my boy's last day as a kindergartener

 I honestly do not know where the time went but my boy is done with kindergarten.  If this is how fast the rest of his school years are going to go for me I better really stop to smell the roses because I wasn't prepared for how fast this year would go by.  I love my little man more than words can say.  Stetson is an outstanding reader and excels in all the other areas as well.  He did see the speech therapist each week for help with his R sound but she seems to think he'll correct it himself as time goes on so we're exiting him from his IEP for now in hopes that he'll naturally get it.  Stetson had lots of days where he didn't want to go to school.  That was super hard on me but I definitely had a few tricks up my sleeve by the end of the school year.  Stetson is  a get up and eat breakfast right away type of guy (Like his mom) so I would wake him up by saying "What do you want for breakfast?!"  In that happiest, cheesiest mom voice ever.  He'd usually perk up and then we could get the ball rolling from there.  He definitely takes his time so we learned to plan ahead.  He can do the first step of shoe tying, maybe this summer we can make some progress there.  By the end of the school year Stetson was riding his scooter to and from school.  Its funny because at the beginning of the year I never thought he'd be old/mature enough to walk to school alone but a couple months ago we gave it a go and he had a couple bad days with that where he didn't want to or would forget to use the cross walk but he was good to go by the end.  The first day he walked to school by himself I almost cried.  I watched him walk the entire way from my front yard even though he was just a spec by the time he got there.      At 3:20ish I went outside to watch him come home and when he came into sight my heart just about jumped out of my chest I was so proud of him.  Amazing what little milestones can do to a mother.

I got to sub a at LES a few times this year, once in his classroom even and I loved it.  I might have spied on him from the classroom window during recess to see who he played with and what he did.  Stetson definitely likes to march to the beat of his own drum and do his own thing.  He is super silly.  Stetson loved to re-create school things at home, for instance at school they have centers, so he would create centers at home and have Kandace and I go through them and do the same activities they do in his class.  He is kind of a nerd and instead of sports and super heroes, he loves workbooks, writing, reading of course but I think its great.  We're in tball now and he's not loving it but I know there's more to life for him than tball. :)

I had great intentions of doing something super cute for his teacher off pinterest or something but surprise that didn't pan out but I think a thank-you note is sufficient and Stetson loved writing it.  Teachers truly need to be thanked and recognized.  They work so hard.  Stetson's class had such a variety of personalities and learning levels, it truly is a juggling act. I don't know how teachers do it.  And then have to watch their class leave just when you've fallen in love with them.

Stetson wrote 

"Dear Mrs. Ferguson (which he is so proud he can spell Ferguson by himself)

I loved your snacks and your books.  Thank you for being my teacher.  I love Mrs. Ferguson.  From Stetson to Mrs. Ferguson."

Stetson cried tonight when he talked about her and how he was going to miss her and that he wanted her to be his "Next" teacher.  I want to cry too that we're leaving that great school and won't get to see his friends and teachers for a while.