The Last Day of Kindergarten.
It's pretty unbelievable that Simon is finishing his last day in Kindergarten today.
Chris took this shot of him last week when I was in Houston. Running through the house in one of his many costumes. Right now he is "working for" a Storm Trooper costume. He's been wearing this Tigger one for years. [ Just thinking that a layout about his various costumes is definitely in order. ]
Found this one from January 2006 - nothing needs to be rolled up anymore.
I asked Simon what his favorite thing was about Kindergarten and he replied, "going out to recess."
Chris and I sat down the other night and reminisced a bit about watching Simon experience Kindergarten. Here are some of the things that stood out for us (it is written to him - these comments will become a layout called "We Remember"):
We remember driving you to school each morning; holding hands as we walk across the cross-walk and always saying “look both ways;” waiting for “the kids” to be released from the cafeteria; you walking upstream into the crowd of kids until you found Alexis and then turning around and heading back towards the classroom; placing your lunch token into the pockets on the wall; taking off your backpack and stuffing it in your cubby; following directions and keeping your "star" in "green" (Chris wondering if we would be walking you in to school when you were in highschool).
We remember the tough transition days in the beginning as you got used to the new routine, new surroundings, new teachers, and new kids.
We remember that many days (just up until about two months before school was over) you would stand at the window next to the door and wave and watch us drive away.
We remember the day we finally followed the regular routine of dropping you off outside. Daddy took the leap first. You were super brave and followed the directions perfectly. Such a big kid.
We remember watching, and working with you, as you learned to read and write. We remember specifically how excited we were when you came home one day and showed us that you could "correctly" hold your pencil. You would come home from school and pull the papers out of your backpack to show me what you had worked on during class. You would sit at the table working on your handwriting homework and be so proud of yourself as you wrote your letters and later, words.
We remember that lunch from day one has been “school lunch” : chicken nuggets, bagel + cream cheese, chicken burger, cheese pizza, nachos, pretzel, etc. You were always happy to share your choice.
We remember how hard you were working on standing in line and how much you always wanted to be the line-leader. You would come home and tell us about how one of your other classmates got to be line-leader that day and how frustrated you were because it was not your turn.
We remember the star system your teachers used: when your star was in green it meant you were following directions (that was the goal each day...to "stay in green"). You were super concerned on the days your star was in yellow or the very occasional red. You did not like it when your start was moved out of green. You brought your star home yesterday and you were so excited to place it on the refrigerator.
We remember lots of experiences related to the school bus. As the year progressed you got more comfortable on the bus and on many days were fast asleep when the bus pulled up to our house. Some of my favorite memories are the days when I walked outside and saw you sitting next to one of your classmates.
We remember the general anxiety related to your development. Would you make friends? Would you do ok? Would you move forward? The reality is that you did just fine. Sure there were challenges and good + bad days...but overall, you seemed really, truly happy just being you. What more could we ask for?
We remember so many little moments: how you would bring home the same library book week after week and think it was so funny when we would open your backpack and there it would be again; you eating a bagel + cream cheese + OJ every morning for breakfast without fail.
We remember how very thankful we are to be your parents and how much you make us better people every single day.
And when I was going through the large grocery bag of papers he brought home yesterday I found this:
He is just too stinking cute! You both do such an amazing job with him. I have no doubt that he will have a galaxy of achievements by the time he grows up to be an astronaut.
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I love the fact that you post so early in the morning. The first thing I do each day, with my coffee in hand, is check your site. Today you've inspired me to make a layout for my son, also finishing Kindergarten. Thanks for all the inspiration.
Catherine
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Hi Ali, my son just finished kindergarten also. so sad my baby is big now! his favorite thing was learning how to read, so he could read to his little brother.HUGE THANKS for all the autism links and info you have on your site my nephew was just diagnosed , i sent my sister to your site to get the info. she found lots of very useful tips.
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I read your blog every day but felt compelled to come out today! Simon's picture says a thousand words about how far he's come. What an incredible little boy.
diane
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Ali,
can't believe it's that long either.
I rejoiced with you when the three of you headed off those early days, to check on the school, only days before Simon started.
What a marvellous, special time.
I feel in my bones that tigger may well become an astronaut one day!!!!
CONGRATS!!!
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Ali, what a beautiful little boy you have! Your stories about Simon warm my heart and I have loved watching him grow through your blog this year. He blossomed into a wonderful student, and it's amazing to see the transformations that we've all made since September. Congrats :)
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What a great post! I wish my sister would do these sorts of things for my nephew. I try to do it for them, but it's just not the same as being there everyday.
I actually sent my sister the link that you posted about the Zac browser for autistic kids. She works in a school for children with autism in NJ and she hadn't heard of the browser, but she was going to bring it in to her boss to see if they could implement it there. She was saying that many of the kids, love the internet, but many get overstimulated from it, and this could be a big help to them. So thanks for the link!
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Finishing kindergarten is such an important milestone. I remember looking at Steve during Ellen's party on the last day of school and saying, "Wow. I made it." Steve smiled and I quickly realized what I said. "Oh yea. Ellen made it." Congrats to all three of you!
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Bravo for SImon! and Bravo for you! Every finish line we cross, its a celebration. This year in my class, every month they made a picture with the title "This is me in _________" (August, September, Nov....etc) and it is amazing to see through their pictures how much they grow!" It is awesome!
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That is nothing short of awesome. Great job to both Simon and you and Chris!
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As a kindergaren teacher, this brought tears to my eyes. So happy for Simon...so happy for you!
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sooooo sweet; just absolutely precious. what a milestone. hang in there! ;)
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Great memories! Way to go Simon! Just go for it.....
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Love his drawing! and his handwriting!
Can't wait for him to come and sit in our Mercury Transport capsule to see what its like - someday!
What a wonderful story for Simon and you both. Congratulations on kindergarten graduation.
Your friend Sharon @
Chabot Space & Science Center
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Wow! I have tears in my eyes from your wonderful memories of Simon's first year...this is a good way to document it & get it down for future use. I am going to do that for my second child now that I have a blog!
Way to go Simon! He is soooo cute & I am sure that me, along with all of your other readers, are very proud of him!
My friend's child (Drew) has autism & just completed his first year of kindergarten too! His mommy just raised a large amount of money for the Walk Now for Autism. Their link is at http://www.walknowforautism.org/c.jeJKIROAIrH/b.3624063/siteapps/teampage/ShowPage.aspx?c=jeJKIROAIrH&b=3624063&sid=elJSJ8OWKlKSI5OQKtF.
I am so proud of them...and I am proud of Simon!
Thanks for sharing, Ali!
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Ooops! I don't think the link is working above...the team to look for is Dream4Drew.
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Congrats, Simon! There are only more good things to look forward to!
It's too fun to see pics of Simon. You can totally see the awesome mesh between you and Chris.
Hope you are all doing well!
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Congratulations Simon! Now you're a first grader :-D Ali, thanks for posting this, I have teary eyes reading about how much progress Simon has made this year and how much fun you have all had. I'm inspired to do the same thing for my boys who just finished kindy as well. XX's BethBG
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I love how you wrote this Ali, my son Harry has also just completed Kindergarten so I will absolutely be doing a similar layout. As always, thank you for the inspiration and I just LOVE the picture Simon did - great!
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Hi, Ali! I have a daughter about the same age of Simon (by the way...the story of how and when I started scrapbooking is virtually IDENTICAL to yours!) and she just finished Jr. K. She could have gone to Kindergarten, but she has a summer birthday (just turned 6 last week) and has always been a peanut (size wise), so we decided to give her an extra year. (Really, it's just my way of keeping her home with me longer!) Anyway, I really LOVE this WE REMEMBER idea and think that I will steal it from you and sit down with her today to collect some thoughts! This idea could cross over to so many things though...the end of a year, a holiday season, a vacation. Thanks for the daily inspiration!!
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Cool!!!
Congratulations big boy! Look out First Grade here he comes!!!
Laura
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That's great! Love the picture he drew :) My little man is about to start kindergarten soon. So exited for the journey!!!
Have a wonderful day,
-karla
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What sweet memories! Simon will really cherish these words someday. I can't imagine how wonderful it would be if my mom had given me the gift of recording my childhood like you are doing. She's definitely more of a "photos are in a suitcase in the basement" kind of person.
;) Becky
http://stinkylemsky.typepad.com/
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Congratulations Simon on finishing Kindergarten how proud you must be!
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WOW, WAY TO GO SIMON!!!!!
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