Activities Recap

So I've been pretty terrible at documenting our activities. Even though it got easier to remember to take pictures of things once I got myself a fancy new smartphone, I still had trouble getting the motivation up to blog about it. I'd think "Oh, I'll do it later..." and then I'd never do it later. I took spring term off from school and had the grand plan that I'd catch up on so much stuff. Nope. I just kind of did, well, nothing every evening instead. It was fabulous. I was going to take summer term off as well, but then a class that I needed was added online and my advisor encouraged me to take it. So I'm one week into summer school. And before we get into any other activities, I figured I'd catch you all up on the ones we've done so far.

Back in March, Aiden started soccer. Yep, I became an actual soccer mom (minus the minivan), bringing team snacks and everything. This was the actual Hillsboro Soccer Club and not some parks department thing, so it was our first real organized sports (I am not counting wrestling because he never competed against anyone else). I think he had a lot of fun and it wasn't too time consuming (unlike wrestling). We made some new friends....ok, I made some new friends. Two of Aiden's classmates were on his team and I befriended the moms. We've gone out for girls nights, and send each other text messages to vent about our days - it's been a fun result of signing up for soccer.

The first week being out of school was rough. The boys were bored and I nearly ran from the house screaming by 9am every day. The following Sunday, I started my new activity and oh was it welcome. Ballet class! I'm taking an open adult ballet class at Portland Festival Ballet on Sunday afternoons and it is glorious. I began in the level 1 class because it's been 10 years since I've set foot in a dance studio and I had no idea how rusty I would be. Well, level 1 was painfully slow. The instructor took notice a few minutes in and asked about my background. After a short discussion, he suggested I move up to level 2 until I get my strength back. Then I can move up to the advanced class. Level 2 is still a little slow for me in terms of what I know from my training, but it's perfect for where my body is right now. I have angry hamstrings and hips, and my legs want to fall off by the end of the 75 minute class, so I know I have to build myself back up to where I was. Signing up for that class has been the most wonderful decision I've made lately. I feel relaxed mentally and emotionally, and it's great to start my week off that way. I love it.

After one week out of school, Aiden was ready for something. Luckily, he had been signed up for Camp Invention for months. It was his second year and he was so excited to be back. And his classmate Ella was going to be there! He ended up missing Wednesday due to food poisoning and then had a rough last day when all of his projects were given to another child, leaving him with nothing to bring home (long story - I was angry - no one did anything about it - Aiden cried). But he tells me that he wants to go again next year, even with the last day disappointment.

 Preparing to launch their rubber ducks (above).

A solution to red light runners in Paris traffic (below).

While Aiden was at camp, Nathan and I spent lots of time at the library. One day I asked him, "What would you like to get at the library today?". He responded, "Weasels. I'd like to find a book about weasels." Confused, I asked if that's really what he meant. He said, "Yes, I want you to read to me about weasels." And so that's what we did.

 He's REALLY into weasels right now. (A sentence I never thought I would type under a picture of my child)

Moving on from the weasel-obsessed child.... Aiden started a short baseball camp on Monday through the parks department.

 It's just down the street from our house, which is nice since my car can get us about five minutes down the road before it dies. It's been almost unbearably hot the past few days (mid-90s), but we've spent lots of time playing in the fountains at the park.  

 It's been fun and we've had lots of friends join us, but even with tons of sunscreen applications, me and my poor children are blessed with pale, pale Irish skin that cannot handle a even a small amount of sunshine. We looked almost slimy due to the amount of sunscreen we had on our bodies the last couple of days, and we are still burnt as can be. I can handle the burns, but the boys are in pain and I feel so bad for them. Hopefully we can avoid further burning for the rest of the summer, but we're really going to have revisit our UV avoidance techniques!

Four Eyes

I'd been having a lot of headaches lately (every.single.day.), so after about two months of dealing with them, I decided to get my eyes checked. I've worn reading glasses for many years, but they had started to bother me and were actually causing some of the headaches. So off to the optometrist I went......and this happened.

They are bifocals, so I'm officially 75 (just kidding!). I call it going full librarian, Aiden says now I'm *really* a nerd, and John says now I get to be an ironic hipster. Nathan says, "They're so cool", but that's because he helped me pick them out and wants the credit.

It feels odd to think about wearing these all the time, since I'm used to occasional reading glasses. But I'm very happy with the frames. And very, very happy that I can see without eye strain!

Announcement!

A few of you have already heard from John himself, but we would now like to share John's news with everyone.

On Friday, John received confirmation that he had passed his PE (Principles and Practice of Engineering) exam and is now a Professional Engineer. It all started seven years ago...juggling school, family, and a full time job (graduating with his degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2011) and then taking the two important engineering licensing tests (the FE in 2012), and then the PE in April of this year. He made it!

We are so unbelievably proud of him for going for this goal and reaching it with ease (even though it may have not felt very easy at times). I think it might actually feel a little weird for all of us now that he's actually fully done with everything he needs to do!

Moving On

Today was bittersweet. Our little Nathan graduated preschool - the preschool we've been a part of since he was nine months old. He is SO excited to move on to kindergarten in the fall, but we will definitely miss this place. It felt odd driving away for the final time today. It was also my last parent help day, so I got to help prepare everything for graduation. His teacher had asked me to switch from my original day and I'm so glad she did. It was nice to be able to help on our last day there.

Here's the whole preschool class - 19 kids - getting ready for the grownups to come in for the ceremony.

They all made their graduation caps themselves. The decorations were clay people (their SuperKid alter egos) and with other various decorations representing their super powers. They each got to say their SuperKid name as they graduated. It was so cute! Nathan was Lightning Rod.

They also got to say what they wanted to be when they grew up. Nathan made the whole room "Awww!!" as he said, "I want to be a daddy".

The smile on his face just makes my day! He's so proud to go on to kindergarten and his teacher loved watching him grow up. She's known him almost his whole life!

Way to go, Nathan!

I didn't cry until I took this picture and his teacher said, "On to kindergarten you go...". And then I made her cry, too.

 We made a lot of new friends this year and we're so excited to spend more time with them over the summer, from play dates to mommies nights. Nathan's teacher is moving on to grad school, so this was her last class as well. I ended my run as school newsletter editor (although I offered to help with the year end school-wide phone book, so my work isn't quite done yet, even though school is out). For my final newsletter, I wrote a goodbye piece discussing the impact the school has had on our family, and I'd like to share it with you.

“Farewell has a sweet sound of reluctance. Good-by is short and final, a word with teeth sharp to bite through the string that ties past to the future.” ~John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent

It is with sadness that my time as newsletter editor and our time here at the school is coming to an end. It is bittersweet in the best sense of the word. I am excited for my son Nathan to move on to his next step in education, as he leaves the Teddy Bears class and goes on to public kindergarten this fall. His excitement for the future is contagious and I’ll cheer with him as he graduates preschool. But this school has been such a huge part of our lives over the past five years, and it will be strange to leave it behind.

We began attending in the fall of 2008, putting my son Aiden in the Play Pals PM class just before he turned three. While most children cried and hugged their mothers on that first day, Aiden proudly walked into Casey’s classroom like he owned the place. Without any hesitation, he turned to me said, “You can leave now, mommy”. And that was it. We were home at CCC. Aiden now attends public school and is going on to 2nd grade this fall, with a Talented and Gifted classification. Without CCC and the help of the teachers, we would been lost as to how to properly nurture and identify Aiden’s educational needs. It was difficult at times, but we received love and support when it was needed most from the entire staff along the way. I absolutely credit the wonderful educators here with helping us down that path.

Now as Nathan wraps up his time here, I can rest assured that he has been well-prepared for the next step. With the opportunities that CCC provides to explore, question, theorize, and develop, I know that he has received the best possible start in early childhood education. I marvel at the work done at this school each and every day, and I will never forget the impact that it has had on our family. As parents, CCC has given us tools to be proactive and involved in our sons’ education. At our son’s public school, we have received compliments on how much we are willing to assist the teachers and be a presence within the school. That comfort level for us would not have been possible without our experiences in the classroom at CCC.

And so it is time to say farewell. But as we leave for the last time, I’ll remember the saying, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” Farewell CCC, and thank you.