Special Scrapbook Pages

ATTENTION SARAH MCDOWELL: DON'T READ THIS POST OR YOU'LL SPOIL THE SURPRISE!!!

Since both Mrs. Schnell and Mrs. McDowell are leaving Artgarden this year, some of the parents suggested that each child create a special scrapbook page for each of them. What a good idea! Leia Rose worked for days on these sheets, making sure that the entire thing was her own work. And I wanted to make sure that the writing (even though I knew I would need to translate a bit) was her own thoughts, sentiments, and lettering as well. The only thing that Mamma did was arrange the pictures and translate. : ) The result was two full pages (front and back) that were truly representative of our daughter.
Here is Mrs. McDowell's first page. The pictures are of Leia's first day in Extended Day (with her lunch in hand) and Leia's Celebration of Life on her Fifth Birthday. The little picture in the bottom right corner is a tiny copy of Leia's interpretation of Van Gogh's "Sunflowers." Her letter reads, "Mrs. McDowell, thank you for teaching me about Africa. I love you!" (And there's also a tiny thank you from Brian and I about helping Leia learn to love learning.) But my favorite part of this page is Leia's collection of kitties. "Sweet Cheeks" even has her purple marabou collar. "Tulip" even has her light pink bow. "Perri Pat Pat" even has her green eyes. "Little Boy Hans" even has his stripes.
Both second pages look really similar. The pictures are of Leia on the very first day of school with her "Kissing Hand" sticker. Leia's actual school picture. And Leia making her "LEIA" pretzel. I had Leia Rose create a list of her favorite Artgarden activities and then we did one of her favorite things: we recycled bits of old magazine to find the letters that made Leia's words. We cut them out together. Leia glued them all on herself. Here was her list: teachers, the art cart, works, lessons, circle time, workbench, snack, playground, and writing work. And it wouldn't have been complete without some dinosaur stickers! : )
Here is Mrs. Schnell's first page and, although the pictures (and my sentiments) are the same, the letter is completely different (and, of course, before I could grab her to tell her that it was supposed to be a "thank you" type thing. Ha!). Her letter reads, "I love you! Did you like my birthday crown?" Obviously inspired by the bottom picture. Ha!
And for Mrs. Schnell's picture, Leia Rose drew a "Teacher Mug." ; )