Anxiety and Elation

This year has been quite an experience for us, full of many ups and downs. I think the fact that neither Fuller or Grayson ended the school year with the same teacher that they started with is evidence of that. The past few weeks they have also been having that hard combination of lots of fun activities, and lots of stress about the future.(They are their mother's children after all.) Fuller has been super excited to move on to sixth grade, and get to leave his current school. But he's also been nervous about changing classes every period, and forgetting his locker combination.
Grayson has been having stomach aches and trouble sleeping. I think his terrible start to first grade is all coming back to him now that he really has to face the prospect of going into second grade. He really loves the teacher he has now, and I'm sure would stay with her forever if possible. In fact he's been asking me what he would have to do to be held back. This morning for the first time ever he refused to get out of the car when I dropped him off, he just shook his head. I think having to say goodbye to his teacher and friends just seemed too hard to him. After some encouragement he did get out of the car, but he sure took his time walking in to the building. I went to his class Luau later in the day, and he still seemed to be in a little bit of a funk. I so wish that he could just enjoy himself, and not have such a hard time.
He did have fun this last week though, on the day before the last day of school we joined Grayson's class on their field trip to the park. As you can see by Grayson's hooded sweatshirt it was cold and sprinkly. But is was funny to watch him run around like a maniac with all his buddies.

Here he is with the surfboard he made at their party, and with the best first grade teacher ever!



This is the gift for Grayson's teacher, it has the apron I made her inside. But what is really sweet in that huge heart-shaped paper necklace Grayson had me tape to the front. He stayed up working on it, when he was supposed to be going to sleep. It was really important to him, and he wanted to do it all himself, and say what HE wanted to say.


I think I probably made a major faux pas with Fuller's teacher gift. He's had 3(or 4 depending on how you count them) teachers this year. He was a little miffed I didn't make something cool for him to take his teacher, like I did for Grayson. But at this point it just seemed silly. So I did go and buy flowers for him to take to the teacher who is there now. But then I come to find out that ALL of the teacher's he's had this year came for the end of the school year to see the kids. OOPS.
This is Fuller's absolute favorite teacher, the PE teacher.

They have a healthy Duck vs. Beaver rivalry, and like to give each other a hard time about it during crossing guards.

I got to go to the 5th grade DARE graduation today. It was really weird to look at the 250plus fifth graders and think that they are the class of 2015. They'll be grown up before we know it.
But at least for now, he isn't too grown up to enjoy our traditional last day of school ice cream trip.