Archive for October, 2015
Reading buddies
Friday, October 30th, 2015Pre-Halloween partying
Thursday, October 29th, 2015Avery’s four seasons
Wednesday, October 28th, 2015Zoe in her element
Monday, October 26th, 2015Caramel apples, yum…
Saturday, October 24th, 2015Pumpkins, please
Friday, October 23rd, 2015A new gig for Zoe
Wednesday, October 21st, 2015Between soccer, lost teeth and cute notes, I’ve written a lot here about Avery lately. Things with Zoe have been quieter but also good: She seems to really enjoy third grade, which has a big emphasis on writing, and she spends most of her free time at home reading (at any given time she’s working her way through two or three different books) or playing with her sister. And here’s something new: Yesterday, she started a new gig as a “mother’s helper” (Q calls it a “babysitting internship”) for a friend of ours, who happens to be a teacher at the girls’ school. The mom had observed how good Zoe was with little kids and asked if she would be interested in coming over once a week and playing with her three-year-old daughter. Zoe jumped at the chance and immediately checked out some babysitting books at the library and jotted down some ideas of things to do with the little girl. She reported last night that their time together went well; by the time Zoe’s old enough to babysit for real, she’s going to be more than ready!
-M
“Fens” forever
Tuesday, October 20th, 2015Then and now
Sunday, October 18th, 2015Running around the patch
Saturday, October 17th, 2015A new career for Daddy?
Friday, October 16th, 2015As she watched the Mets manager celebrate at the end of the Dodgers-Mets game last night, Zoe commented, “Daddy should go out for manager.” She paused and continued, “He’s good enough. And he loves the Giants.”
-M
Bye, bye, tooth
Thursday, October 15th, 2015Best phone message ever
Thursday, October 15th, 2015When I saw that I missed a call from the girls’ school yesterday morning, my first thought was, “Uh-oh.” I figured someone was sick, and I stepped out of my work meeting to listen to my voice mail. To be surprise (and delight), though, there was good news on the other line: Avery’s teacher called to say she had important news, followed by Avery telling me in a small voice, “Mommy, I lost my first tooth.” It was the best work message I’ve ever gotten!
-M
Avery and the Giant African Millipede
Monday, October 12th, 2015The first grade science unit is currently focused on the life cycle of mealworms. Here’s how things were described in a recent school newsletter:
Working in pairs, first graders have created a habitat for their mealworms and are watching the insects transform from pupa to larva to—finally—darkling beetles… Our young scientists have conducted experiments, determining which color the mealworms like best and whether they like moist areas or dry areas. Last Friday, the first graders were treated to a special guest from the Insect Discovery Lab. Karen, a bug expert, showed our students 6 different kinds of bugs: an Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, a Giant African Millipede [note from M: that’s what Avery is holding below – eek!], an Australian Walking Stick, a Whip Scorpion, a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, and a Darkling Beetle…
“The most wonderful part of this 1-hour presentation was the respectful and informative way in which these intricate creatures were presented to the students,†says first grade teacher Barbara Eisenhauer. “The students were mesmerized!â€
-M