Last Day of PreK-3

Wednesday, May 22nd, was Eli's last day of PreK-3. I knew I wanted to do a comparison photo of his first and last day and when I pulled up the photos from his first day I thought I had the wrong set of pictures. He looks like such a baby then! I couldn't believe when I posted the comparison photo just how much he's grown this year. I thought he was so big when he started PreK-3 this year, but now looking at the last day picture I can see that he was still such a baby. Now he's such a big boy. He's grown so much this year and has learned so much. Milestones like this are so hard on my heart. I'm so thrilled to see my little boy growing and learning, but it's hard admitting that my baby isn't a baby anymore.

Eli's FIRST and LAST day of PreK-3.

His class and some of the other preschool classes prepared a short little end of the year program for the parents on the last day of school. It wasn't very long, but it was very cute. They sang a few songs and called it "A Day in Preschool." Eli's group was going to sing the "Hokey Pokey" so they asked him to dress like a cowboy. When we got to the school and took our seats, we saw this little face peeking out from behind the curtain. Unbeknownst to us, he was one of the kids chosen to introduce the program to the parents. He kept looking for us behind the curtain and when he finally spotted us he grinned from ear to ear. Little stinker!

The kids went through songs about the days of the week, the months of the year, the weather, five little monkeys, and several other songs. Then it was time for the Hokey Pokey. I'm just a little biased, but I think he was the cutest cowboy out there. He had been practicing the motions for the song for a couple of weeks at the house, so he was ready to show off his moves!

After his song was over, it was time for Hannah's song. She was doing a song about a chicken!

The last song the kids did they asked the parents to participate with them. If you're a preschool or elementary teacher then you probably know about the famous Dr. Jean. We sang her song "A Tooty Ta". It makes you do all kinds of crazy motions and faces. The kids loved it! 

After the program was over, we went back to his classroom to get his stuff and say good-bye to his teachers and friends. 

The past two years he has been with the same two teachers and he has fallen in love with them. Mrs. Paige and Mrs. Jody have taken care of my baby boy and have loved him just like he was one of their own. There has not been a day that has gone by that I have ever worried about him. Paige and Jody have been so good to Eli and our family. We love them so much and we are going to miss them! Eli has grown and learned so much the past two years. He's gotten so much more confident. His speech has improved. He's even started to read pre-primer sight words! I know some people probably thought we were crazy for starting him in school so early, but he has greatly benefited from it. He has made so many new friends and has grown so much.

Eli and Mrs. Jody

This precious lady would do anything for my little boy. She fed him almost every day last year when he was in PreK-3  that first year because he didn't care about eating, she laid down next to him at nap time, she loved and kissed on him when he was feeling sad, and she took great care of him. He LOVES her so much!

Paige, his teacher, has been such a God send to us. She was exactly the kind of teacher that Eli needed. She pushed him and didn't just let him settle. When she saw that he knew all his colors, numbers, letters, and shapes, she challenged him even more. Now he is even starting to read because of her! She helped him become more confident and she was always there to help him when he needed it. We are all going to miss her so much! I'm so thankful that even though Eli is going to a new teacher next year, Paige will be close. Eli's new teacher and Paige share a closet, so Eli will still get to see Paige and Jody. It makes it a little easier for him to know he'll still be really close to them.

Probably the hardest thing to watch that last day of school was Eli saying good-bye to all his friends. Even though I know he'll see them again next year in PreK-4, it was so sweet to see him hug them and tell them that he's going to miss them. He's made so many good little buddies this year. I can't wait to see these friendships develop over the next few years.

Eli and Logan

Eli and Scott

Eli and Hannah

Eli and Charlie

Thomas and Eli

Thomas, Charlie and Eli

These three boys played together every day.

Our family

Diane, Hannah, and Josh

Zue-Zue, Eli, and Mammy

What a wonderful two years it has been in PreK-3 for my little man. I am so proud of all that he has learned and accomplished and I can't wait to see how much he's going to learn next year when he goes to PreK-4!