Haiku Friday: The kitchen floor

Goodbye yucky floor,

1976 gone,

Off to the tree lawn.

Don't worry, the chocolate brown carpet will be going.  The tile and carpeting are original to the 1976 charm that we're doing our best to ditch here at the ole homestead.

Smiles in my day:
- "Mom, I'm glad that I got my teacher and not another one." :)
- Hubs worked so hard on removing the floor today!
- I'm busy fighting allergies or the beginnings of a cold. It has been on a low hover since Monday. Let's hope that it leaves.
- After 5 times through the laundry, I finally got the soup spot out of K-'s brand new pink polo shirt. I might sound like a crazy laundress, which I'll completely admit to, but the neighbor accidentally got a couple of dots of a tomato based soup on K-'s new shirt and it was the hardest stuff to remove!

Have a wonderful weekend. I'll be taking advantage of the extra length and I'll be back on Tuesday. Be safe!

First day of first grade!

We survived our first day of first grade.  I say we because let's face it, the first many years of school are definitely a closely monitored homework relationship between parent and child.  Okay, it should be.

I wished Mrs. S- a warm morning and a very hot afternoon when we arrived.  She laughed, as her open house letter told us that their class is very warm.  The school is older, so it isn't air conditioned.  I woke at 4:22 AM to the weather report stating that we would have a record breaking day and most likely it would be 95 F.  I admit that I got up, wet a clean washcloth and deposited it in the freezer, figuring that K- could cool herself off at lunch if needed.  Her summer bridge tutor suggested this when she was in Mad Science Camp this past July and it worked wonders.  I was worried that the kid would drop from heat exhaustion.

She didn't and I was obviously a bit more concerned than I needed to be.

When we arrived at school, the desk that she chose with her almighty post-it wasn't the one that she had.  (Seemed a little odd, but the desk she has is probably a better fit.)  K- reports that she likes her teacher, loves having her very own desk that she can put her stuff into and she has her own locker.  (With news reports of people sending their children to school with head lice, it made me feel a bit better to have my child's belongings in her own locker.)  She said, "Mommy, Mrs. S- yelled a lot, but she didn't yell at me."  I think that it probably seemed like Mrs. S- was yelling a lot because she uses a microphone, but K- will get used to it.  I listened to her teach every Thursday morning for about 6 months and I knew that she wasn't one to yell.  I knew that she was firm, but she didn't yell when I was within earshot.  (She didn't know I was there.)

At any rate, a new development this year is that 100 book challenge is strictly what the child reads only.  Last year, it was what the child read and what the parent read to them.  Each quarter has a reading goal of 100 steps (15 minutes per step) per child.  That figures out to 6 lines being completed each week.  That's doable and though my husband is thinking that people will be fudging that a bit, when the child is accessed for reading ability, the teacher will be able to tell who was being truthful and who wasn't.

We did walk to school today.  Hubs was able to cruise with us.  K- was up at 6:45 AM.  I have to tell you, that child's feet hit the floor and she was off!  We would love to keep that momentum.  Of course, she rode her trusty hobby horse unicorn, Sparkle, to school.  It was nice to see the smirks and waves from the folks going down the road, on their way to work. 

With that, I'm tired.  My post is disjointed because I had a rather long day. 

Smiles in my day:
-  K- doing so well on her very first day of first grade.  :)

Have a great day!

Wordless Wednesday: The volunteer

A volunteer Rose of Sharon.  A gift from the birds.  The neighbor across the street has the same one, so the seed didn't need to travel that far.  Still, quite a nice delight!

Smiles in my day:

-  Having breakfast with my mama this morning before work. I had intended to visit after work, but Hubs' car repair list lengthened and to take a break, he decided to take his dad to see The Expendables. 

-  Being able to purchase the last 4 Madame Alexander Happy Meal girl toys for K-.  They do sell the toys minus the meals, which is great.  Hubs' family has collected Madame Alexander dolls since my sister-in-law was very young.  They have started K- a collection and each time the MA dolls reappear at McD's, we all work hard to get a full set for each girl.  It's almost like winning the lottery!

-  Doing a trial run on that 6:45 AM bit has been helpful.  Hopefully, it will be helpful for tomorrow. 

Have a great day!

Tales from the Trenches: Elementary Open House

I admit, I was kind of nervous to meet K-'s new teacher.  She had been the 1st grade teacher that I requested for her.  She seems strict, but is a creative teacher.  Her classroom is bright, cheery and very orderly.  (Mrs. H-'s was, too.)  But then, I heard that people either love her or hate her.  I was nervous about the first impression that I would give to her. I can be a little spazy, especially if I'm nervous.

Y'all, she is lovely. 

We popped in as a family to meet her.  She shook all of our hands, passed out the papers and allowed the children to choose where they would like to sit.  They were given a post-it note and allowed to put it on any available desk.  Of course, being the dork parents we are, we encouraged her to sit in the front and Hubs encouraged the seat on the end so that she had room.  ;)

After the crowds died down and my responsibilities as one of the PTA Membership people, I stepped back in to talk to Mrs. S- on my own.  I told her that I wanted to let her know of K-'s reflux.  I warned her that sometimes she knows and sometimes it just hits her.  I told her that she will be able to tell her if she is sick or if it is a reflux thing.  She thanked me for telling her, but she didn't seem freaked out by it. 

I told her that I had signed up as head room parent.  I basically ended up doing the head room parent stuff last year anyhow, so this year will be no different.  I wanted to let her know who to grab if/when she needs.

I feel good. 

When I came home after the festival of "We'd love to have you join," I read over the class papers that Mrs S- sent home.

Y'all, she runs a VERY tight ship. 

I knew that and that was part of the reason we requested her.  We went over the class rules with K- so that she knows what Mrs. S- expects.  I can tell you that one of the children from K-'s class last year is in her class this year.  He will be having a very difficult time adhering to Mrs. S-'s standards.  K- even brought that up.  I told her that perhaps D- will have different behavior this year.  (This was the child who would just get up, walk about the room and decide to do or not to do any particular task given.)  K- was not disciplined once last year and having gone over what is expected of her, ever the child eager to please those in authority, she'll do just fine. 

Hubs' comment in walking about the room was, "Quite a change from last year, huh?"  (Remember my heart attack?)  Big, bright, beautiful, spacious and an environment that encourages learning. 

My heart is happy and ready to start first grade.  I'm thrilled to say that K- feels the same. 

Smiles in my day:
-  Mom came home Sunday afternoon and is doing well.  She's taking it day-by-day and I have a breakfast date for her in the AM.
-  Hubs got his car fixed, despite the heat rising into the 90's.  (We have no garage.)  I can't imagine how much money he saved us.  Believe me, I've thanked him profusely.

Have a great day!