First day of school--Part 2

While I was taking Sophia to the bus, Bill was taking Caroline and Elizabeth to theirs.  Last year he drove them to school every day because for one reason or another we never figured out exactly what time the bus came through the neighborhood.  However, this year the information was easy to find and Bill and I decided they need to ride the bus both to and from school, which makes it easier for him to get to work early.

First day of school--yes, it's still July

Our girls get out of school early (middle-end of May) and have several 1-2 week vacations which all lead to a very early start to the school year.

The girls had to be to the bus stops at almost the same time and going in opposite directions from the house, so Bill took the older girls and I took Sophia.  Doesn't she look cute in her pink, pink, pink outfit?  (She LOVES pink.)

And here is Sophia and her friendly bus driver:

It's her last year of elementary school as her school goes from Kindergarten to fifth grade.  Wow.

Caroline is on the honor roll!

The 6th grade teachers and the PTA put on a nice continental breakfast for the honorees this morning and invited parents to come along as well. 

The principal called each child up to receive a handshake, a certificate, a pencil, and a bumper sticker for the parents' car.

Do you like that Halloween ghost she has on her hairband?

Back to our schedule!

This summer was pretty free-form as far as schedules and plans went.  Now the girls are back in school our days have more structure.  Actually, that's a good thing.  I think some moms like the summer because they can sleep in later in the morning with the kids, but my job gets me up uber early year 'round, so summer is no advantage to me there.  Even though homework time can be a bit hair-raising around here, doesn't this look sweet?

Sophia's first day of school

No matter how you look at it, Sophia is an "upper classman" now. Her school is a K-5 school, so last year in 3rd grade it could have been argued that she was in the upper half of the school, but since most elementary schools are K-6, I really think 4th grade is the first upper grade.

All that aside . . . she wouldn't let us take her to the bus on the first day or even go along with her, so here she is ready to roll:

And she's off!

And I must say, I really thought this patio picture was cute too:

5th grade promotion

Coming in to the cafeteria

Caroline's turn.

Elizabeth's turn.

Look who's looking at me!

So proud!

 

With their wonderful teacher whom they had in both 4th and 5th grades.

What a wonderful grade school experience these two sweet girls have had!

Award ceremony at school

I got a "heads up" note that Sophia would be receiving a reading award at school this past week and here she is!

 

Sorry the aspect is off.  I can't get it to a more normal size.  The man in blue in the second picture would certainly thank me, I'm sure.

Caroline and Elizabeth's class award

The class did well on their standardized testing and surpassed the teacher's goal, so they got a party and . . . they got to tape the teacher to the wall.  Really.

I arrived as the students were taking pictures of her.  She was smiling, but not saying much.  And certainly not moving much.  What a trooper!

My girls loved the whole thing.

When it was time to remove herself from the wall, she gave about seven mighty heaves and the tape gave way.  If it had been duct tape instead of masking tape, she'd be there still.

This is the way you dress to go to a school activity

Family night and pajama party at school.  My kind of party!

 

Sneaky smart school

The girls' school is sneaky smart!  Next week the school will administer the high-stakes test that is required of all children in certain grades.  TODAY they had an assembly just for the students who will be taking the test next week and handed out prizes.

What were they and what were they for?  All the students who achieved or exceeded the national average on the three parts of the exam LAST year received a recognition certificate and a free kids' meal pass to Sonic Drive-In today.  And it wasn't only if they achieved on all three tests, they handed out certificates for EACH part of the test.  One of my girls came home with three certificates and another with two.

In addition, my girls' teacher made a video featuring her students and they gave test-taking tips in a humorous way.  I hear it was a hit video at the assembly.

So . . . do well on the exam and LOOK!! you might get a free meal!  Honestly, the exam reflects on the students, teachers, school, and district, and I don't blame the school for doing whatever honest thing they can think of to encourage the children to try their hardest.

I'm glad these days are behind me (math homework mentioned)

Honestly, I  hate math drills.  I know why they're important, but often I think children can learn with a little less repetition.

Here is Caroline's math homework sheet:

There is lots of borrowing involved and I'm not surprised because the teacher is getting them (Caroline and Elizabeth are in the same class) ready for high-stakes testing coming up next week.  A little reminder never hurts.

What was your favorite kind of math in school?  I liked geometry.

Juliette?

My 5th graders are learning about William Shakespeare this month and Elizabeth decided to make herself a Juliette costume.

This headband was some lace with pre-sewn ribbon rosettes on  it.

She found a pretty costume dress to add to it.  I hear David is to be Romeo. :-)

Volunteer activity this past week

If you said you thought this was a monthly school staff luncheon hosted by the parents of two grades plus the PTA, you'd be right.

We had a nachos bar and everyone thought it was really delicious.

Included were:

chips
3 kinds of Mexican cheese sauce
beef
tomatoes
3 kinds of salsa
sweet peppers
sour cream
guacamole
jalapenos
shredded lettuce
olives
a dessert table with an assortment of cookies

I helped set up, then stayed on as the hostess to help the teachers and staff while they ate. I thought it tasted really good also. :-)

Perfect attendance

The girls ended their first semester and both Caroline and Elizabeth had perfect attendance.  Today was an award ceremony for perfect attendance as well as six other classroom awards such as a Kindness Award and a Super Reader award.

My girls were very pleased with themselves!

About 50 more students were called from just the 3-5 grades.  About 1/3 of the school's students had perfect attendance which really pleased me (and the principal!).  I think school is so important that almost nothing should keep children away from school except medical appointments, sickness, and very important family events such as weddings or funerals.  Anything else on the part of the parent is either bad or lazy parenting or both.

The first day of school

Today was the first day of school for my girls.  Here they are all loaded up with backpacks FULL of school supplies.

 Usually I like to get a shot of the girls in front of the bus as I did in 2011 and 2010.  Do you notice anything about this picture?

 Like . . . there is no bus??  And one never came?  Good thing dh and I were planning to put the girls on the bus, then follow it on its route and greet the girls when they got off anyway.  So today the "bus" was Mom's Honda.

Here they are inside the school.

 I told Sophia's friend Kira that she is in most of Sophia's first day of school pictures!  Check the 2011 picture in the link above.  She is Sophia's favorite friend.

 Caroline was at the head of the line this morning.  She was really excited to be starting school again.

 Elizabeth was farther back in line, but almost as excited to greet her old teacher who is their teacher again this year.  We are so very lucky to have her!

Track meet today

Today is the spring track meet. Elizabeth decided to participate in track this year, so she is going to the meet. She's ready to go with her bag of snacks and drinks, she's coated with sunscreen, she's wearing her school track T-shirt, and she has her Canada baseball cap. Oh, and she's really excited!

Great classroom activity in Sophia's classroom

Today is the end of the third quarter for the girls' school. Tomorrow is a day off so the teachers can get report cards made out.

To celebrate, Sophia class wrote invitations to their parents inviting them to come to a pot luck lunch in the classroom. Each child was asked to bring his/her favorite food that wasn't a dessert (the teachers provided cookies), so the buffet table was loaded with child-friendly food.

My favorites were the chicken enchilada casserole and large red strawberry halves. In addition there were various casseroles and fruit and vegetable trays, along with nachos and little bags of chips. We brought homemade focaccia cheese bread.

For entertainment some of the children stood on their chairs and read a recent story each had written, including Sophia.

I wish I had done more of this kind of thing when I was teaching in the classroom.

Today we are taking down the tree

A few years ago one of my friends solved a very minor problem in my life. I had three graduation tassels and didn't really know what to do with them (NOT hang them from my rearview mirror!), but didn't want to throw them away. My friend put hers on her Christmas tree every year. I've been doing the same ever since. I think they look pretty, I know where they are, and for a couple of weeks each year I can prove I graduated from something.

One little story about the one on the left--I went to a four-year high school and my senior year, all three of the kids in my family were at the same school. At graduation time our school chose dark red "disposable" gowns (vs. rented), so, with an eye to the future, I bought mine a little long. Two years later my brother L wore my cap and gown, and a year later my brother M wore the same outfit. We all had the same tassel as well, but I ended up with it because it was for my graduation year. So this is really the "family tassel."

In the fall I saw an online "quilt-along" with instructions to make a Christmas tree skirt. I'd been using the same one for about 25 years and it was long over due to be replaced. It took me awhile to get started, but I made this tree skirt during the fall and had it under the tree before Christmas. I'd never pieced a quilt like this before and it was fun to see the design appear as I sewed pieces together.

The week went well

We had a busy week. You'd think the week a stay-at-home mom's children go back to school would be the week of ease and luxury, but that would be someone else, not me.

I have one part time job that I do five days a week year 'round. I have another part time job I do as needed for them and as it fits my schedule. They are both ESL related. During the summer I worked only about three times for the second company--just enough to keep up with what was going on and enough so they didn't forget about me.

However! When I filled out my proposed schedule last month, I told them I'd work every Monday-Thursday for four hours in the morning. They picked me up for almost every shift I volunteered for which is nice that they still remember me and nice when the paycheck comes. However, it gave me 8.5 hour work days, which I realize most people have, but in addition to that, I am also a full-time mother and homemaker and am responsible for all the breakfasts, dinners, laundry, cleaning (not that I did much of that, but I did do some :-) ), shopping, taking my mom to her appointments and children to dental appointments, filling out all the school paperwork, and taking myself to the doctor. That was just this week.

Why do I work at a paying job? Retirement fund. New windows. Ceiling insulation. Hearing aids so the hubs can hear me (he might be sorry about that one). Mission clothes for ds.

I am very, very lucky to have two jobs that allow me to work from home in my pajamas. A lot of people want a "work from home" job and there are a lot of scam ones out there, but mine are legitimate and often enjoyable.

Next week's goal: ALL homework completed and ALL piano practicing completed!

We survived the summer!

In case you are wondering how it is that I have both bus pictures AND school pictures, it's because dh and I followed the bus in the car. Hehe.