Real Last day of Kinder

Last day of Kinder. She learned a lot, but might be most proud of this: 

Her first day on the playground, she couldn't even make one link. Now, after hundreds of hours of practice and calluses as thick as turtle shells, she's doing spinning tricks and skipping rings like a ninja warrior. 

There's a metaphor in there somewhere, I'm sure....

I wasn't even thinking of walking her into the yard this morning, but Debbie mentioned that she was going to, so I was inspired. And I'm so glad I did. 

The first half of the year, all Kinders had to be walked in. It gave the parents a chance to watch the kids play and chat with one another. We met some cool families in the 'hood that I'm sure we'll see over the summer. 

The second half of the year, they allowed Kinders to be dropped off in the loading zone- logistically a lot easier, but not nearly as social. I hadn't walked Huelan into the yard in quite a while, so this morning was fun. 

I'm actually not sure what was more emotional for me- her first day of school or her last. 

Kinders' Last Days

Oh my it's been such a year! Huelan took the transition to Kindergarden pretty easily, and she spent the year learning a ton, making friends, and surprising us at every turn.  As a family, we had a great year at the school- Liz and I made some new friends and even Lawrence gained some playmates.

The Kinders celebration consisted of Ms. Savage saying a few short words about each student followed by a slide show of pics she'd taken during the year.  And of course there was food.

Hard to encapsulate how we feel about finishing the year... all the parents talked about how time flies in the blink of an eye while the kids run around oblivious as ever to the passage of a(nother) landmark year.  Gotta love Kinders.

Piano Party

Huelan has been taking piano lessons since sometime in January, and this is her first "Piano Party," which is basically a hippie term for a recital.  There were about 20 kids of varying levels, including Sofia and Milo, the sister & brother who she takes her group lesson with.

The first 6-8 weeks were almost torturous- we nearly pulled the plug on the whole endeavor because Huelan just did not want to practice at home (I have a feeling that it was partially due to Milo and Sofia being a few weeks ahead of her, causing her to feel remedial).  But then something just clicked and she started seeing progress, and now she loves to show off her new songs and improvement in the ones she's been practicing.

As someone who has never had an aptitude for playing music, even this modest display of talent (perhaps more so the fact that she stuck to it) makes my heart swell.

Also, Chappell of the Chimes is breathtaking, and we decided that's where we want to be laid to rest.