Kindergarten

Carter started Kindergarten this fall and he is loving every minute! 

We had a bit of a head start since he did Young 5's at this same school last year.  He was already comfortable with the before/after school teachers, knew the layout of the school, what to expect when riding the bus, and was used to a longer day.  It was nice for Dave and me too, we definitely had less anxiety about what to expect.  What a breeze!

Here is Carter waiting for the bus on his first day.

We think it's important for him to ride the bus the very first day.  Gets him used to being independent right away (and apparently the drop off area that first week is mass chaos).  Carter typically only rides the bus on Fridays, however.

Here are Carter and Mia waiting for the bus on the first Friday (when Mia and I are home to "walk" him to the bus stop - or - end of our driveway).

Mia gets sad every time we put him on the bus (and a bit jealous).  It's crazy to think that next year she will be in preschool!  Oh how time flies.

We had our first parent-teacher conference for the year (November).  Carter is doing extremely well and we are so proud.  He can read well beyond the level expected and she told us she just ordered some new books, specifically for Carter, to keep him "challenged."  (He is currently reading chapter books at home).  She said he is really good at math too (thank you Dave!) and counts well beyond expectations.  She showed us an exercise where the kids were supposed to fill in numbers on a grid, Carter did his grid so quickly that he created his own grid on the back of the paper because he was bored.  Carter's only area to work on is staying focused and be less chatty.  He tends to "gab" with friends and gets off track.  She said this includes eating lunch in a more timely fashion as well.  Hmmmmm, didn't see that one coming at all.  :)

We're VERY proud of Carter.  He is so smart and grown up!