children were invited to bring stuffed animals to school.  first they stopped in here:

then they chose a cage for their animals.  thank you, mr rob, for all your cage construction.

big mama giraffe made her first appearance at our school this week.

in case you are wondering, yes, there is room in her cage for friends.

and yes, she is allowed out of her cage.

thank you, ronni, for sharing big mama giraffe with us!

sometimes i worry that i haven’t “prepared children for kindergarten” enough.  in my gut i know i’ve done my best.  i know i’ve filled them up with love and promises that they are good (think “good” with a capital G).  but i hope that they enter the kindergarten classroom equipped with the skills to find the transition easy.

when i see pictures like this, i am hopeful.  hopeful that some of the traditional school skills have been honed.

the direction was to “find a partner.”  they did.

the direction was to “line up.”  they did.

onward, little ones, onward.  you’ve got this.

i’m sharing the post i wrote on our home blog…it doesn’t seem right not to acknowledge our preschool celebration without these same thoughts…

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i’m not sure from which perspective to write this.

from mama of a graduating preschooler?

from teacher of 29 kids finishing a school year?

from coworker to two adults who made this year so fun and fulfilling?

from spouse who is turned toward home in a new way?

from director who actually made friends with preschool parents but has no schedule to see them now?

from mama who is recalling the years with the older two in preschool?

maybe from each perspective it is the same.  it is with bone deep memories that i offer this post.  for 12 years i have done my job with my own children wrapped in it.  jerry watches students who were my students make their ways in and out of his classroom at the high school.  every may i wander through my house a while trying to decide how i will spend my time.  i miss the energy of the classroom, i treasure the morning sun of my dining room.

my baby graduated.  i graduated.  we all graduated.

so, summer vacation is officially here.  part of my clean up is sorting through files of photos.  there are many, many projects and activities never shared here, so in the midst of picnics and summer fun, check back often.

WHY have we not done this before?

we hauled the outdoor fire place from home in and made fires for the last three days of school.

there was a bit of experimenting going on (or at least the kids watched the teachers play)…which things crackled the most, look how the paper looks after being burnt, etc.

there was a somewhat spontaneous, teacher guided game of “fireball” where kids took turns tossing a ball of paper into the fire. and yes, major instruction was given on never playing with fire alone, that this fire could catch the whole building on fire, that fire will burn you if you touch it, etc.  in fact, i’m surprised anyone had fun after our “serious” talk.

after the fire burned down a bit we roasted marshmallows.  mr. rob got sticks ready for us since the skewers i bought were a little too short (not sure what i was thinking!).

like father, like son:  max made his own marshmallow stick.

it was a wonderful way to end the school year.  gathered around one of the basic forces of creation, aware of its power, enjoying the heat, tempted to do more than we could, grateful for safety…all of life in one moment.