Kindergarten!

First day of school!

My sweet 5-year-old is officially a school-aged kid!  He entered Kindergarten this past September and has been loving it ever since!  I didn't know what to expect going into this, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well he transitioned.  I think he was made for school.  He loves to learn, loves the social interaction, loves his teacher, and loves his recess time.  He was so excited going into Kindergarten, and even though I cried, he never shed a tear.  

We had been hearing that all of the Kindergarten teachers were awesome, but when I heard they were adding a new one, I just had a feeling we'd get the new one.  Sure enough, I was right.  It ended up being a blessing, though, because Ms. P. is absolutely wonderful.  We couldn't be happier with her and are truly more and more impressed with her with each encounter we have with her.  She's a brand new teacher, but is wise and mature beyond her years, very smart, and very professional.  She also has a mother who is a great 3rd grade teacher at the school as a great mentor.  She is laid-back and lets the "boys be boys", but has very good control of the class.

I also couldn't be happier with James' classmates.  He has a ton of really sweet kids that come from seemingly very sweet families.  There are a lot of boys in his class who he seems to get along great with.  James is sensitive and tells me anytime he gets his feelings hurt, but there is none of that going on in his class.  I'm so thankful for that.  He just comes home happily and tells me of the fun they had at recess playing chase or being spies.

During his first parent/teacher conference, Ms. P. told me that she had absolutely no complaints about James.  She said he was very curious, asking lots and lots of questions (that sounded very familiar!), and that she thought he was going to be a scientist when he grew up.  She said he likes to figure things out for himself and will keep working on it until he does.  She said that once he "gets it" (whatever it is they're working on), he will remember it from that moment on.  Ms. P. also told me that he excels in Math.  That surprised me, because I just didn't have any idea going into Kindergarten how he'd do with Math.  That was also interesting to me, because my doctor told me he was going to have do well in Math based on the way James tells very organized stories.  Ms. P. told me three times that he has a lot of energy! LOL:)  She said that some kids will get tired from time to time, but he never does.  She added to that that he also knows how to turn that energy off on a dime and will follow directions immediately.  She told me that he is very social and made a lot of friends right off the bat. She said that his table in particular gets along very well together.  They all have similar dispositions and are very sweet to one another.  His favorite friend in his class that he talks about a lot, Joe, sits right next to him.  Ms. P. said that they are very similar in the way that they have lots of fun but then turn it off and obey immediately.  I'm so thankful that he's surrounded by this sweet table to give him such a happy, sweet experience in Kindergarten.
James' teacher told them to write about the Mayflower.  Here is the translation of what he wrote...

"First they went to U.S.A.  Second they went to Plymouth Rock.  Third they went to a feast and fourth they friends for ever ever and ever and ever hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

James' first story to write all on his own.