Samantha's first blog

pamelamyers | May 26, 2014

One last school post then we all take a break for the summer. Sam had school pictures taken in April and we didn’t get them back until the last week or so of school. That day, since it was a Friday and we were all home, Mark took some pictures of his own of Sam since she was all dressed up. She looked so pretty, and we had no idea how well the school photos would come out, so we did our own. We thought it would be interesting to see the difference, anyway. The picture actually came out very nice! But I still like Mark’s better. Her smile is more natural, and more vibrant, for her Dad, as it should be, but she did a great job posing nicely and not making a goofy face. The first picture is her official school picture, the rest are all Mark. Honestly, he could do this as a career, but Sam is his very favorite subject and I doubt he’d get as much joy out of taking pictures of random people.

One last picture, her class! Never forget them, Samantha, your very first friends.

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pamelamyers | May 21, 2014

Sam’s last day of school was not actually her graduation day, but today! A fun day filled with pizza and games. I had to take her picture before we left for Grandmom’s house. Somehow to me, she seems so much bigger, and so much older, than she was on her first day of school, only nine months ago. For a peek, click here.

I decided to surprise Sam by running home at lunch to meet her at school just to send her off and tell her to have a super fun last day. It was worth the drive to see the huge smile on her face. I got greeted at my mom’s car with a huge grin and a, “Mommy!! What are you doing here? Will you stay with me until my teacher comes?” I did stay with her and heard her tell her friend, Mia, that Mommy drove “all the way” from work to see her! So, yeah, it was worth it.

Sam came home that day full of excitement telling me all about bowling in the teacher’s basement and playing games with beanbags and buckets and all the pizza and ice cream they ate. (The day started so lovely, but it wound up raining by the time she went to school).

One year under her belt, who knows how many more to go. I wonder so often what Sam will do for a career. I hope whatever she picks, it makes her happy. Oh, yeah, and earns her gobs of money. She’s going to take care of her parents when they are old, right? Right? Right? Choose well, Sam, and just be happy, little girl.

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pamelamyers | May 19, 2014

“This is the best graduation day, EVER!” So declared Sam on this most wonderful day, Sam’s preschool graduation day. Well, let’s be clear, she didn’t technically graduate since she has one more year at Saint Matthew’s, but that is what they call it. But she did finish her first year of school. This is amazing to me. My girl. Finished a year of school. Holy cow.

Sam knew it was an important day. We kept telling her it was, definitely, but she knew it, I think, on her own. They had been preparing at school a lot and I think she understood the ceremony was a big deal. She just got a new packet of Hello Kitty books (part of her Scholastic order at school — I love that they still have that) and one was about preschool graduation. I said something like, “Look, Sam, Hello Kitty has a cap just like you will wear” and Sam corrected me immediately by telling me that Hello Kitty’s cap is blue and hers will be yellow! Well. Excuse me.

The kids all came into the church one by one down the aisle wearing their caps and got in place with their class. We were all wondering why they took their caps off, but it turned out it was because there was a very big concert to take place and the caps most likely would have gotten in the way, if not of their singing, but of their adorable little faces! Thankfully, Sam was in the front row again so we got lots of exposure to her adorable smile! She asked me to bring her stuffed octopus to the graduation (she had been carrying him around for days) and I think that is why she is smiling so broadly. He kept peeking at her over the pew.

After doing the Pledge of Allegiance, the kids started singing. This particular song was one of Sam’s favorites that she has been singing at home. She never did the hand moves for me at home, though. It is called, “Oh, Mr. Sun” and goes like this:

Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,

Please shine down on me.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,

Hiding behind a tree

These little children are asking you

To please come out so we can play with you.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,

Please shine down on,

Please shine down on,

Please shine down on me.

Sam just smiled and smiled the whole time. She was having the time of her life. It is so different than her Christmas concert, which she enjoyed, but the whole time she was a little nervous, I think. She didn’t sing as much then, and her smile would come and go. Now, five months later, my girl is shining just like she always is at home, confident, happy, and right at home with her classmates.

After the many, many songs the kids performed (I can’t believe how many they learn!) it was time for the handing out of certificates. The kids all went “backstage” as it were and came out, one by one, when their names were called by Mrs. Maylie, the Director of the school.

Mrs. McCann, her teacher, shook her hand and gave her a Certificate commemorating her accomplishment.

Sam may have been smiling the whole time, but I will admit, I felt tears welling up so many times during the ceremony. I am just so proud of her.

Sam’s bestest pal Julia. 🙂

Time for the Goodbye song, which I know Sam tells me they sing every day before they leave school. And home we go!

After the ceremony, everyone mingled outside and it was a perfect time for pictures. It was a gorgeous day, but windy, so Sam had to hold onto her cap!

Mrs. McCann was walking around, talking to all the kids and parent, and she made sure to tell Sam that she would miss her and to stop by next year and say hi! Sam will miss Mrs. McCann, I know. She really was the perfect teacher for Sam this year, very kind, helping to bring Sam out of her shell.

Sam and Mark walked home while I drove the car back. You can just see the excitement, still, in her face.

Home at last, and back to her swing! I am starting to think every blog post is going to end this way!

Congratulations, Sam, on your accomplishment. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you. When you addressed and signed Thank You cards for both Mrs. McCann and Mrs. Curran, the assistant teacher, what you didn’t know is that we also included a letter with a gift. In this letter, one of the things that we pointed out was a question that was asked of us in your registration packet before you started school. We were asked: “How do you hope your child will benefit most from nursery school?” and our reply was this: “Become more independent, interact better with other kids, become more social, be prepared for kindergarten both intellectually but also emotionally and socially.” Sam, you have succeeded. You are not quite ready for kindergarten yet, but you are still too young. You have succeeded in meeting our goals for you. You love going to school. You are so much more outspoken, you have no hesitation on the playground approaching new friends, and you know so many things you did not know before. We are so proud of your accomplishments and can’t wait to see what you do next. We love you, Sam. Happy Graduation Day!

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pamelamyers | February 2, 2014

We had a parent-teacher conference at Sam’s school the other day. It was really the first official conversation we have had with her school about how she is doing. In November, they sent home a progress report, but since Sam was doing pretty well, there was no need for a conference. In late January though, since the school  needs to discuss placement for next year (a lot of kids are moving on to Kindergarten, making it more important for them), the parents actually have a scheduled time with the teachers. We met with Mrs. McCann to discuss how Sam is doing. In sum, she is doing great! She has made improvements in areas where she needed to (including putting on and zippering her own coat, speaking up in public, and learning to recognize her printed name). She still has some areas to improve on like learning to recognize all the letters and writing her name, but Mrs. McCann said she is pretty much right where she needs to be. She is young for her class being born late in September. A lot of the kids in her class are 6 months or more older than her. This is why we are glad she will be going to Saint Matt’s again next year for the five day program. She needs extra time to be ready for Kindergarten. She doesn’t make the cutoff anyway, so it doesn’t really matter, we couldn’t send her to Kindergarten even if we wanted to. We discussed how Sam has been having playdates with Julia and how it really has helped her open up, having a real friend in the class. Mrs. McCann said she noticed the difference.

We were able to successfully move Sam into the day program next year which will be better for her, I think. She is definitely a morning person and concentrates better earlier in the day. It is hard to believe – only one more year then she is in Kindergarten. How is that possible? Then FIRST GRADE.  ACTUAL SCHOOL.  This is not happening, time is not going by this fast, is it?

We are so proud of Sam and how she has truly blossomed at school. I was so worried about how she would adjust but she is doing so well. She loves school and playing with her friends. I can see how she has changed, matured, in the time she has been there. My only worry about next year is that she will have to make mostly all new friends again in her class. I think a few kids will still be at St. Matt’s, but not a lot. And they may be in the afternoon program. But, I guess she will make that adjustment many times as she goes on in school. Her schools in Springfield have multiple classes for each grade, not like when I was in my tiny little Catholic grade school. She will be ok. And her friend Julia will still be in St. Matt’s with her, although I don’t know if the same class. But it will make it easier for Sam that they are doing the same things.

Before I know it, she will be reading and doing math and all of those things that little kids do. I don’t know if I can handle it!

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pamelamyers | November 28, 2013

Sam got her first progress report at school recently. The sections discuss her social, physical and academic development. She only really gets scored on how well her skills are developing, not like a real report card. She did really well. On most of her criteria, she was scored either “Has Developed”, which we think means she has this skill already, or “Showing Progress”, which is pretty self-explanatory. She only had a few “Needs to Work On” things and they weren’t too surprising to us. One was holding a pencil or crayon correctly and the other was speaking in a group situation. Also, she needs more work on recognizing her name in print. Otherwise, she did great. Our little girl loves school and is doing really well. Her next progress report comes in January when we actually have a parent-teacher conference and then again in May. I am really proud of how far she has come. I know by January she will have come even further. Our biggest obstacle is going to be the speaking up in public. Her reticence to talk in front of groups hasn’t really gotten better, and I had hoped it would when she got more comfortable with the kids in her class. I know it took me a really long time to be comfortable talking in front of a group, and I think Mark too, so we may just have to work on building her confidence. Whether she becomes a great public speaker or not, we are very proud of how far she has come in just the few months she has been at school. I hope she knows it.

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