Saturday, March 17, 2012
Happy 3rd Birthday, Mackenzey!
Last Saturday, we made a trip up to Essexville/Bay City for Mackenzey's 3rd birthday party. Her theme this year was Rock 'n Roll! Her invitations were absolutely adorable with her rocking out with her guitar. Carson and Mac had a lot of fun playing together and Carson had fun checking out all of Mac's toys... even though most of them are pretty girly. He still enjoyed playing with the dollhouse and other things, though. Mackenzey does have a nice train table and some boy toys, though, which they had fun playing with. By the end of the night, though, Carson was wearing a purple tutu, playing dress-up with Mackenzey. :) They had a lot of fun rocking out, too. Carson rocked out by singing Jesus Loves Me and Jingle Bells. Mackenzey lip-synched Born to be Wild. It was really cute. Carson now wants a microphone with an amplifier so he can rock out at home. :) The night ended with the last remaining stragglers playing Just Dance on the Xbox, which was fun, too. We all had a great time!
A Trip to Impression 5
Back on March 3rd, we made a trip to Lansing. We first visited Impression 5 Science Center with Aunt Mary, Uncle Justin, Rebecca, and Abram. Aunt Julie and her family were planning to join us, but unfortunately had to stay home due to some sickness. We were all sad to hear that, since it's been since Christmas that all of the cousins have been together with all the sickness that has been going around this winter. Hopefully all the cousins will have a chance to play together soon.
Carson and Rebecca had a lot of fun together checking out all of the exhibits. The museum has a Magic School Bus exhibit right now, which Carson was quite excited about. The Magic School Bus books are some of his favorites since he learns about science with them. I think Carson and Rebecca pretty much had fun at every station and exhibit. They're both little sponges and so eager to learn. And learning through play is so powerful.
Even Abram had a lot of fun. He seemed to really enjoy the new First Impression room. He's started taking a few steps, so it was neat to see him take a step or two. It will be extra fun to see him the next time, too... he'll be running by then, I bet! :) I think he just can't wait to keep up with the big kids!
After our trip to Impression 5, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate Grandma's birthday by having dinner at Cheddar's. We had a nice time chatting and visiting and had a nice dinner. We had given Grandma most of her gift from already (her actual birthday is Feb. 22nd), but she opened a nice gift from Poiriers, Voogts, and us at dinner. She was quite surprised by it and seemed to really love it. We're all excited to see her new hair cut and style at some point! After a little more chatting and getting kids in jammies, it was time to head home. It had started to snow while we were at dinner, but our drive wasn't bad. Justin, Mary, and the kids had an entirely different experience, unfortuntely. It sounds like it was a white knuckle drive home for them. We are very glad everyone made it home safely, though. And we all had a fun afternoon and evening in Lansing!
Carson and Rebecca had a lot of fun together checking out all of the exhibits. The museum has a Magic School Bus exhibit right now, which Carson was quite excited about. The Magic School Bus books are some of his favorites since he learns about science with them. I think Carson and Rebecca pretty much had fun at every station and exhibit. They're both little sponges and so eager to learn. And learning through play is so powerful.
Even Abram had a lot of fun. He seemed to really enjoy the new First Impression room. He's started taking a few steps, so it was neat to see him take a step or two. It will be extra fun to see him the next time, too... he'll be running by then, I bet! :) I think he just can't wait to keep up with the big kids!
After our trip to Impression 5, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate Grandma's birthday by having dinner at Cheddar's. We had a nice time chatting and visiting and had a nice dinner. We had given Grandma most of her gift from already (her actual birthday is Feb. 22nd), but she opened a nice gift from Poiriers, Voogts, and us at dinner. She was quite surprised by it and seemed to really love it. We're all excited to see her new hair cut and style at some point! After a little more chatting and getting kids in jammies, it was time to head home. It had started to snow while we were at dinner, but our drive wasn't bad. Justin, Mary, and the kids had an entirely different experience, unfortuntely. It sounds like it was a white knuckle drive home for them. We are very glad everyone made it home safely, though. And we all had a fun afternoon and evening in Lansing!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Carson and his Skeleton
Carson asked me to blog about the skeleton that he put together and loves to learn with. :) He has always loved learning about the human body and just soaks so much right in as he's reading or learning. That kind of stuff always interested Sara, too... and some days she wishes she'd have gone into the medical field afterall. Maybe Carson will go into the medical field some day. Only time will tell.
Carson picked this skeleton from his last book order from school. Remember those Scholastic book orders we used to get in elementary? They still do them! So we ordered it for him. He put it together correctly on the first try. And has since loved learning the names of different bones in the body. He can point out the skull, scapulas, ribs, backbone and vertebrae, femur, tibia, fibula, pelvis, and the clavicle. We've still got a lot to learn, but we think that's a pretty good start for a 4-year old!
Carson picked this skeleton from his last book order from school. Remember those Scholastic book orders we used to get in elementary? They still do them! So we ordered it for him. He put it together correctly on the first try. And has since loved learning the names of different bones in the body. He can point out the skull, scapulas, ribs, backbone and vertebrae, femur, tibia, fibula, pelvis, and the clavicle. We've still got a lot to learn, but we think that's a pretty good start for a 4-year old!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Our First Parent-Teacher Conference for Carson
Last week, Sara went to our first parent-teacher conference for Carson. It feels crazy to have a child old enough for conferences already! While we didn't expect to hear anything bad, per se, the anticipation of a parent-teacher conference is kind of nerve-racking! LOL.
Mrs. Hans had lots of wonderful things to say about Carson and did not really say anything that was a surprise to us. He is doing extremely well in preschool - socially, academically, and physically. She said several times that she wishes she could have a classroom full of kids like Carson. :) A couple weeks back, she had mentioned that Carson was one of the smartest kids in class, if not the smartest. She mentioned that again during the conference. She is so impressed with his maturity level and his knowledge and skill, as well as with his eagerness to learn even more. She said she can always count on Carson and that he is very mature for his age. The kids all have different jobs in class and she says she always gives Carson the most difficult task because she knows he'll get it done correctly and quickly.
Mrs. Hans is quite impressed with his logical way of thinking and playing. She said he'll definitely have a future in the science or math field if he keeps it up and she asked if there were engineers in the family. :) She mentioned that he really excels when they learn about patterns, math, science, and anything with order - like the calendar. And she is quite impressed with his handwriting and recognition of letters and numbers.
One thing Kevin and I have wondered about is how Carson was doing socially. He has what I'd call a sensitive personality at times and can be a little reserved in some situations. Although he usually gets comfortable quickly nowadays and is much quicker to become very social, we still wondered how he was in school. Carson always looks forward to going to school and is never sad when we leave, but he does get a little down at times when we're saying goodbye. Mrs. Hans has noticed this, too, and she believes he's playing us... which is what we suspected, as well. :) She said its worse with Kevin, which I can also believe. But as soon as we are gone, he's just a normal kid that loves school. He interacts very well with all of the other kids and has formed quite a few good friendships among his classmates, moreso than most other kids in his class from what she can tell. Carson plays very well, gets involved, and shares extremely well. Mrs. Hans said he is probably one of the best sharers in the class, which she found surprising since he's been an only-child up to this point.
Mrs. Hans confirmed that Carson is very much a rule-follower, he definitely knows right from wrong and what is expected of him, and he is eager to please and do well. But he also is influenced by other kids that may be having a little too much fun at times. This was no surprise to us at all, as we've noticed this time and time again. He has a hard time resisting joining in when other kids are getting a little wild. And it can be a little challenging to get him to calm down once he gets going.
It was a great parent-teacher conference. As parents, we know we can be a little biased about Carson's abilities, so it was so nice to hear confirmation of things that we already have thought for awhile. :) Mrs. Hans recommended Carson for the 4-year old class next year. She believes he'd do well in either the 3-day or 5-day class - that he's definitely mature enough for the 5-day class at this point if we choose that route. We haven't made a decision yet - a lot will depend on our work situations post-baby #2. For now, we'll just enjoy the remainder of this school year, be thankful for having such a smart little guy, and we believe the right path forward will be made clear to us.
Mrs. Hans had lots of wonderful things to say about Carson and did not really say anything that was a surprise to us. He is doing extremely well in preschool - socially, academically, and physically. She said several times that she wishes she could have a classroom full of kids like Carson. :) A couple weeks back, she had mentioned that Carson was one of the smartest kids in class, if not the smartest. She mentioned that again during the conference. She is so impressed with his maturity level and his knowledge and skill, as well as with his eagerness to learn even more. She said she can always count on Carson and that he is very mature for his age. The kids all have different jobs in class and she says she always gives Carson the most difficult task because she knows he'll get it done correctly and quickly.
Mrs. Hans is quite impressed with his logical way of thinking and playing. She said he'll definitely have a future in the science or math field if he keeps it up and she asked if there were engineers in the family. :) She mentioned that he really excels when they learn about patterns, math, science, and anything with order - like the calendar. And she is quite impressed with his handwriting and recognition of letters and numbers.
One thing Kevin and I have wondered about is how Carson was doing socially. He has what I'd call a sensitive personality at times and can be a little reserved in some situations. Although he usually gets comfortable quickly nowadays and is much quicker to become very social, we still wondered how he was in school. Carson always looks forward to going to school and is never sad when we leave, but he does get a little down at times when we're saying goodbye. Mrs. Hans has noticed this, too, and she believes he's playing us... which is what we suspected, as well. :) She said its worse with Kevin, which I can also believe. But as soon as we are gone, he's just a normal kid that loves school. He interacts very well with all of the other kids and has formed quite a few good friendships among his classmates, moreso than most other kids in his class from what she can tell. Carson plays very well, gets involved, and shares extremely well. Mrs. Hans said he is probably one of the best sharers in the class, which she found surprising since he's been an only-child up to this point.
Mrs. Hans confirmed that Carson is very much a rule-follower, he definitely knows right from wrong and what is expected of him, and he is eager to please and do well. But he also is influenced by other kids that may be having a little too much fun at times. This was no surprise to us at all, as we've noticed this time and time again. He has a hard time resisting joining in when other kids are getting a little wild. And it can be a little challenging to get him to calm down once he gets going.
It was a great parent-teacher conference. As parents, we know we can be a little biased about Carson's abilities, so it was so nice to hear confirmation of things that we already have thought for awhile. :) Mrs. Hans recommended Carson for the 4-year old class next year. She believes he'd do well in either the 3-day or 5-day class - that he's definitely mature enough for the 5-day class at this point if we choose that route. We haven't made a decision yet - a lot will depend on our work situations post-baby #2. For now, we'll just enjoy the remainder of this school year, be thankful for having such a smart little guy, and we believe the right path forward will be made clear to us.
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