Brody's 1st Day of School

We now have 2 in school….Brody started kindergarden this year and he started off like a pro. Our school had an open house a few days before school started to give the kids and parents an opportunity to see where there class was and to meet the teacher. His teacher’s name is Mrs. Smith and she has been teaching kindergarden for 20+ years….she seemed really nice with only one major flaw, she’s a HUGE UGA Bulldog fan. Her ENTIRE room is decorated with UGA logos and colors.

On Brody’s first day, Draven and I walked him down the hall and the whole time he told me he knew where it was because all he has to do is look for the Bulldog on the door. When we get to the class, he said hello to Mrs. Smith and gave me a hug like it’s no big deal and gets in line with the other kids waiting on class to start. It was much harder on me and Jennifer than it was for him. He told Jennifer that he wanted me to take him the first day because, "he didn't want to walk down the hall holding a girl's hand!" We are so very proud of how confident he can be at times and he is so excited about being in school and learning new things every day.

We are writing this blog a few months into the school year, and even now, Brody is still doing great and although I have never seen them do it, Draven tells me they give each other a hug at the split where they go their separate ways to class. I really wish I could get a picture of this because it would be a wonderful thing to keep and show them later. They also wave to their Daddy (especially Draven) nearly all the way before they get to the door to go into school or by the time my car is gone, whichever comes first. I’m really going to miss these days when they pass me by.

Brody's in Preschool

The first week of September, three friends and I started a Preschool group for our 3 and 4 year olds. Lindsey, Brenda, Katie, and I take turns having the class in our home once a week. We are teaching the kids their alphabet, numbers 1-10, colors, and shapes. Today was my turn and we learned about the letter "C" and the circle. The kids are so cute-3 boys and 1 girl-and they get excited about the smallest things. Today we made Cookies that were shaped like Circles; pictures of elephants, catapillars, and snakes made out of Circles, and pulled lots of "C" things out of a bag. It's really fun seeing the kids learn new things and have fun with their friends. Brody asks me every week day if it's time to have Preschool. It's one of the only ways to get him to wear clothes instead of a costume all day!

Draven-2nd Grade!

Ok, ok...it's been a month since school started, but atleast I'm doing it! We are still waiting on Pierce to share our vacation info. with you and that was before school started!

August 17, 2009 Draven started 2nd grade. He was excited to go back, but also wanted to be home with us instead. His teacher's name is Mrs. Robertson and she moved from 5th grade to 2nd grade this year. So far his favorite subject is Music again; unless you count Recess as a subject! He's having fun making new friends and is excited about the Science stuff that he will be learning soon. Even though the TAG (Talented & Gifted) program doesn't start until 3rd grade, Draven started a one-on-one class with the TAG teacher last year and has already been seeing her this year, once a week. I think he will really enjoy the different things he learns in that program.

His class has already taken a field trip to Safety City where the kids got to drive electric mini-cars, ride bikes, go through a smoke filled house and out the window, and "walk the streets" of a mini-city. I just hope Draven can stay motivated this year and learn to slow down a little and not make silly mistakes on his work. I guess we all do that, but I still worry about it.

Draven's Report Card

Draven got his very first report card from the 1st grade last week and he did outstanding! He made all A's and E's! In fact, the lowest grade he got was in science, which was an E-...and he's said that is his favorite subject. As a reward, my Dad and I took him to a UT Mens Basketball game last Wednesday. Tennessee was playing UNC-Asheville and since Draven is a Jr. Vol, he got in free and me and Dad got discounted tickets as well. Granted, they were in the nose-bleeds...but that didn't matter, we had a great time. Draven enjoyed the game...the funny thing is that he was probably most fascinated with the scoreboard and how it worked. He kept asking about it so I basically explained every statistical catagory to him and how it worked. When Tennessee finally pulled away in the second half, Draven kept saying off the wall stuff like "UNC better get their act together!"....and "Boy, UNC is pretty slow" I'm not sure where he gets that from ;o) Anyway...he had a great time hanging out with the fellas, eating popcorn, M&M's and Coke, and probably most of all...staying up past his bedtime....and oh yeah, he got to meet SMOKEY!! ~Pierce

Our First Fieldtrip

On Halloween, before all the Trick or Treating began, Draven had to go to school. The wise professionals at the school realized it would be difficult to teach anything to a bunch of Halloween crazed children, so they planned a field trip to The Little Ponderosa Zoo for Oct. 31st. This was Draven's first field trip, and I was really excited that I got to go along with him as a chaperone. We used to live in Clinton, but I never knew they had such a fun zoo back in the woods! The kids got to touch African foxes, goats, camels, Zonkeys (Zebra/Donkey mix) and lots of other animals. They also got to ride on ponies. We spent the whole day there and the kids seemed to love it. I am definitely planning to go again and take the other boys; if anyone wants to go with us let me know!Zack, Draven, & Dominic

The First Day of 1st Grade

Ok, so 2 months ago we were so excited because Draven was starting Kindergarten. Well, that was before he amazed all of his teachers, principal, and reading and math specialists. So, today my baby boy started 1st grade. I think I'm having a harder time with this than I did with the first day in August! We are so proud of him, but it's still hard.

This was a very hard decision for Pierce and me, because we don't want him to feel overwhelmed, or upset down the line because he is the youngest in his class. Luckily his birthday is the first of November so he'll only be the youngest by a month or so. Finally we decided that he is far enough ahead of the other students in kindergarten that he's going to get bored quickly, and he needs the stimulation from learning new things to keep him interested. I was worried that he was going to be upset or stressed by this change, but he seemed pretty excited. We told him that when Daddy does really well at work that he sometimes gets promoted, and because Draven was doing so well, he was getting promoted. He seemed to like that. My dad and I took the boys to Chuck E Cheese's last night for dinner to celebrate-that may have helped with the excitement! They just had school pictures done this week. I think that's the reason for the cool guy pose!

Good luck Draven-we think you are super-duper little trooper! We love you.

Draven & School

Just a little update on our Kindergartener...he is doing very well. Every morning he says he has a tummy ache and doesn't eat breakfast, but every afternoon he tells me he loves school and it's the best thing in his life! He is still nervous to leave in the morning, but he does it. He gets out of the car with just a quick hug and kiss, and walks into the school by himself. I think it's as hard for me to watch him go as it is for him to do it. He has gotten a green ticket, for behavior, every day, and has set a goal to get a green ticket every day for the whole year! His teacher, Mrs. Knight, is very impressed with his reading skills and has told everyone else in the class to go to Draven if they need anything read. She has also set up an appointment with the Reading Specialist to determine what grade level he is reading and comprehending on. We're very interested to find out the results of that!

The 1st Day of School

Our little man had his first day of school last Tuesday, August 12th. He was very apprehensive leading up to this day-he gets very uptight when faced with new things, but he did great! The whole family, including Dad, piled in the car and drove the 1 1/2 minute ride to school. Draven had his new Spiderman backpack, his new Hulk lunchbox, had on one of his favorite shirts (What Time is Recess?), and his Teddy-as requested by the teacher. I walked him in to school, where we had to wait in the gym without talking until the 7:40 bell rang. We found our way down the hall, and into Mrs. Knight's classroom. Draven had gone with Grammie to a "meet the teacher" night while we were at the beach, so he was able to show me where to go. All of the parents stayed for a couple of minutes while the kids got settled playing with Playdough. When it was time to leave, Draven started getting a little weepy and clingy, but the teacher got his attention by asking him what he was making with his playdough-it was smooth sailing from there. He told me that they watched the Corduroy movie and then went looking for Corduroy's button in all the important places-the bathroom, the hall, the cafeteria. He is going to staggered start days for two weeks, so there were only 5 children in the class, Draven and 4 girls. He made a new friend, Teagan. They gave each other a hug and played legos together. Tomorrow we go for a 30 minute literacy testing session, and then again for school on Tuesday. By the way-I haven't cried yet. I think I probably will, but not yet. I'm feeling quite a bit of relief right now!
As a side note-Draven wanted that picture taken there, in front of the tv, because he said it would be like he was in a movie!?

School Prep Begins

Today the boys and I went to a couple of different stores-Big Lots & Staples to take advantage of their 1 cent sales. If you need school supplies be sure to look in the paper on Sunday because I've gotten everything we need plus some for under 25 cents each. Anyway, after the "fun" shopping trips we took Draven to get his hair cut. He asked at the beginning of the summer if he could grow his hair out like his favorite cousin, Quentin. So, we agreed that he could grow it out for the summer, but before school started he would get it cut. So, today was the day. I thought he looked grown up with long hair, but seeing him now I'm wondering where my 5 year old went!