saturday Jakob and George helped me make vegetable empanadas. The recipe called for corn meal and somehow a large quantity of it made it onto the counter. Jakob proceeded to make an M in the cornmeal. WOW!


Next is the letter F.

Class Picnic

On Friday Jakob's class had a class picnic where the parents were invited and asked to bring a snack for the last 45 minutes of class. We met at the Butterfly Playground and spread out our blankets and all had a great time snacking and playing. It was a great chance to meet all the children and their parents. Every child had a parent there and over half had two parents attend. Luckily George arrived in town around 9:30 am and I picked him up from the Metro and we both headed to Jakob's picnic. It was great to see the involvement of all the parents and the enthusiasm of the teachers.

There are 17 children in Jakob's class and his teacher is Mrs. Ariele and the assistant is Mrs. Kelly. They are always with the kids even in Art, Music and PE class. The kids all seem great and Jakob has made many new friends. We are enjoying this year and can't wait to see what happens next.

The kids are all wearing the same shirt because they got them as a gift on Thursday and were asked to wear them on Friday. They will wear these shirts if they have a field trip, which this was considered.

Wednesday Morning Women's Bible Study

Today was the first meeting at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church of their Women's Bible Study. This group meets at Jakob's school during his class. I attended with the hopes of meeting lots of new women and reading a book with some spiritual content. There are several small group discussions one could choose to join, each having it's own book and subject. I chose "Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them" by John Ortberg. It discusses community and the need to build relationships within it. I am looking forward to my Wednesday mornings and hope this will be the beginning a great journey.

Week One of Kindergarten

Jakob has completed his first full week of Kindergarten. This week was filled with new activities which included: art class, two music classes and physical education class. He loved them all. In art they finger painted and their art work was displayed on Friday. Beautiful. In music class they heard drums, beat sticks on the floor and sang. The music teacher told them the drums "speak" to her. We'll have to get more details on this observation. In PE they played hide and seek in the "Butterfly Forest" (his class is known as the Butterfly Class) and saw the PE teachers closet full of all kinds of balls and equipment in the indoor playground. He couldn't have been more impressed with all his new classes.
However, his favorite part of this week was snacks. Each child is asked to bring a snack on their assigned day. The first child's snack will be impossible to beat. Blueberry bagels from Panera and orange sections. Jakob was so excited we had to ask where the nearest Panera was. We do miss our Sunday lunches there.
Overall he loves his school and is doing very well. He is a little tired at the end of the day and wishes school didn't start so early. We were used to a 12:30 start time and this 9 AM time is hard to adjust to.

Kids N' Motion

With Tropical Storm Hanna greeting us Saturday morning we were off to the airport to drop my mom off and then on to a birthday party in Woodbridge for Jakob's best friend Matthew and his little sister Lindsay.

We were drenched in the 10 steps we took from the car to the door. Luckily the party was indoors and lots of fun. The name of the facility is Kids N' Motion and they have huge blow-up slides, obstacle courses, wood play structures and other really fun activities. The equipment is big enough for adults to play on too.

Jakob loves this place and is a sweaty mess by the time we leave. It was a great way to spend a very rainy day.

Happy Birthday Matthew and Lindsay!

Travis, Trevor Whatever

So, Jakob's new friend turned out to be named Trevor. We know this because my mom and I looked for Travis' name on the hooks outside the classroom and there was no Travis. When I asked Jakob if his friends name might be Trevor, he shrugged. When I told him I had looked for Travis' name and I only found a Trevor and a T.J., Jakob asked, "Are you sure there wasn't a Travis?"
He has made a few new friends the first week of school, not one was named Travis.

First Day of Kindergarten

Jakob's orientation was Tues. This 20 minute meeting was for Jakob to meet the teacher again, get comfortable with the classroom and meet a few classmates. He was not in a good mood and did not want his picture taken for this day. George, my mom and I decided it was the anticipation and uncertainty of the day. He did well at the school and made a picture while we were there. He got his tote with his name on it and a magnet to put on our car. This was the best and it put him in a little better mood.

The next day (Wed.) was his official first day of school. My mom was in town for the big event. When I asked if I could take a picture this time he was more than willing to stand with his tote and a smile. He asked, "Am I in a better mood today Mommy?" He was excited to stay for the full 3 hours and thought he might be able to get more done this time. When we picked him up he was so excited and told us he had made a new friend, Travis. He had asked Travis if he could help him build with the blocks and he and Travis made a "huge" city. He had such a good day and wanted to go back the next day.