The Last Day of Kindergarten Eve...

I have been ALL KINDS of emotional this week. I am not a crier by nature, but I do cry at the weirdest, most random things. When we left James at kindergarten on the first day of school, I did not cry. I went to my house and fixed breakfast for a friend who was {8.5 months pregnant and} sobbing her eyes out, but I did not cry. I did not cry all day long while I wondered what he was doing or if he was making friends. Do you know when I cried? When I picked him up. I busted out in the ugly cry when I saw the parapro walk him out of school that first day and put him in my car. Boooohooooo! I've been feeling sappy all week long.

My baby is about to be a first grader.

This year has been awesome. It has been hard. It has been fun. It has been exhausting. We have cheered for James. We have disciplined James. And we have let go of James just a little bit more. Because that's what happens when you send them off to school. I'm not there to tell him to PUH-LEASE wipe the sloppy joe off of his face after lunch. {Side note: Cafeteria food has been a shock for us. JAMES LOVES IT. He was the pickiest eater but he will try anything from the cafeteria. I KNOW. Sloppy joe day is his favorite day.} I am not there to hug him when his best friend would rather play with someone else on the playground and tells James that he can't play with them. I'm not there to remind him to sit up straight or listen to his teacher. I'm not there when they announce he's the student of the month. And I'm not there when he gets in trouble for something not-so-nice and has to deal with the repercussions.

I don't get to be there for those things. And that's ok! Because that means HE CAN DO IT. Y'all, kindergarteners can do those things!

{Remind me to write a post to parents in the YMCA t-ball league. They're going to need to know that in two years when their kid is playing rec ball, they can't BRING THE WHOLE FAMILY TO STAND ON THE FIELD DURING THE GAME. Remind me. I'll tell you about it.}

We are SO PROUD of the things James has accomplished this year.

This year, he has:

* Learned to read!

Allow me just a Mama minute to brag here. He was reading sight-words-only at the beginning of the school year. Somehow, just a few weeks in everything clicked for him. They score kids in our county using the Founta Pinnell Literacy Collaborative program. That means that they break reading levels down into letters. You start on Level A. Kindergarteners SHOULD be reading on a Level E by the end of the year. James benchmarked around an F a month or two into school. He is currently reading on a LEVEL M. Almost the end of second grade! We are so proud!

* He was Bulldog of the Month for the month of February!

* He had more than 20 AR points. Pretty good for a kid who didn't take an AR test without me until January. And I only helped him three times at the beginning of the year.

* He played Upward Basketball for the first time - and LOVED it.

* He played t-ball for the third time - and EXCELLED at it!

* He had two choir performances at church - Christmas and Spring. And he could've been the understudy for some of the older kids because he knew all of their lines!

* He tested into the GIFTED program - one of only eleven in kindergarten.

A note from his gifted teacher on Facebook:

* He turned SIX {and then SIX-AND-A-HALF...it's important, y'all...it's on Cacky's calendar!}

* He lost TWO TEETH! {Also a big deal.}

* We also took a ton of fun trips this year!

The year hasn't been without its hangups, but it has been great. I am so sad now to let kindergarten go. And I was so sad to let it start just nine short months ago!

Tomorrow is James' last day of school. Our summer is jam-packed and is going to be GREAT. But this first year of kindergarten has been wonderful. And I hope that he always remembers it.