Things My Daughter "Learned" in Grade 1

I've vented throughout the year -- mostly to myself -- about my daughter's grade one experience. This is me trying to look at the things that she's learned from a positive point of view (really, I'm trying...).



Things my daughter learned in grade one:

1. My daughter learned that there are all kinds of teachers. Some hug you if you cry. Some yell at you if you are too talkative and don't care if your necklace breaks and the heart locket that matches your mom's is lost on the playground (presumably forever).

Desiree brought a rubber stamp to school for show and tell. I asked her after school if she gave the kids stamps on their hands or work. She replied "No -- my teacher isn't the type of teacher who says 'Oh, and can you show us how that works?'". Unfortunately she also isn't the type who lets creative kids read stories aloud to the class that they have written and illustrated themselves in their free time...

2. My daughter learned that it's okay to stand up for what you believe -- even to an adult/teacher. Not everyone believes the same as we do. You can be put in situations where you have to say something or else you end up watching "The Snow Queen" and visions of witches spying on you and children turning evil against their will may be irrevocably etched in your memory.

When I talked to the teacher about it she said "Desiree never said anything...". Yeah, but I did... in October... prior to Halloween. I made a point of meeting with the teacher and listed off the things we do not agree with: witches, ghosts, anything evil... I didn't think I needed to have the "we don't agree with evil" talk again prior to Christmas.

3. My daughter learned that you can show kindness and encouragement to people you are certain hate you. In fact you should. It may or may not change how that person treats you, but it will gradually change your outlook. "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:44

We prayed a lot for this teacher throughout the year. As well, I told Desiree she needed to think of ways to encourage her teacher. We bought her a vase and every week picked her fresh flowers from our garden.


At the end of the school year Desiree drew a picture for her Mon-Thurs teacher and for her Friday teacher. She showed great mercy by doing a lovely job for both of them.

And in Desiree's work of art, her Mon-Thurs teacher was happier than I'd ever seen her before.

~❀~ Chelsey ~❀~

Spending Time with Oma -- Thankfulness

The continuation of thankfulness...

27. Desiree "reminding" us that it was the birthday of her stuffed cat, Meows. We went to an event at a farmer's market with face painting, hot dogs, corn on the cob and watermelon (all free!). We called this event Meows' "birthday party". Maybe your family doesn't celebrate the birthdays of stuffed animals, but we do and we have great fun doing it!

28. Desiree's reaction to finding rhubarb at the produce store: "Mom!!!! Come and see!!!! They have rhubarb!!!" She was ecstatic! We also grow it in our backyard, but mostly pencil sized. Desiree, Elijah and I made a rhubarb meringue when my parents were here for a one night stop over on their way home. My dad loves rhubarb, but his reaction was quite subdued compared with Desiree's.

29. Being given a baby butterfly to take home from school. The class had hatched butterflies and when it was time to let them go this one wouldn't fly away. I carefully carried it all the way home and protected it from the wind. We took pictures with it and then let it free on a snapdragon plant in our backyard -- never to be seen again...

30. Time with "the cousins" -- my cousin, her husband and their kids who came from Alberta to visit for a couple days. My kids have never met their first cousins so these third cousins are quite a big deal! They had water fights, played Wii and we all had a trip to the water park together.

31. Going to the school's Beach day -- it was dreary and windy, but good fun still. Elijah crying as if his heart were broken when he saw a dead crab with no legs... Elijah yelling excitedly when he saw a live crab in the wild for the first time (that's his expression in the collage). Me convincing the kids that it was okay to catch them!

32. The little girl in the center of this photo from Ernie's 36km run. We asked her dad to take a photo for us so we wouldn't have a person missing from the picture and she automatically ran into the picture. How cute is that? She figured if her dad was taking the picture she should be in it!

33. Ernie's mom, Oma, coming from Ontario for a long-awaited visit and to see Ernie's run. It had been two years since we'd seen her last so the kids (now 4 and 6) were super excited. While she was here she gave me a tutorial on my sewing machine, baked all sorts of goodies for us, learned how to play Wii, gardened with Ernie and went for a hike at the river with the family. We all miss her now that she's back in Ontario...

~❀~ Chelsey ~❀~

Must Haves for Back to School

My daughter starts grade 1 on Tuesday. She'll be in school full time (as opposed to afternoon kindergarten). I'm nervous about us having to wake up early and concerned that I'll miss her when she's gone all day... She's convinced she won't have time to do anything fun anymore, but I know she'll love school all over again once she's back.


Here are my top five must haves for back to school (in no particular order)

1. Sigg bottles

Not just any ole aluminum bottle, but a thick Swiss-made original. Sigg bottles come in super cute designs and are easy to distinguish from all the plastic water bottles out there. Sigg bottles are leak proof and work well for car trips and night time too. Make sure that your Sigg bottle has a new "yellow" liner as opposed to the gold coloured liner made prior to 2008.

This bottle is one of my favourites from their current collection. You can check out many others at Sigg!


2. A radio alarm clock for the kitchen

Yes, the kitchen. I set my kitchen radio alarm clock so that it lets me know when we need to head down stairs. It gives us just enough time to put on coats and shoes and walk to school. This ensures we arrive on time -- unless there's an unforseen mishap of course -- like a missing shoe or kiddos who just won't walk at their usual pace.


3. Cute stationary for writing notes to the scholar or to the teacher.

I have some cute note pads that I use to write love notes to my daughter. I don't know when that stops being cool, but she's 5 and thinks it's great to get a message from mom -- especially since she can read them too. For older kiddos sending a joke will keep them laughing (and thinking of you) throughout the day.

I also use my fancy notepads to send messages to the teacher -- not love notes or jokes, but messages none the less.

4. Labels -- the dishwasher safe kind

I ordered great labels off an e-bay seller a couple years ago (who I searched for, but they're no longer in business it seems). The ones I have are small with cute Disney characters on them (Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story, Mickey Mouse...) I stick them to the Sigg bottles and the little glass containers I use for my daughter's lunch. They also work for toys that get taken out of the house for show and tell or car trips. I bought some with our last name and stuck them to our cell phone, cameras etc... too!

5. Cloth snack bags that can be reused

Check out Etsy and search for "snack bags" or "sandwich bags" for some great patterns and characters that will make lunch extra fun!

My daughter has Strawberry Shortcake and Winnie the Pooh cloth bags for her lunches. In a pinch I've even sent my son's Superman and Cars snack bags along with her too! She hasn't minded (yet!). These bags help make her lunches as litterless as possible.


Comment here with your top five must haves for back to school!