Last night, Tess made herself a nametag. Today, she wore it proudly all day, pinned to her shirt. Why? I haven't a clue, except maybe she's proud of how she writes her name, or how nicely she can draw a heart. It doesn't really matter why, I just know I love that sweet girl.
Travelingjenny
Navigating the hilly terrain of motherhood
about
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About two months ago, Tess attended a birthday party at the Children's Museum, and she's been been talking about it ever since. Today, after enduring pleas to go "every day," we finally bought a membership. And then we celebrated by sailing away in the lobster boat, catching our own lobsters, and delivering them to the grocery store. Not a bad way to spend Mommy Day.
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Grace burst into our bedroom at 6:15 this morning — wide awake and fully clothed — and holding a tooth in her hand. That's tooth #6, in case you're counting (and we certainly are—it was on the bottom right!). Grace showed it to us, held it for a while, then put it in her tooth-fairy pillow, where it will stay forever. Because the tooth fairy is NOT invited to our house. Apparently having body parts fall out of her mouth is spooky enough for Grace— there's no way she also wants some fairy rooting around in her room in the middle of the night.
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These two went from literally pulling each other's hair out to sweetly doing yoga together in less than five minutes. I will never understand sibling relationships.
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What do you do in March in Maine when it's 30 degrees and wet outside (besides run around like half-naked banshees)? You teach your sister how to play checkers. And then when you've gotten tired of that game, you make up your own. Like "froggy hop" (Tess's creation) and "dogsled game" (Grace's, obviously!).
And when you've finished playing those games, you close your eyes and click your heels and hope you wake up in Florida.
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Today Tess said, "Mommy, why don't we have grass at our house?"
Here's hoping that the grass is visible again SOON.
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Today, Tess and I attended a writing celebration in Grace's classroom. For the second time this year, parents were invited into the classroom to hear students read stories they've been working on. Most recently, the students have been learning to revise and rewrite their stories — for neatness, flow, and general good storytelling. So, students sat in small groups, each reading his/her story, then showing us the "sloppy copy" — or first draft — sticky notes indicating things that had been changed for the final draft (in the photo below, see Grace's sloppy copy on the left). It was adorable, and I was blown away by how well these first and second graders can tell a story! Grace's was about a football-viewing party we attended in January, which apparently made quite an impression on her. I'm already looking forward to the next writing celebration.
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Last Friday, the school had an art walk for parents and students. Recent works of art were displayed in the hallway and in each classroom. Students went from room to room with a pad of sticky notes, writing comments and praise, and sticking the notes to the art for all to see. This was a lesson in art appreciation, and it was wonderful to watch. Of course, I particularly enjoyed my own girl's artwork, which included two types of self-portraits (how great is the sewing?!) and a "dream bridge" (influenced by the Rainbow Magic books perhaps?).
Travelingjenny 