Back to School

The girls had their preschool orientation last week. They were super-excited - no shyness whatsoever. Orientation means that parents stay there, so we got to observe the girls on their first special day.

Zahra really loved the big collection of squash and gords in the classroom

 And both girls really loved the babies

Penelope seemed to have the personal mission of charming all of the teachers.

Then, they had the first "official" day where we dropped them off. On the car ride there, Penelope started crying a bit about me leaving her. In response Zahra said, "Don't worry, Penelope. Your best friend Zahra will be there with you."

Once we actually got there, neither one had any trouble being dropped off. These girls have been visiting the lab school since they were born, so they're used to the place!

The girls both love school - Zahra was asking all weekend when she could go again. They love the routine of getting to the classroom, putting their things in their cubby, using the potty and washing their hands. You can see their cubby pictures below.

Quinn also has had a great couple weeks. His first science unit in class was about bees, and he took us to his school playground to see the bees in action. He pointed out the difference between honey bees and bumble bees. Can you spot them?

He's also enjoyed a new book about the 100 most influential people in the world. The other day he told me that Ghandi and Steve Jobs were the two most important people who ever lived.

We also got the chance to visit Quinn's classroom last week for parent information night. I took a few pictures of what was hanging on the wall.

"I read because I get good ideas"

The kids tasted honey, and this is a bar graph of their favorite types of honey.

Hypothesis testing about bees

Finally, in non-school related news: Quinn lost his first tooth!

He claimed he wasn't interested in the tooth fairy, but changed his mind quickly when he found a snickers bar under his pillow instead of money.

End of August

This post is a bit belated, but we had a wonderful end-of-august with two big events: A visit from our best friends Polly and Carl (and baby Charles) and the STATE FAIR!

We may or may not have been to the state fair four times this year.

Charles had a great first state fair, and loved waving at all the animals with Uncle Moin.

My favorite new find this year were this Swedish couple who sell lovely handcrafted goods.

The kids also loved having Polly, Carl and Charles over with us, and the girls took their supervision of Charles very seriously.

They even got to help feed him!

This is the best picture we could get of all the kids. Maybe we'll have better luck over Christmas.

We had a great visit, Polly and Carl! Come back soon!

First day of first grade

We have a first grader in the house!

Quinn had a successful first day at his new school. It started with him getting on the school bus. His new school is 1-8, and for whatever reason most kids at his bus stop are 7th and 8th graders. Little Quinn getting on the bus with all those big kids was a pretty funny sight!

Overall, he has really liked his new school. He seems most excited about:
- silent reading (his teacher directed him to a "presidential pets" book in the class libary, which he loves. Can you guess which president had a pet crocodile?)
- science class (currently they're studying balance and motion)
- the "flags of the world" floor map in the classroom
- and of COURSE, lunch and breakfast

Things I like about the school:
- they do daily yoga in the classroom, and each child has his or her own mat. when a child gets in trouble, he or she has to go to the "breathing mat" to stay calm and focued.
- they do science and social studies in the classroom (a sad rarity these days), and have a separate science "specialty" class with a different teacher
- Quinn's teacher seems excellent

To celebrate Quinn's first week at school, he and I had a special date to Como Town over the weekend. Look at how much fun he had on the teacups and the zipline!

First grade is hard work! It's good to unwind a little :)

Big Girls

Penelope and Zahra have been involved in several "big kid" activities recently. They're also very proud of being "big girls", and are always telling me that they're not babies anymore.

First, they went to their first birthday party of a friend. As you can see, they were VERY excited!

They also started gymnastics again, but this time they're in a 3-year-old class in which parents watch from outside (through a window). There were a few tears, but otherwise they were fine.

They have also been gearing up for preschool. They had a home visit from their new teacher (Ayuko) and they loved her right away. Meeting her really helped them feel confident for school.

Then, they had a park playdate with all the other lab school families. Zahra kept going up to kids and saying, "Hi, my name is Zahra. Do you like dragons?

Awesome introductory line, right?

They have a classroom orientation this week, and then their first drop off day is next week.

We love you Zahra and Penelope and we're so proud of you for being such big girls!