A couple week's ago, I got to go to Charlotte's class and share some photos and anecdotes from Paris. They were in the middle of their France unit. I showed photos of Notre Dame & the Sacre Coure, the ole Eiffle, some mounted police officers and a police car that seemed 180 degrees from a standard issue Crown Victoria. I also got to use Ms. S' SMART BOARD for my presentation, which made me want an Ipad even more.
They asked questions like, how many photos did you take? Do all police ride horses? Is that a castle too? I showed them some of the few trinkets I had, Eiffle Tower keychain that I got for free, Charlotte's Eiffle tower Christmas Tree decoration, a Euro (a coin, not a bill) and a $2 Euro just to add some more material.
They were the sweetest, cutest audience to which I'd ever presented. Daniel was very forgiving of me when I called him Nicholas too. Charlotte was very happy to have me here...she requested I do it when she heard about the France unit last October. The camradiery in her class is AMAZING, especially when compared to Natalies...they all go to each other's bday parties, regardless of gender.
I cannot believe they will be doing assessments for the new Kindergarteners in a few weeks. I think I will miss it more than Charlottte.
Showing posts with label my schoolgirls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my schoolgirls. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
The week ends...
Yesterday, I had the great honor of chaperoning the Daisies. Charlotte and her troop went to Madison Fire Station #7 and OMG, did the Kindergarteners bring the cute! Charlotte checked in with me often, hung out with her nice friends and we all had fun. I love her class, I love her Daisies troop. I am so glad I had a second student at SMG because Natalie's class is so completely different. I am still in shock at the savvy "mean girl" behavior of her class, that started in freaking Kindergarten. And, apparently, nothing can be done but lip service. It's an unlucky class for my sweet, empathetic, kind and plays-by-the-rules Natalie to be placed in but the universe just isn't always fair. Charlotte and I will help her get through. We are both her biggest fans.
Auntie is coming to visit with Olivia and Jillian tonight. Tomorrow, I'm back at SMG to volunteer for the rummage sale. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to volunteer there but I've always been a time giver, in addition to opening my checkbook for tuition, monthly giving, etc. They do learn some good lessons at the lil parochial too.
Tomorrow night, we party with the Texans for St Patricks Day. It's Bill's bday and CJ is throwing him a party, because they like to party. And kids are always included as well...Jamie and Izzy are becomming good friends to our two ones. I love them all!
80 degrees today, yesterday and likely tomorrow. March 16! No winter this year...I can count on one hand the days we actually accumulated snow. I fear global warming is alive and well in 'sconnie.
Time to get the girls! TTFN, SI.
Auntie is coming to visit with Olivia and Jillian tonight. Tomorrow, I'm back at SMG to volunteer for the rummage sale. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother to volunteer there but I've always been a time giver, in addition to opening my checkbook for tuition, monthly giving, etc. They do learn some good lessons at the lil parochial too.
Tomorrow night, we party with the Texans for St Patricks Day. It's Bill's bday and CJ is throwing him a party, because they like to party. And kids are always included as well...Jamie and Izzy are becomming good friends to our two ones. I love them all!
80 degrees today, yesterday and likely tomorrow. March 16! No winter this year...I can count on one hand the days we actually accumulated snow. I fear global warming is alive and well in 'sconnie.
Time to get the girls! TTFN, SI.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wherein we confer
School conferences yesterday! I am so proud to be mama to my girls. They are learning what they need to learn, they are kind, they are polite, they are doing exactly what they need to do and are where they need to be.
I was a handful for my parents. Our house was total chaos, literally and figuratively so perhaps there is some truth to the nurture over nature. I mean, I don't remember my parents ever sitting down with me to do homework, there were three babies younger than me to worry about and my mom's favorite firstborn to help along. The second child, it was texbook. Oh and physical safety wasn't a big concern either...roaming free on a farm...the only real injuries I sustained were stepping on a rusty nail. Oh and there was the trauma of being tasked with holding a large heavy fence by myself to block 20 steers into the barn only to have one 1000lb cow knock the fence down with me under it while he walked over it. My ankle hurt, my dad told me to sit on the side of the barn and informed me that if I really needed medical attention, it would be an escort by ambulance as he didn't have time to take me, what with all the steer wranglilng that was going on that night. There was another time when I was riding on the back of a hay wagon while picking rocks and swung my leg under the tire and cranked my ankle. Or the time where I was riding on the back of a tractor with my dad and he dropped a large, HEAVY axle bar on top of my foot. Then there were all those times where my parents would first pick me up HOURS after that Brownies meeting ended, or volleball practice or whathaveyou. The teachers never cared and were glad they didn't have to wait around like that poor, pathetic kid whose life they were suppose to have a hand in. One time, during the dead of Feburary, my dad picked me up outside at about 8:30 (past a structured kid's bedtime for sure)...pitch black, in Barton, WI...I waited for hours outside my school during the winter? I tried to get the nuns who lived in the house right next to our school to offer a little shelter but for some reason, there was nothing they could do either. So Harry Potter esque in its beginings. I wondered at times if they wanted me maimed or killed...not just my parents but all of them.
Parochial schools, and society, are a little different these days. But, my childhood was a bit extreme.
So, yeah, nurture. I can't feel guilty for what I did as a kid anymore but I am so glad that my kids aren't dealing with the same. Those girls are making the most of the time they are spending in their activites...soccer, softball, dance, school and it is so different from they way I approached things. Keep it up, girls. Mama's got your back. Right now, I am loving teacher conferences. And I always hope to provide a safe and SANE landing at home, God help me.
I was a handful for my parents. Our house was total chaos, literally and figuratively so perhaps there is some truth to the nurture over nature. I mean, I don't remember my parents ever sitting down with me to do homework, there were three babies younger than me to worry about and my mom's favorite firstborn to help along. The second child, it was texbook. Oh and physical safety wasn't a big concern either...roaming free on a farm...the only real injuries I sustained were stepping on a rusty nail. Oh and there was the trauma of being tasked with holding a large heavy fence by myself to block 20 steers into the barn only to have one 1000lb cow knock the fence down with me under it while he walked over it. My ankle hurt, my dad told me to sit on the side of the barn and informed me that if I really needed medical attention, it would be an escort by ambulance as he didn't have time to take me, what with all the steer wranglilng that was going on that night. There was another time when I was riding on the back of a hay wagon while picking rocks and swung my leg under the tire and cranked my ankle. Or the time where I was riding on the back of a tractor with my dad and he dropped a large, HEAVY axle bar on top of my foot. Then there were all those times where my parents would first pick me up HOURS after that Brownies meeting ended, or volleball practice or whathaveyou. The teachers never cared and were glad they didn't have to wait around like that poor, pathetic kid whose life they were suppose to have a hand in. One time, during the dead of Feburary, my dad picked me up outside at about 8:30 (past a structured kid's bedtime for sure)...pitch black, in Barton, WI...I waited for hours outside my school during the winter? I tried to get the nuns who lived in the house right next to our school to offer a little shelter but for some reason, there was nothing they could do either. So Harry Potter esque in its beginings. I wondered at times if they wanted me maimed or killed...not just my parents but all of them.
Parochial schools, and society, are a little different these days. But, my childhood was a bit extreme.
So, yeah, nurture. I can't feel guilty for what I did as a kid anymore but I am so glad that my kids aren't dealing with the same. Those girls are making the most of the time they are spending in their activites...soccer, softball, dance, school and it is so different from they way I approached things. Keep it up, girls. Mama's got your back. Right now, I am loving teacher conferences. And I always hope to provide a safe and SANE landing at home, God help me.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Good Morning!
Charlotte and Natalie both had great drop offs this morning. It was a beautiful sunny morning and I am so proud of them. It makes the work day go better as well. Love these mornings.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Four days into it...
Nataile had an issue with a rude little ADHD kid yesterday. She decided not to tell on her because the same kid had already gotten in trouble the day prior. The same kid came to summer camp with lice and passed it along, for weeks. I am a little judgemental but really starting to dislike this kid. These kind of confessions are what journals are for.
On Monday, Natale had to fill out a "job application" and I dunno, it was the first full day of school after her early 10am wake up calls a week prior so I think she was tired. She forgot her phone number. I picked her up from school and she was angry...didn't even acknowledge her best friend before leaving with me. She cried on the way to speech, during speech, and later that evening when Lance compared her sometimes lazy lackluster approach to doing sit ups to "Uncle Blake." She sobbed and cried and Lance did his usual insensitive "alligator tears" bullshit that I have hated for 20+ years. All Natalie could say was Please Do Not Call Me Uncle Blake, through sobs. Prior to that, she tried to explain that she had a bad day and he said, "yeah, so did I, we all have bad days." Is this reality? I have to mindfully keep my mouth closed and restrain myself physically from flicking him in the forehead to avoid a fight and let him explain himself to her instead.
So, yesterday am, I spoke with her teacher in the hallway regarding speech crossover techiniques (Natalie worked her tail off this summer with speech and has it mastered, but has to make it a pattern in her out of cilnic life now.) I followed up with teacher by email and she and Natalie put together a plan. Her teacher then mentioned the forgotten phone number incident and told me that she tried to console Natalie, told her to work with me to come up with a way to remember her phone number and wanted to address the issue as knowing one's phone # is a safety issue. So, yeah, I took the hit there. But not without telling Mr. H that Natalie does indeed know her own phone, my cell (Lance in his infinite wisdom recently changed his cell # so "no one can call him" and frankly, I just got his # committed to memory) and was extremely sad and tired that afternoon (the first full day of school), and not only about the phone number mishap.
Charlotte is an awesome Kindergarten student. She grogily, yet cheerfully, gets up every am before 6:30 and goes off to school. She tells me about her day and the Kindergarten Daily News also helps serve as an outline. She has been hitting her head a lot lately. Walking into walls. I am going to see about a vision check but she is doing phenomenally. I want to summarize, somehow, her going off to school. I can't yet do it. It's been a mixed bag but she is truly making us proud. I will write it someday soon.
On Monday, Natale had to fill out a "job application" and I dunno, it was the first full day of school after her early 10am wake up calls a week prior so I think she was tired. She forgot her phone number. I picked her up from school and she was angry...didn't even acknowledge her best friend before leaving with me. She cried on the way to speech, during speech, and later that evening when Lance compared her sometimes lazy lackluster approach to doing sit ups to "Uncle Blake." She sobbed and cried and Lance did his usual insensitive "alligator tears" bullshit that I have hated for 20+ years. All Natalie could say was Please Do Not Call Me Uncle Blake, through sobs. Prior to that, she tried to explain that she had a bad day and he said, "yeah, so did I, we all have bad days." Is this reality? I have to mindfully keep my mouth closed and restrain myself physically from flicking him in the forehead to avoid a fight and let him explain himself to her instead.
So, yesterday am, I spoke with her teacher in the hallway regarding speech crossover techiniques (Natalie worked her tail off this summer with speech and has it mastered, but has to make it a pattern in her out of cilnic life now.) I followed up with teacher by email and she and Natalie put together a plan. Her teacher then mentioned the forgotten phone number incident and told me that she tried to console Natalie, told her to work with me to come up with a way to remember her phone number and wanted to address the issue as knowing one's phone # is a safety issue. So, yeah, I took the hit there. But not without telling Mr. H that Natalie does indeed know her own phone, my cell (Lance in his infinite wisdom recently changed his cell # so "no one can call him" and frankly, I just got his # committed to memory) and was extremely sad and tired that afternoon (the first full day of school), and not only about the phone number mishap.
Charlotte is an awesome Kindergarten student. She grogily, yet cheerfully, gets up every am before 6:30 and goes off to school. She tells me about her day and the Kindergarten Daily News also helps serve as an outline. She has been hitting her head a lot lately. Walking into walls. I am going to see about a vision check but she is doing phenomenally. I want to summarize, somehow, her going off to school. I can't yet do it. It's been a mixed bag but she is truly making us proud. I will write it someday soon.
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