Kaitlynn Lately

Not to be outdone by Connor, Kaitlynn has been super busy with her own school activities. Her pre-K year is going great so far, and I admit that I am amazed at all she is learning and being exposed to. Her class is really working hard on letters/numbers, sight words, and counting to 100.

For her very first homework assignment, the teachers asked us to complete an "All About Me" worksheet. Since this was her first week of school, Kaitlynn wasn't all that enthused about completing the sheet herself so we worked on it together. Then the teachers hung them on the wall in the hallway outside the classroom. It's fun to walk to class and see all the children's work displayed there.



Kaitlynn's first Pre-K assignment -- All About Me.

Another fun classroom event for Kaitlynn has been bringing home the class pet, Sammy. Each student takes a turn having Sammy for the weekend and then makes a scrapbook page for the classroom book. Anyone who knows me understands that I am NOT crafty enough to handle scrapbook pages, but I can make an electronic one in my sleep. Ha! So here was our finished page for Sammy's scrapbook:

From the very first week of school, Kaitlynn had an instant connection with one of her sweet classmates, Sofia. These two girls are just the cutest, always excited to see each other and wanting to play together.



Kaitlynn and Sofia

Of course, Kaitlynn still relishes every opportunity to see her best friend, Anais. Their faces just light up with smiles every single time we get together. Recently, we got the girls together for a playdate.

Back before Connor entered kindergarten a few years ago, we enrolled him in a very popular local class called Head Start to Reading. It's a weekly class designed for pre-kindergartners to help give them a "head start" on reading strategies and, more importantly, to promote enthusiasm for learning to read. Connor had such success with the program that we definitely decided to enroll Kaitlynn in the same class before kindergarten, even though it will require us to drive 45 minutes across town. I was planning to wait until next spring to enroll Kaitlynn in the first reading class, but then we learned that Anais would be taking it this fall on Fridays. Once we learned that, I didn't hesitate to sign Kaitlynn up for the same class.

Kaitlynn and Anais started their reading curriculum early this month and they are doing great. The first class starts with basic sight words and progresses into future classes with phonetic and reading strategies. In addition to the class, I have been working with Kaitlynn at home every day on additional sight words and writing. She is not always the most eager learner, but she is making great progress by spending just a few minutes each day on these areas. So proud of this girl!

Anais rode with us to reading class.

I have been so proud of Kaitlynn's progress that I asked her if she'd be willing to make a little video of her reading so that we could share it with her grandparents. She agreed, so we sat down with one of her little preschool "readers" that we had only reviewed once or twice before. I figured she would be able to read most of it, but she ended up surprising me when she started discussing some of the book's content. Take a look:





During one morning this month, Kaitlynn's preschool hosted a fun event called Donuts With Dad. It was very similar to the Dad's Night Out event at our former preschool. The Dads joined the kids at school for breakfast and got to tour the classroom. Then they took a few pictures and presented each Dad with a "biography" completed by the kids. Kaitlynn and her "sweet Daddy" (as she is prone to calling him) had such an amazing morning together. I tell you, these two have quite the connection. There is just nothing like it.

Dad and Kaitlynn walked Connor to school before they got ready for Donuts with Dad.

Getting loaded in the truck for their Donuts with Dad date.

Oh my, Kaitlynn loves her "Sweet Daddy"

Picture in Kaitlynn's classroom.

They were all smiles.

Kaitlynn's biography about her Daddy.

One last pic enjoying those donuts!

Adjusting to Kaitlynn's 4-day school schedule with an extra day of reading class on top has been quite the change for us. I thought I would really enjoy all the time while she is in school, but I have to admit that I am really missing our "girl time" during the weeks. That being said, I know she is in such a great preschool that is preparing her for kindergarten, and I am so thankful for that!

School is exhausting!!