Good-bye preschool, hello summer! (And then Kindergarten!)

Kaiya had her last week of preschool last week and her program on the last day. I have to first just say that I have been beyond thrilled with school this year! Seriously, it has been awesome and I have been so very impressed and happy with it all!

First, I can't say enough about Kai's teacher. What a pro! Every single day, Kaiya came home with a backpack full of work they had done and cute crafts they had made and I soon filled up a huge bin full of all her work, which I know I'm going to have to go through and downsize. But it will be very hard to narrow down what to keep because it was all the cutest projects and most creative work! Mrs. Turner was so very organized, creative, loving, encouraging, and made sure they used their time in school wisely. I so appreciated that! They took fun field trips and had the most creative and cute parties throughout the year -- always with a purpose attached to what they were learning (i.e. the wedding of Q and U, a beach luau in the winter to learn about seasons, etc.). Kaiya absolutely adored her teacher and I believe she was one of the key factors in Kaiya blossoming so much this year in terms of coming out of her shell. She was so patient and so kind and made all of the kids feel so special. I just can't thank her enough for such a successful year!

And then there's my Kai! As I mentioned before, I am sooooo happy for the growth that I have seen in my sweet girl this year. She has opened up and become so much more social and brave and confident in herself and that has been such a blessing to see! She is so eager to learn and literally bounced out the door every day for school! She LOVED it and was always bummed on the days they didn't have school! She made great friends, always had fun stories to tell me, and learned a ton! One of my favorite things that they did was have a poem that they memorized every month and it was so dang cute to hear Kai recite them by memory! I have loved the treat of our routine when Kaiya got home. She would sit me down on the floor, open up her back-pack and say, "close your eyes!" while she pulled out her work from the day. I always felt so proud of her, she always felt so proud of herself, and I loved how excited she was about what she had accomplished! It is astonishing the change I have seen in her from the beginning of the year. I am one proud mama -- I love this sweet girl. She works soooo hard and is so determined and excited when it comes to education. I hope she always hangs onto that passion! We have been working hard on reading and I can't believe how quickly she has picked it up! She is so excited for the "lessons" she is going to have with Grandma when she gets back from her mission this summer! 

A few months ago was kindergarten registration, and for us first-time parents, it was VERY exciting! We all went down to the school and Kaiya was given quite the special treatment! They acted so excited at the school (even though this is old news for them) and made Kaiya feel so welcomed! We had missed registration day, so it was kind-of nice to be the only ones there on this particular day! She got to do her assessment with the principal who had nothing but over-the-top praise for her! She was beaming (and I was too)! She did so well and flew through everything like it was nothing at all! We got to go see the kindergarten classrooms and Kaiya's eyes were HUGE as she looked around at all the exciting things decorating the walls and all the books and toys and all the kids working on their fun activities! The classrooms were bustling with action and Kaiya was dying to be involved! (So was Taylor!) To say that she is excited about kindergarten is such a total understatement! She talks about it ALL the time! And you know what, I am so grateful for the feeling I have that she is totally ready. In the past, I probably would have felt very nervous for her because of how timid she has always been. And she may be timid when it's actually time to start. But with the growth I have seen in her this past year, I know she will tackle her fears and she will do GREAT. It's so bitter sweet, seeing your kids grow up. I can't believe there's no more preschool for her and that soon she will begin her many years ahead of formal schooling! CRAZY!

 I'll save those tears for the first day of school, though! For now, I'm just sooooo happy and proud of my oldest little baby! You are amazing my Kaiya-bear!

Here's some pics from program day! It was so cute -- the poems, the singing, the smiles on the faces of the kids! I loved it!

 (Kaiya's with her little best friend, Paige)

 (And the best teacher every -- Mrs. Turner!)