School Updates, Winter 2015

Twice a year, the teachers at the JCC do a developmental checklists for each child.  Graham's followed along pretty much how he has been his whole life...above average for large motor skills and right on track for everything else.  His teachers always comment on what a good helper he is and how much he loves books.  Graham is known for the occasional tantrum, so we will patiently wait until he outgrows that phase (hopefully sooner rather than later).

The note at the bottom says "Graham is a very happy child.  He enjoys circle time, Shabbat sing, and playgrounds.  He's very friendly and loves books.  No concerns at this time."

Here is Graham's class picture from the fall:

This is both classrooms together.  The rooms adjoin so they do all play together often.  His teachers are in the middle of the top right section, Miss Lory and Miss Sarah.  

Parker's developmental checklist is much more involved now that she is in Pre-K.  I expect this might be the time that they advise some parents whether their children might not be ready for Kindergarten yet.  Even though is one of the youngest in her class, she is right on par.    

We were a little surprised the "excellent spatial reasoning" comment, but the more I thought about it I think this might be in relation to her strong puzzle skills.  She is great at puzzles and has a long enough attention span to stick with them until finished.  We already got some new games to work on her number recognition at home.  Parker has always loved books and I imagine that she will have no trouble picking up reading when she is ready.  

From what we can tell, Parker is a popular girl and seems to be friends with everyone.  Her closest friend is Mia, but she talks about all of the other kids a lot also (Ari's favorite color is green!  Brayden loves Thomas the Train!).  

She loves her teachers.  Ms. Donnelly is the lead and seems to hold a special place in her heart for our Parker.  Parker says that "Ms. Donnelly loves her", so I know she feels very cared for in her classroom.  Ms. Cupery has an art degree and does all of their amazing art projects.  Mr. Reeder is a musician and not only leads their school-wide sing-a-longs each Friday, but plays his guitar and other instruments in her classroom all the time.  

They have enrichment classes that are optional and held during nap time and Parker is participating in a dance class right now.  Tap shoes and ballet slippers necessary, so it's the real deal.  I am sad to not get to see what they are learning each week, but there is a "recital" at the end of the class in mid-March...and it is so nice to know she is getting that exposure without running around like crazy after work one night a week!

Normally, Parker would have weekly swim lessons as a part of the JCC program, but the facility is undergoing an expansion and renovation and the pool is closed until probably March.  Instead, we signed up both kids for swim lessons each Saturday this winter.  It's through the Town of Pittsford and held at the pool at one of the middle schools.  It works out well because Graham's group (1-3 yr old) and Parker's group (4-6 yr old) are at the same time, so we are all in the pool together.  We have gotten in the habit of running errands after swim class and sometimes getting lunch.  It will be hard to get any swimming pictures since both Greg and I are in the water, but here are some on the way to swimming pictures:

Parker's Elsa & Anna "ear puffs" from Papa G and Sandy

 

And after swimming, eating popcorn in the cart at Target and looking at themselves in a mirror (loads of fun)!

New Year's Eve 2015

As usual, the Johnson Family drove up from Pittsburgh for New Year's.  We had a little celebration at home and then put the kids to bed.  The adults did manage to stay up until 1:30 am, party animals!!

On New Year's Day, we had a babysitter come over that evening and Gennie, Eric, and Larry (Sandy was home sick) all went out to dinner to celebrate Greg's birthday.  We had a delicious meal at Havana Cabana.  Here is Greg with his rum flight .

We went to the Strong museum on Saturday and over to Papa G and Sandy's house for a "Christmas" dinner that evening.  Two of Sandy's daughter and their kids were there, so we had a nice big group.

The next day was Greg's actual birthday.  Larry had got him tickets to the Bills vs Jets game, so Larry came over to watch the kids and we headed to Buffalo.  They all went to get lunch after we left.  

Parker & Graham sure do love their cousins!!!

Greg and I at the game, we brought home a win!

Christmas 2015

We hosted the Goforth Family Christmas Eve party again this year and had a group of just under 40 people.  Good food and good company always makes for a festive party.  

Parker stayed up late and helped us put out treats for Santa and his reindeer before bed.  Here is her telling us about it:

On Christmas morning, the kids both slept until about 8:00 and we got down to business!

After we opened all presents upstairs, we took the kids downstairs for a big surprise...their very own bounce house!  Here they are eagerly awaiting for us to set it up:

Graham is a little hesitant in this video, but rest assured he has since gotten the hang of bouncing.

We had a lazy day in our jammies, with a quick visit from Papa G and Sandy as they headed out of town.  After afternoon naps for both kids, we went for a walk.  The temperature was very mild, so it was nice to get out of the house.  On the way back through the neighborhood it was getting dark, so we had some good Christmas light viewing.

And another bounce/wrestle session with Daddy for bed: