When I picked the kids up at daycare yesterday Lex was playing air hockey with a 4th grader. I came in, put my hand on Lex’s back, and said hello. The other kids says, to Lex, “Is that your mom?” Lex said yes and the other kid said, “Your mom is a teacher!”
Sweet!
Open house was tonight. It was very different than it has been in the past. For starters, my day went like this:
7:30am – parent meeting at school
8:15am – UVEI all day
3:30pm – errands
4:45pm – pick up kids from daycare, feed, and change them (Lex was a mess!)
6:00pm – open house, but this time I sent my kids to sit with friends while I stood in the teacher line! Alan got there a few minutes later, so I didn’t totally ditch my kids with others.
6:15pm – Hanging out in 5th grade. Eve was with a friend and Lex was with Alan. I’m chit-chatting with my 5th graders and their parents.
6:45pm – Sneak (not really) out to dash over to Lex’s room. He had a ton he wanted to show me, but he was spacey and couldn’t focus so we only got through a bit of it.
7:00pm (after the “closing time” announcement) – quick stop at Eve’s room. No one there. Fortunately the teacher is super nice so we stayed and chatted for a few minutes and she didn’t kick us out. :)
7:15pm – heading home with two tired kids. Actually, Alan took Lex home, so I only had one tired one in my car. Then all the usual snack (since dinner was early), shower, stories, etc.
8:15pm – homework! I’m writing my first lesson plan and I’ll be teaching on Thursday, so I wanted to get it done tonight to review with my mentor tomorrow.
9:30pm – Shutting down! Literally and figuratively. Morning comes early these days.
I missed wandering around with my kids, taking pictures of their work, and chatting with their teachers. Instead we rushed through the whole thing. Alan was there with them, but he doesn’t have the guided path of open house, he just followed behind them while they did whatever. :) I guess this is one of the many times I’ll have to switch hats (teacher/parent) quickly and only be partially present for both. Overall a good night though, not complaining.
Would you like my to post my full schedule every day? :)
It’s 5:30am. The kids’ bedroom door is cracked open. I peek in and see Eve, laying on her side, doggie tucked next to her head, reading light on, and a book propped open. She’s reading silently to herself and doggie. My heart melts and I once again wish for a photographic memory.
On a side note, I wonder how long she’s been awake?
Yesterday Eve was browsing through her fairy cookbook and decided to make some cookies. Her first choice, pink pinwheel cookies, didn’t work out because we didn’t have the right ingredients (much to my surprise we were out of powdered sugar!). After much deliberation she finally settled on pink sparkly heart cookies.
Eve did all of the work on these cookies. Measuring, mixing, etc.
When the cookie dough was chilling in the fridge she went down to the basement and never came back, so she finished them this morning.
She rolled out the dough and kept say “Oh, this is such hard work!”
She cut out big hearts and little hearts, then got bored of the rolling/cutting process and started just making shapes with her hands.
The directions said to brush with egg whites then sprinkle with sugar. She thought that process took too long so she asked why you can’t just go from egg white to sugar to cookie. I said “go for it!” She tried one (top left corner) and said, “Oh, they kinda get all messy when you do that.” Then she went back to the original way.
The first step of the recipe said to mix red food coloring with granulated sugar to make it pink. She decided she wanted purple, so she added red and blue food coloring. It ended up being a red/blue/purple combo.
Into the oven they go. Like I said, she did everything!
I was right near by for the “into the oven” process, but a little more involved with the “out of the oven” process so no pics of that. She helped though. She wore oven mitts and held one side of the tray. :)
Not quite what the picture showed, but all Eve.
Her favorite part! :)
The kids were all wound up and buggy and driving us crazy today. Alan and I each made our escapes, individually of course, to get some exercise, but the kids wanted none of that, instead they fussed and argued and bugged. Typical back-to-school weekend stuff.
It all turned around this afternoon though, when Alan was able to convince Lex to help out in the basement. We are so close (still!) to being able to move stuff back in from the garage. Alan just has to get the baseboards and trim done. Today he was working on that and Lex started installing door knobs. He opened the packages, read the directions, and did it (so says Alan) all on his own! Everyone was pretty proud.
Lex, hard at work installing a door knob.
Proud boy! He’s wearing headphones because Alan was running the saw.
Starting on another door.
Eve wanted to make cookies all on her own, but when she put the dough in the fridge for the required 30 minute wait, she decided to go down to the basement and work on her “project.” A project she started last weekend involving scrap wood, nails, and the hammer. She says she’s making furniture for a dog house she plans to build some day in the future.
Eve, hard at work on her “project.”
She choose to spend extra time in the basement and finish her cookies tomorrow.
So for awhile this afternoon all three of them were hard at work in the basement and it was quiet up here! I was able to cook a good dinner and get started on my homework. Yay! UVEI sessions start up again this week and I need to have five writing assignments completed before then. I have four done already, just working on the fifth.
Look at that awesome workshop Alan has set up! So tidy and organized. :)
Happy Saturday!
I finished my second almost-full week of school. We’ve had two four-day weeks so far, next week will be the first full five day week!
Things are going really, really well! I’ve taught a few lessons and learned a ton. The 5th graders are smart and funny and just plain fun. I am surrounded by a super supportive, fun, welcoming staff. I couldn’t have asked for a better first placement… though maybe they are setting the bar high for future experiences.
I’m in the process of planning my first lesson. A basic map skills lesson. Wish me luck! :)
Eve is the most observant person I know. She regularly amazes me with random observations she makes. Awhile ago she asked me why me and Mema always pat each other on the back when we hug. I didn’t even realize we did it, but she notices. Tonight, while putting a band-aid on the inner/back of her thigh, just above the knee, she told me that “baggie” parts of the body don’t do as well with band-aids. I said, “what?” and she started talking about how lots of women have baggy parts “right here” she said, rubbing her upper/inner thigh. Sometimes men too, she added, but mostly women. I love that she says it in a totally non-judgemental way, just as a simple fact related to her band-aid situation. Another time she was sitting on my lap and started tucking my hair behind my ears, just like I always do to her. Her observations are never judgements (not yet, anyway) just simple observations.
I had more to this thought, but I’ve lost it now. I guess I’ll summarize with, Eve is pretty awesome. :) I’ll update later if the rest comes back to me!
Oh, I remember my other example. Eve came home from school yesterday and was telling me that one of her friends had dark circles under her eyes that “were kinda baggy.” She has noticed such things on me before as well. She said her friend doesn’t usually have them (thankfully, she’s just a little girl!) but she did in school yesterday and didn’t look very well. Last night that girls mother posted on FB that her daughter was sick and throwing up. I think Eve noticed she was unwell. So perceptive!
My favorite quote from Eve ever… “Mom, do you want me to read you…?” Fill in the blank. This story. Goofus and Gallant. Calvin and Hobbes. I always say yes when she asks. I LOVE it!
Ok, maybe “fast lane” is a bit of an exaggeration, but we kept busy. On Friday (a day off) we went to the hair salon, appointments for everyone! Then we had friends over to play in the afternoon.
Saturday we braved the potential elements and headed for the apple orchard. We started with the corn maze, an annual favorite, then on to the apple orchard, then we were pleased to discover blueberries still ripe for the picking!
First things first, weighing ourselves on the giant scale.
Lost in the corn maze?
Not for long! They’re off and running again!
Lex stopped and read the story along the way, but the other two just plowed ahead.
Lex is very efficient with his apple picking.
The moms doing the heavy lifting while the kids run ahead. Lex was nice enough to capture the moment for me. :)
I was so happy to find blueberries on the bushes!
We met another friend on the wagon ride back down the hill. She was in pre-k with Eve. Lex looks funny in this picture, but I like the angle otherwise. :)
Then we bought cider and donuts and had a picnic lunch. I had brought lunch food as well, not just donuts. :) Back home we made an apple pie and apple donut muffins. Yummy!
Eve peeled apples for pie.
Eve likes apple pie! And apple cider. :)
Sunday the forecast called for rain, but instead we got lots of sunshine so we spent the afternoon at a friend’s pool, soaking up the last rays of summer.
It was a warm and sunny day, perfect for the pool.
They had a lot of fun with these pool noodles. I may have to get some next summer.
Sunday night Eve and Alan had a “daddy date” (dinner and Home Depot) so Lex and I went out as well. I was thinking of taking them both to see Planes if it was a rainy day, but Eve didn’t want to see the movie and it wasn’t a rainy day, so that plan fell through. Lex really did want to see the movie though, so we while Eve and Alan were out, Lex and I went to see Planes, then we had dinner and did some grocery shopping. It was a really fun night, despite the fact that we stuffed ourselves with movie theater popcorn and Recees Pieces and both came home with bellyaches.
Lex helped with the grocery shopping. :)
Today we had friends over to play in the morning, and Aunt Mandy came to visit in the afternoon. Her and Alan went out shopping and to dinner so the kids and I went to the neighbor’s house to have s’mores! Nothing says Labor Day like s’mores! Parrish said, “We’re eating marshmallows. This feels like a holiday or something.” I said, “It is a holiday!” :) Lex had two s’mores (and a few stray marshmallows, I think) then ran around the house eight times! Eve had half a s’more and decided she liked toasting the marshmallows better than actually eating them.
We made another apple pie today. This one was a birthday present for Mandy. Notice that my helpers are so big these days they don’t even need to stand on chairs!
We have a lot of apples!
Toasting marshmallows.
S’mores. Yum!
Eve. What more can I say?!
Eve, contemplating how best to begin with her s’more. She got about 3/4 of the way through before she was done and handed it over to me.
She liked this part much better.
Lex ran around the house eight times then crashed at my feet. :)
Eve learned how to get up on the trapeze bar, with a little help from brother. I love when they work together.
They did some fancy tricks while burning off marshmallow energy!
The best trick! They can swing like this. I told them that now if I need to sell them to the circus (a running joke in this house) they will at least be useful there. :)
Now we are hopefully crashing early. Tomorrow begins week two of school. Hope we survive another one. :)
Happy September!
We survived week one of 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade! Luckily it was a short week because we are all TIRED today. School is great though! For everyone! Lex loves his teacher and was excited that they are allowed to chew gum in school now. Eve loves her teacher and her class. They are both pretty chill about it all. Old pros at this school thing.
I’m having fun with the 5th graders. We have a great class this year. They are friendly and funny and nice to one another. I got to teach my first lesson yesterday and another mini-lessons/UVEI assignment today. My mentor teacher is super supportive and encouraging. There are three 5th grades and the teachers work very well as a cohesive team. They are even doing rotating classes with “homerooms” this year, so my mentor teacher teaches writing/language arts to all three homeroom classes. Basically he’s teaching the same lesson three times a day. Yesterday I taught it the third time, after watching him the first two. :) Today I rotated with my homeroom class, so I got to see all three teachers teach their subjects. It was interesting to see their different styles and their different room setups and how they interacted differently with the same class. So much to learn! Our team meetings are really useful for me to learn what teachers watch for in student behaviors and development, what’s par for the course and what’s a red flag.
My kids are adapting to our new routine with the expected amount of overtired fussing. Alan walked them into their classrooms the first three days, but left them in the hall today. Lex apparently had a hard time with that. He told me all about it after school. Alan is weaning them off the morning drop-off routine that I’ve done for years (because I liked it) and moving to a drop at the door system, like most other parents do. They will be fine with it… eventually. :) It’s a year of transition for all of us.
Now we have a four day weekend and then another four day week. Time to recuperate and get caught up on some sleep!
More later. For now, a picture of Eve’s silliness this evening:
That looks like a good place to keep the toothbrushes, right?