End of an Era

I didn't think it was going to be a big deal, but it was.

My little guy graduating from elementary school!
A moment 6 years in the making!During the ceremony, there was a surprise moment
when Parker was called to the stage
to receive an award for outstanding performance
on the Standards of Learning tests.It really FELT like these kids were moving on
after growing, learning, and achieving so much at O.B. Gates.

During their first days, they took naps
and finger painted and sang songs about
the ABCs and their teachers hoped they
wouldn't have any "accidents" requiring a change of clothes.

During their last days, they knew how to
send their teachers emails, how to
work with a group on a social studies
project, and how to add unlike fractions.

These two had a particularly good
time in elementary school.

We were pretty proud of him that day.
During the last 6 years, there were many long evenings
with homework,endless tests and projects,
and lots of giggles when we were just
too silly to take it seriously anymore.

5th grade also marks the end

of Parker's enrollment in the before & after
school program at The Goddard School.
Guess those 6th graders are just too much trouble!(These ones DEFINITELY would be.)

Parker's favorite teacher, Mr. Turner.

Parker's locker at Goddard, where I would always find
random bits of things when I came to pick him up,
from mysterious notes to half-finished drawings
to Lego pieces, broken pencils and rubber animals.

Another favorite teacher, Ms. Mary
(though you can't tell by THAT expression!)
She always had a smile for Parker
at the end of a long day.

And finally, goodbye to this former 5th grader's domain!
Farewell, O.B. Gates!

It was a little sad to drive away for the last time,
watching the playgrounds disappear as we drove away.
But I believe Parker is looking forward to the next adventure.

How Sweet it is

It's pretty much summer--I don't see the point of schools
dragging out the inevitable by insisting on these last two weeks.

The 5th graders finished their SOLs (standardized testing)
this week- 3 separate tests that took the entire
school day to complete!

Parker rocked his math SOL, he only missed
one out of the sixty questions!
We took him out for ice cream to celebrate.

Parker's Art

In the rare moments when Jeremy isn't working at the computer,
Parker will ask me to print "cool pictures"
from the web so he can draw them:

He will spend hours of free time trying to
get the dimensions and proportions just right
on these drawings- after homework and chores,
there isn't a lot of free time in the evenings,
but he usually cranks out about one a week.
This year he discovered perspective,
and it's been awesome watching him grow as an artist.