Last days of summer

Summer is winding down. It's been a good one, but now it is time to say so long and get ready for fall.

Kennedy fell asleep in the car on the way to Sunday dinner at Grandpa Ray's - and stayed asleep the whole time we were there. I put her down on the couch, right in the middle of conversation and dinner preparation noise, but she was obviously exhausted.

She woke up a bit as we were leaving, and was disappointed to have missed Jeff's gourmet ham and cheese sandwiches. It was bedtime when we got home, so she got on her jammies, brushed her teeth, listened to a story, and then slept soundly all night. I think it's going to be good for her to get back in the routine of taking naps when school starts again.

And speaking of school starting, today we went to an open house to meet Kennedy's teachers and see her new classroom. We're really excited for her to be in the Purple class this year. It will be a three-year, dual-language program. She's been talking about it for weeks now, saying "Let's talk about what we know about my class so far." And she'd say as we went through all the paperwork and bought the needed supplies (colored pencils, watercolor paints, scissors, glue sticks and tissues), "There's lots of things to learn about my new Purple class!" Yes, she is very excited, too!

Well, now we know a bit more. She will be in a classroom downstairs, with a cubby on the end closest to the door. Three of her good friends from the Stars class (Lucy, Mae Mae and Amelia) will be with her. There are lots of new and interesting jobs to do, like this one she tried out with Miss Lorena. It's from the practical life area of the room, and the kids use tweezers to pick up plastic leaves and sort them in the matching colored cup.

Miss Lorena, who will eventually speak exclusively to the kids in Spanish, helped Kennedy practice the names of los colores in Spanish.

Miss Theresa, the other teacher, will speak to the kids in English, and one of Kennedy's teachers from last year, Miss Diana, will come down to help at lunch. The classroom is quite big, very organized, and has: a Spanish area with jobs, music and reading materials; an art area; a place to learn about geography and countries; sensorial materials; counting, number and math jobs; letters, reading and writing projects; circle space; tiny tables and chairs; two pet tortoises (Oscar and Esmeralda); and an amazing feeling of love, encouragement and learning. I know this will be a great year for Kennedy!

We're also looking forward to Macy having some one-on-one time with her grandparents. It's so much easier to take one kid out on adventures than taking two! Now Macy will get the chance to do the fun things Kennedy did when she was this age: the art museum, the natural history museum, the arboretum, the zoo, the library... Hopefully I can also get her into a Little Gym class.