Recitation

Each student is required to recite a poem at morning exercises.  This was J's day.  

End of School

I feel like putting on my Oprah voice for this. 

"It's the End of Schooooooooooooooool!!"

End Oprah voice.  

So of course we had to put together a little Thank You gift for her teacher.  

I will disclose that I stole this idea from A Turtle's Life for Me.  She does really cute, easy crafts, and has yummy recipes to share.  

It's a gift card book!  

I cut everything using the Cricut (so handy!)

Gift cards are $5 each.  

Front Cover

"What will Mrs. XXXX do this summer?"

(all ideas came from what I imagine was a not-so-subtle conversation with Mrs. XXXX)

Plant a garden

Eat yummy ice cream

Get a snack on the road

Go swimming

Back Cover

At 3:30 today she will be a 3rd grader!

Back to School

Our Summer was cut short with school starting 10 days ago.  Yes, it's already been 10 days.  Although it brought an end to our lazy days (or not-so-lazy August), I was secretly humming the Hallelujah chorus as the thought of a stricter routine and fewer cries of "I'm bored".  While she dove right back into the swing of things, I am still adjusting to the dreaded Making of Lunch each weekday.  More hated than the annual school fundraiser, the Making of Lunch is my most detested of school rituals.  While she would happily eat PB&J nearly every day, I always feel pressured to come up with something more creative than the standard sandwich-water-fruit/veg combo.  Some days we win, some we lose (PB&J on graham crackers). 

She was fashionably attired, as always. 

Umbrella - the must-have accessory!

It complements her outfit, doesn't it? 

(yep, picked it out herself)

New, sparkly lunch bag!

She was excited to see her teacher again. 

We missed the school open house (held a few days before school began), but happened to drop in that afternoon.  Her teacher was kind enough to give us a tour of the school & Big Sis' 2nd grade jitters were soothed after having looked around.  

Another first: she's now a bus rider!  Although we only live about 15 minutes from school, she is committed to riding the bus.  She is picked up almost an hour prior, and dropped off nearly an hour after school.  It makes for a long day, but she swears she likes it.  My girl is growing up!

Guess What?

He graduated!

After 4 of the longest years of our life together, he GRADUATED. 

Don't get any high-falutin' ideas, though.  

I may have to call him Doc now, but he still has to mow the lawn every week. 

Mom Fail #1

Monday dawned like any other day. We went about our morning as usual - Curious George, breakfast, getting dressed, backpack on. As I pulled up to to the front of the school, my heart stopped for a moment as I remembered what day it was.

Monday.

The 29th.

Book Suitcase* Parade!

I felt like the worst Mom ever. With all the chaos of sick kids and the Easter Activity, I had completely forgotten to have her finish the Book Suitcase. She had worked on it the previous weekend, but the actual folder had gotten shuffled through the week, and slipped my mind.

As she struggled out of the car, I mentioned that we had forgotten to pack her project, but that I would figure something out.

I raced home again and burst through the door. Big Daddy looked at me questioningly.

"Ohmygoshwetotallyforgotaboutherbooksuitcaseprojectandit'sdueTODAY!!!!!!", I blurted without taking a breath.

We then spent the next 20 minutes searching for pictures of cupcakes and green foods - which, despite my collection of parenting magazines and Bon Appetits, was not as easy I thought it would be. As oceans of guilt washed over me, we flipped pages, cut, glued, added the luggage tag, and called it good.

I packed Big J into the car and burned rubber back to the school.

I burst through the doors of the school office and explained my situation. The secretaries gave each other a look, then had me leave the Suitcase with them. (oh I hope it gets to her!!)

I went about my day, and sifted through my feelings about the incident.

I don't think I'm a perfect mom. Far from it. I think teachers - particularly in our area - have a tough enough time trying to get students (and their parents) to comply and participate. I like Mrs. C., and I think she's doing a great job with the 'raw material' she's been given. I don't want our family to be a part of the problem. So if Mama has to fake a little bit of a Kindergarten project to assuage her own guilt about forgetting the due date, then so be it. And although I will probably have different feelings about it when she's in 3rd grade and beyond, for now I'm OK with that.

*Book Suitcase = a manila folder to be decorated in such a way as to entice one to read a particular book. Her choice was Pinkalicious. The suitcases are part of the month-long "Trip Around the World" wherein the students would add up reading minutes in order to 'send' the principal to different parts of the world.

PS - I really am not usually this much of a flake. Going forward I guess even Kindergarten projects warrant a reminder for my phone's organizer!

First Day Outfit

Gap Kids tunic, Baby Gap leggings & fleece hoodie, pink socks, Saucony running shoes.

Now it's your turn, Liz.

The First Day

Big Sis starts kindergarten tomorrow. We took a school tour, saw the classrooms, the play area, library, lunchroom. We’ve walked our route to school, talked about expectations for what to do, picked out her outfit, and she even decided what she wants for breakfast (cereal and an apple). She’s ready.

I am not.

I’ve been having tremendous anxiety over this event. Not about her, really. She’ll do fine. I don’t expect her to be a star pupil, but she’s bright and funny and kindhearted. She’ll make friends, and be polite, and settle into the routine nicely.

But that anxiety snakes around my mind, wrapping me in a Medusa’s glare, whipping me into a quiet frenzy of worry.

I feel like my baby is slipping away from me. All-day school means all-day away from me. Ever since we moved and I transitioned to working from home, she’s been my constant companion. We know each other’s routines and preferences, and have a good understanding of each other. And now she’s taking this giant step away from me, with nary a backward glance. She’s moving into that time where friends feel more important than family, and parental influence begins to wane. I hope I have a few more years before that really holds true, but this is the beginning.

Will school be a haven for her? A relief from the ever-present shadow of her baby brother with his grabbing hands and gibberish squawks. Or will it be a quiet torture? Counting down the numbers on the big-handed clock, always awaiting the sound of the bell which signals the sweet moments of freedom from numbers and sounds and rules, rules, rules.

I’ve never thought she would live with us forever or become a clone of me. I don’t want to freeze her now, never allowing her to grow up - to evolve into the young woman I hope she will become. But looking back on the hazy days of my grade school years, I want to reach out a warning hand to her, tell her of the peaks and pitfalls and missteps that are to come. And yet I know that those were my lessons to learn, just as she will have her own lessons to live and learn from.

And so tomorrow I will wait. Silent in my anxiety, hands clasped quietly. Watching with pride in my eyes and a heavy heart in my chest as she walks away from me, and into her future.