Thursday, May 24, 2012

Busy Little Beavers...


Monday marked the end of granddaughter, Maddie's, year at "Busy Little Beavers' Christian pre-school.  Their closing program was held on Monday evening.  They used a "western" theme for their program.

I've never seen a more cute and "eager" little bunch of little "beavers" in my life!  There were twenty-two "beavers", in all, along with their three teachers.  It was an awesome group!  The enthusiasm of the students was very evident.

It was so impressive to see how much those children had learned in the short amount of time they spent at "Busy Little Beavers-"!  The three-year-old class knew all of their letters, letter sounds, and numbers up to twenty!   The four-year-old class had built on the skills learned in k-3, and actually read for us--and counted to 100--and told us how much coins are worth! These are all skills we were teaching in first grade when I worked at school!  (Oh, what has happened to our public school system???)  Last, but not least, both classes showed off many of the Bible verses they'd learned throughout the year, and they also delighted us with several songs and recitations.

At the end of the program, each student was recognized and presented with an award.  Madison received "The Humble Helper Award".  The teacher shared how Madison was always willing and eager to help her out.

The program was held in our local Methodist church, so it was a bit crowded at the front of the church..  I didn't have a particularly good seat (again), so I could only see Madison at certain times during the program.    I filmed a short clip of what I could see best, and will share the clip at the bottom of this post.  Madison's the one on the far right who says, "I don't care!" during the recitation.

Great job, Madison!  You make this MiMi very proud!



Sunday, May 20, 2012

A Mother's Day To Remember...


Last Sunday afternoon, which happened to be Mother's Day, our family was all sitting around feeling very full and content after the delicious meal that son-in-law Clint prepared for all of us for Mother's Day.  Baked ham, fresh green beans, macaroni and cheese...it was all delicious!  He not only cooked, he cleaned up the kitchen, too!  What a man!  

Anyway, as we were relaxing, 4 1/2 month old baby Chase was sitting there, happily babbling, when out of the blue he said "Mama" as clear as a bell!  Those of us who heard him "speak" were quite surprised, since we'd never heard him make any specific sounds resembling words.  What a special, and very memorable moment that was for his "Mama"!

Is anything more special than hearing the word "Mama" for the first time?  It makes this mother's heart sing!  I'm sure Chase will say "mama" at least a million more times in his future, but it will never be quite as special as that first time--especially since he chose to say it on Mother's Day, with a room full of witnesses!

What a Mother's Day gift!