First grade finished!

Today is Catherine's last day of first grade! It has been both a quick and a long year. Overall the year has gone really well. She has had some growing pains through it (and so have I). 

We are very proud of how hard she has worked and improved. She's currently reading at a fifth grade level, has improved so much with her subtraction facts, is an excellent story writer, overcame some fears about PE and buying lunch on her own, worked well on group research projects, read a lot of AR books, and learned responsibility. 

At her awards day yesterday, we were most proud of the award her teacher gave her for being most considerate. She is learning to think of others more than herself and how to be a good friend. We saw that a lot when about a month ago she told us that there was one girl in her class who sat by herself at recess every day. One day Catherine had been left out of the group and felt very lonely, so we talked about how the other girl must feel. Catherine asked her the next day to play during recess and now they play together almost every day. I love that her heart is so kind towards others. 

Those of you who know me well know that we have struggled with the school decision a lot--since before we had children. We struggled through it again this spring with me questioning what to do for next year. We are not changing anything for next year, and are going to  continue to pray for God's guidance about what school should look like for our family. 

Catherine, we are so proud of you and so excited about the wonderful young woman you are becoming! We love you so very much.