Well, it was Griffin’s first day, even if I had already been at school for a week of meetings and classroom prep. It’s hard to believe that Griffin is done with middle school!
First Day of SPA, 2023
Tag Archives: milestones
Oliver Flies Up!
Today was Oliver’s “Fly-up” ceremony where he transitions from Children’s House into the elementary school. In Montessori terms, he’s not only moving into a new classroom next year (as a first grader), but he is moving into another developmental stage (or “plane of development”). Here’s how his teacher described it in a recent email:
Fly-up is a celebration to mark the passing from one plane of development to the next. You probably already see signs of your second plane child: abstract thinking, reasoning mind, strong sense of what is just and fair, strong inclination to be with and work alongside peers. The fly-up ceremony is a visual representation of this internal growth.
At the celebration, each child will run down the hallway from the Children’s House wing, out the door and into the elementary courtyard where they are greeted by the elementary children, teachers and parents.
In honor of the occasion, Oliver decided to wear a festive fancy shirt and a top hat from our costume closet. He looks pretty dashing! (Maggie dressed up for the occasion, too.)
First Shave
Griffin and I spent some quality time in front of the mirror this morning practicing shaving. We made it with no nicks or lost body parts.
Tooth!
Squeezing one more big thing in 2022 at the last minute!
Maggie and Oliver’s First Day
Finally, the first day of school for these two big kids: 5th grade for Maggie and KINDERGARTEN for Oliver 
It’s a testament to their teachers, who they both know very well, and the school, that they were excited (and not at all nervous) to return!
Griffin’s First Day of Eighth Grade
First day for this 8th grader (and his 8th grade teaching dad)!
Working it Out
This morning Oliver came to me in the kitchen for his morning snuggle, and we were walking past the string of paper bags we have up for masks for everyone in our family who goes to school everyday (see the picture below). I walked past while holding him and he said, “Wait! Go back!”, and looked at the bags. He said, “Sunday starts with, S, right?” I said yes, and he stared and stared at the bag with my name on it, slowly whisper-sounding out the letters, with a confused look on his face (I believe expecting the letters would sound out to Sunday). And he repeated the sounds and finally his face brightened up and he exclaimed: “Sarah! That says Sarah! That’s your name!”
First Day of Seventh Grade
Griffin is joining me at SPA (St. Paul Academy) for seventh grade. We will be driving to school together each day in our electric car. Although I don’t teach him, I will see him around school regularly. We are both quite excited.
Griffin’s First Piano Recital
Griffin has been taking weekly piano lessons at the Walker West Music Academy since February of 2019. He had a few lessons in person and then, as the state locked down for COVID-19 in mid-March, started doing them remotely via Skype. He had his first recital yesterday evening; it was a virtual event where he played “Oh! Susanna.” One fun element of the virtual format was that friends and relatives from around the country could attend. We hope that he will get a chance to do more of these. See below for a trimmed video of Griffin’s portion of the recital. Listen for Oliver who makes an unintended cameo part-way through.
The full recital is available on YouTube. The audio gets a bit funky due to the streaming, but it’s fun to see all the different kids at different levels of skill.
First Triathlon
Sarah rocked her first triathlon! She’s been training up for the past few months for the Minneapolis YWCA Women’s Triathlon. The event took place this morning — a blazing hot one — by Lake Nokomis. The whole family (including Jeff and Pam) was there cheering her on from start to finish. As Sarah posted on Facebook earlier:
It still hasn’t totally sunk in that I just completed my first triathlon, but I did! 500 yard swim, 15.5 mile bike, 3.1 mile run, finished in 1 hour, 41 mins and 31 secs. I am super happy with my time, and so thankful for this body of mine. Also thankful for my friend, Keely @keschallock who I got to finish with unexpectedly, and @noquitfitoutdoorfitness who have sparked a love for outdoor fitness and have been immensely supportive and positive through all my training! What an amazing event!
Dawn before the race.
Sarah’s swim wave prepares to start.
After the race with a top cheerleader.
Sarah and Keely.
Oliver was a spirited supporter too!
