Olivia's Pre-School Graduation

I did it! Gotta love that smile.

It's absolutely baffling to me to think that little Miss Livy will be headed to kindergarten next year.  In just a few short weeks, Liv will turn five...where has the time gone!

  

This plant was given to us when Olivia was born.

She thinks it's pretty cool that she's bigger!

(Don't tell Grace I killed her plant...!)

Of course, because of her summer birthday, Brian and I went back and forth on whether to send Olivia straight to kindergarten or to a program here in Decorah called T-K (transitional kindergarten) for those who either have summer birthdays or just need a little more time to get ready for kindergarten.  After seeing some continual shyness and hesitation to join in at a ballet class she attended this winter, we had pretty much decided on sending Olivia to T-K but were still attaching a giant ? to that because she seemed to be doing so well in school and, while she's undoubtedly shy, that's a personality trait not something that doing a year of T-K would necessarily change.  Plus, we like our shy and sweet yet somehow wild and silly Liv!

 

Thankfully, pre-school conferences came around and put our minds at ease about Olivia's readiness.  Her teachers, without ever actually telling us what to do, indicated that Olivia is/was doing great and showing all the signs of being ready!  It was fun to see her report card, which showed her growth in many areas from fall, and to hear her teachers' impressions.  Funny too in a way for me because many of the comments said about Olivia match my own kindergarten teacher's comments about me - thanks mom for holding on to all those report cards over the years!  Liv's doing great in the "school" aspect of things - alphabet, numbers, counting, cutting, coloring, etc.  Olivia's teachers agreed that Olivia is definitely shy compared to other kids, but they also said they didn't feel like it was holding her back in any way...compared to last year and even earlier this year, her level of participation had grown in positive ways, and she's really cooperative and a great direction follower (you can imagine how happy her mom especially was to hear this!).  Also, they talked about Olivia's relationships with her peers - once she's comfortable, she doesn't hesitate to chat it up and show her silly self she sometimes hides at first.

With all this new information, we crossed off T-K and signed up Liv for kindergarten at St. Ben's.  She's super excited about it, had a great time at "Meet the Teacher Night," and thought her teacher, Ms. Kuennen seemed really nice - we still talk about her quite frequently, in fact!  It's great that a few of her pre-school buddies from St. Ben's will continue with her into kindergarten too!
 
These pictures are of Olivia's pre-school graduation.  They put on a really nice program of songs in combination with the 3-4 year olds; then, the 4-5 year olds got to do a few special songs and get their own diplomas!  While last year she smiled sweetly but didn't sing a word, this year, Olivia sang along with the rest of her classmates - it's amazing how much growth can happen in such a short time!

I admit that I had a few tears in my eyes through all of this! Bittersweet to see our little girl growing up!

 

Processional into the gym.

 Olivia and her friend Danika (who will continue at St. Ben's too).

 Olivia and friends Stella, Kelby, and Grace.

According to this picture, Olivia's a little squirt too!)

 Olivia and Stella (also continuing at St. Ben's).

Olivia and her teachers - Mrs. Kane (left) and Mrs. Bohr (right).

And Grace, trying to squeeze her little self into every picture!

I'd say child #2 is VERY excited for pre-school!