Last Day of Kindergarten

Kindergarten has finally come to an end. It was an amazing year and I'm excited to move on to first grade, but Mommy is sad because she thinks kindergarten is a special year and she wants me to be five years old forever.

Anyway, we had a couple of fun surprises for our last day of school. We had been told to bring and keep our teddy bears at school for the past few weeks, and they were included in all sorts of classroom activities. On our last day, we tucked our teddy bears into their handmade beds and went to the library for a story. When we came back, they were gone! Turns out they had left us for a surprise teddy bear picnic.

"Hockey Bear," named because when I got him he was wearing a hockey shirt.

Bears waiting to picnic with us.

Four kindergarten classes anxiously rushing to the field to look for their bears.

We all loved the surprise! It was such a relief too - some of the kids had been so worried about their bears to the point of tears...phew!

We capped off the day with a class party. There was an art project, photo booth station, and snacks and popsicles. The parents were invited to join at the end, and we took lots of photos and said our goodbyes for the summer. What a great end to a great year. 

Me and my teacher, Ms. Taddeucci

What I Did at Camping, by Colin

Here are some more details from our camping trip that Kaitlyn had left out. This year we joined sixteen(!) other families at Manresa State Beach. This was my real camping trip, as it was the first time sleeping overnight in a tent. Everything went fine, except for the first night when I woke up in the middle of the night screaming and practically woke up the entire camp. It was also challenging because I refused to nap during the day, so by evening I was an overtired mess. On our second day, Daddy had to take me for a drive so I could get a decent nap in the car. Other than that, I loved being outdoors all day and exploring and getting really dirty!

We're pretty sure Brady had a good time too. He met a new friend that was twice his size, and got to sleep in the tent with us.  

We spent our entire first day at the beach. I loved it!

On the second day we took a drive to a nearby berry farm to pick raspberries. There were some chickens and a rooster there, and for some reason I kept insisting on showing this rooster my belly button. I thought it was the funniest thing ever.

Can you guess which was my basket?

Here's a video of all the kids testing out a homemade rocket ship (a soda bottle attached to a bicycle pump). I'm not even sure what it was, but I was so into it.

What I Did At Camping, by Kaitlyn

Dear Ms. Taddeucci, May 28, 2016: We are eating veggie straws and we ran around the campsite and we roasted marshmallows. May 29, 2016: Today we went on our bikes and went to the beach but oops! I got a little sandy. I took a shower and wiped off the sand and went to the temple [this little amphitheater at the campground that the kids called a temple]. I swung in the hammock.

May 30, 2016: Me and my brother played hop on pop [aka jumping on Daddy while he lay on the air mattress]. After that we went for a hike and then I climbed a tree. Oops again I forgot to brush my teeth. I brushed my teeth after that I ate a snack.

We went berry picking and we came back with berries. Then I had a quiz with my friends Jamie and Rita. After that I drew my dog Brady and swung in the swing and had a late night feast and saw 20 fireworks!

May 31, 2016: We woke up and had marshmallows for breakfast. Then we drove home.

Tide Pool Field Trip

My kindergarten class took a field trip to the tide pools at Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. Mommy came along as a chaperone so I enjoyed the trip even more. We were given a checklist of things to look out for: anenomes, urchins, starfish, crabs; but mostly we saw lots of seaweed, kelp, and sea barnacles - these squishy things that squirt out water if you poke them. My favorite thing was collecting shells along the beach. It was a neat place and we all had lots of fun exploring!

We found a giant starfish. I reached down to touch it but didn't realize the water was so cold!

Mother's Day 2016

I made so much artwork for Mommy this year! Colin and I also helped Daddy make this Hawaiian roll french toast with mango and bacon for breakfast. It turned out really yummy. Mommy got to sleep in, we went out for ice cream, and spent family time at Poh-poh's house. Mother's Day was a success!

Sweetheart Dance

Our school had its first annual Sweetheart Dance aka Parent-Daughter Dance. The theme was Candyland and I brought Daddy as my date.

I found my friends as soon as we got there, and then all the girls ditched their daddies and started dancing together. That's just how it is. There were also craft stations, a huge snack and dessert buffet, and a photo booth. Eventually, it got too hot on the dance floor and by the end of the night, my classmates and I were all running around outside and climbing the play structure in our party dresses. What a fun evening!

Me and my bathroom buddy showed up wearing the same dress! #whoworeitbest

Classmate photo.