A letter to her kindergarten teacher

Hi Sara and Josh,

School is fast approaching, and Olivia will be starting kindergarten this year!  It's hard to believe, I know!  So I just got a letter from her kindergarten teacher, and she asked that I write to her about Olivia, so that she could get to know a little about her before school starts later this month.  I thought you might enjoy reading what I wrote.

Hello Ms. Mick,

Olivia is so excited to be starting kindergarten this year.  You asked for some information about her, so here you go.  Olivia is the 3rd of our 5 children.  Our youngest is a foster baby, so you may hear her talk about him from time to time.  He has been with us for one year now, and we are waiting to see if we can adopt him.  If it doesn't work out for us to adopt him it will be a very big change and adjustment for our family, so we're crossing our fingers and hoping things work out.

Olivia can be very soft spoken, but also knows how to be assertive when she needs/wants something.  She is a good listener (except sometimes when she's asked to do chores. ;)  She loves to listen to stories, and I would say that story time is one of her favorite things to do with me.  She has a good start at reading, and she is building her confidence in recognizing words.  Olivia is capable of reading more than she realizes right now.  I think she still likes to cuddle with me and listen; it's more fun that way.  

Olivia also loves to dance.  She and her sisters, Jenna (age 8) and Natalya (age 3), make up ballets and other routines all the time in our family room.  Music is a constant in our home, and if it's not playing, Olivia is quick to ask if we can turn on some music.  She likes to show off her new dance moves and is constantly creating new ones.  She also loves arts and crafts.  She and her sister Jenna often spend quite a bit of time together creating many masterpieces with paper, markers, and glue.

Something else she enjoys is games.  She likes playing Uno, Skipbo, and a couple specialty games we have - Gulo Gulo and Feast and Famine.  She and her older brother Robby (age 14) and Jenna will often play games together, and from time to time we have a family game night.

The last thing I can think to note right now is that Olivia has an amazing aural memory.  Our religious faith is a very integral part of our family, and we often work together as a family to memorize scriptures.  She is able to hear and memorize recited things very quickly, even more quickly than her older sister Jenna.  And quite often she retains things even when we don't review them often.  I suppose her memory will serve her well in her schooling.

Olivia was thrilled to get your letter, and is really looking forward to meeting you soon.  
Sharon White

Olivia will start school around August 22nd.  The kindergarten does a staggered start, so I'm not sure yet if her first day will be the 22nd or the 23rd.  Anyhow, I will post pictures of her first day for you to see!

Love to you all!

UPDATE: Olivia's first day will be on the 28th.  We'll post pictures then.