last week of summer
Our last week of summer break is flying by in a whirlwind of activity. A peek at our life this week:
First soccer practices of the season begin this week and the kids are excited/nervous to meet their new teams and coaches since we have switched from Y League to CYC. Gracie met her team last night and came home t.i.r.e.d! Ben reported that most of the girls on the team have been playing together since kindergarten. Since Gracie is brand new to soccer (at seventh grade), she has her work cut out for her. I am proud of her for giving a new sport a try and not being intimidated.
We have been happily kicking off the school year with activities for/ at Bristol. Yesterday morning, Gracie and Luke were asked to come in and give tours of the school to new families. I loved watching them lead their group- so much confidence they showed! We also had Meet Your Teacher at school yesterday where the kids were invited to come in and say hello to their teachers and drop off their supplies. I feel good about both of their teachers.
I am part of a small Welcome Committee at our school. Our job is, probably obviously, to welcome new families to the school and help them to feel right at home. On Tuesday morning, our committee met to assemble welcome bags full of Bristol magnets, Yo My Goodness gift cards, maps of the community, vouchers for free goodies at local restaurants, etc. After the meeting, we each took bags to deliver. The kids and I had a great time surprising our five families with their bags. It was a great opportunity to do something nice for someone just moving to Bristol, as we had been in their shoes three years ago.
Another Bristol parent and I are the chairs of the Teacher Appreciation Committee. This role is brand new to me, but one that I am so excited about. We have a very generous budget from the PTO and the green light to do whatever we'd like to do to show appreciation to the teachers throughout the year. We met earlier this week and decided to surprise the teachers tomorrow on their work day before students arrive. We ordered them some sweet treats from a local bakery and are picking up some fruit and iced coffees and lemonades to set up a snack station for them in their workroom. I am looking forward to getting to spoil our wonderful, wonderful teachers this year.
On Tuesday morning when our teachers reported back to work for the year, parents and teachers were invited to come create a welcome back tunnel for the teachers to walk through as they entered their convocation meeting. We were asked to bring noisemakers and were handed poster boards and markers to make signs. It was a really fun activity. We had our friend Calvin with us (one of Luke's good friends and one of Katie's favorite people) and Katie and Calvin were buds throughout the entire hour we were there. Every time that Katie blew her noise maker, she would look at Calvin to see if he was smiling at her. As always, Calvin showed endless patience to Katie. After the tunnel, Luke and Calvin sang the national anthem with their Bravos to start the convocation.
I had my (overdue) annual skin check with my dermatologist this week. I found it funny that the doctor who spends her entire day looking at moles and rashes and skin cancers said to me, "You are a mom of four and a preschool teacher?!? Wow! I could not do that all day!" She is kind of an awkward person who may need to work on her bedside manner a bit.
Today will continue with a few more fun activities on the schedule. Gracie and Luke's Sunday school class is meeting to assemble sandwiches for a local shelter. They have a two hour work session followed by a pool party. They are pumped for the pool party while I am happy they are being given an opportunity to serve others.
And then tomorrow will be our last day of summer break. boo. As is the tradition around here, the kids will be going on a Surprise Outing with me to mark the last day. They keep trying to guess where we are going, which is helpful to me since I have not yet figured out just where we are going! Their guesses are giving me lots of ideas to pick from!
I am sad to see this summer coming to an end, but the busyness and excitement of this week is a nice distraction. Next week is going to feel awfully, awfully quiet around here.
First soccer practices of the season begin this week and the kids are excited/nervous to meet their new teams and coaches since we have switched from Y League to CYC. Gracie met her team last night and came home t.i.r.e.d! Ben reported that most of the girls on the team have been playing together since kindergarten. Since Gracie is brand new to soccer (at seventh grade), she has her work cut out for her. I am proud of her for giving a new sport a try and not being intimidated.
We have been happily kicking off the school year with activities for/ at Bristol. Yesterday morning, Gracie and Luke were asked to come in and give tours of the school to new families. I loved watching them lead their group- so much confidence they showed! We also had Meet Your Teacher at school yesterday where the kids were invited to come in and say hello to their teachers and drop off their supplies. I feel good about both of their teachers.
I am part of a small Welcome Committee at our school. Our job is, probably obviously, to welcome new families to the school and help them to feel right at home. On Tuesday morning, our committee met to assemble welcome bags full of Bristol magnets, Yo My Goodness gift cards, maps of the community, vouchers for free goodies at local restaurants, etc. After the meeting, we each took bags to deliver. The kids and I had a great time surprising our five families with their bags. It was a great opportunity to do something nice for someone just moving to Bristol, as we had been in their shoes three years ago.
Another Bristol parent and I are the chairs of the Teacher Appreciation Committee. This role is brand new to me, but one that I am so excited about. We have a very generous budget from the PTO and the green light to do whatever we'd like to do to show appreciation to the teachers throughout the year. We met earlier this week and decided to surprise the teachers tomorrow on their work day before students arrive. We ordered them some sweet treats from a local bakery and are picking up some fruit and iced coffees and lemonades to set up a snack station for them in their workroom. I am looking forward to getting to spoil our wonderful, wonderful teachers this year.
On Tuesday morning when our teachers reported back to work for the year, parents and teachers were invited to come create a welcome back tunnel for the teachers to walk through as they entered their convocation meeting. We were asked to bring noisemakers and were handed poster boards and markers to make signs. It was a really fun activity. We had our friend Calvin with us (one of Luke's good friends and one of Katie's favorite people) and Katie and Calvin were buds throughout the entire hour we were there. Every time that Katie blew her noise maker, she would look at Calvin to see if he was smiling at her. As always, Calvin showed endless patience to Katie. After the tunnel, Luke and Calvin sang the national anthem with their Bravos to start the convocation.
I had my (overdue) annual skin check with my dermatologist this week. I found it funny that the doctor who spends her entire day looking at moles and rashes and skin cancers said to me, "You are a mom of four and a preschool teacher?!? Wow! I could not do that all day!" She is kind of an awkward person who may need to work on her bedside manner a bit.
Today will continue with a few more fun activities on the schedule. Gracie and Luke's Sunday school class is meeting to assemble sandwiches for a local shelter. They have a two hour work session followed by a pool party. They are pumped for the pool party while I am happy they are being given an opportunity to serve others.
And then tomorrow will be our last day of summer break. boo. As is the tradition around here, the kids will be going on a Surprise Outing with me to mark the last day. They keep trying to guess where we are going, which is helpful to me since I have not yet figured out just where we are going! Their guesses are giving me lots of ideas to pick from!
I am sad to see this summer coming to an end, but the busyness and excitement of this week is a nice distraction. Next week is going to feel awfully, awfully quiet around here.
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