What I like about me

Unity's class at school did a cool project recently where they each wrote a poem about "What I like about me." Kids wrote about their brains, their hearts, their knees and hands and eyes and mouths. Unity was the only one who choose to write about her hair. I love this project and teaching kids body acceptance and pride in their differences. Also, I love Unity's fact on the side of her poem, about how she gets her curls from her grandpa's family. (Both grandpas actually!) 

Such a sweet project. 

the first and the last

                        Hard to believe but it's true, Unity has now completed Kindergarten. Here she is holding the picture she teacher took of her on the first day, which they made into magnets and used for attendance. She looks so tiny in that picture. I guess she kind of was.

This year, wow. When I think of all the ways she's grown it blows my mind. She started out barely able to sound out a word and now she reads Fancy Nancy books comfortably by herself. Same thing for math- she's gone from doing just the basic counting works to doing addition, subtraction, number place, and the beginnings of telling time and counting money. (And speaking of, when did Kindergarten become the new first grade? Sheesh.) It's been such a huge year socially and emotionally as well.
The new friendships, the new building, learning how to interact in a big community of older kids. Despite the occasional inappropriate jump-rope song that made it's way home, we have really enjoyed watching who she is becoming in this new world of hers.

and now, summer. I am so looking forward to just hanging out and going to the library and meeting up with friends and eating breakfast in our pajamas. Summer, here we come.

Bike mania

                 We are in full-on bike mania mode these days. Mostly because my project with the PTA this year has been to help organize and plan Bike to School day and Walk to School day. We were lucky enough to get a grant this year so we've been able to do all kinds of fun workshops and assemblies at school to try and encourage kids to ride more often.

Over the weekend we had a bike Rodeo at the school and the kids learned safety tips and had their helmets checked and fitted and then got to ride an obstacle course on the playground.

It's been fun watching Unity and Brixton both get more comfortable with their bikes and Unity has ridden to school a couple of times so far. She gets tired but she keeps trying, and that in itself is pretty awesome.

Breakfast

We went out to breakfast last Friday, just Unity and me. You have to have pancakes on a day off, right?

I'm leading a school tour tomorrow for prospective parents. I remember it well from last year, trying to gather as much information as I could, feeling overwhelmed with choices and trying to navigate a complex system. I'm so glad with how it turned out, so happy with our school and so double-triple-quadruple glad to be done with the process. 

One of the things I really like about our school is that there's no such thing as "normal." I was thinking about this the other day walking home, that when a school's population is about one third African immigrant, one third African-American and the rest White and Asian and a few Latina/Latino kids- there is just such a wide range. It's amazing. There's no such thing as a normal name, or a normal family or a normal lunch. And so that spectrum of culture and heritage and language and everything else- that is the normal for these kids. 

I think there is an innate value in learning how to relate to people who are different in some way or another from one's self. It's a skill that is so useful in later life. It's not always easy, of course, and there are places where we can't connect or don't want to. But the trying and the reaching. It's so important. 

These days....

 

These are the days of leaves edged with color, breath turning cloudy, more blankets at night.

                       These are the days of rustles when walking,

 

walk-to-school mornings

                            and feet taking flight.

This moment- a birthday circle

Field Trip for a cause

  Yesterday I got to be a chaperone for a field trip Unity's class took to a local food bank.

                              The kids all hold on to the rope. They call it "Mr. Roper" and they sing and chant
the whole time. It takes quite a long time to walk the three block to the food bank. They are each holding a can of food in a little bag with their other hand.

                              We talked in very basic terms about what the food bank is and why people need it.

                                             Then we got the grand tour, of the giant fridge and freezer.

I'm glad the kids are learning about service at an early age. Even if it's a very basic beginning, it's still a beginning.

Have you seen my bita-nuna?

Brixton has a couple of made-up words that he uses for comedic effect. Like this:

What do you want for breakfast Brixton?
Bita-nuna! (Ha ha ha.)

                                               
                                Unity climbed into his crib to keep him company. So far she hasn't
                                taught him how to climb out. So far.

I feel like 80% of the conversations I'm having lately are about schools. We have gone on tours of four local public school and are trying to decide which ones to apply for. (We are assigned to a neighborhood school but we may apply to any school in the city, we just might not get in. Some are "option schools" which are like magnet/ alternative schools and some are just other neighborhood schools.)

I am the kind of person who does my research. If one of the kids is having sleep issues, for example, Chris knows that soon a huge pile of children's sleep books will show up from the library. I just get interested in something and pursue it by reading as much as I can. So I am constantly asking everyone I know what school their kid goes to and how they like it.

I know I'm overthinking a little, but it's hard because I know that wherever she ends up is going to shape our lives for the next six years and more, assuming Brixton will also go where she goes. It's going to be a major place in our lives. I treasure the person that Unity is now and I want to be a good steward of her talents and gifts and challenges and find the place that will encourage and stretch and help her grow. For a while I wanted to homeschool and I read six hundred books about that, but a conversation with Unity's preschool teacher helped me see that personality-wise that's not a great fit for us. Maybe later on.

So now the visits are all done and I just have to finish filling out the paperwork and decide where we're going to throw our hat into the ring. I know that we will find things to love and things to struggle with no matter where we end up, but I still keep seeking out that next conversation, that next piece of information, trying to find that moment that says "yes. this is the one. This is our bita-nuna."

Graduation



Quinn (in flowers), Unity, and Sadie (in green)

Beatrix and U

Brixton had a popsicle.

Or maybe it was the other way round.

Graduation is always such a muddle of fear and excitement, no matter what the age. Perhaps it's especially strong the first time, one of the earliest experiences of leaving one familiar place and set of people and moving on to the unknown friends and teachers in the future. We were able to attend the graduation at Unity's preschool and watch some of her friends take that step. Some were shy, some hammed it up, but they all got their ribbon and certificate, and of course, their cupcake. I'm hoping that Unity will be able to remember this when it's her turn to cross the stage next year.