Joshua's Last Day of Preschool

Today was Joshua's last day of preschool.  It was a little sad, because it's hard to think about him being in kindergarten.  But as I mentioned a couple days ago. we really feel this was a very positive experience for him.  It's a non-traditional school, but it really suited both his interests and his style of learning.  They went outside almost every day, and he got to get muddy and dirty.  It's expected as part of what the school does (we know not to send him in his best clothes), and he loves it.  They also frequently go to the various Olathe parks, where they get to see frogs, snakes, and other wildlife.  They are taught how to be safe and how to be respectful of the animals and plants.  They still follow an accredited curriculum, but they teach the kids in a more dynamic way, typically involving nature or nature concepts.  For a kid that has always loved being outside, it's been a great experience for him, and we're thankful he was able to be part of the program.

The girls new day care is the Goddard School, and they had a welcome fair tonight for new families.  Even though Joshua won't be attending there, all siblings were invited, so he was able to go.  They had a lot of activities in the parking lot, including this tee ball thing, which he loved.  He smashed the balls harder than any of the other kids I saw, and he wanted to do this game several times.

They also had a dunk tank, which Joshua was really interested in, as it's a plot point in one of our Curious George books.  Joshua was great at it, and he nailed the target causing the teacher to plunge into the tank.  Hannah was really interested in doing it as well, though I was skeptical because she can't really throw accurately or with any real force.  But she insisted she wanted to do it, so I paid the lady and she got her balls.  They told her she could stand closer than the line, but she still didn't get the ball anywhere near the target.  On her third ball she stood right next to it and did hit it, but it was too weak to trigger the drop.  So they then just let me help her push it with her hand, and the teacher then splashed down into the tank.  Hannah was very satisfied with this and seemed to have a great sense of accomplishment about it.

Clara mostly enjoyed the inflatable slide.  It's a warm night, but she made herself sweaty from doing it so much.  We also all got cotton candy (Well, the kids and I did.  Most adults passed on the opportunity, but there was no way I was going to miss out on it.), and then we were on our way.

We then headed straight over to Mom and Ron's so we could drop the kids off so we could go on a date night.  We had a nice dinner at Ra and then went to Paciugo for some gelato, which we enjoyed out on the lawn.