My Baby's A Kindergarten Graduate!

As some of you already know, I got behind on my blogging when I broke my foot the end of May. So, although it's been three weeks since June 2, I wanted to show off my little graduate. Staci is 5 1/2 years old - with her birthday being November 28, she is the youngest person in her class, making the December 2 enrollment cut-off by only 4 days. She is a super bright student who already loves reading and spelling. She likes to say "Is it time for l-u-n-c-h?" and things like that. There's no tricking this child from hearing what you don't want them to hear by spelling the words! :)

Staci and the best kindergarten teacher ever, Mrs. Riddlesperger

Staci, the night of graduation

Staci with our pastor's wife, Sister Sullivan

She is also one of the best readers in her class. Her teacher said that she's always had good readers (my oldest daughter was also a "reader" at her kindergarten graduation), but that Staci has the best expression of any kindergartner she's ever taught (and she's one of the oldest teachers at her school). Each year at Faith Christian Academy, the graduation is an involved performance where each class demonstrates something they've learned through the school year. They start with transitional kindergarten (the 4 year olds) who recite the books of the Bible and read some blends and simple words. The t-K's get their diplomas to graduate to Kindergarten; and then it moves on to the current Kindergarten class. The K class recites a Bible memory verse for each letter of the alphabet, and counts by 2s, 5s, and 10s to 100. Then, two readers are chosen to show how they learned to read in Kindergarten. Staci was the second reader. She only made one little mistake (left off one word at the end of a sentence). I was actually a teeny bit disappointed because Staci thought she would get to read a story that had exclamation points so she could show off her expression, but a different story was chosen for her to read at graduation. So, although she has great expression, you can't tell from this video clip. (side note - YES, I bought a new camera to replace my lost one - and it can record video; this is the first video I ever recorded in my life. HA HA!). After the Kindergartners get their diplomas, the rest of the grades do their performances, then the 8th-grade valedictorian gives their speech, and the 8th graders get their diplomas. All in all, it's about a two-hour long performance. The children always dress nice and do an excellent job. I'm very thankful that my girls have a positive, Christian learning environment!

Here is the video clip of Staci reading (the very end is cut off - I'm sorry; I guess when the clips upload to YouTube, it cuts off a few seconds at the end). Click here to view the video.