Boosterthon!

I have to admit, I've honestly never seen a group of children so excited about participating in a fundraiser.  Yes, the PTA contracts out to the company and they do take a cut of our earnings, but in my eyes its all worth it.  Odd, you say, since the point is to raise money for the school?  True!  But I am just not sure that a group of PTA moms could create the same hype, enthusiasm and excitement as the Boosterthon team does.

Here's how it works: The company sends 2-3 reps to the school and they stay at the school for 10 days.  On day 1 they lead a pep rally to kick it all off, and each day after that they lead a "Boosterthon Huddle" for each grade level.  They learn a character trait (teamwork, confidence, etc) each day.  Oh, and the prizes.  There are prizes associated with $/lap, poster "contests" and just signing up!

(Most days being the Asst. Principal means walking the mis-behavers around the hallway, making phone calls to parents, and other unpleasant tasks.  But occasionally it also means wearing a tutu and dancing around the field.)

Yes, Sam is super motivated by prizes.  But the excitement in the kids is more than that.  You should see them doing their "BIG....WORLD....RECESS!" cheer.  And on the day of, these kids RUN.  They run fast, they run hard, they run holding hands and clutching water cups for a half hour.  Some respect the mandated walking laps, some do not.

This year I decided that if I was going to be there to watch, I might as well be doing something.  I signed up to mark shirts, and easy job.  Just put a mark in the next box on the back of the kids' shirts every time they run past you.  Kuddos to the girls who pulled their own pony tails to the side!  But I tell ya, I won't be sad when I'm making 5th grade shirts. The bending and twisting to get to the kindergarten backs wore me out!

Sam came to me to mark his shirt every single lap.  All 45 of them.  But wait, I thought they were only supposed to run 30-35 laps?  Well yes, that's all that they will bill the sponsors for.  But Ms. Paniagua promised a treat to anyone who ran 45.  I think she was hoping to just wear them all out, but she might have gotten more than she bargained for.  After it was all over, she looked at her line and told them "We are having a break when we get inside!"  I later learned that break included lying down on the floor.

It was a lot of bending, but I'm glad I did it.  It was fun to help the kids keep track of where they were (I just started calling out numbers as I marked each shirt) and it was fun to interact with Sam's class.

Picture From Preschool

Annabelle's teachers have set up a class website.  At the end of each week they upload an album of photos as well as a summary of what they did that week.  What a wonderful treat for a Mama who struggles to get much detail out of a 3-year-old!  I've downloaded the ones that have our Goose in them.  Here's a selection from the first 6 weeks:

Week 1: Apple Volcanoes, "Old Friends," and music class with Ms. Tina!

Week 2: Fun with the letter "B"

Week 3: Letter C and Chapel!

Week 4: Germany and Pretzel Baking

Week 5: Italy - Soccer, Pizza Making and the letter I!

Week 6: Australia (yes, she made a didgeridoo) and the letter D

Oh The Places She'll Go...

The two week wait from Sam's first day to hers was hard on Annabelle, but we managed to have a lot of "girl days" in there and I was actually quite pleased with the schedule this year!  Plus, after seeing a school supply list that looked something like this, I knew there'd be all kinds of cool things waiting for her when she got there:

Why so many plates?  Because they empty their lunch containers and serve themselves every day.  Practicing table manners, utensils, etc.  Seriously.  Below is a picture of her clutching her "welcome back" letter she received in the mail.

The director of Annabelle's preschool works hard to keep classes/groups of kids together as much as possible as the move through the school.  I appreciate this so much, as it really helps to create a sense of community for both the parents and the kids.  This year that effort led or little lady to a wonderful set of teachers and a room full of familiar faces!

Ms. Kendra and Ms. Britten have been at this for a while now.  They've got quite the set-up for their room!  Their class theme is "Oh The Places You'll Go," based on the Dr. Seuss book.  The theme not only allows for an adorably-decorated classroom (guess what's behind the door labeled "stink, stank, stunk?"), but also conveys their international focus.  Each week the class "travels" to a new country where they learn about the culture, a new letter, perform a science experiment and even cook their own snack!  This class is cramming so much "extra" into their days - I wish I could go hang out sometimes.  And I kid you not, I have already learned a few things with the materials about the different countries that she has brought home.

She was not interested in a picture with her teachers on "Meet the Teacher" morning, but she was more than ready for her turn in front of the camera by the time her first day rolled around.

I'm happy to report that by this time in the year, she is already asking "why not?!" when I tell her that tomorrow is not a school day for her.

For the record, we did have sprinkle pancakes again on her first day but I did not take a picture.  Also, she has yet to nap even once at preschool.

Dance Class

There was never really a debate in my mind.  Sam's first organized extra-curricular activity began in the fall of his 3-year preschool year.  Annabelle's would be the same, and it would be Ballet.  Did I ask her about the activity selection?  No!  I mean, she didn't know the difference between gymnastics and ballet at the time we needed to register.  But I did take her with me to register in person, which got her very excited.  "I'm going to take ballet when Sam starts school.  Want to see my ballet clothes?"

I mean.  Be still my heart.  These pictures received more "likes" on Facebook than anything else I've ever posted.

Yes, I put her hair in a bun for her first class.  I can still do a bun on myself without a mirror in less than a minute, so it only took me an extra minute to adapt to her thing, curly hair.  But no, I have not done it since.  That day will come.

The class is actually half ballet/half tap. Right now she is enjoying the tap more.  This isn't really all that surprising.  Her favorite part is when they all use their taps to wake up a friend who is pretending to be asleep.  She loves leaping during ballet, but literally stands there perfectly still when they have a chance to "free dance" and twirl around the room.  What does that say about her personality?

Will dance be her thing?  Obviously its too early to tell.  But its nice for a mom to dream!

*It is important to me that I qualify this class choice.  I had a different dance school selected.  Yes, I researched dance programs for my three year old.  I wanted to start her at a school that was technically sound with all the signs of a structured, proper ballet school.  I found that school, but it's preschool classes are during Annabelle's preschool.  You can expect her to be switching in Kindergarten.

1st Day of 1st Grade

I'll admit it.  Prepping for 1st grade is teeny, tiny potatoes compared to gearing up for kindergarten.  Not only did he not really need new clothes ("back to school clothes" shopping losing something in Houston, where you're going to need your summer wardrobe well into the second grading period), but we'd bought his school supplies through the PTA with one simple click of my mouse (bless you!) and we'd found his backpack at the beginning of the summer.  Along the way we'd grabbed a new water bottle, lunch box and shoes, and that was it!  I spent the last two weeks before school started feeling like I was forgetting to do something.  I blame the commercials.

The emotional build up was lacking, too.  Although he's been going to school since we was two, this was only the second year that he'd gone back to the same school as the year before.  He knows the staff, the kids, the routines, the layout.  In comparison, there almost nothing new this year!  He already felt like he owned the place.  While I am far from feeling like I rule the school, I too am comfortable there now.  The front office staff knows me, I can find you all kinds of supplies and I know where to ask the right questions.  We were comfortable.  We felt good.

Until the morning that teacher assignments were posted on line.  I logged in and saw a name I'd never seen before, one that I couldn't pronounce.  I did my best to read it off to Sam, trying my best to cover my fear of the unknown - the new teacher.  Not that I mind a first year teacher, but it sure is nice when you're neighbors can fill you in a bit on a teacher's quirks before you walk in the door.  But I didn't need to cover anything for Sam.  As soon as I mispronounced his new teacher's name he immediately corrected me.  You know her?  "Yeah, she led the STEM lab last year."  I later learned the she also student taught in one of the Kinder classes last year, as well.

So as Sam walked through the jam-packed halls at Meet the Teacher night, he greeted by name by everyone from the secretary to the language specialist, including his new teacher.

***

First day of school means sprinkle/chocolate chip pancakes.  Its tradition, and we follow tradition.  Even if that means that Mommy has to cook everyone else breakfast on her birthday.  (Don't worry, I made them all take me out to dinner that night.)

Please enjoy the studly Janie and Jack outfit that Sam wore on his first day of 1st Grade.  I'm sad to report that this will likely be the last year that he will wear something nice (ie Church Clothes) on his first day.  I swear we discussed the outfit choice ahead of time, but we still had a meltdown when it was time to get dressed that morning.  This was not an "awesome" outfit and it was important to him to only and always wear "awesome" clothes to school.  I used to send him to preschool in a polo shirt every single day.  Now he only accepts Under Armor, super hero, or specific Sam-approved shirts.  I really am trying my best to let go, but he just looks so darn cute in his nice clothes!  Someday he'll want them back, right?

By the way, I did feel really badly about the tears on the first school morning of the year.  I swear I did.  But I wasn't prepared to let him wear a silly t-shirt and I just had to stand my ground on this one.    Please be comforted to know that he took the collared shirt off something shortly after we left the building and returned home in his nice shorts and and awesome t-shirt.  Like I said, I'm really trying to let go.

The whole family took him to school that morning.  We walked him to his room but he wanted nothing to do with a picture.  He was sitting right across from one of his swim team buddies!  I looked around and realized there was nothing left for us to do.

Daddy went to work and Annabelle and I hit up "Tears and Cheers" in the cafeteria.  No tears from us, I promise.  Just fun times chatting with moms I hadn't seen all summer.  Its possible that a few of us stayed until the Principal kindly asked us to leave so that they could teach the Kindergartners how to walk through the lunch line, which made me realize just how much these kids mature in a year.  My word, what's he going to learn this year?