Last Day of 1st Grade!

Caden and Mrs. Ball

Today was Caden's last day of 1st grade. It's been a great year. He's gone through more changes than most kids I know. He started at a new part-time school, we changed churches, he joined Trail Life, and took some classes at a fine arts school this past Spring. He's also played tennis this year and started taking karate a few weeks ago. This kid goes through more social changes than most I know. Thankfully he rolls with it and tends to make friends easily.

This week has been busy, especially Tuesday night. First we needed to be at Caden's school for his awards ceremony. His teacher recognized him for his loyalty and being a caring friend. She said he's always quick to include others and ensure that none are left out. We couldn't agree more! He's a great friend and is always wanting to make sure kids are included. Sounds a lot like his mom and dad. 

 

After his class was recognized, we had to dart off to our church where his Trail Life did their end of the year awards ceremony. Caden has really enjoyed Trail Life this year. He's moving up from being a Fox to a Hawk. Two new things he's done this year include going camping and fishing. Both, which he loved. Collin is also now registered as a Trail Guide so he'll be helping lead Caden's group next year.

Caden has grown so much this year. I got to talk with his teacher for about 30 minutes today and loved hearing what she had to say. She said she loved having him in class. He was kind, considerate, funny, and smart. She said that he always knew his memory verse and was eager to tell her on Tuesday mornings right when he came in the door. The other kids looked to him to say it because sadly, most didn't know it and hoped to learn from Caden. She also said he has a love of numbers and is very good at math, which we knew. She said he was a delight to have in class and she'll miss seeing him next year. Not returning to Mosaic was a difficult decision. However, he's really looking forward to rejoining a co-op with some of his best friends. I'm also looking forward to teaching him full time again and having him home more. The door to Mosaic will remain open for the future if we decide to send him there again. Collin and I have mixed emotions about it. We love the school but we've had a lot of financial burdens come up this year and not spending so much on school and being able to do other things will be nice. Also we live in a wonderful city full of lots of homeschool families and activities. We seriously could join a group of friends most days of the week for something fun if we wanted.

I'm so glad Caden had such a wonderful year this year. Thanks to his computer class he was introduced to computer games. Thanks to some older kids at church, for better or worse, he was introduced to Angry Birds. At the beginning of the year, his favorite game was chess and checkers. Now he prefers Angry Birds. He made an About Me picture and page. This is what it says:

I am 6 years old.

I like video games.

I like angry birds Go.

I like angry birds Star Wars.

I am good.

I like my sister.

I love my brother.

I love my family. 

Here are a few more of his favorites:

Best Friends from school: Patrick and Gideon 

Favorite Class: computer (but he also liked PE, recess and lunch)

Favorite subject: math 

Favorite TV Show: Jake and the Neverland Pirates (he just stared watching this a few weeks ago)

Favorite Book we read this year: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Favorite Movie: Rio

Favorite Colors: blue, white, yellow, and pink

Favorite Game: Angry Birds Go

Favorite Food: pizza

What he wants to be when he grows up: make video games and be a chef

Music performance from AFA

Rocket he made from his engineering class

We're going to take a few weeks off of school before diving into 2nd grade. He's signed up for a few camps this summer and I want to wait until he's 7 before starting 2nd. We love you, Caden, you bring so much love and joy to our family!!