#81. School's Out for Summer!!

The twins have reached another milestone...they are experiencing their first of many summer breaks!  Having the opportunity to experience summer vacation almost every year of my life (I have come to call it my '73-day weekend' since it means no 'work' for 2+ months!), I know what a gift and special time it can be.  Clare & Luke have already hit the beach, visited a temple, attended two street fairs, and more (of course, these will be covered in a future blog post!).  Summer break is an annual reward for making it through another school year.

We had no idea what we were getting into when we registered our two 3-year olds to attend full day preschool at St. Matthias in Lincoln Square (in the city),

We hope they're this excited the first day of school every year!!

but we are proud to say it was one of our best decisions. The twins flourished attending pre-K, so much so that when we moved north to Evanston in November, we continued commuting them to the school (which then became a 25 minute drive each way).  The beginning of the year was a challenging adjustment, but we are thrilled with the learning, friendships, and growth Clare & Luke experienced while attending St. Matthias!

We made the decision to separate the twins into different classrooms this past year.  Clare's teacher was Mrs. Mueller, who she learned so much from, including how to 'use her words'!  Clare can confidently spell and write her name, and I think I caught her counting past 100 (she may have skipped a few along the way!) while we were out driving this week.  Mrs. Mueller was a great influence on Clare, so much so that she often (we think) emulated her at home!  We are so thankful Clare was guided by such a patient, gifted teacher.

Clare and Mrs. Mueller

Clare with Mrs. Smith who also did a wonderful job teaching and encouraging Clare

Luke's teacher was Ms. Welch, someone who taught him many things, including lessons in managing his frustrations (smell the flower, blow out the candle!).  Ms. Welch was an excellent match for Luke because she did a fantastic job channeling his passion and energy (and love for all things trucks!) into learning and building positive relationships with his classmates.  Luke is still working on his hand-writing but we are proud to say he can already count to 20 in two languages!  We are grateful Luke was matched with such an energetic, talented teacher.

Luke with Ms. Welch

Special thanks to Mrs. Guerra for teaching the students so much...including Spanish!!

As parents of young students in the 21st century (something our parents can't claim!), one exciting thing that helped us follow the twins' experience in growth in school was a website called 'Seesaw' (think Facebook for preschoolers!).  Both teachers regularly posted information, photos, and videos that helped us peek into their classrooms and daily activities.  We enjoyed following the posts and watching the twins grow (and goodness, did they grow!).

In only 9 months, Clare grew from a tiny, quiet three year old into a more confident and articulate soon to be four year old...

Clare took pride in her artwork and projects...

...and made many, many friends.

Like his sister, Luke also grew from a tiny boy (look at that baby, baby face!) into a young boy with a more directed passion and excitement for all things...

Luke enjoyed all of his classroom activities and projects...

...and, of course, made great connections with his fellow classmates.

We will miss St. Matthias greatly, but are so thankful for the wonderful impact and foundation for education the school has established on our two young learners.  Next up, pre-K 4!!!

One year down...many, many more to go!!