yipee ky yi yay!

or something like that..

last week we had kindergarten roundup. total western/cowboy/round up theme.. get it

round up?

everything was decked out hard core.. like the kids got there and they all had sheriff badges with their names on it, and they got to pick one of three color bandannas to wear.

the kids were sent off to one of the three class rooms, while the parents went to the library (totally themed up) to hear from the principal, nurse and each of the three kindergarten teachers.

I really thought the whole evening was going to be like an open house thing, where we just walked around and stuff.

The speakers were very informative and I can not believe all that they offer at this school.

Poor Andrew was in and out of the room, as he was chasing Tatum around so he didn't get to hear much.. but when it was done, he came up to me and said " I don't know why you even considered a private school.. you should see these class rooms.!"

oh, my gosh, where they cool. each room had a different theme.. and for all of you know how crazy I am for themes.. I was in heaven. seriously, from the outside of the hallways and into the classrooms, every inch was done in theme.

stuff like... a Paris cafe(where they had cafe tables set up, black and white and pink and windows all had cute little curtains hanging..

and a beach theme, where everything was fish,shells, surf boards and umbrellas and chaise lounges and palm trees, etc.

and there was a diner theme.. and yeah, they had brought in like a table and vinyl bench set for the kids to read at. lots of neon in this room.

I can't remember all the other ones, but oh. my. gosh. sooooo COOL!

the school was built 10 years ago, and when they did, they went around to the area schools and brought over all the Golden Apple Winners(which my friend Emily won last week =)!!), and other award winning teachers and clumped them all together in one school.

this place has state of the art technology, and they gave examples of the kinds of things they do in kindergarten. AMAZING!

oh, yeah.. and in the cafeteria.. they have centerpieces on the tables. the principal finds that if the environment is nice, than the kids will behave better and not mess around at lunch.

I hadn't shared on the blog about the frustrations we were having in the last two months, trying to decide on what to do about Brigham's schooling next year.

The cut off here is Aug. 1st, and he will turn 5 on July 13th, making him one of the youngest kids.

All last fall, we were set on holding him back and sending him to another year of PreK, mostly so he is bigger and more mature for sports(of course).. academically, he is pretty far ahead of many kids in his class. Since he could talk, he was obsessed with letters, reading and then in preschool last year, he developed a big interest in spelling. Basically as parents we are constantly talking to him about words, spelling, and last fall we started doing math. He is super interested in these topics, which helps, but we take advantage of many situations, in the car or at the dinner table to work with him. Actually the kid will spend an hour at the kitchen table with one of those fat lined notebooks, and just write his letters over and over, and then try and write out sentences. kinda funny.

so yeah.. in that sense he was ready, but we weren't sure about maturity.

We also looked into a Christian school here. Part of me was interested in the spiritual side of the education, but I also knew that a private school can't compete with state funded technology. they can't always attract the best teachers either. We also knew several people that send their kids to this school, and we didn't want to get stuck in that "christian" bubble. in a smaller school, where almost all families had SAHM's I just knew there would be too much drama, gossip and busy bodies. Not to mention it was $4ooo.oo a year!

personally, we as parents work with him almost daily on spiritual teachings as well as the solid program he takes part in at our church. We were kinda leaning towards wanting our children to be a light around potentially non-churched kids, rather than keep them grouped with kids that all had the same values and beliefs, etc.

The week before we went, I talked with his prek teacher, and she said he was totally ready. In fact, he would be really bored if we kept him in prek again, and even worse by the time he went to kindergarten at 6 years old.

So anyway, after the roundup, it was super easy. Plus the fact, that when we went to get Brig out of the class room, he DID NOT want to leave. He asked the teachers if he could come back tomorrow. And he said he wanted to come back to that school for a whole week!!

pretty cute.. I am so glad he had fun. They made rattle snakes, cowboy hats, and wrote their names out in rope... keeping with the theme of course!

So our decision is now whether to put him in half day or full day. The school actually doesn't truly offer half day, but what they do is put the kids in full day and then pull the (half day) kids out at lunch.

Sounds like they won't be missing anything academically by leaving early.

Also, to go all day it costs $1800.00!!

There is a chance we could qualify for a discount on that, but we won't know until July.

I remember a few years ago, when the first talk of all day kindergarten was brought up, many of my friends, were all like 'no way, I am never sending them all day.. I want to keep them with me, etc. etc.'. I felt so out of place, b/c I never felt that way, but I was made to feel like I would be a horrible mom if I wanted to send them all day. Many of those same women either are or plan to home school, so I guess that makes sense why they thought like that.

I actually can't wait to get the kids in school, so I can go back to work full time. Now with the baby on the way, obviously, I have to wait awhile, but I am still thinking that having Brigham in full day(if we afford it) would be good for him and a huge blessing to me with a newborn and a 2 year old at home.

luckily we don't have to make the decision til summer...

and the other yee haw thing, is that I have been busy planning Tatum's 2nd birthday party!

Its going to be a cowgirl/western theme, and I am so excited! I already have lots of good dishes/ props/decor left from Brigham's second party which was the Barnyard theme.

I have also been shopping online and picking things up here and there as I see them.

I already have the invitations in mind, and the menu and games planned out.

Her birthday isn't until May 9th, but I know I'll be busy nesting and doing other around then! (who am I kidding? nesting has already begun big time)

speaking of baby... had my 6 month check up and everything is moving right along.

I am craving salty things, and lots of sweets too. I have been eating a Klondike bar almost every night!! LOL

but mostly at lunch I have been eating fruits and veggies, so hopefully it balances out.

not really gaining much more weight. having fun wearing prego clothes ..Thanks Summer! =)

really popping out too, I'll have to take some pics this weekend and update ya'll on the baby bump!

well.. that's all for now!