Final First Grade Fun

 And with a game of kickball and a celebratory picnic, first grade was over.

Cora's class played kickball against another first-grade class Friday morning, on the final day of school. Here's Cora, kicking the ball just before jetting off toward first base.

 Heading toward home... she's in there!

Cora picked some roses for Mrs. Vasquez on Friday morning. She also drew the picture behind them on the white board, and wrote out the card the night before. She signed all her classmates' names to the card.

Cora was very sad about the year ending, and not having Mrs. Vasquez for a teacher next year. But who knows - I hear she's teaching a split 1-2 class next year, so there's always a chance Cora could have her again.

 On this special last day of school, my friend Christina and I both brought our four-year-olds in (shhh!) while we helped operate one final classroom store. The students are able to buy little trinkets with pretend coins they've earned through good behavior, while also learning money and math.

Violet and Melanie ended up playing on a mini tablet to pass the time.

 Then, the whole school and many parents attended a special ceremony, as our school was honored for being named a California Distinguished School. It's a prestigious award, and we are so grateful that Cora attends a school of such high caliber.

Here, Newhall District Superintendent Marc Winger is photographing Principal Rose and Assemblyman Scott Wilk with the plaque.

Then, school was out and it was time to party! A DJ was on hand, and a snow cone truck. The blue snow cone caused Cora and Violet to look like their mouths had turned a deep purple. A picnic lunch, lots of friends, a beautiful late spring day - it was just fantastic. We all had a great time.

And, I was left marveling anew at how fast time passes - didn't we just have an end-of-school picnic, maybe a few months ago? Hard to fathom it's been a full year.