Maddie's First Day of School

Maddie is practically a veteran learner at this point!  It’s hard to believe that this is the 4th conclusion to a school year for her.  Ms. Preeti took great care of her in both PreK3 and PreK4, and Maddie has thoroughly enjoyed reading the blog posts from those days.  When she watches the video of the first time she wrote her name in PreK3 though all she can point out is that her “d” is backwards and her “i” looks like a “c”.

Maddie Studies Hard!

Maddie loved Kindergarten with Mrs. Howitt and eagerly looked forward to first grade this year.  First grade was a big leap for Ms. Maddie because all of sudden she had HOMEWORK!!  Perhaps it is my naivety about raising kids in this day in age, but we all were definitely gobsmacked by that one!  She has put her very best foot forward though this year and has loved school.  Most importantly, she’s built friendships, gained confidence and is one of the most polite kids around.

Mrs. Voge was Maddie’s teacher this year and she was quite simply amazing.  Elaine has known Maddie since she was born because Elaine lived with us in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia when we were there.  I taught her son Callum while we were there and now she has taught Maddie.  This world of ours is indeed very, very small and don’t let anybody ever tell you differently!

Maddie and Roqueya

Maddie’s school year was fantastic as she made some new friends and said “see ya later” to some old friends.  I think this is the first year that Maddie really gets the “TCK” status.  Part of being a TCK is saying goodbye to people a bit more frequently than she would if she were growing up stateside.  Maddie said goodbye to her very good friend Roqueya this year as Roqueya is moving back to Canada after being in Shanghai for all of her life.  Maddie met Roqueya when she was in PreK3 and they’ve been good friends for four years.  Skype will keep them connected and I suspect that they’ll stay in contact for many years to come.

Maddie's Celebration of Learning

Maddie’s Celebration of Learning Day was perfect this year as it really showed the vastness of everything she studied and learned this year.  She LOVES science and while I set all squeamish around bugs, she thinks it’s cool to look at them under the microscopes!

No more Ks in her grade level anymore – this is the real deal!

Maddie had her first day of school as a first grader!  She has been waking up all week long asking immediately if she could go to school.  Of course, I let her go to school as we were working but no other kids were there so I think it lost its charm with her!

Amelia helped Maddie choose her clothes and then she was out the door.  I was actually very impressed with Amelia’s attitude.  Bye JieJie was all she said and then was fine living her life!

Maddie met her teacher Mrs. Voge and put the things in her cubbie.  Maddie and Elaine actually have a history together but I think Maddie was just too young to remember.  Elaine worked in Saudi Arabia with us and was there when we brought Maddie back to the Kingdom when she was three weeks old. How time flies!

Maddie is going to have a great year.  First grade is really all about words, isn’t it?  I’m new to all of this so I continue to be amazed.  Afterall, I’ve never been a mom to a first grader before!

I love stumbling up things like this at school!  I was working on a 5th/6th grade transition wiki at school today and when I walked into a 5th grade classroom, one of the girls turned to me and said, “are you Maddie’s mom?”  She then went on to explain that she was Maddie’s reading buddy!  It’s funny because this school is starting to feel suspiciously like Cheers; cue: Cheer’s Theme Song now.

They had Reading Buddies scheduled right after my interaction with the 5th grade class so I snapped this pic as they got started!  

Each year at school we have a spirit parade to kick off the friendly competition for the year between all of the houses. Our family is a member of the Shanxi Pumas and our job during the spirit parade was to yell and scream as loud as we could. I knew I could count on Maddie!

Maddie walked part of the time with her former teacher, Ms. Preeti because this year’s teacher is not a Puma. Part of the time she walked hand in hand with her  good buddy Ri-Ri and part of the time she walked with me…. and she did a GREAT job of screaming!

How did this happen? My daughter is attending her third first day of school. She has been chomping at the bit for nearly three weeks to get back to school. A week ago she chose what she would be wearing. Two days before she packed most of her snack for the first day of school. The day before school started we snuck into school at 5:00pm so we could go to the board where the class lists were posted. Alas, Maddie found out that she was going to have Mrs. Howitt. Maddie already has a connection with Ms. Howitt (actually she has a connection with most of the teachers since we work in the school). But she has a special connection with Lynsey. When Lynsey had her baby boy, Ben, back in May, Maddie drew a Baby ben a picture and delivered it to him in the hospital when he was a day old.

We’re all so happy with Maddie’s set up this year. She has some close friends in class and will be making some new ones – it’s the perfect combination. Thankfully, Youn Suh is in the class with Maddie which thrills her to no end. She also has Sophia who has been in Maddie’s class since PreK-3. And Justin is the perfect match for Maddie this year. For two years he has not let Maddie play trucks with him and she has told me that she is determined to play trucks with him this year. I think this is her year!

When we walked into school on the first day, Maddie walked past Ms. Preeti’s room and longingly stared into classroom. I saw the look in her eye and suggested that she go give Ms. Preeti her ritual good morning hug. Maddie’s face beamed and she ran into class, throwing herself into Ms. Preeti’s arms. I think Preeti was just as happy to see Maddie! She made her way to her new classroom, found her cubby and her cubby mate, Abigail, before heading out to discover her new classroom.

There were some children who were experiencing their first day of school – Maddie could tell because the children were scared. Maddie on the otherhand was obvioulsy NOT experiencing her first-first day of school. I asked her if she wanted me to hang around and she clearly said to me, “Mommy, you can go now. I’ll see you later!” And that was that.

I walked down to see her during my lunch time (I’m still going to do that) and found her proudly getting everybody into a straight line after lunch – the duties of the line leader. I watched her play outside with all three of the kindergarten classes combined which was cool because she was able to visit with friends from the past few years.

She came home exhausted and with the first picture of the year made for me. She drew a picture of herself with black hair again…. we’ll see if that holds though because there are two other blondes in her class!

It’s going to be a good year for Maddie Anna – it’s a good life!

Maddie started this school year out with confidence.  She knew how to do school.  She knew the routines, she knew the teacher, she knew some friends and she was ready for Pre-K 4.  She had a brand spanking new Hello Kitty backpack, curly hair, a cheesy smile and the best “can-do” attitude possible.

This year was a big year for Maddie Anna.  She started the year as THE princess in our household and about 6 weeks into the school year, she gained a sister.  In looking back, I’m thankful that Maddie had school because it was her time, her space, her experiences.  She needed Maddie time to ease the transition into experiencing life at home with a new baby.

I loved being on maternity leave for 8 weeks because I was able to get into Maddie’s classroom like I had never done before.  I saw the inner workings of her day, how she acted around friends, how she acted around her teachers…  all slightly different than how she would act at home.  Knowing what I know about kids, it will always be this way! 

She has changed to much this year.  She taller, her curly hair is almost gone, she’s more confident, more stubborn and sweeter in one.  Our number one goal for her this year was to love school and love learning.  She still does as she takes the new learnings home with her everyday and shares most of what she has learned.  I miss some things though…

I miss “lellow” but I love yellow.

I miss the curly hair, but love that she wants long straight hair.

I miss deciding what she wears, but love her own combinations.

Maddie has entered another stage in her life and we’re having fun experiencing it with her.  As a favorite blogger friend of mine said, we learn from children in their presence and it’s time to do it in the present.  I’ve learned that this year.  Life has a way of stealing time away from you, but there’s always time for Maddie – you just can’t miss what she’s saying or doing because it’s going to change fast as she moves onto another stage in her life!

About a month before school was out, Maddie realized that EVERYBODY in her class had turned five.  What she would’ve done to be five with them.  We found her using the “but I’m four” card as an excuse for everything:

Us: “Maddie, we asked you to please pick up your toys.”

Maddie: “But I’m FOUR.”

Us:  “Maddie, please don’t bump your sister on the head with a pencil.”

Maddie:  “But I’m FOUR.”

Priceless!  She has reassured us though that all of her bad habits will disappear once she turns five and once she goes into Kindergarten.  How soon is that now?

The last day of school was really good. In our trip to Jingdezhen this year, we picked up a really cool piece of pottery that would make an excellent cookie jar, so Maddie and I baked cookies for the last day of school and gave them to Miss Preeti.  I can tell that she sure is ready to head to Kindergarten though.  How you ask?  After she gave the cookies to Miss Preeti, she grabbed her backpack and marched down to her new classroom.  She entered and said to the teacher, “I’M HERE!”

We love you Maddie! 

It’s hard to believe how fast this school year has gone for everybody.  It was just a year ago that Maddie Anna shared her first portfolio with us at the end of the school year.  Now she has shared with us again and we are so proud of her.  When she saw Andy and I waiting with the other parents, she squealed in delight and took our hands to lead us to a spot on the floor.  Maddie went through everything in her portfolio and explained how everything was soooooo important to her.

Maddie is still the youngest in her class which at this age is still a fairly big deal I guess because some kids are a full year older than Maddie.  Maddie is unphased though as she learns and loves just like everybody else.  Our number one goal from her at the beginning of this year was to simply love school and love learning  Indeed she does… from Top to Bottom!!

It is so cool being a teacher at my daughter’s school. Seriously… even though I work full time, I am able to be there for the important stuff. When there is a class party, I can easily find somebody to cover my class. When visiting authors come to town, I can head down during my plan time. When it’s lunch time and I have a few extra minutes, I can walk out to the playground during Maddie’s recess just to say hello. When she’s sick or when she has fallen down, I can run down to her class to help her feel better at a moment’s notice. I am so lucky.

Today was one of those days with the elementary field day. The PE teachers at our school took it the extra mile this year by organizing an Olympic themed day. Maddie’s class represented Mexico and they participated in the opening ceremonies through the parade and the passing of the torch! This picture just makes me laugh because you have Maddie with her two Korean buddies, Youn Soo and Dae He, waving Mexican flags while shouting “Viva la Mexico!”

Maddie chased bubbles, ran in a relay, passed water sponges, jumped in a bouncy castle… she was so excited for the entire day. She ran the relay at the end of the morning and as you can see, she was TIRED! But she picked herself up and made her way through it not once, but twice! I saw one look in her eye at 3:00 after school and the look of exhaustion proved she had a wonderful day. I did too because I spent my entire plan time down there with her… and of course, Amelia and I still went to see her during my lunch!

You all know the book – Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

It was Maddie’s weekend to bring Brown Bear home. As tempting as it was sit at home and relax this weekend, we picked ourselves up by the bootstraps and showed Brown Bear a good time in Shanghai. On Saturday, Brown Bear helped Maddie make a card and wrap a present for William’s birthday party at Mega-Fit. Brown Bear had a blast at William’s party too, seeing all of “his” classmates and posing with the birthday boy himself.

Brown Bear then joined us over at Cooper’s house for dinner because he just didn’t have enough time with babies. But then he had too much time with babies, so he and Lester decided to take a nap together! It’s a good thing they slept well because on Sunday, Brown Bear, Maddie, Amelia and mommy hopped on the train and headed on down to the market to buy a teapot. We had to hurry though because he also had to get to Maddie’s ballet class for some serious spinning!

After catching the subway back home, Brown Bear helped Maddie and I make dinner.  Brown Bear can do some excellent carrot cutting!  Thanks for visiting Brown Bear! You are welcome to come back anytime!!

What an amazing day for Miss Maddie! Once a year, SAS brings in visiting authors for kids of all ages. Susan and Janet Stevens are two of the authors this year and they gave a one hour presentation to Maddie’s class. I have to admit that I planned on heading to the library for a quick photo.. this should have taken just a few minutes. But when I got there, I was completely drawn in and stayed for the entire hour. The sisters basically acted out many of their books by using puppets and the children as their characters. They were absolutely brilliant.

I can tell that Maddie is gaining more and more confidence everyday because she actually volunteered to help the authors with one of their characters. Miss Maddie temporarily turned into a Fairy Princess in Jackalope complete with vegetables on her head and star wand!!

Maddie brought in one of her favorite books, Tops and Bottoms for the ladies to sign. One word: delightful!!!!

SAS Spirit Day is a blast at the elementary school and it serves its purpose quite well. The whole point is to build a sense of community and belonging amongst all of the kids. So when Maddie is walking through the hallways of the elementary school in her red Puma shirt and the fourth graders give her high fives in the hallway for being a Puma, she BEAMS. But when Maddie walks through the middle school where I teach in her red Puma shirt and the 8th graders give her high fives and start teaching her the Puma song, she BEAMS AND SPARKLES. As we walked from my class today to her class, she said over and over again this: “I’m just so excited. I’m just sooo excited!”

One reason she came to my room today was to put on some red hairspray. She was so game for this and I’m pretty sure she’ll want red hair everyday. She was so proud and felt so big! Definitely one of those priceless moments!

So Maddie, I’m a Puma, He’s a Puma, She’s a Puma, We’re all Pumas, Wouldn’t you like to be a Puma too?!

It’s spirit week at SAS!  What fun the kids are having too as they know they are part of something bigger than themselves.  Maddie looks at the big kids walking around with their stuffed animals and is proud as can be to show off her ballerina bear she got from her grandmas for Christmas.  The first day of spirit week was crazy sock day and since Maddie has outgrown most of her crazy socks, we decided to MAKE some new crazy socks.  I picked up some pom-poms for her and gave her a needle a thread.  Now, I threaded the needle and tied knots when she was finished, but she really did the rest!  She did very, very well and she said, “no blood mommy!” 

Back to school for the second term, completely relaxed from an amazing trip home. We came back to a mixed bag, but everything always seems to work itself out. We had new fish! Our new ayi went and bought seven friends for Pedro But Lester went missing for a full week. Thank goodness for Ms. Zhou because she had the time and perseverance to walk around calling out Lester’s name. The poor cat was caught in a trap and stuck under a bush. It has been near freezing and/or raining all week so we were happy to get him back! We’re back in the swing of things around here.