We can't believe it - our babies have done preschool screening!
They're growing up so fast.
This morning, we woke up to a lot of thunder & lightning - enough to knock out power for a few hours. Luckily, Noah & Hannah slept through it despite the fact that Cheyenne paced the floor wanting to be outside and check out the big booms. When the kids woke up, we told them that we were going to get ready and go to school. (Preschool Screening was held at the school we took ECFE classes at last year, so Noah & Hannah associated that school with their classes.) They were so excited! When it was finally time to go, Noah appeared in the ktichen with backpacks for each of them, so they strapped on their little backpacks (full of a coloring book, crayons and a container of Lucky Charms) and got in the car. We went into the school and found our room, and that's when Noah decided he was shy. He stood outside the door and wouldn't come in for a while, but after a trip to the bathroom, he decided it was OK to take off his coat and go play with Hannah. After a short playtime, two teachers came to talk to Mom, then took Noah & Hannah back to their offices to test them. I could hear them shouting out answers and getting excited when they completed a task successfully. It didn't take long for them to be done, and while I talked to the screeners, the kids enjoyed the toys in the waiting area. They started with the dollhouse, but ended up sharing the kitchen and cooking up a big feast!
Hannah did very well - she excelled at her tasks in comparison with children her age. Noah also did quite well, but since boys develop later, his fine motor skills, balance and attention span need a little more time to develop to the point where they can approve him for kindergarten. We'll go back next year to check his progress, but it's good to know both kids are doing well for 3 year olds.
The kids had a fun weekend. Saturday, we played inside and outside, including having to hurry out of the house to search for our dog who had gotten out of the fence! Noah & Hannah were very worried about her, but were helpful in searching. We found her 3 doors down after driving around a few blocks. After we found Cheyenne, Daddy came to pick us up and take us out to eat! Noah & Hannah got to eat with Mom & Dad's volleyball friends - they thought they were so cool sitting at the big table with tall chairs. After an afternoon visit from Daddy's cousin & aunt, Noah & Hannah got to go to the park to fly their kites. It was a beautiful day and they'd been wanting to fly their kites ever since they got them from their cousins at Easter. Of course, kites were nothing compared to the allure of the playground, so Mom conceded after a short round of kite flying (and after Noah let go of Hannah's kite and had to carefully reel it back in from a fenced off city garage property). The kids really enjoyed all the slides & climbers in the playground, and were much more independent than our last visit last year. Noah really loves slides. Hannah likes slides, but is much more cautious especially when the slide takes a turn or twist. She liked the monkey rings though - although Mom helped her, she held most of her weight by herself. Both kids used their time at the park wisely, going from slide to climber to sandbox - they didn't waste their time swinging, since we have a swing set at home!
Sunday, the kids were excited to go back to Sunday School - it's been a couple of weeks with Easter & Palm Sunday festivities taking up the Sunday School time for two weeks. After Sunday School, we took them to Ron & Carol's Sandbox for some sand volleyball. Last year, we didn't have very good luck being on the court at the same time, since one of the kids usually needed our attention. It's nice that they're more independent now. We were both able to play volleyball while Noah & Hannah played with all the other kids there (out of 9 kids there, there were 3 sets of twins!) They played tag, in the hammock, in the sandbox and in the treehouse, but when the adults stepped off the court, all the kids swarmed the court! They just wanted to play on the volleyball court, so they had fun.
After such a nice week of getting out to play while at daycare and over the weekend, Noah & Hannah have slept well at night! I think they're already beginning to appreciate spring in Minnesota.
Have a great week!
Go Twins. :-)
Mom (Shari)