Serafina's last day of preschool

Today was Serafina's last day of preschool.  She's grown up so much this last year.  

Here's the first day of school back in September. 

 The day was pretty normal with circle time to start things off.

 Then they did some work at the tables.  Here she is with Blake and Victoria.

 She did a cutting project to make a paper helicopter.

 For the fourth (!) year in a row, I was snack mom on the last day of school.  The business manager who makes the schedules claimed that the first three years were a coincidence.  This year I requested I be assigned that day to keep the tradition alive.

 Because I was snack mom, Serafina was garbage girl.

At recess, the kids took their helicopters outside to watch them fly.  

 Then they came inside for one last story.

 She earned her preschool certificate.

 And they had one final hug.

 It was not only Serafina's last day of preschool, it was also her teacher's.  She's retiring after over 30 years of teaching at Laurelwood Preschool.  I thought I'd get a little choked up, but I wasn't feeling too sad about it being over.  The teacher had been kind of snippy with me while I was working; she doesn't like me much and isn't that good at hiding it.  I had considered having Serafina repeat PreK at the preschool next year since she misses the kindergarten cut-off, but after four years of the co-op and quite a bit of drama during my presidency, we are ready to move on.  I received Serafina's Transitional Kindergarten assignment in the mail yesterday.  Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is offered through the school district to kids whose birthdays fall in the window of time that the old birthday cut-off date use to include.  She won't be at the same school as Leo, which will be tricky, but we will make it work.  The program is free, the teacher comes highly recommended, and I'll be spared the work and drama of preschool.  All great reasons to do TK next year.  

Kindergarten Picnic

After preschool, Serafina and I went to Raynor Park to join Leo at the kindergarten picnic.  Even though the kids were at a park they visit all the time with kids they see all the time, it was very exciting and fun.  

PreK picnic

Yesterday was Serafina's PreK picnic in the park and it was beautiful day outside.  Serafina had so much fun playing with her school friends.  The teacher brought each kid a container of bubbles.  

 Serafina and Mia.

 These girls are very cute together.

 Kembrie and Serafina.

 Don't tell, but Kembrie is my favorite of Serafina's friends.

Today Serafina had her last speech session with the school speech therapist.  She gave Serafina a pair of wings as a parting gift.  Serafina was almost always a good sport and cooperative during speech so she earned those wings.  

Tomorrow is Serafina's last day of school and Leo's turn to have his class picnic at the park.

Memorial Day weekend

We didn't do anything special for the long weekend.  My kids were in the pool as soon as school got out on Friday and practically stayed their until this evening.  

On Sunday we invited our friends over to join us in the pool and for lunch.  The kids had fun having company in the pool.    

 Ana and Serafina tried to jump in together.  But they didn't get their timing quite right.  First Ana...

 then Serafina.

 I made some homemade graham crackers.

 They were pretty yummy.

In addition to a lot of pool time, Tom did some work on the yard.  Leo brought me some clippings to put in water, including this two-headed bird of paradise flower.  

 But mostly, the kids just did this all weekend.

I'm glad we mostly relaxed this weekend because the next two weeks are going to be pretty hectic.

Final board meeting

 Yesterday was one of those jam-packed days that I dread and then manage to survive it.  Serafina had speech in the morning and helped in Leo's classroom, and then we went to the park to see some friends.  (Left to right: Elisa, Serafina, Maia and Max)

 We got home in time to have a quick lunch and then we headed back to Leo's classroom to celebrate his teacher's birthday.

Can you spot Serafina?  She always just joins in.

I made gluten-free brownies from a mix since the teacher doesn't eat gluten and I'm not familiar with gluten-free baking.  The brownies turned out fine.  I had followed a tip on the internet and added extra chocolate chips since extra chocolate really improves everything.  

Leo brought home this book he made inspired by Eric Carle's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. 

When creating the book, he had to sound out the words and write them the best he could, no help from any adult.  It resulted in some unusual spellings including this one for lollipops.  I don't think his Loee poos would be very yummy, but he had a good sense of humor about it when I explained what he had actually spelled.  

 Serafina had swim class in the afternoon and I had to swing by the bakery to pick up a cake to celebrate Serafina's teacher at our final board meeting of the year.  She's retiring after over 30 years of teaching at the preschool.

She's given me a hard time at most of the meetings over changes I've wanted to make and this meeting was no different.  It was a little bit awkward to have her take me to task about a clause in the teachers' contracts for next year when she isn't even going to be at the preschool anymore, but I guess it wouldn't be a preschool board meeting if she didn't get on my case about something.  And it didn't stop me from getting totally choked up and crying when I presented her with the thank you gift from the board.  She makes me crazy, but it's still monumental for her to retire after all these years and I'm glad she was Serafina's teacher.  I'll probably be a basketcase on the last day of school, but I think a lot of the moms will be too.

I also had thank you gifts for all the people who served on the board this year.

I bought these lipbalms.

Wrapped them up and added this snarky note.  ("Thanks for not giving me LIP this year")

I used a 20+ year old rubber stamp to sign my name and added a lip sticker.

 Everyone thought they were pretty cute and appreciated the gesture.  I appreciate all the board members volunteering their time and energy to help me run this school through good and bad.  And honestly, there has been a lot of bad this year.

It's been the kind of year that has required a lot of post-meeting drinking.  Last night was no exception.  I'm very lucky to have made some good friends through this preschool that will buy me booze to show their gratitude for my efforts.

Giants game

We headed up to San Francisco today to see the Giants play the Miami Marlins as part of Little League Day.  We went last year, but Serafina stayed home that time.  This year she was all geared up and ready to have some fun at the stadium.   

That's Navid looking grumpy next to Serafina.  Today is his 5th birthday and I'm not sure it would have been his first choice to celebrate it at the ballpark.  We brought him a little present, but it didn't seem to improve his mood much.

Of course, being at the ballpark is mostly about the food.  I brought a lot of yummy stuff with us, but we also bought some food, like this hot dog.

And some beers for the grown ups.

Beautiful day at the game.

After the game we stood in a long line so the kids could run the bases.  I wasn't sure it was a good idea to wait in that long line, but it moved fast.  

On the field at a Major League Stadium!

Serafina didn't want to do it, but her brother said he'd hold her hand the whole time.

He did.  It was so very sweet.

It's a fun day to go to the game, but exhausting.  

And we forgot to take Leo's awesome sign that he made.  Oh well, next time.