School Work

So, the requests for my mom's recipe did not fall on deaf ears. I just have to talk to my mom about that, and completely figure out what's in it for me, before I do anything. :)

You know, we moved across town in October. The school that the kids were in had a reputation of being one of the better schools, and my biggest issue with the school (the principal) was gone, so I was eager to see how this year panned out. Well, when we went to go switch schools after the move, I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. I have a more annoying commute, have to leave home 15 minutes earlier, and the drive up there and back 2, 3, sometimes 4 times a day gets to me sometimes, but I couldn't pull the trigger for a good reason. The kids both have great teachers this year. I just couldn't bring myself to mess with that.

I could put Avee's teacher in my bag and take her home with me. I LOVE her. She's perfect for Avee, but she's also just a genuinely likable person. One of my favorite things about her is, she's funnier than me. And she's just this cute little thing, but totally sassy. I don't know why I think cute and sassy are mutually exclusive though. I do live with Avee.

Bo's teacher is new this year, to the school. She's been teaching for many years. I know she knew she came into the school with a lot of people watching her every move. That's gotta be nerve wracking. I love her. She's perfect for Bo. For no other reason than, she gets him. There are a lot of things I'd like and hope for in a teacher, but for Bo, that is the most important thing for me. He's actually been quite lucky, I think all of his teachers have "gotten" him. But, in a world where 7 year olds are very obnoxious (the world I live in right now), and funny looking, and trying so hard to figure things out---she gets all that and is kind and forgiving and understanding, and not overly punitive, but is also no nonsense when it's necessary.

One of my favorite parts about having a child in Kindergarten, is the work they bring home. I get a good chuckle or two at LEAST once or twice a week.

I've scanned in some stuff that has recently made me smile....and also prove just why I made the right choice in letting my children have these teachers this year.
This first one was Avee's homework assignment to write her teacher a letter stating what she loved best about her class. I love that this assignment opened up so many options of hilarity. And it was good writing practice.
I love love LOVE that she identified who the letter was from, right off the bat, and why she was writing--as though she thought I was making the assignment up and she wanted to make sure Mrs. D didn't think she was a weirdo writing her a letter. This was probably the longest letter Mrs. D got. I did help with spelling, but the content was totally Avee's doing.



Recently we've gotten a couple of things home from school stating her desire or love of "citins". This particular one I enjoyed. Beside the fact, this girl is an artist, it's just a funny idea to me. Avee always surprises me a little with her worldview or her grasp on things that show clear intellect where I assumed there wasn't any. I mentioned to her that "citins" grow up to be cats, so they don't stay cute babies forever. She countered, "Yes, but if they are taking the place of snow, they will stay citins forever, because snow doesn't grow, so they wouldn't." It took me two days to figure out her logic, because let's face it, she didn't state it THAT articulately. The child is brilliant. She gets it from me.


This one was on a torn sheet of paper. When I pulled it from his folder, I assumed he tore it AFTER he used it for his test. I was amused and a little disconcerted that he did not. But I love how she states her expectation simply, in a positive request (do you know how hard that can be, to try and eliminate the word "don't" when dealing with children?) doesn't make a drama of it, and even gives him a cute smiley face. I think this lack of drama over what is basically obnoxious 7 year old behavior is awesome. Plus, she totally appreciates my little white-boy, snaggle-toothed, kid's smack talk.

Mostly I just like this one because it reminds me of J. Avee's a wiley little manipulator who marches to the beat of her own drum and is me in so many ways as a result. When J comes shining through like this, I really love it. One of J's favorite quotes is from a Seinfeld episode when Jerry says something like, "My entire childhood can be summed up in one sentence, 'I want candy' " or something like that. I will extol the virtues of chocolate and the wonders it can/will do for me and everything I love and why and how and when, but Avee and J it's, "I like cake". It basically all means the same thing.