The End of First Grade

The last week of first grade was a blur of activity. Tuesday, we were able to cheer her class on during field day. Ms. Wright started the day by saying, "We are scientists! We are great thinkers! We are creative and artistic! We are going to have fun!"

 

That was her subtle way of saying we had a snowball's chance of winning the day, but we did have a great time. This field day was very different than the ones I remember. The whole thing was a class competition, and the events relied on teamwork. Issa was very proud to be her class's flag bearer:

 

 The first event was a class relay. Look at our girl pass that baton:

 The next event was a teacher pull:

 Yes...that is Issa's very brave teacher on the sled being pulled by her class. It was Issa's favorite event. There was also a game of every body's it and jump the creek. We lost all of those. We did win the water relay, though, because her class was smart enough to figure out the most efficient way to pass water. It was a fun day that ended in exhaustion for all.

Friday was the last day of school for the year:

 I can't believe how much she grew in one year! We headed in for the end of year awards ceremony that morning. The principal announced that the teachers had decided there would be two more weeks of school--and the gym cheered. I have never in my life seen anything like it. Issa was actually fairly annoyed he was only kidding.

Our girl did earn two awards. She was the first grade recipient of the library all star award:

 She was chosen for her leadership in the library and love of reading.

In a moment that literally caused me to laugh out loud, she also received the PE MVP award:

I love my girl. She has so very, very many gifts. Athleticism is not one of them, though. She received the award for effort, leadership, and encouraging her classmates to do their best, too. Yeah, we think we'll keep her.

It has been an incredible year, and I'm more than a little sad to say goodbye to Ms. Wright. Issa has grown so much in every way that matters. She has become more confident. She has fallen even more in love with reading and learning. She found a new love of non-fiction. It has been everything I hoped for in first grade, and I am so proud of our little Flyer.