It has only been 3 months into the school year when we heard that my daughter's science teacher and the 8th grade's homeroom adviser is quitting. What a surprise! It's sudden and from what I've heard is that she is a new grandmother. Taking care of your grandchild is a good enough reason to retire, especially with the high cost of child care. Now, the new science teacher is a man who likes to wear bow ties. He reminds me of a professor in the Harry Potter movies since he also likes to wear scarves. He was a high school teacher and when he retired from teaching, he was a teacher in a Catholic school too. I hope he is as good as he is on paper. My daughter is in Middle school and she needs a very good foundation in the sciences to succeed in high school.
My kids' school merged with another Catholic school and will now be under the Diocese. It's good news in my opinion since it means that there will be more money spent on each kid. When it was still under the Parish, the school depended on the extra money from the Parish; now that it's under the Diocese, I am hoping it'll mean more money for the school.
I cannot believe it when I found myself signing the volunteer sheet in school last night. There was a parent meeting and beside the class sign-up sheet was the volunteer sheet. I was planning to volunteer for lunch or recess but then I thought I didn't want to do it every day. So there I was signing my name on the sheet. I like volunteering at my kids' school. I get to see them in that environment and it also gives me the chance to know their friends and classmates. Since I'm not working, it's a good use of my time. It's even better than doing order fulfillment for some company. How about any of you moms out there, do you volunteer in school?
Well, the kids survived or better yet I SURVIVED the first week of school. haha It was a little hard for me to go back into the thick of things at first. It's not that I wake up very late during the vacation months, I only slept in until 6:30am at the most. I felt I needed more sleep when I woke at at 5:15am for the first three days but I'm glad that I finally woke up Thursday morning all refreshed and ready to go. Granted that I have to sacrifice watching my favorite TV shows like Top Chef and Project Runway on the LCD TV in the bedroom. The good news is that the repeat episodes are shown regularly, thank goodness.
Last Tuesday was my son's Step-Up Day. They don't call it a graduation for obvious reasons and I agree. They are just starting their education and still have lots to learn. Anyway, whatever it is you want to call it, it was a nice way to end the school year. They give out certificates and the kids performed songs in front of the families. I told dh that I wanted to get there early so we can have a choice of seats. Well, he thought that it will be just a small number of people but he was wrong. Everyone including aunts and uncles were there to see the kids graduate. We got a seat in the 5th row and what's worse is we were on the opposite end of where T was. So what did I do? I got my camera, went around and got a spot on the opposite end right in front of T. I stayed there on my knees the whole time but it was worth it. I wished I had a faster compact flash card since there was a lag between each shot. It was just a second or two so it wasn't bad. T just finished pre-school and I feel so proud. What more when he graduates from the university with a degree? That's in 17 or 18 years, still a lifetime away. For now, I will enjoy him as my sweet little boy.
My son T will have his Step-Up Day tomorrow. He will be in Kindergarten this coming school year. It's not called a graduation for obvious reasons. So what did T accomplish his first year of school? He is now writing and reading on his own. He read his first Dr. Seuss book. Hop on Pop. It's funny because he saw A's name on it and he asked for a pen and wrote his name on the book. He said that it's his now. A has the complete collection of Dr. Seuss books and I'm sure that T will ask me to take it out of A's book case and put it in his own.
T's also excited to have his 5th birthday party this month and he is also looking forward to our summer vacation. We will be leaving for the Philippines at the end of the month where we'll stay for 4 weeks. My parents are already in Manila and my sisters are arriving in the middle of next month. I don't know what present to get for my mom and dad. They're celebrating their 45th anniversary, the main reason why we're all going there. Maybe I'll get my mom a pair of certified diamonds earrings since she likes jewelry or get them tickets to fly to Rome and join us when we go back to the Eternal City. Yay!
Most of the times, my kids get hot lunch from school. There are days however, one of them doesn't like what's being offered that day. Then I have to prepare a packed lunch that day. The other day, my son asked to bring lunch from home. I gave him a couple of options like the usual sandwich (peanut butter, Nutella, jelly or ham), Foccacia style pizza, Hot Pocket sub or chicken nuggets. I also packed sliced apples for his lunch. I rinse the sliced apple in water with some lemon juice so it won't turn brown. The Oreos you see here is for his snack along with the chocolate drink. My sons' lunch bag has two compartments as seen here which is convenient.
School starts tomorrow. Yay or awwww? My daughter groaned when I reminded her about it while my son reacted the opposite way. He actually said "Yipee!". LOL The last two weeks passed by so fast, didn't it? It was as if I just finished decorating the house for Christmas and now it's time to take it all down. Well at least I was able to enjoy all of it for about three weeks. I have to go back to my daily schedule of sleeping before 10 pm and waking up at 5 am. I've been sleeping late during these past few weeks and I wake up at 7 am which is 'late' in my book. I hope all the winter storms start up late in the afternoon so I don't have to deal with driving in the snow. LOL Now that school is open I'm sure all of you SAHMs out there are breathing a sigh of relief. We now have a couple of hours of peace and quiet, right?
My daughter is a smart girl. She's always at the top of her class ever since she started school. We received her school report card last Friday and as usual, she has all A in her subjects. But, she does not want to be called smart. "Why?" I asked. She answered that she does not want to be a 'nerd'. *sigh* Kids...
Here's what transpired yesterday morning amid the chaos of getting the kids ready for school.
Dh: Honey, A will not go to school today. She has a fever.
Me: What? Why?
Dh: She is warm and coughing.
Me: How do you know she has a fever?
Dh: I felt her forehead and face. She is warm to the touch.
Me: Did you use the thermometer?
Dh: No, but I know she has a fever.
So what did I do? I went upstairs and felt her forehead, she was a little warm. But I didn't stop there, I went to the medicine cabinet and got the thermometer. I checked my daughter's temp and it read 97.7 degF. She doesn't have a fever. Of course, my daughter now was expecting to stay home and miss school but she's not getting off that easily. I told dh that she does not have a fever so she is going to school. My daughter of course was disappointed and she started whining. (I don't like it when she does that.) I told her that she does not have a fever thus she IS going to school. So yesterday after school, we went to have her checked and her pediatrician told us that her lungs sounded fine and the cough she has is nothing to worry about.
I don't want my kids to miss school unless they are sick. If they have a fever or aren't feeling well, they stay home. Last school year, she only missed two days. I'm glad my kids are pretty healthy and they don't get sick often. How about you? How do you decide if your child should stay home and miss school?
I spend half a day in the school library every Wednesday. By sheer luck, both my kids’ library time falls during this day so they get to see me in school. With the 4th grade, I do not have to do anything other than say ‘shhhh, quiet please’ and sometimes ask certain students to sit down and not move. J Working with kids reminded me why I did not choose to be a teacher. You need a lot of patience, of which I only have this much. I can just imagine myself turning into my Social Studies teacher, the one that is feared by everyone. LOL So far, I have not turned into Cruella DeVille…yet!
Now that both kids are in school full-time, I have some free time to help out in school. They have opening slots for recess and library. I think I will sign-up for the library slot. It's getting cooler and I don't want to be outdoors come winter time. The library will have more work but I don't mind. This will give me a chance to get to know the ohter kids in school and their teachers.
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