End of the school year

The 2012-2013 school year has officially ended. Elle's last day was Thursday and Madi's was Friday. Everyone always says "enjoy these years while they're young cause they fly by" and boy do I know that to be true. I feel like I blinked and the school year's already over. 

I never got too attached to Elle's teachers or class for obvious reasons- she started in April, had class only 2 days a week, and only for 3 hours a day. On top of that, Spencer was the one who usually dropped her off in the mornings, so my only interaction with her teachers was for 10 seconds at pick up. It sure was a great experience for Elle though. Looking forward to next year!

The end of kindergarten was a much bigger deal. From working in the classroom, helping every Friday at Motor Lab, attending school functions, and getting regular play by plays everyday after school, I sure am going to miss it! While I'm excited for the freedom that summer brings, I love the structure of school and I loved knowing that Madi was in great hands for the 5 hours she was away from me. It was also pretty incredible seeing how much Madi learned in just one year. She's become such a great reader, breezes through addition and subtraction problems, and even has several multiplication facts memorized. She's also a really good writer and now writes her cards, letters, and stories all on her own. Made me so very grateful for such an awesome teacher that Madi got to learn from!

For Mrs. Newton's end of the year gift, we contributed to the class gift, but I also wanted Madi to do something from just her. So all on her own, Madi wrote a sweet letter:

Then along with some sparkling pink lemonade and chocolate treats from Trader Joes, Madi wrapped a copy of the Book of Mormon with her and Mrs. Newton's picture on one side and Madi's sweet testimony written on the other:

Inside the Book of Mormon, Madi wrote another letter . . .
Starting on the third sentence: "Here are your scriptures to keep. It will remind you of me. I do these things it says in them."

And just like at the bottom of her picture, Madi was crying at the end of the day (like most of the girls in her class).

I'm not one to get emotional about school stuff, but after looking at Madi's end of the year memory book, I was in tears too! We sure love Mrs Newton! Can't believe I'm gonna have a 1st grader come August 28th!!