sight words

peyton is learning sight words now in kindergarden and doing great. she likes to say the word then try and use it in a sentence. yesterday the word was 'as' and she was pretty close on the pronunciation. her sentence was pretty"get your as over here." oops!

Enjoying summer

This summer was Cianna's first experience with a "summer break." I thought it was important to emphasize that this does not mean a complete break from academics, so we bought a summer bridge book for both girls to keep them busy with some school work and not to lose what was learned last year. They have both been good about doing pages in their workbook and Cianna is even keeping a writing journal where she writes about fun things she does. Peyton has made great progress as she now knows all her letter names and a handful of letter sounds. Cianna will be more than ready for second grade math. Placement testing is in a short 4 1/2 weeks so we'll know more then. Cianna has gotten to experience a bit of summer camp with fun field trips and we even did a day of gymnastics camp and is in a week of British soccer camp this week, which she loves. She has continued the gymnastics classes through the summer and they offered her a spot on the competition team again. She understands it more this year and is actually excited to try it out. They moved her up to a class with 7-11 year olds earlier this year (she is 6) and she is not only keeping up, but can do some things independently that the other girls need help with, especially the uneven bars. I think it will be great for her.

Diversity

Peyton is starting to notice differences between people, but her way of explaining it is quite humorous. The other day, we were at gymnastics waiting for Cianna's class to finish up. Peyton puts her arm next to mine and says "mom, we are the same. We match." Then she follows that with "Cianna and dad speak Spanish so they have dark skin." Since much of our audience around us was Hispanic, I tried to figure out the most PC way to answer this. Matt doesn't even speak Spanish, but I explained to her that Cianna speaks Spanish because she learned in Kindergarten, just like Peyton is going to. The dark skin she is referring to is from Cianna's fantastic tan from being outdoors most of the summer. Peyton's next response was "so when I learn Spanish in kindergarten I will have brown skin too?"

School Starts

First days of school. This has been an exciting week for Cianna and I. I'm not sure which was more excited. My first baby finally going off to school. The significance of this event has not escaped me. Justin found out 2 days before school that he would be able to attend the same school as Cianna for the next three years and he was thrilled. This would definitely help the transition for Cianna too, not to mention a convenience factor for me. The day before - I taught Cianna how to pack a lunch, set out her uniform for the next day, decide how she wants her hair done, got her bag ready and talked about the first day. She said she wasn't nervous because there would be lots of kids there. She slept well and was definitely ready for the next day. Day 1 - She got dressed while listening to music in the morning to help wake up. She looked so adorable in her cute school uniform, which has varied slightly every day so far as she sets out the next outfit. Her hair was in a headband matching the white button down blouse and navy skort. We dropped off Peyton first, then parked the car to walk in together. They let the parents stay with the kids in the morning all the way to the classroom and for the first 15 minutes. She sat in the gym and started talking to a little girl in her class, character backpacks are apparently a great icebreaker. She recognized her teacher and we followed her into the classroom. Cianna put her backpack in her cubby and found her name at the red desk, where she sits across from a little girl named Peyton, how convenient. She started coloring the morning worksheet and settled in pretty well. The only challenge was her decision over whether or not to take breakfast that morning. She settled on a milk and said goodbye. I love that the teacher sends me an email every day about what they learned and questions to ask to prompt discussion. When I picked her up, I couldn't wait to hear, but all I got what "I don't rememember." She did remember how she loved it and couldn't wait to go back. She said "I want to go to school forever." Day 2 - A little rough because she didn't understand that I couldn't go to the classroom with her this day, so she didn't want me to leave. I convinced her that I couldn't go to school because the chairs were too small for me and I had to get to work. She was a bit sad, but okay saying goodbye. Then Justin arrived and she ran across the gym to hug him. That definitely helped. She's also happy to have a friend from her soccer team that is in first grade there. They sit by each other in the morning and are becoming good buddies. They were inseparable at the back to school picnic. We are definitely settling into the routine and it's all been positive. Today is her first day of girl scouts so more to report soon.

Peyton's favorites

Peyton's favorite hat Last night Peyton found daddy's hard hat from work and brought it to him to wear. She put it on his head and told him how handsome he looks with his hat. This morning, I found her wearing it around the kitchen while picking out her breakfast. Well, good to always be cautious, right? LOL! The artist emerges I think Peyton has a secret desire to be an artist when she grows up. Anything that can color goes in a secret stash in her room. This has been going on for a while, remember back to the day I found a mural of diaper cream on the wall in her room. She finds markers and colors all over herself, walls, carpet, tables, chairs etc.. thankfully I discovered Mr. Clean's magic eraser when I realized that crayon doesn't just wipe off walls. She also loves makeup and keeps a special collection of my make-up in a secret stash in her room. I finally made her a make-up bag of her own with brushes and lip glosses etc... she loves it and keeps it handy in her purse, reapplying often, but still takes my make-up bag and hides it from me, at least once a day. She is getting a little organizer for her birthday so at least I'll know where to look for it. When asked recently, what do you want for your birthday, her answer was chocolate cake.

Chores

All the kids are learning their responsibilities around the house and having to do chores on a regular basis. The girls get paid a quarter for doing a chore and they usually volunteer without complaining or expecting anything. When mommy was sick a few weeks ago, Peyton went and got me "winnie the pooh ice" to help me feel better, then asked me "do I get a quarter now?"

Daddy's Braces

Matt got braces earlier this week and the girls' reactions were very cute. Peyton asked "how did daddy get those sparkles in his teeth?" Cianna told me that they were "SO COOL" and then told dad "If I keep sucking my thumb, I get to have those too when I get bigger!!" Woops, backfire.