Cundick Family: May...and other craziness

Last week of school already. That's what I cheerfully reminded my kids this morning as I tried to get them up and moving after a long Memorial Day weekend. It helped a little.

We actually all had to be up and at the school this morning to see TLC's first-grade program. They did a great job. I thought I'd capture a few more pictures than I did, but that's okay.

Tonight is RVC's spring piano recital. Post Kindergarten assessment later this week. Then, I think that just about wraps up the end-of-school-year activities for us...phew! Spring is a wonderful time of year, but it will be nice to have things settle down for a while.

Some thoughts about the school year:

RVC really enjoyed 3rd grade this year. Her teacher, Mrs. Draper, was wonderful. It was fun to see how the kids in her class, many who have been together since kindergarten, have started to really develop a sense of community. They seem to be more aware of who they are and how they fit in to the group. At the same time, they're not so worried about being just like everyone else. When I first realized that RV was consistently wearing mismatched socks to school, I thought maybe it was a thing other girls were doing. But no; it was just her. I like to think that Mrs. Draper didn't randomly assign her to recite the Shel Silverstein poem "Colors" for their class presentation this spring. RV seems confident in her own unique qualities and seems to respect the uniqueness of others. I'm not sure if that kind of inclusive attitude is typical for third-graders, but I love it. I wish I could say that we avoided drama all together this year and that the agreeable attitude always extended to the home, particularly at piano practice time...alas. I suppose all of that is typical as well.

I've always wished I could be a fly on the wall in TLC's class. He's a great kid and is just fine with doing his thing without getting a lot of praise for it. It was from another mom that I learned that he amazed the whole first grade on the field trip when he climbed to the top of the climbing wall. When we went to the track one night as a family, he ran 2 1/4 miles like it was no big deal; "I think I'll run another lap," he kept saying. I wish sometimes that I could give him a street full of boys his age to run around with, but at the same time, he doesn't seem too concerned about it. He entertains himself, focuses well on a task (particularly when he's trying to earn time on dad's phone), and he know's when he's done something well. He loves all games (just like his dad) and he's getting into independent reading (Roald Dahl books are currently capturing his interest), which is exciting to me.

First Grade program

Last day of Kindermusik

SCC is my only kid who has actually finished the school year already. We joke that for one more week, she and TLC are both first graders. Kindergarten was nothing less than "the best" for SCC. She is such a positive child. I remember her teacher telling me at one SEP conference that SCC was really good at going to get a drink to settle down when she was upset at school. As the mom, I hoped she was not needing to go get drinks all that often, but I was proud of her for being able to handle herself at school. She often kept me on track with notes from school, show-and-tell, reading calendars, etc. She would always come home and tell me about her day. I happened to write down something she said one day a few weeks ago that made me laugh: "When I play at recess, I don't just play the same game day after day like a coo coo; I like to try new things." SCC got into reading as well this year. She had her program earlier this month.

Kindergarten field trip to the Children's Museum

Mrs. Neeley, beloved kindergarten teacher

And of course, we kept busy again this spring with sports. Soccer and coach-pitch baseball filled our evenings and weekends. Lots of fun, but again, nice to have it all over for a while.