Dr Seuss

| March 3, 2018

It was Dr. Seuss week at school again and there are always a ton of activities for the kids every day. Here are some of the best ones Sam did this week.

For Mixed Up Monday, Sam wore a backwards sweater, Halloween pants, had one ponytail and one braid, and she did eventually put on mismatched sneakers, once she got fully dressed.

For Theodore Thursday, when she was supposed to dress like her favorite Dr. Seuss character, she chose Sam from Green Eggs and Ham, of course!

Pajama Day was probably her favorite, but the whole week was a success!

Frostival

| February 24, 2018

Today we went to the Frostival, an annual event at Sam’s school. It is basically a day full of games and fun. As soon as we got there, Sam found her friend Alaina. She was so excited!

…and about 2 seconds later, she found her other bestie, Giselle. The three girls (who as you may recall were the subject of the hullabaloo over who is friends with who) actually traveled around  the Frostival together without any incidents and they had a great time.

Downstairs in the music room where the carnival style games are was the biggest hit. We spent a ton of time there. It is not surprising, I guess, considering that for every game you play you get tickets that can be redeemed at a prize table. You get at least one ticket for playing, even if you don’t actually win, and more if you do. We played some of the easier games a million times. What a shock. This maze one was impossible! Sam gave up after a while, but I love the look of concentration/frustration on her face!

There was a photo booth in one of the classrooms and a bunch of silly girls got…well…silly!

Sam and I had gone into the booth ourselves, then Alaina and Giselle went with Sam. So cute.

Sam wanted to do face painting and I luckily talked her into a simple design not one of the whole face ones. I don’t mind face paint, but ugh, what a mess the whole face ones make.

In the gym where the bouncy things were (it was so insanely loud in there it even turned Sam off), she found the Springfield Cougar!

On to mini golf…

The theme this year was the Olympics and the girls had to show off. We took a ton of pictures because they had to keep switching places so that everyone could be 1, 2, and 3. It took forever, but they had fun. Their principal came by and took their picture too because they looked so darn cute.

One of our last activities was spin art. Sam’s came out pretty well. She had a great time at the Frostival. It was a busy few hours, but totally worth it. I’m sure we’ll be going every year!

Such drama!

| January 21, 2018

Here are Samantha with her two best buddies from school this year, Alaina and Giselle, at a birthday party they attended together for one of their classmates.

She bonded with them from pretty much the first week of school, which is nice, but boy, it has gotten a bit crazy! Both girls seem a bit obsessed with Samantha to the point where they are literally fighting over her. As in, who gets to play with her, who gets to sit with her, etc. Tears have been shed. It is ridiculous. I am not sure if it is one of both of the girls who is sort of clingy, but to me, it seems like both. Sam is sort of caught in the middle, which stinks. She is a people pleaser, our girl, and she just wants everyone to be happy. I am glad Sam is popular, but come on! When I was 8 we did not have this sort of drama. Anyway, not to get into the messy details, but hopefully it will work itself out. The school counselor has gotten involved to try to fix the situation since apparently, at least one of the girls brought it up. They devised a “schedule” where Sam spends certain days at recess with one girl and certain days with the other, etc. Honestly, what is up with these little girls, I have no idea. I can’t even imagine what the teenage years will bring!

The Holiday Tea

| December 14, 2017

Sam had what they call the Holiday Tea at school today. Basically, it’s the holiday concert, with some light refreshments afterward. Sam said she doesn’t know why it’s called a “tea” and her music teacher, Mrs. Matteo, doesn’t either, but hey, we’ll roll with it. The entire second grade has their concert at the same time, and it is in the cafetorium. The space is not big. The school kept reminding everyone that seating and parking is limited. The concert started at 9:30 so I decided I would just drop her at school at 8:30 like usual and then stay. I am so glad I did! I got us front row seats! I was so proud of Sam – she always sings, but usually she won’t do many of the motions that accompany the songs, even though she knows them because she does them at home. This year, she was participating right along with everyone else, and had a great time!

The kids sang about a dozen holiday songs and they all looked so cute and festive. Their little voices were adorable.

Our beautiful girl! She loves to sing. I really hope she sticks with it. I’d love to go to all her concerts! Maybe one day, she’ll be a star! 🙂

Holidays Around the World

| December 2, 2017

Sam and I had a busy day today! Today was the Holiday Shop and Holidays Around the World event at her school. She was so anxious to go, and I had to keep explaining to her that it was too early. So, she asked me if we could run to Petsmart. I thought she was insane, wanting to randomly go to Petsmart and told her no. But then she told me she wanted to go so that we could buy toys for all the cats without homes there for Christmas. How could I say no to that? Last year she had that same idea, and we did in fact buy a bunch of toys for the cats up for adoption there. It made her feel really good, picking out toys she thought they would like, and if she wanted to do this charitable, kind, sweet thing, there was no way I was going to refuse her. When we got to Petsmart we first had to count the cats to make sure we had enough toys and then she picked out a bunch of things. She was so happy and proud giving the bag of toys to the volunteer who was there taking care of the cats.

Finally, it was time to go to school! I had run out of random errands to do in order to pass time that morning. We actually go to school a tiny bit early for the Holiday Shop, so we just hung out in the lobby waiting. I noticed that Shelly the turtle’s house was inside and I mentioned that I guess they have to move Shelly into the school for the winter for hibernation. Sam asked me if I knew why that chair had a “Do Not Move This Chair” sign on it. I told her no, and she said because one day they were in the hall coming back from Go Blue (some daily reading activity) “when here goes Shelly just walking down the hall like it was not weird or anything!” So….Shelly escaped from her little area. Oh boy. That must have been quite a sight, this giant tortoise just wandering around. Sam did say that an adult was with him and I joked that it would be funny if Shelly was loose in the school like the ferret in one of the My Weird School books we read. Sam said, “Well, Shelly wouldn’t get very far. It’s kind of slow!” I guess that’s true!

It was finally Holiday Shop time and Sam and I went to the gym so she could buy little gifts for everyone. She bought me a Sweetest Mom mug, a #1 Mom necklace and a few other little things. She bought Mark an ornament and a keychain and she picked up a gift for Grandmom and Zach and Penny. She couldn’t wait to give me and Mark our gifts, but I convinced her to wrap Grandmom’s and the cats’ gifts for Christmas. She bought herself a few little odds and ends too. What a surprise!

After shopping, we watched the Scenic Singers (the 4th and 5th grade choir). Sam expressed some interest in doing that when she is old enough and I really hope she does. Mrs. Matteo, her music teacher, runs the group and she loves her. Sam also likes to sing, so I think she would really enjoy it. If she wants to play sports, Mark and I won’t object, but honestly, we’d be much happier if she did something musical!

We finally got in line for the Holidays Around the World and Sam’s friend Alaina came running up to her and the two of them hugged and jumped around like long lost friends. They were so excited to be at the event together! She has really bonded with these two girls, Giselle and Alaina. It’s so funny…she comes home sometimes and tells me how Giselle and Alaina were fighting and it always seems to be about who gets to play with Sam. Who knew my kid would be so popular that kids are actually arguing over her? Girls….

The whole event was sort of so-so, to be honest. There were seven classrooms decorated for various countries and how they celebrate holidays. I didn’t think it was all that thrilling, but Sam loved the ones that had a craft set up. She and Alaina had fun making bracelets together.

Coloring is always a hit!

I am glad we went because I like seeing Sam excited about things at school, but some events are definitely more fun than others. She had a good time, which is the important thing. It’s going to be a busy weekend!