Escuela

Escuela, that's Spanish for school, is going well this year. Kennedy looked adorable for her school pictures, and we were able to buy a package for Macy too. From what I can tell, Kennedy likes her teachers, classroom, new friends and jobs/work to do. She doesn't even seem to mind nap time. Sometimes when I drop her off in the morning, I can sit with her while she shows me a job she likes. I've seen her do some cutting jobs (she's getting much more precise with the scissors), some gluing jobs (because a glue stick makes any project more fun), and sorting jobs (which I didn't understand, but involved a basket full of different colored and sized shapes.) Macy was eager to try everything out herself, but we left before she could make a mess.

Here are a few stories that Kennedy has dictated to her teachers to go along with her own illustrations.

From September 29th - There was a guy. He was off in the woods and he met a friendly wolf. The wolf was walking off trying to find some berries. The guy and the wolf met some squirrels. They all hunted for berries that the squirrels liked. They all ate the berries together. They all met some other animals in the woods. Then they all hunted for berries together. They found some bunnies. The animals gave the bunnies some seeds. Together they found seeds.

From October 6th - This is a doodle-poodle. He wanted to go find something. He wanted to find some pumpkins. He wanted to eat the pumpkins. Then he found some delicious fruit. He was going to eat them. He saw some leaves. He was going to eat the leaves. He was full. He decided to go back down to his little hole.

From October 25th - This is a horse with a mane. He is finding some leaves up in the forest. The horse found some berries. Then a cow came. Another cow wanted to join too. The cow was finding some leaves and berries too. They found hay. They found some seeds. They all went for a walk. They had a picnic. They asked another horse if he would like to go on the picnic. He went on a walk with the other ones.

It's also amazing to see that some of her drawings are starting to look like the objects she says that they are. And, she's coloring inside the lines. She even told Jake the other day, "Dad, I'm getting to be a really good artist, aren't I?" And she signs her artwork like this:

KENNE

d

Y

M

It often wraps around the page just like that, with a lower case d. And lately she's been adding the M for Macy, which she can also spell now.

In September the class studied: grace and courtesy, community helpers, outdoor classroom, Johnny Appleseed, land, air and water, families and plants and animals.

This month the focus has been on:

Continent: North America

Artist: Cezanne

Composer: Strauss

Zoology: Mammals

But ask Kennedy if she learned anything new at school, and she'll likely say, "I don't remember."

I'm doing my best to learn Spanish. We're checking out children's books and language learning cds in Spanish from the library. My favorite has been "Nancy La Elegante" (Fancy Nancy). I try to speak it around the house when I can (which is obviously limited), but I'm doing better. This morning I said I need a clean towel and where are my keys. I didn't get a chance to work in I want a margarita without salt, but I can say that, too. Give me a few years and I might be fluent - that's my dream anyway.