First Dance Recital

Clare has been taking dance classes every Monday during the school year.  There are only five girls in the class - four pre-kindergarteners and Clare :-)  Her teacher put together a little recital for the girls' families in May.  Sean was very happy to support Clare at her first recital:

Clare's teacher taught them some jazz, ballet, and cheerleading and the recital was a little bit of everything.

Her teacher also worked with the girls to improve their flexibility and helped them perfect their splits:

Here are some videos of a few of the numbers.  Here's Jazz:

 

The Kitty Cat Pounce:

Ballet and a solo performance:

After the performance, we got to congratulate the little dancer while she enjoyed her lollipop and showed off her ribbon:

Gobble Gobble

The kids have done so many lessons and projects this month about Thanksgiving and sharing - Sean's class had a "feast" today in which each child brought a snack to share - Sean brought Pirates Booty  yum!  Clare's class had lunch over at the middle school in the cafeteria - she said it was so fun! And here they are showing off just a few of their crafts- necklaces, hats, and a big sign :-)  

Happy Thanksgiving!

And I can't resist a quick flashback to 2010 when Seany was 18 months old:

Gobble Gobble! 

Class of 2014

Seanybear graduated from Pre-Kindergarten last Thursday! The warm, rainy weather didn't deter Sean's grandparents, great-grandparents, and Auntie Mary from coming out to watch him end his pre-school career.  And despite feeling all-around rotten (she had been sent home with a fever that day), Clare watched too. Wisely, the school rented a huge tent so we could enjoy the ceremony without getting soaked.

Before the children came out, the school's owner and principal, Mr. John, gave a speech recalling the "exit interviews" that he had with each of the students.  Here's the clip about the conversation he had with Sean:

He asked Sean what he wants to be when he grows up and Sean said he wants to be a baseball player, specifically a pitcher but he likes to hit, too.  Sean said that Mommy loves flowers and that her favorites are daffodils and clover (Yes, this is why we let clover take over our lawn).  Sean also said that he thinks Mr. John is about 100 years old (yikes!).

After the speech, Sean's class filed out of the building:

After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, Sean's class sang several songs...

...and then it was time to give out the diplomas!  Here's Sean receiving his diploma and shaking hands with Mr. John:

After returning to his seat, Sean immediately used his diploma as a spy glass, of course :-)

After the ceremony, it was time for the school picnic.  There was a lot of yummy food and of course, a cake!

Sean ran around with his buddies for most of the picnic.

Clare perked up a little when we brought her a plate with a hotdog and fruit... and cake, of course :-)

We tried to pin down the graduate for photos, but by this time it was sunny and warm again and he just didn't want to sit still.  At least we got a snap with Mom-Mom Jackie and Pop Pop Pop!

Congratulations, Sean!  Here's to a fun summer with our soon-to-be-Kindergartener!

This Weekend

We started out the weekend with pajama day at daycare and a trip to Rita's (or Rhoda's as Sean calls it) for an end-of-week treat:

Then we played outside on the driveway with sidewalk chalk and bikes:

Saturday was a warm, breezy Spring-ish day and we spent the morning outside - soccer, baseball, basketball, bubbles and we even tried to fly a kite!  During a potty break for Sean, Clare mugged for some photos:

"Take a picture of my back!"

 After the kids both took nice long naps, we took them to the "big playground":

On Sunday, the kids had a dance party:

They spent a chilly Sunday indoors playing board games, learning about Super Mario Brothers, and doing puzzles and playing legos!

And they played kitchen!

Flashback to the kids playing kitchen in August 2012:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a happy St. Patrick's Day, even though it snowed ... again! We got to spend Sunday at the beach after having a yummy dinner in Manahawkin on Saturday night.  On Monday, Clare's class had a little party and Clare got to have a "chocolate and green cupcake!!" Meanwhile, over in Seany's class, a naughty leprechaun had visited, spilling gold glitter all over the floor, turning over chairs, and ... turning the toilet water green!! The kids rocked their green t-shirts: