Holiday Party

Today we had a holiday party at school. Mom came to school to help out. She went between my room and Spencer's room to see what fun we were having. In my class we had four stations; a cookie decorating station, an ornament making station, holiday bingo and seatwork were we worked on a packet of fun holiday worksheets. It was a blast.



After the party we all went down to the gym to sing Christmas carols. We sang Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, The Twelve Days of Christmas and a bunch of other songs. It was a lot of fun. Mom even sang with us. That rocked.

My First [and hopefully only] Black Eye

Today was not a good day. Earlier in the day I was leaning on a chair talking to one of my friends. Somehow I lost my grip and I fell, hitting my eye on the chair. It hurt really bad, but I didn't want to tell my teacher. I knew I wasn't supposed to be talking and I didn't want to get a yellow light.

In my class we start each day with a green light. Then if we break one of the class rules [like talking instead of listening] we get moved to a yellow light. If we break another rule we move to a red light and our teacher calls our parents. I rarely [if ever] get a yellow light and I have never had a red light. And I wanted to keep it that way.

But as the day went on I couldn't hide this...



As soon as my teacher realized my eye was black and blue she asked me what happened. She knew it wasn't like that in the morning so I had to tell her. She was worried about me and called my dad to tell him what happened. We put some ice on it at that point too. Ahhh, the ice felt so good. My eye had really been hurting.

Spotlight Student

I was a "Spotlight Student" at school this week. This means I got to tell everybody about myself. My teacher asked me a bunch of questions which I answered. Here's what I said:

Skyler turned 7 on October 4. Her favorite food is cake. She likes to play soccer. Her favorite color is orange. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is her favorite book. Her favorite thing about 1st grade is learning. When she grows up she wants to be a dance teacher. Her family includes her mom, dad, 4 brothers, 4 cats and over 100 fish! Skyler says she is special because "I am the only girl out of the kids!"

All of the kids were shocked that I had four brothers. I think they all felt a little sympathy for me. ;)

Kindergarteners Take Over the Pumpkin Patch

All of the kindergarteners at my school went to the pumpkin patch today. My mom even came. But she couldn't do the activities with both Spencer and me, so she went with Spencer's class. I was a little sad about that, but I had a lot of fun with my friend Avery and her mom.

We started the day by eating lunch. Mom packed me a lunch with a sandwich and carrots and a granola bar. After lunch we played on the big tires; climbing and running around. We also got to play in the grain. It was kind of like a big sandbox only it was dried corn and stuff they feed to the animals. I got a bunch of corn in my shoes. But that was ok.

When Spencer's class came back from their hayrack ride, it was our turn. We all piled on to the hayrack and this cool guy drove the tractor. We went through this really, really tall corn and around the corn maze.

After that we got to see all of the animals. There was a petting zoo with lots of animals including a pig and goats and even peacocks. I really like the peacocks. They were really pretty.

We also went through the spooky haunted barn. But I wasn't scared. It was dark, but not that scary. I just held on to Avery and her mom the whole time.



Before we left we all got to pick out our very own pumpkin to take home. Our only rule was that we had to be able to carry it ourselves. And, since I am such a strong girl, I picked a big one. It was awesome.

Kindergarten Roundup

I got to go to my new school today. I'm going to go to the same school that Keaton's going to. I'm really excited. We had kindergarten roundup today. We met the kindergarten teachers and our new principal. We don't know who our teacher will be yet, but it's going to be one of the four nice ladies that we met today.

We met in the multipurpose room. At our school there are wings. We will be in the kindergarten and first grade wing. Right now Keaton is in the fourth and fifth grade wing. Each wing has a big multipurpose room where all of the classes in that wing can gather together for special projects or guests.

Our principal pointed out some of the areas of our wing, like the kindergarten classrooms and the play area. She also pointed out the teachers and the volunteers.

Outside the door was a big van. That was where we went to get our hearing tested. Spencer and I went there first. In the van they put headphones on us. And we could hear beeps in our ears. We had to raise our hand when we heard the beeps. If the beep was in my right ear then I had to raise my right hand. And if it was in my left ear then I raised left hand.

After the hearing test we moved on to the vision test. Before our vision test this nice lady talked to us about an eye chart. At the very top was a big "E." We made an "E" with our fingers by holding out three fingers. When we stood at the vision testing machine we practiced our "E" again. Then we went over to the machine to test our vision. When we looked in the machine we made our "E" go in the direction of the picture we saw. So if the bird on the right we made our "E" with our fingers point to the right. If it was at the top then we made it point up.

I did very well on both my hearing and vision test. And I got to pick out a sticker for passing both tests. If all my tests in school are this easy then I'm set.

Following my tests we went to the Exploration room. It was one of the kindergarten classrooms and they had a few stations set up. First (and most important) was the cookie table. They had chocolate chip and monster cookies for us to eat plus juice boxes and bottles of water. Then there was a watercolor station, a book station and a dinosaur station. Spencer and I sat down with the toy dinosaurs and ate our cookies.

When they were ready for us we went in to another kindergarten classroom and had a mini lesson. First we sang a song and did a little dance. Then Ms. Howe read us a story about a mouse, a big red strawberry and a bear. And Ms. Johnson acted out the story with finger puppets. It was really fun. After the story we got to draw a picture of a bear and Ms. Howe was really impressed with how well I wrote my name.

I can't wait until next year when I get to go back to school. Every day. It will be so much fun.

Preschool Conference

[Skyler wasn't at the school conference so I, Skyler's mommy, am going to write about her conference.]

Skyler's preschool teachers, Tina and Sandy, and I sat around one of the kids tables on the little kiddie chairs with my knees up at my chest bumping again the edge of the table. Tina showed me Skyler's self portraits. They started the school year out drawing their self portraits and then they drew them again in February. As you can see Skyler has really grown in her drawing ability. She's now adding more details including her hair, ears, eyelashes, and coloring her eyes brown. (Tina said it was her fault that none of the kids drew a body in February because when she was telling them what do to she only drew a head.)



Skyler has really become quite an artist this year and I'm sure it's because of all of the art projects they do at school. In fact she prefers to draw over watching television. She loves to make cards for people (and a whole bunch of cards for the same person). She loves to draw hearts and write her name too.

Then we went over Skyler's achievements. Skyler is doing really well. Click here to see what they are learning in preschool. She knows the basics; shapes, colors, her name, numbers. She struggles with the diamond. (I know what you're thinking...how can a girl not know what a diamond looks like? But I have faith that she will soon be loving the diamonds.) She also struggles in counting to 15. She has a hard time with 9 to 15. Tina said this is pretty common because 10, 11, and 12 don't really follow the same pattern as 1, 2, 3. Like at 20 it goes, 21, 22, 23 and so forth, but the teens don't follow that same pattern so it gets confusing to the little tykes.



If you can't read the comments Tina wrote, "Skyler is a very friendly and caring young girl. She enjoys playing with all of the other children in the class. Skyler enjoys doing art activities as well as playing with our manipulatives. Skyler is going to do great next year in kindergarten."

Sandy told me that Skyler and Spencer are very competitive with each other. I told them that I have noticed that too and it's one of the reasons that I have requested they be in separate kindergarten rooms next year. They both agreed that Skyler and Spencer would more than likely benefit from that.

Tina and Sandy also told me that Skyler really helps out Gwen. Gwen is the girl half of another set of boy/girl twins in Skyler & Spencer's class. Both Gwen and her brother, Nick, have some developmental problems. My guess is they were premature. Gwen cannot walk on her own and is a little behind the other kids. But Tina told me that Skyler is very patient with Gwen and teaches Gwen to do things. Sandy said that she thinks Gwen has really opened up this year because of the care that Skyler has shown her. I'm so proud of Skyler. Maybe she will be a teacher when she grows up.

So all in all Skyler is doing a great job in preschool. It has really been a fantastic experience for her and she has grown up a lot. I think she is definitely ready for her next challenge; kindergarten.

February Field Trip: Iowa Children's Museum

We went all the way to Iowa City for a our field trip this month. We went to the Iowa Children's Museum. I have never been there before. We started out by going over the rules. We can't run or hit or call each other names. The rules were pretty much the same as they are at school (and home).

Spencer, mom and I started upstairs in the farm room. There was a play produce market and we sorted the vegetabes in to the correct bins. There was some costumes in this room too. I put on a pig costume and Spencer put on a cow costume. We took a few turns going down the slide before we moved on.

Next we went to the sand room. There was a big sunken table filled with sand. And they had little shovels and buckets to play with. There was a sign that told us to please clean up after ourselves, so when we were done we grabbed the broom and the dustpan and cleaned up the sand.

After that we went in to the construction room. I thought this room was kind of boring. I did like putting on the goggles and hard hat though. We pounded a few nails in to some wood too. But I was bored so we moved on.

We went to the art room after that. We were supposed to be able to make masks in there, but they were really short on their supply of construction paper. We found a few scraps and tried to make something, but it was useless so we left.

Since were had already seen everything upstairs, we went back downstairs. There was a pretend grocery store down there. We got our own carts and went shopping. Then when we had everything we needed I checked us out at the cash register.

Then we moved over the hospital. There was an ambulance. It wasn't a real ambulance, but it did have a flashing light and a horn. It was pretty cool. We also got to see some x-rays and try out the crutches.

After that we headed over to the pizza place. We got to make our own [fake] pizzas. We made a couple of pizzas, but then it got boring and we were ready to move on.

The final room had a bunch of fun experiments. The one I liked the best was a track with a little metal ball. You started at the top, put the ball on the track and then watched it go up and down the track until it got to the bottom. That was really fun.

We had a good time at the museum. I hope Mom will take us back sometime soon.

January Field Trip: Somersaults

This month we went to Somersaults. It was like a big gym. And they had a bunch of equipment like they have on tv when we watch the gymnastics programs. They had balance beams and those uneven bars. They even had a wall climber thing.

We started out in a circle on the floor. Only it wasn't a normal floor. The floor was bouncy. It was so cool. I wish my bedroom floor was bouncy.

The girl had us dance to a song. We squated and stretched and jumped. It was fun. Then we got a big huge ball. It was just like the big inflatable ball that my mom uses for exercising. We batted the ball around to each other without letting it hit the floor.

After the floor workout we moved over the balance beams and pummel horse. We had a little routine we were supposed to follow. We walked with our arms out like airplanes and jumped over the horse and then walked sideways on another balance beam. And when we were done we did somersaults on the big long trampoline.

Finally, it was time for us to use the bigger equipment. We swung on a big rope like Tarzan. Then we jumped up on the uneven bars. We climbed the wall climb. And we scooted across the even bars. We ended on the trampoline doing somersaults again.

It was so much fun. I want to go back. Please mom let us go back.

Off to the Dentist

Mom has really been slacking. I'm already five years old and I hadn't been to the dentist yet. Today was my very first dentist appointment ever. We went to see Dr. Kelly because that's who Caleb goes to. Dr. Kelly is really nice. His office is in a big old house. And he has a little playroom with lots of toy...and a playhouse. It's pretty cool.

After waiting in the waiting room I went back to meet Dr. Kelly. He cleaned my teeth for me. Then when he was done with me, Spencer and Keaton, mom came back to talk to him. He told mom that we are doing pretty good, but he would like us to use ACT; that mouthwash stuff.

Finally we got our new toothbrushes and our stickers and went home. Mom bought us some ACT from the store. It's bubblegum flavored and it taste really good.

November Field Trip: Hy-Vee

We went to Hy-Vee Food Stores for this month's field trip. I had no idea how exciting the grocery store could be.

First we met a lobster. And he did tricks for us. The guy giving us the tour said that lobsters sleep on their heads. I don't know if that's true or not, but it sure was interesting. The lobster had little black bands on it's hands claws so it wouldn't snap at us.

Then we went in back. Back where normal shoppers don't go. Back where they keep all of the boxes of food and supply. And there was a gigantic cooler back there. We got to walk in the cooler. It was really cold. It was like being in the freezer in my refrigerator at home...only a hundred times bigger.

When we got out of the freezer we went over to the floral department. They had a whole bunch of flowers over there. They were really pretty. And there were stuffed animals too. We got to play with one of the monkeys.

Before we left we went to the deli. They gave us yummy cookies and juice. All that walking around made me hungry, so my tummy was very thankful.

Penelope's Visit

I met a new friend today. Her name is Penelope. She is a puppet. She lives in Florida, but she came to Iowa to visit all of us. Everybody in my preschool class gets to take turns bring Penelope home. I am the very first person that got to bring her home. So I feel pretty special about that.

Penelope brought her backpack with her. In her backpack is a camera so mom or dad can take a picture of me and Penelope together. Penelope also has a journal in her backpack. We are going to get mom to write in Penelope's journal. That way Penelope can remember how much fun she had at my house. My teacher, Sandy, said she would read Penelope's journal to the rest of my class too. So then everybody will know what we did together.

Penelope and I are having so much fun. I introduced her to my family and then we played. Before we go to bed mom is going to read us stories too. I can't wait. Click here to see some pictures mom took of me and Penelope.

October Field Trip: Pumpkin Patch

For our October preschool field trip we went to Bloomsbury Farms. It's also where we went for our birthday. So Spencer and I already knew our way around.

It was pretty cold out. In fact mom bought some hot chocolate because she was so cold (but then again she's always cold). Even with the cold we had a good time. We got to ride on another hayrack ride and do some of the other activities too. One of the workers told us all about the animals in the petting zoo. It was pretty interesting.

We also got to pick out small pumpkins. We went to a part of the pumpkin patch that I hadn't seen before. There were a lot of little pumpkins there...just our size. Me, Spencer and mom all picked out some pumpkins to take home. We are going to draw on them and put them out on our porch with the other pumpkins.

Five Years Old!

Spencer and I are going to be five years old tomorrow. Mom keeps getting all sappy about it. Her babies are going to five and blah, blah, blah. I'm excited.

We went to the pumpkin patch today to celebrate. A lot of our friends and family came to celebrate. Grandma Cathy, Grandma O and Aunt Candy were there. Plus Grandpa Brunsting and Aunt Kyria come down too. The Kroymanns, the Schiels and the Coghlans all came too. It was a lot fun. I could have done without the wind though. It was hard to eat our cupcakes because the napkins and stuff kept flying away.

After our cupcakes, Spencer and I opened our presents. We got tons of cool stuff. Lots and lots of clothes. I love clothes. I was so happy. I got some games too. Some Strawberry Shortcake games. Now I have to force ask mom and dad to play with me.

When we were done opening presents we went on a hayrack ride. The driver took us through the pumpkin patch and all the way around the big corn maze.

There were a lot of other activities to do too; the haunted barn, the petting zoo, the big slide. We wore ourselves out there was so much to do. Check out our pictures by clicking here.

Five Star Performance

Grandma Cathy got season tickets to Theatre Cedar Rapids this year. She and mom decided to take one of us kids to each performance. Tonight they were performing Beauty and the Beast. I love the movie so I was sure I'd love the play. And I was right. It was awesome. They were singing and talking and it was so much fun. Mom had to tell me to shush a few times because I was giving away parts. I was just so excited and I knew what was going to happen next. All in all mom said I sat very well and was a good girl. I'm ready for another play. I can't wait.

September Field Trip: Apple Orchard

We went on our very first preschool field trip today. We went to the apple orchard. And mom came with us. And I got to ride a bus for the very first time ever. It was kind of loud on the bus, but it was still fun. And we didn't have to wear seatbelts. Spencer was very concerned with the whole seatbelt situation, but I took it all in a stride. Spencer was being kind of whiny anyway. He was mad because mom made him sit by me instead of by her. I don't know what he was complaining about. He got the window seat.

My favorite part of the apple orchard was when we got to pick an apple. The lady explained to us that the apple crop had some problems this year. They had some hail damage, some deer came in to the orchard and ate the leaves and apples on the bottom part of the trees and the weather has been so weird (cold one day and warm the other). But as she was explaining all of that, all I could think about was how yummy the apples looked.

Finally, she let us pick one. Mom lifted me up so I could get a good one. We polished our apples on our shirt and shorts. And then we ate them. Yummy!!

The lady also showed us some pear trees. It was very big. Most of the apple trees in the orchard were dwarf trees. But the pear tree sure wasn't. It was very tall. They need a really tall ladder to reach those pears on the top.

We got to meet the Allen's goats too. They eat cracked corn (which is just regular feed corn that is run through a grinder). We had to be careful not to get to close to the goats thought, because we didn't want them to bite us.

After the goats we checked out the apple polisher. We put apples on the conveyor belt. Then the apples went in the machine and it spurted water on them. When the apples came out, they rolled on some sponges. Then they were ready to eat.

When we got back to preschool we got an apple orchard coloring book. I can't wait to get out my crayons and color the pages. And on Friday we are going to eat apples for snack and have apple cider. I'm so excited.