Teddy Bear Picnic and the End of Kindergarten

I volunteered for the big end of year Kindergarten party. The school hosts a teddy bear picnic. The kids bring in a favorite stuffed animal for a sleep over the day before the picnic. When the kids arrived at school the next day they found out their animals DID NOT follow all the class rules that they'd written on the board. 

It's strange how grown up these kids seem, yet how little they still really are. They were all giggles over the mischief their toys caused. I sure hope Reid always believes in the magic of life. It sure is easier that way. 

At the picnic there were ten different stations the kids visited. I was in charge of the bingo table. Originally they'd put me on yard games, which I would have loved! But I had Mara with me, so another mom switched me so she could nap in the shade. 

The above photos are of Reid at the writing station. They had a little worksheet to jot down all the details of their animal -- it's length, color, name, etc.  Snake is not his favorite stuffed animal, but Polar Bear and Turtle have each already spent a day at school. So this time around it was Snake's turn (plus, he knew a friend was taking his snake as well, so he figured the two of them could be buddies for the sleepover -- who knew so much thought goes into this stuff?).

The top left photo was taken at my Bingo station. The other top photo was the favorite station -- the police outreach vehicle. They were taught summer safety by an Officer and his wife (that actually took up two stations).

The other night I took Reid and Nell downstairs to look through their memory boxes and I could not find Reid's Kindergarten class photo. I felt (and still feel) awful about it. This is such a tight knit little school, and I know how wonderful it is to spend your entire childhood with the same group of kids. It's not likely my kids will experience that, so for some silly reason I really wish I had that class photo with all these sweet kids' full names on it.

Reid had such a great year. I was not looking forward to the full day schedule, but it turned out much better than I thought. He grew so much. There were certainly days where the length of it all wore him out. Overall, his behavior at home improved. He was challenged and stretched in ways I could have never provided on my own. And he was always so excited to get home and play with Nell. It's strange how I spent so many of his toddler/preschool years anxiously waiting for a school aged kid. And now that two full school years are under his belt ... I just want to slow it all down. I can't believe he's headed to First grade soon. I'm so grateful we have such a wonderful place to send our sweet boy.