After a bit to exhale . . .

I am SO glad the school year is over!
We got through almost everything on the list, and here were some of the outcomes:

Anna Claire is officially a Brownie . . . and I am the new co-leader of her troop. On one hand, it's another responsibility. On the other, I'm just *so* glad that she has the opportunity to participate with such a wonderful organization and such a fantastic troop, that I'm happy to do what I can to make sure that it's still an option! Next year should be a little easier, since Caroline will be another year older and able to do more to keep herself entertained during the meetings. I hope anyway!

Caroline's ballet recital went wonderfully! See for yourself:

 She did *so* well! She knew both of her dances, and really seemed to enjoy it (as witnessed by the grin afterward, with her flowers and trophy!). She had already decided that she'd like to do dance again next year, and after seeing the recital, Anna Claire decided she'd like to try it again too. Thankfully there is a class next year that they can *both* take together (score!) - Caroline is a bit young for it technically, but it's the same teacher she had this year and she decided that Caroline was 'serious' enough to handle it (ie. she actually pays attention in class and learns her steps, rather than just staring at herself in the mirror and twirling, lol). So, we'll have recital pics with both girls next year!

We also had Caroline's princess birthday party . . . I'd tell you it was too cute for words, but judge for yourself:

As you can see, even her sister had a great time!

Big sister has had a lot to smile about these days, with the end of the school year. We got her report card for the end of the year, and just like those past: she aced it! Her teacher commented that she "excels in all major areas" and "is an enthusiastic learner" (which makes us especially proud!). She also commented that she "loved being her teacher!" (emphasis was hers, but we've been as happy to have her as our teacher too!). Her Target teacher commented that she was "an outstanding student" and that she "was so pleased to see her confidence level grow" (something she sometimes struggles with when outside of her comfot zone). Add to that her "exceeds standards" ratings on all sections of the state's CRCT test. She got a perfect score on both reading and language arts, and missed only 4 out of 60 on math. In part, I'm betting,  because she stopped paying attention since they insist on *reading* the test to the 1st graders. She was thoroughly annoyed that she couldn't just move on. "But Mommy, *I* can read it by myself! Why do I have to wait on everyone else?!" Instead, she had to sit through having the question read to the class, then a pause for them to answer, then a RE-reading of the same question, and another wait for answers, and then on to the same with the next question. Rinse and repeat, 60 times! Truthfully, I don't blame the kid for being a bit irritated.

And so, all of these things led to the final decision:

Anna Claire will be headed to private school in the fall.

It is a tiny school, with a blend of Montessori and Reggio-Emilia theories. They use mixed-age classrooms, and allow the children to work at their own pace (grouping by ability/mastery in each subject, rather than by birthdate). They often do long projects based on the children's own interests (last year that involved a year-long study of how animals "worked" internally and how they differed and how those differences suited them particularly, culminating in the dissection of a worm, a crab, a fish, a shark, and a fetal pig - yes, in elementary school!), and these projects span disciplines (obviously the science of the the animals and dissection, but they also journaled about the process, and diagrammed their findings, etc). They also document progress extensively. Report cards will now be *very* specific and will display a "grade" as a % of mastery; they may also be pieced together from several levels (say 4th grade reading, 3rd grade math, and 2nd grade science) since she will be allowed to work at her own level of challenge (and as such, once mastered they can move on to the next level, regardless of timing during the year). They send home daily emails detailing (with pictures, so don't be too surprised if you see a few, lol) what they did in each discipline that day.

Needless to say: Anna Claire is VERY excited about it . . . and so are we!

Our other 'news' - the girls finally have their own pets. We adopted 2 8-week old kittens (sisters) last weekend, and the girls are just thrilled. I'll detail more on Emily Miller and Juliet, with pics, another time . . ..