Summer Reflection

On the eve of the return of children to my classroom, I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the last 3 months.

First off, it doesn't feel like it  was 3 months ago that I said adieu to my students and hello to my own kids. This summer has FLOWN by.

A minute ago, I went back to my blog entries in August 2011. They're filled with weekly updates of my pregnancy with Ben. It's so strange to think that not even a year ago, he wasn't out here with us and we had no idea who he was going to be. I also noticed that we did A LOT more last summer than we did this summer. I know the weather played a little part in that (heat wave, cold wave), and we were also a bit more homebound. But in reality, Colin was perfectly content bumming around home. So I guess I'll relish in our homebound (and inexpensive!) summers before these boys get old enough to ask to go to the pool, the beach, Valleyfair, Fun Fest, Como Zoo, MN Zoo, etc. etc. etc.

The boys went to daycare a couple times a week, which in the beginning I hated the thought of. But now that it's all said and done, it was good for them and good for me. I got a chance to get things done around the house, and they got to play with their friends.  The transition back into our school year routine has already proven to be seamless.

Among other already mentioned happenings (like the time he learned to ride a bike!) Colin took a class through community ed for 7 weeks. It was a gym class, held in a gymnastics room. He got some experiences with jumping off the vault, hanging from the uneven bars, balancing on the beam, jumping on rebounder trampolines, and being with other kids in a learning environment. He loved the class, so I'm hoping to enroll him in something this fall. Maybe we'll even try a non parent-child class. He did okay with Vacation Bible School, so maybe he's ready for the next step.

Ben has gone from a sitting up and rolling baby to a crawling baby over the span of the summer. He's into everything now. He's gone from drinking solely milk to eating a wide variety of foods and loving it.

So, on the eve of the official return, I bid adieu to the summer and say hello to 20 new kiddos greeting me tomorrow. At the end of 180 work days, we'll start our summer of fun all over again.