The Kindergarten Finale

When Gracie was a baby I started writing letters to her in a little word document on my computer. I wrote about when she first rolled over, how she liked becoming a big sister when Charlie arrived, and, eventually, about my worries about how she (and I) would someday adjust to a life where my baby girl was off on her own in elementary school. And now she's done it!

Kindergarten is over, and she's ready and raring to get to first grade (though she is definitely enjoying her summer vacation, too). She did a great job of her first official year of school, staying on track in all her subjects except for reading, where she actually got a couple grade levels ahead of schedule. Her biggest challenges--at least as far as I can tell--were keeping from being too silly with her friends (her mama had this problem as well at this age) and having to reign in her artistic endeavors on worksheets whose directions didn't allow for artistry. :)

She got to invite us to come to an end-of-the-year assembly, where she received a medal for being on the Principal's Honor Roll all year. She was pretty excited about it:

The assistant principal had to make a rule (announced during the assembly) about not giving your medal to your friends. (This is clearly not their first rodeo.) According to Gracie, there was some dissent among the "friends" in her class in regards to this rule. :)

For now, she's enjoying having some time to play with her brother, hang out with Squish, and read, read, read. She's been working on Matilda, Clementine, and some Magic Tree House books on her own, and Steve or I reads with her in the evenings, too. She's also been drawing lots of pictures, dressing up as Elsa from Frozen in various towels, blankets, and shawls, singing, and playing mommy to Charlie's stuffed fox, Puppy, and her stuffed elephant, Ellie-brons. :)