Kinder Open House for Avaree!

The Thursday before Spring Break we went to our very first open house (well, as parents--I've been to plenty as a teacher!)! Avaree was BEYOND excited to show us all of her work, and we enjoyed visiting with all of her teachers. 

This came home in Avaree's folder the other day. It's from about a month ago, but I love that she said her favorite place was her "cusin even's house." :) So sweet! She's never even spent the night there, but in her mind she has! We do love all of our cousins SO much and wish we could see all four of them more often! Despite not seeing them often, Avaree sure does love them dearly! I love that. 

 This also came home in her folder that day! She is learning about Texas in "social studies", and she was so proud of knowing all the different "lands" of Texas, though she argued about the mountains! Her teacher told her, she would just have to take it on faith that there are some small mountains in West Texas! :)

 Her math skills astonish me. First of all, this "new" math is so different to me, but she really does learn how to "reason" the problems out, and she can tell you all the ways that you can get to virtually any number under 100. Even better, she can do it all in Spanish! Here, she is comparing numbers. 

 I love to see how her handwriting gets better literally every single day! I love her "free write" words! :) Most kids just write their names or small words, but she chose these. :)

 ...and we now have a polar bear expert among us!

 So cute!

 This art project was hanging outside her Spanish classroom wall. She made it out of recycled toilet paper rolls. She wants to recycle everything now! I love it! :)

 When the kids get to class every morning, there are math problems on the board, and she does them in her interactive notebook. So proud!

 Felicity was really excited to be in Avaree's "school room." :)

 ...and so was Brandt! 

More from her math notebook--impressive! 

 Shapes in spanish and a bar graph!

 The behavior chart! She had gotten on blue that day, and she was so proud!

 Brandt thought that all of the math centers were for him!

 Cutie! (And a happy big sister in the background!)

 Posing in the computer center when she gets to listen to books read in Spanish!

 Showing me how she rolls the dice at this center, and then she adds and subtracts the numbers that the dice land on. 

 Bluebonnet from social studies!

 Her Texas flag!

 In Mrs. Anthony's room, I got to take a peek inside her writing notebook. I was a little shocked to find this. It says, "I like Noah Grant." I showed Brandon, and his eyes got very large. Mrs. Anthony just laughed! :) I asked Avaree later why she wrote that she liked Noah. (Though she talks about Noah a lot, she had never mentioned this to me before.) She said she liked Noah because of his actions. She added, "The other day, he closed my locker like a gentleman, and he's always so nice to our teachers. You would love him mama." :) 

 Her storytelling shows her compassion for others.

 ...and how much she loves her people. We went to dinner at the Huntley's in August, and she wrote this in February. So sweet. :)

 She was so excited that Gigi and G-Pops were coming last Friday! I love that in the picture, it's just them and her. :)

 I love this one. She's talking about her baby brother, and she says, "I love him so much." (Melt.my.heart.)

 Brother made several appearances in her writing notebook. I'm pretty sure he is hers! :)

 ...and then there was this little gem. I'm not sure if the bald person is her or me. It also made me sad that this is the only mention of me. I definitely have to be careful to make sure I'm not constantly asking for her help. 

 This wanted poster was on her locker in Mrs. Anthony's room. That face cracks me up, and I see it all the time. Her story for "Why she is wanted" is pretty interested as well. I'm not sure where she has ever heard that before, but she remembered...

 HA!

 We are so proud of our big girl! We also visited with her gym teacher, her dance teacher, her piano teacher, her music teacher, and her art teacher. All of them sang her praises, but especially her piano teacher. We are hoping to start lessons this summer, and she was so excited to hear that. She said that Avaree is SO musical, and that she has to be careful to not correct her, but rather to give suggestions, since she takes everything to heart and wants to do her very, very best. :)

Our first of many open houses was exciting and fun! We are so thankful for Avaree's educational experience thus far! We continue to pray that God would use her gifts and talents for His glory! 

We're proud of you, Ave!!!! You have made our first elementary experience an incredible one! Now, Mama is ready for summer! :)