Halloween Parent Day

 Today was Halloween day at school and parents were again invited into the classroom to celebrate.

Ethan and Isaiah both dressed up as Bumble Bee.

 Jonas in a lion costume...so cute!

 Ethan's kindergarten class in their costumes.  There was everything from firemen and transformers to Jesse from Toy Story and princesses.

Sandy Hill holds a parade of costumes each year, in which all of the students get to parade through all of the classroom sharing their costumes with each other.  Here the kids are watching the parade outside the classroom.

After the parade the students rotated through centres in both Mme Tuytel's class and Mme Portas' class.

 It was a fun afternoon, celebrating with Ethan's class.

Field Trip to Alder Acres

Ethan's first kindergarten field trip was to Alder Acres to choose a pumpkin, but there was lots of other activities for the kids to participate in too.  

On the hayride with Mme Tuytel and friends (Logan, Tyler and Jesse).

Climbing on the logs with friends was by far the favourite activity for all of the boys.

But, hiding in the hay and checking out the animals were also lots of fun.

It was great to be a part of Ethan's class for this special field trip.  I loved meeting his friends and seeing him interact in the school environment.  

The Turkey Trot

 Today was the famous Turkey Trot at Sandy Hill Elementary and parents were invited to participate.  The kids had fun running around the field after the turkey collecting 'feathers' that they later added to the turkey decorating their classroom door.

After the event, we enjoyed making a turkey craft in the classroom.  The kids carefully added, cranberries and marshmallows to toothpicks attached to an apple.  The cranberries and marshmallows had to represent a pattern that the kids had been working on in class.

Afterwards we spent recess outside on the playground.  Ethan was determined to complete the entire length of the monkey bars while I watched and his friend, James waited patiently for his turn! :)

It was awesome to spend the day with Ethan in his classroom, for the first time this year.

Miss Piggy Comes Home With Ethan

From January 28 - February 2, we had the privilege of providing a home for Miss Piggy, Ethan's preschool class pet, a guinea pig. Ethan was very excited to bring Miss Piggy home with us and helped feed her (she loved lettuce), fill her water bottle and even clean her cage. He made sure Miss Piggy got her vitamins everyday. Miss Piggy slept in Ethan's room each night and when we had to return her back to class, all of us were a little sad to see her go (except maybe Chloe).

Ethan Visits Terry Fox Elementary

I brought Ethan to school with me today to enjoy a field trip to a presentation at Howe Middle School by Max-a-Mime. The show was done without any words. Max was very funny and kept us all laughing. Ethan enjoyed being with my students, who were also very excited to see him.

Ethan sitting with my class, just before the show began.

Max-a-Mime in action!

Ethan's Christmas Concert Video

Ethan's First Christmas Concert

What a show! The kids shared the songs that they had been working on in class with the parents. Ethan's favourite song was the "Clop, clop, clop" song. It told the story of Mary and Joseph looking for a room, but not finding one and ending up in a stable for the night. After the show, the students made Christmas crafts with their parents and enjoyed some Christmas goodies. It was a lovely Christmas celebration!

Ethan's preschool class preforming their Christmas songs.

Ethan and his friend Nolan (left of Ethan) preforming.


Making a reindeer picture with dad.


Putting the finishing touches on the antlers.


Ethan and his gingerbread house.

Preschool Picture

Here is Ethan's very first school picture. Ethan attends preschool at Abbotsford Christian Elementary School on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 11:55 - 2:25pm.

Rescue Hero Day

Ethan celebrated our rescue heroes at school with Rescue Hero Day. He dressed up like a fireman and learned how to "Stop, drop and roll, "crawl to the door if the room is smokey and to not touch hot things.

Dad's Night at Preschool

On Tuesday, Reuben and Ethan went to preschool in the evening for Dad's Night. Together in the school gym, along with the other students in Ethan's class and their fathers, they carved pumpkins. This was a great opportunity for Reuben to see Ethan interact with his friends and meet some of the other parents. Reuben was excited to see Ethan in this situation and said he is quite the social guy, Mr. Popular (what happened to my reserved and hesistant 4 year old? - apparently preschool works wonders)! They had a great time together and brought home an adorable pumpkin that Ethan designed himself.

Canadian Bobsleigh Team

I'm still not completely sure how it happened, but somehow I arranged for a Canadian Bobsleigh Team to visit Terry Fox Elementary and read the book Bobsleigh Jellybeans which was written for them, about them and to help them raise money to continue their training. Adam Anderson, Hugh Baker, Chris Ripley, and Bobby Staniford were amazing as they patiently answered student questions, signed autographs and in general took the time out of their busy training schedule to be with us a Terry Fox. We are thankful to them and will never forget the wonderful memories made today. Go TEAM CANADA! We wish Adam, Hugh, Chris and Bobby all the best as they go on their North American tour and hope to qualify for the 2010 Olympic Games here in Vancouver.

Ethan Goes To School

Ethan started preschool today. The excitement continued to build over the past weeks as we discussed how special it was to be going to school for the first time. Then yesterday, Ethan realized that he was going to have to go to school without his mom and dad and suddenly school didn't look so great anymore. This morning, however he had mixed emotions and although he was still a little hesitant about the whole thing, he was excited to get ready to go. He chose his own outfit, a new back-to-school long-sleeve button down shirt and jeans and he wore his velcro shoes, so he could put them on and off himself. He packed himself a snack in his new Quatchi (Vancouver 2010 Olympic mascot) backpack and had a special going-to-school lunch, macaroni and cheese. We took lots of pictures and headed off. Things were looking good.


We arrived early, signed in, found Ethan's shoe bag and picture (he is in the orange class) and were ready and waiting for the classroom door to open. Arriving early, however was not the best idea as now Ethan had time to think...and cling. He started with the "I want to go home" and "I don't like school anymore" all while holding my leg tighter and tighter. Finally the doors opened, but he had no plans of going in without me. We ended up playing kitchen together for a few moments, then Mrs Braun (so lovely) came to talk with Ethan. She took out some puzzles and he began to play (with one eye on me of course). Another little girl came to watch and I offered her my chair at the table. After a few moments, I stepped out. I felt bad leaving without telling him, but knew I wouldn't get away any other way. I was surprised by how emotional I was.

Two and a half hours later, I was back to pick him up. I was able to peak in the door window and see him sitting on the carpet listening to a story. When the door opened he was the first one out and gave me a big hug. He had a great time. His teacher confirmed that there had been no problems. Yeah!!! Success!!! Memories made and a very BIG milestone accomplished!