at it again...

Seems to be that there is still so much going on that I just can't keep up.  Currently, it's finishing pendant orders (have to be delivered in time for Mother's Day), working on auction projects for Sophie's class, helping out in both classes as much as possible, and a bunch of other stuff.  We are just busy.

Lately, we have been having fun driving a sporty new car.  It won't be ours for long - it's just too small - but it is definitely a lot of fun for the right now!

January 13:: In Progress

January 12:: Give

Back to school 2011

This is the picture I managed to snap super fast on our way out the door this morning for the first day of school. They certainly do look pretty excited about going to school and I was thrilled when we got there and we weren't late. Because we were really pushing it this morning.
But - we made it and Emma has a lot of friends in her class and a great teacher who went to art school before becoming a teacher and loves art and wants to give the kids the best art experience possible. I really love that.
Sophie had her orientation for kindergarten today and goodness, her teacher is going to have her hands full. There are 38 kids in her class!!! One teacher (one full time aide as well), but one teacher who has to teach and instruct and evaluate and manage 38 kids. Goodness! (I really needed to say it again).
The girls are excited to be back to school, back with old friends, making new friends, learning, the routine, all of it. I am thrilled to have time to grocery shop by myself again, maybe keep the house clean, spend lots of time in the classrooms (I imagine they will need it) and other fun school year stuff I like to do.Day 1 seems to have been a success - looking forward to all of the learning and fun this year has in store.  :)

bittersweet

I knew this day was coming.  And, this isn't even the big day that is being anticipated.  That day will come in early September.  But, today had it's own little moment of sadness and happiness swirled together.  See, this kiddo here (the one who much too early lost her first tooth just 4 days ago) was registered for kindergarten today.  I know!!!  How can it be?  I just want to know when it was that she became so smart.  Really smart.  So much so that I know she is totally ready (even though she will be a very young kindergartner with a June birthday) and she is going to do great.  Because of all of this smartness, I went ahead and took the big step of registering my baby for kindergarten.  Since there is only one kindergarten teacher and we had her for Emma's first year of school, I know she will be in good hands.  No tears for now... I'll save those for September.

Eric Carle inspiration

This week, Emma's class began a unit studying the art of Eric Carle.  I actually heard about this unit from a mom last year who said "hope your daughter get's this teacher, she does a fabulous unit on Eric Carle."  I mostly forgot about that conversation until yesterday when Emma came home excited about the new unit.  She dug through our collection of Eric Carle and asked to take her favorite one with her to school (Mister Seahorse).
I'm so excited about this unit for Emma - she gets to learn about a special author/artist/illustrator.  She gets to make some more fantastic art.  Emma is having a great time with art right now. 
We love Eric Carle around here - I have had this book on my wish list for a while now, it might be time to finally get it.  My favorite is certainly "Mister Seahorse", but I also love "The Tiny Seed" and the what do you see/what do you hear books.  If you like Eric Carle, you should check out his blog at the very least.  There is also a fantastic museum that maybe we will someday visit - so very far away.

Passing Notes

I remember a lot about passing notes when I was a kid.  I even used to have a friend who would write me notes on silly putty.  It worked like magic - you could write with pen, fold it gently and pass it but if a teacher started working toward you, you just really worked the putty into a ball to make the note disappear.  I guess getting into trouble for having silly putty is better than having your top secret note read out loud.
Emma is writing notes with a friend in class.  Maybe this is bad mom on my part - but I think it is so cute.  Right?  It's cute.  I'm sticking with that for now.  So cute.

The note written to Emma:
To Emma O.  hi Emma O.  your sister is funny  Don't you think so Emma O.

Emma's note back:
Hi Ava,  your funny.  do you like playing Baby City

Goodness, I love it.  Baby City was capitalized - it's as important as the names.  It's the game they play at recess these days.  They also play Kitty City.  Emma likes it, but always has to be the littlest kitty because she is the littlest.  Almost seven.  Wow.

Crazy Pajama Day

I think the preschool is in cahoots with the elementary school.  Sophie had pajama day at her school - she was so excited that she didn't have to get dressed this morning - it's a little scary just how excited she was too.  But, she had a really fun day today and even got to have a little pancake breakfast for snack.  She is still in her pajamas and intends to wear them for the rest of the day.  Ummm...
Emma had crazy hair day today.  It was a last minute thing for us to come up with her hair style this morning and we couldn't get the heart to stand up.  Still, it was cute and she loves it.  When we got to her class this morning, there were several kids without crazy hair and I found myself helping the teacher put pipecleaner spirals on top of little girl heads and sproinging out the ears of little boy heads.  At the end of it all - there was some crazy hair in that room. 

Tonight is family dance night at Emma's school.  She wants to go.  So, Andy and I will be taking a pajama wearing monkey and a heart-headed who out for some dancing fun.
a little side note:  On our way home from preschool today, Sophie was pulling stuff out of her backpack and noticed that everything said Sophie on it.  "Mom, this stuff all says Sophie, but I'm Sophia".  Me:  "No, you're Sophie.  You have always been Sophie".  Sophie:  "No mom, I'm Sophia".  Me: "You are?  Since when?"  Sophie:  "A few days ago, when I decided to change to Sophia.  So, all of this is wrong.  Can you fix it when we get home?"  Me:  "Um, no."

Emma wrote a short story

Some of her spelling may be tough to interpret if you don't know the story, so here is the accurate spelling so that you can enjoy the story too.

I have a dog. Her name is Charley. She is 9 years old. I get to walk her and even sometimes I get to feed her. She is fun to take care of. But sometimes she is naughty. Once she ate my gingerbread house. It was funny.

Emma is doing a great job in school and her first report card was very good. The picture above is of her actual writing, with cute 1st grade grammar and all.

Back to School 2010

We made it. The first week of school is over, and everyone is happy. Emma loves her teachers, has already made a new friend and is enjoying her two-recess days. Sophie went to her new preschool for the first time today and really enjoyed playing with her friend J, getting cupcakes for snack (in celebration of a birthday - already!), and loved the playground (her specialty).

Tuesday was hard for me. Sophie and I attended her preschool orientation after Emma went to school, then hit the grocery store and came home. We got home at about the same time as last year when Emma went to afternoon kindergarten. It was a long day, and we really missed Emma. I am still really feeling the loneliness of having her gone all day. I imagine this gets better and I will soon be relishing these longer days (I imagine).

Today, when I dropped Sophie off to preschool, I went to the bookstore. I flipped through some magazines, checked out the kid clothing stores for some pants for Emma (no luck, her waist is so tiny), then headed home for a quick lunch. Next week, I plan to use my kid-free hours being more productive, but today I just needed to make it go fast, and not be so quiet.

These pictures are of Emma and Sophie on their first days - Emma's was taken on Tuesday morning, and Sophie's was taken this morning. They are both happy about their first days of school.

Back To School - supplies

Today I came across two tutorials for some back to school goodies that I think are great. They were both found via The Long Thread. First is this link for a tutorial for washable snack sacks. Definitely need those. Second is this link for a super cute pencil pouch tutorial. I am also hoping to make this bag for Emma. Her backpack from last year is in great shape, so she will start the school year with that one. But, she is interested in a shoulder bag this year and while these aren't great for the back - she doesn't actually cart heavy gear yet.

A Kindy Graduate

There's one living in my house. She's growing up and getting so smart! I'm so very proud of her.
This photo was snapped just a few minutes before we headed out the door and down the hill for her last day of school - now a full week ago.

Last days

Emma has officially graduated from Kindergarten. She seemed fine at first, and with a big outing to Ben & Jerry's followed by the bookstore right after school there wasn't really time to get upset. We went with a few of her friends, and followed all of that with dinner out since Andy would be at a business dinner and we were in the celebrating mode anyway.

At bedtime, things changed and Emma spent about an hour crying. When she finally settled long enough to tell us, we discovered that she was upset that she wouldn't get to see her teacher anymore. So sweet. She's doing much better today.

These pictures are from Field Day which was the next to last day of school. Both of my girls (yes both, Sophie is an honorary kindergartner) got face paintings (not long ago, Sophie would never go for this) and seemed to have a really good time. The t-shirt that Emma is wearing is the final product of my time in her class this year. The kids put foam stickers on their white shirts to spell out their names and some decorative shapes as well. Then on Monday, during the class party they took turns spray painting their t-shirts. We used dyna-flow dyes, diluted in water in a spray bottle. The kids used a bit of red, then orange, then yellow all over. On Tuesday, they peeled off the stickers to reveal their final shirts and wore them to Field Day (they were the easiest class to spot). It was loads of fun and the kids were so excited about their shirts. The total cost for everything (including t-shirts, stickers, dyes, and spray bottles) was just under $5 per kid.

So, I think Emma is going to have a really good summer. She is worried about becoming a first grader, but I think a week from now it will be out of her mind and she will be soaking up some sunshine (hopefully) and having a great time. She is going with her sister to art camp for a week in July and shortly thereafter, she is going to get some swim lessons from her kindergarten teacher (she doesn't know just yet). And, at the end of August, we are going to camp in a yert on the coast for two nights (first ever camping for the girls). So come on summer, we are ready for you.

Self Portrait

Emma created this self portrait at school a few months ago. It was on display in the school district board room for a while and finally made it's way home today. I have been waiting for this one to come home, I love it so much. The last days of school are here, and so much fun is to be had before summer starts.

Emma makes art.

This is by far my favorite thing that Emma has done this year. I just love this frog. I have been waiting for it to come home so that I can frame it and hang it somewhere - maybe her room, maybe the playroom. Isn't it adorable?
PS - this is all the scanner would hold, there is a bit cut off the one side.

Mother's Day Tea

I had the honor of attending a Mother's Day tea party at Sophie's school yesterday. I was so busy enjoying it, that I didn't really take any pictures. But I can document the hour here...
When I arrived, the festivities began with the whole class singing "On Mother's Day", sung to the tune of "Oh, Christmas Tree". It was adorable, and Sophie has since taught her sister the song and I love hearing it over and over. Next, we all sat on the floor (us ten moms) and our little monkeys climbed on our laps. Teacher Keri then shared the mom portraits and interviews with us. Sophie's portrait of me was by far the very best one in the bunch (that's just a fact, not an opinion). Her interview was funny though - she said I practice phone numbers with her (we have not started that), we play checkers together (that's actually Emma and Andy, Sophie and I play Mahjonng), and we have a beach cabin (um, no - but we are going to stay in a yert for Andy's birthday this year). So, this weekend I intend to teach Sophie her phone number and play at least one game of checkers with her (if I can get her away from Mahjonng).
After the portraits and interviews were shared, each of the kiddos served their mom a cookie and juice and then we spent some time in "choosing time". Sophie chose to paint a picture for me, and then we spent a few minutes at sensory which currently is a bucket of dirt with real worms and ants (gross, but she loves it).
Finally, the Mother's Day gifts were given. Each student created a handprint tile and they were graciously received by all of the moms with lots of ooohs and aaaahs. Mine is in the sewing room with my handprint flowers and vase that Emma made last year.
I can photo the tile, and will soon.

How I participated in Emma's school's auction

First of all, I spent the last week of school before spring break doing art projects with Emma's class every day. That was a lot of fun. We spent some time learning about Wassily Kandinsky on Monday and then went straight to work. The final auction item came from the work created on the first day. The other stuff was good too, but this one was my favorite. The kids listened to Tchaikovsky while coloring circles with oil pastels. They got the fun part. Then, it was my turn. I scanned each piece of artwork, created a photoshop file of all of the images as one, and then turned it into a poster intended to replicate the look of a real poster you might purchase from the museum. It was framed and sent to auction. Two lovely moms fought (through silent bids) over it. I love that. The winner received a "Certificate of Authenticity" to ensure that she got her $$$ worth - it had a copy of the artwork, a description of how the art was created, and every student signed it.

I love my time in Emma's class. It has been a lot of fun being able to be there, help out, meet her classmates, get to know her teacher, and get to know the school and other teachers. I really loved how much the teacher loves this project (we gave her a copy for her room) and there were a lot of people commenting on how wonderful it turned out. So glad I could offer something a little different this year.

Journey Bear stays the weekend

Emma's class has a bear named Journey Bear. JB goes home with a different student each night, and students can request him for vacations and special outings as well. Emma got to bring JB home on Friday. When we walked in the door from school, she immediately sat down with JB and his overnight bag. Suddenly she yells out "Mom, I can't find Journey Bear's pajamas." Well, what's a mom to do? I happened to have some extra flannel from Emma's new Pajama pants, so I made JB a pair to match. She wrote about it in JB's journal and will share it with her class tomorrow. She was thrilled with the pants, I'm just happy they fit him, and that I remembered to make a hole for his tail. Phew!

Crazy hair day

Friday was Crazy Hair Day at Emma's school. It had come up in conversation a few times, so I knew she was interested in being crazy. So, I went to the local party supply store and bought the closest thing to pink hairspray I could find (they called it burgundy - but look at that color).

Sophie was excited to participate too. Since our plan for the day was to hit Costco and the grocery store, I was good with that.

They look good with pink hair, don't you think?

ps-I have made progress on my list and on holiday gifting. I have all of the nieces and nephews finished and two boxes ready to be sent out this week. It's good stuff, being prepared! Also, one more thing to note about today - this is day one of Andy's five days of bedrest. We all did well although Andy is getting a sore neck and Emma broke his heart when she asked him if he would play soccer with her. Also, the downstairs toilet flooded a bit. Oh, and Sophie woke up a few minutes ago and didn't quite make it to the bathroom. Nothing we can't handle.

The first day

Sophie went to school first. She has morning preschool in the same class that Emma had her first year. And it's green, which makes her happy. Nearly everything green can make her happy. She was such a big girl, we were all amazed. She had the whole family there with her for the drop off on the first day. When we picked her up, she was really excited and told us "Ben wouldn't sit down for storytime". She still talks about that. At bedtime tonight, she told me she likes her teacher and that she is excited to go to school again. (I should mention here that Sophie is holding a photo of our family in her hand. I stuck it in her backpack that morning so that she could look at it if she got sad or worried. Her teacher said she put it away when we left but went back to look at it a couple of times and she thought it was a great idea. Sophie checks to see that it is still in her bag everyday.)

The first day for Emma was a shortened orientation style day. We were all there with her for the first 30 minutes, then we left (she actually looked a little nervous) and she got to experience a little bit of kindergarten. It was really good - she has a couple friends in class with her - those are them, sitting next to her. She likes her teacher a lot too. She is so ready to learn. They both are really, but the interest in learning is just crazy big with Emma. When my tutoring students come over, she usually gets her notebook and a pencil and sits down at the table with us so that I can make her some addition or subtraction problems to work on. She loves this. She has asked to have a desk in her room. She said she needs one because sometimes she likes to work where it is quiet.

Wow! They are really growing up. Darn. And, yeah.