FLASHBACK: Ann Elise's Spring at Preschool

We were so pleased with Ann Elise's 4 year old Preschool experience! Mrs. Heather was just the right fit for our sweet doll. She really grew academically and learned so much! We knew she was ready for Kindergarten :)

Ann Elise loved having a special day to celebrate her grandparents! They performed a special program in the sanctuary and had a small reception afterward. She was excited to show Bobby and Nana her school work and give them a tour of her classroom. (Lala, my mom, was not able to attend because she is a school teacher in another town)

(Ann Elise with Bobby and Nana)

At her desk she had this special gift for each of her grandparents. Mrs. Heather took a picture of each of the children dressed up as a "grandparent"! Isn't that too cute?!

In May, I got to go to school with Ann Elise for Muffins With Mom. They sang a few songs and we enjoyed some muffins while visiting.

At her desk she had several gifts for me! This picture shows the corsage she made for me to wear (left) and her hand print flower (right).

This picture shows the card she made (left) and her hand print flower pot (right). The hand print flower pot contained a packet of seeds.

The inside of the card she made had many questions Mrs. Heather asked about me. Some of her answers made me laugh! The innocence of a child is precious :)

This is a picture of Ann Elise with several of her friends. She really had a fun class! Can't you tell from the picture?!?

(Michaela, Ann Elise, Gracie, and Anna Caroline)

Ann Elise waited patiently all year for her turn as Star Student. She watched week after week as her classmates told about their favorite things, brought their favorite snacks, brought family pets or family members, etc. Most weeks she would voice some idea that she would like to do when she was Star Student!

The ways we celebrated Ann Elise:

• We made a poster that included lots of pictures of family, things she loves, and showed her growing up.

• We gave her classmates a sample of her favorite snack, Fruity Pebble Treats, with the recipe.
• Our family friend, Lloyd, visited her class and taught them the alphabet and how to count in Chinese and gave them each a bookmark from China.
• Bobby and Nana visited her class. Bobby, a watercolor artist, taught her class how to draw and paint a zebra (Ann Elise's choice).
  
• I visited her class and read the funny book, Smelly Socks by Robert Munsch. I told her friends that Ann Elise has crazy socks that she likes to play in and took a few pairs with me that they could see. I told them about how I would rather her use them for "play socks" and so she always strips off her "mom-approved-school-socks" in the van on the way home from school and gets her feet ready for her "play socks". They thought that was really funny!

(image found using Google image search for Smelly Socks)

They celebrated the end of the year with a program in the sanctuary. They sang all kinds of great songs showing how much they had learned. Mrs. Heather's class did a rendition of "Who Let The Letters Out" to the tune of Who Let The Dogs Out (and when you would normally bark, they pronounced the letter's sound). At the end of the song, after having said "Z", they each pulled sunglasses out of their pockets, put them on, turned to the side and crossed their arms. Very fun! They had been practicing this "move" and Ann Elise had been super excited about it! They worked really hard to keep it a secret from us parents :)

(Ann Elise is third from the left, top row)

Such a super Spring!