Friday, January 31 was Avalon's 100th day of Kindergarten! To celebrate, each student counted out ten each of ten different snacks (Goldfish, pretzel sticks, Cheerios, etc.) for a total of 100 pieces for their special snack bag. They also drew portraits of themselves at 100 years old, and took funny pics to commemorate the occasion!
To no one's surprise, Avalon is thriving in Kindergarten! I have been taking pics of milestones and special events all year and this seems like an appropriate place to FINALLY post them!
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| Avalon's first-ever homework assignment! Ah, the good old days...back when she was enthusiastic about doing homework. 100 days later, the novelty has worn off. ;) |
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| So excited for her first field trip! It was an "on-site" field trip to visit an apple orchard a couple blocks away from the school. |
Avalon was the very FIRST student selected to be "Star of the Week" back in September! She had something fun to look forward to every day of the week. On Monday she presented her "All About Me" poster to the class; on Tuesday she brought three items to "show and tell" (she chose her favorite stuffed animal "Clover", a play dough ornament she made, and a necklace she got in Hawaii); on Wednesday she got to bring in a favorite book to have her teacher read to the class (she chose Harold and the Purple Crayon); on Thursday her teacher read aloud to the class a letter that her parents wrote about the things that make Avalon special (see below), and on Friday Daddy got to join Avalon for lunch at school as her "lunch buddy"!
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| Let the record show that when she was in Kindergarten Avalon's favorite color was purple, food was sushi, place was Chuck E. Cheese, hobby was arts & crafts, and she wanted to a doctor when she grows up. :) |
The letter I wrote that Avalon's teacher read aloud to her class:
Dear Ms. Kiesel’s Kindergarten Class,
Avalon is your Star of the Week this week, but she has been
a shining star to her Mom & Dad since the day she was born! Since it is the
beginning of the school year and you have only known her for a month, I would
like to tell you some special things about her that you might not know yet!
Avalon is the oldest kid in our family and is a fantastic
big sister to her little sister, Eloise, who we call Ellie, and her baby
brother, Edward, who we call Eddie.
Avalon likes to try all different kinds of foods, and some
of her favorite things to eat are very unique! She loves to eat sour things
like lemons and limes, and won’t eat a taco unless it is covered in green
Tabasco hot sauce. Her favorite food is sushi, and she was once brave enough to
try a piece of octopus! (She didn’t like the octopus, though, because she
thought it tasted like dirt!) Another one of Avalon’s very favorite foods are
blue-cheese stuffed olives.
Something else you may not know about Avalon is that she
likes to cook! Some of the things she has made are French Toast, Hide-and-Seek
Muffins (which are muffins with a hidden strawberry inside), and
Chocolate-Banana milk shakes.
Avalon also likes gardening! Ever since she was a very
little girl, Avalon has helped her dad plant a big vegetable garden. Every year
she plants her very own cherry tomato plant, and one year she planted rows and
rows of radishes called “Easter Egg” radishes. When she is not helping plant or
water plants, she loves to dig and play in the dirt with her little sister.
Avalon loves to play outside and one of her favorite things
to do is ride her bike. She learned to ride her two-wheeler without training
wheels over the summer and likes to ride really, really fast!
Avalon loves to play in the water. This summer she learned
to bob and swim underwater and hold her breath for a long time! She loves going
to the beach and when she’s not in the water she loves playing in the sand with
her sister.
Avalon is very creative and loves to do arts and crafts. She
likes to color, draw and paint, make sculptures and ornaments out of play
dough, string beaded bracelets and necklaces, make her own kites, mobiles, books and board games, and even tie-dye
t-shirts. She tie-dyed t-shirts for her Dad and Papa for Fathers Day and they
were such a hit that her Nana and Uncle have asked her to make shirts for them,
too!
There are many things that make Avalon special, but the most
important thing is that she is an amazing sister, daughter, granddaughter and
friend. She is thoughtful and kind and likes to help people and make them feel
special. She is a shining star!
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| To top off her special week, Avalon's classmates each drew a picture of her to compile this book! |
In early November the Kindergarten classes put on a Holiday Recital as a sort of showcase of what they had been learning in their music and art classes. Avalon was selected as one of six students to ring bells in the first song! And not only that, she was the FIRST one to ring her bell, coming in on just the right beat and kicking off the series of rings from the other kids. Her music teacher has clearly noticed that she has rhythm! I have to admit that her performance got me all teary-eyed out of pride!
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| Waiting to walk to the stage with her fellow bell-ringers |
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| Spotting her mom taking this picture moments before the song began :) |
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| After her big bell-ringing moment she joined her class on stage for the rest of the show (bottom right) |
After the recital we were able to walk around and view student artwork that had been displayed all around the gym.
Also in November, Avalon's school had their first "PBL" (Project Based Learning) Night, in which each individual class presented a project they had been working on. Avalon and her classmates each drew and captioned a picture of a character they made up, under the premise that they were helping Dr. Seuss (who had run out of his own ideas) think of characters for his next book.
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| Avalon presenting her picture to all the parents and siblings. Too bad you can't see the size of the crowd--the classroom was PACKED! Most adults (myself included!) would have been nervous to get up in front of such a crowd. I was so impressed and found myself teary-eyed yet again out of pride for not only Avalon, but also many of her adorable classmates who nailed their presentations. |
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| Avalon's character, "Stripy Zipey". |
The week before Thanksgiving break Avalon was one of six students in her class to be honored with an achievement award at her school's awards assembly! In her speech, Avalon's teacher praised Avalon for her overall academic achievement, particularly in reading. I knew she was doing well learning to read, but until this moment I had no idea she was excelling so significantly! Cue the tears again!
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| Avalon accepting her award from Ms. Kiesel |
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| Her award! "For outstanding achievement in all subject areas - especially reading and art!" |
The Friday before Thanksgiving break was her class "Friendship Feast." Shaun was a parent volunteer and took a few pics...
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| The cute place mat Avalon made - "I am thank for my family" :) |
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| Feasting with her table mates |
