This school year seems…special.  After being out for so long, doing distance learning in their rooms, alone and separated from their friends, teachers, and peers, the kids are back in school.  My freshman and her bodyguard (Senior) are starting their school year with a fresh start, new sense of gratitude, and heightened possibilities.  They so need this.  I am happy for them, but a little sad for me.  I already miss them.  If I’m honest, I really enjoyed having them at home so much more.  I loved the extra hugs, the extra chats, the extra meals shared together.  As I look down the road to the coming year, with Joe finishing high school and moving on, and out, to college, I treasure every moment with them, stolen or otherwise.  I hope when they’re older and look back on their time during the pandemic, maybe they’ll remember the extra time we had together after I got back from Arizona. 

This year Joseph is playing varsity football, again, and wrestling on the varsity team, again.  He’s also an FMP (Freshman Mentor Program), again.  He’s started looking at colleges, gulp, and is working hard as ever towards his goal of being a history teacher when he’s older.  I think he’s still considering/hoping to do some coaching as well.

Jocelyn seems to be embracing her new school life.  She took a fencing class over the summer and is looking forward to fencing for the school, archery, and theatre design and stagecraft.  She’s been getting more and more into her SFX makeup and design, often scaring the shit out of me thinking she’s been injured.  She is certainly my artist, often found drawing or creating something.  I love it.

My hopes for this New Year are high.  

Jocelyn's First Day of School 2019

Jocelyn’s first day of 7^th grade!  This year she is playing clarinet.  Unfortunately, she had to change schools, again, but she is really taking it like a trooper.  She’s had a rough couple of years, and so I think she is really looking forward to kind of start fresh somewhere else.  I think this is going to be her year to Sparkle!

Pilgrim Simulations in Jocelyn's Class

Today I was invited to help out in Jocelyn's classroom with their Pilgrim simulation.  Apparently, just about every day they work on their simulation talking about what it was really like to be a pilgrim and calculating how to build and keep homes, how many pilgrims died from hunger and disease, and how the living conditions were quite different from those that we live in now.  I loved how organized and truthful the details were and that the children had to make decisions for themselves, but also that fate was a big part of it all as well.

What I helped with today, however, was a tasting demonstration.  In order for the children to add crops to their simulation they had to try the majority of the items on their plates.  I helped set the plates out that had peas, sweet potatoes, corn, beets, and Lima beans on them.  To my happy surprise, most of the children ate everything on their plates.  There were a few that refused much of anything, but on the whole most of them liked it.  There was only one little girl who told me she liked chicken nuggets on Thanksgiving.

It is such a privilege to be able to help in the kids' classrooms and see how they are doing, interacting with others and absorbing their studies.  For now they still enjoy having me come in and help out, I'm pretty sure that will change soon enough.  As for me, I love it!

Jocelyn's Leaver's Assembly

Each year at the end of school the Year 2 classes hold a Leaver's Assembly to say goodbye to the Year 2 children moving up to the junior school.  They are very often a tear-jerking experience, saying goodbye to a lovely school and teachers and the school that they've been at for 3 years. 

This year I sat and watched Jocelyn enjoy her last time in the hall, singing and reading (her favorite time at Merebrook) and looking quite adorable.  I can't believe that she is done with her school and moving up to year 3.  She suddenly seems to be growing faster than what I can keep up.  I can feel my time with her slipping through my fingers.  Soon she'll want nothing to do with me and I will wonder where all that time with her went to.  Makes me a bit sad, truthfully.

But, I'll always have the memories of her singing and laughing and having a good time at her Leaver's Assembly.

I did Joci's hair special for her, to look like a princess.

Joci had to dress up like a princess to be at a banquet.

Joci and her BFF since Foundation.

Joci with her LOVELY teacher.  We couldn't have asked for a better teacher for her.

July 17, 2013

Jocelyn's Leaver's Prom

I admit it.  I have had a really hard time with Jocelyn moving up to junior school from infant school.  It seems like lately I have noticed more and more how much growing she has done.  She's no longer my baby, she's my little lady.  Joci is growing and maturing into a lovely young girl and my 'baby' is fading into the past.  When I see her with younger children she seems so grown up, yet, when I see her with the older kids, she's much more like them, than one of the 'littles'. 

As she's leaving her infant school, Joci's had lots of events to attend.  One of them was her 'Leaver's Prom'.  This year the PTA had decided to have nibbles and fizzy juice in plastic wine glasses, along with photos taken before the dancing.  We took her shopping for a special prom dress the week before and she and Daddy chose a pretty pink lace dress and asked me to put her hair up, special.

It's such a special time for her, she's growing up, and no matter how much I will miss that sweet baby girl, this new sprouting beauty is just as amazing and full of life and eagerness for the future.

Her hair turned out so pretty!

On our way to her prom...she was so excited!

Jocelyn with her awesome teacher.  She has been a Godsend for Jocelyn this year.  I will be so sad to move on from her.

I love this picture of Joci with her friends.

On cloud 9 after the prom, another milestone reached.

  July 4, 2013

Joci is learning all about Roald Dahl

Jocelyn's topic in school right now is Roald Dahl.  Now, it could just be me, but before I moved to England,  I had no idea who he was.  In England he is a very famous author, and if you're from the states and you haven't heard of him, like me, then when I tell you some of the books he's written, you may be surprised.  Perhaps you've heard of:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

James and the Giant Peach

Matilda

The Witches

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Some of his other well known work:

The Twits

George's Marvelous Medicine

The BFG

Esio Trot

Joci has really gotten into the Roald Dahl topic and enjoyed reading the stories at school and making different artwork to accompany the stories.  Her favorite bit, though, was being able to go on a school trip to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery at the Buckinghamshire County Museum.  There she got to ride in the great glass elevator, go inside the giant peach, ran through the Fantastic Mr. Fox's tunnel, wore fun costumes, made some chocolate in the chocolate factory which they got to eat, and she even got to make a cute mirror with Mr. Twit's beard.  But, Joci's favorite bit was at the beginning when the staff there gave told her to close her eyes and gave her a "whizpopping" dream for later that night.  All afternoon she told us about her day and wondered what her dream would include.  The next morning she recounted, probably for a good 10 minutes her whizpopping dream.

This last Wednesday her class put on a small production telling all that they've learned about Roald Dahl and shared some of their artwork with the parents that attended.  Jocelyn was chosen to show her drawing of one of The Witches, and also to say that "my favorite book is George's Marvelous Medicine because he makes his own medicine".  She also explained that her wizzpopping dream was about fireworks.

To say that I've learned quite a few things through my daughter about Roald Dahl.  If you'd like to know more about him, check out his wikipedia page and then pick up one of his books to share with your children.

Waiting patiently for the other classes to come in.

Telling everyone that her favorite book is George's Marvelous Medicine.

Showing her dream-keeping jar.

Showing me her dream jar.

Showing me her picture of one of the Witches.

Showing me her favorite Roald Dahl book.

Showing me her dream that she keeps inside her dram jar.

 February 6th, 2013

Jocelyn's Homework

So, if you can believe this, Jocelyn's homework during our fall break was to make cookies.  Her teachers provided a recipe which we could use, or we could use our own recipe.  We opted to use a recipe we found in the Moshi Monsters magazine so that we could also submit a few pictures of our finished cookies to the magazine, thus killing two birds with one stone.  Joci had a great time doing her homework this week!

  

 

 

November 4, 2012

End of School

Today was the first official day of the kids' summer holidays.  Whew!  It felt so strange this morning to not have a school run and to have them both around all day.  We did a few of the fun summer items that I had planned, we baked a cake for Jon's birthday tonight, and we went to the Milton Keynes Play Association.  It was a nice warm day, too, sunny enough for sunscreen and Popsicles (ice lollies) and a cool bath when we got home. 

It was a very good school year for both Joseph and Jocelyn.  Joe started at his primary school in year three and has really grown into such a little man, even though he hasn't changed much in stature this year.  He did very well in school going from struggling in reading to attending the highest level.  His annual report was very impressive as he got an A for effort in each subject and was either at or above expectations in each subject.  Then, with a week left before the end of school we got a letter asking us to attend the end of year awards ceremony as Joe had been selected to receive the class award, but it was to be kept a secret from him until the ceremony as they wanted it to be a surprise.  When the day came, I was nearly bursting with anticipation for Joe.  When they called him up he was absolutely shocked and so, so happy.  We are very, very proud of him and all the hard work and amazing attitude that he has shown towards school this year.

Jocelyn had a bit of a rough year at school, or so I thought.  She had been thrust into year one almost a full year behind the other children in her class.  She didn't know how to read when she first started, and just tonight she read A Tiger Came to Tea to me.  Joci does have a problem with fidgeting in class and at lunchtime, which has garnered her a nickname of ants-in-her-pants.  Jocelyn is excelling at numeracy and art, especially in her color selection and usage.  She has made such enormous progress and is looking forward to doing even better in year two.  She is my baby, and thus the one that I worry about most, as I did all year with her.  Then, at the end of the year after really talking and listening to her teachers I found out that I had worried so much about her lagging behind that I had not really seen how far she had to truly come.  We are so proud of her and how much work and effort she's really had to do to progress so much.

So, as we have fun this summer we are looking forward to the new school year quickly riding towards us from the horizon. 

Joe with his lovely teacher.  She was such a guiding light to him this year.

Children's Assembly

Both kids had assemblies in December. 

Joe had a pirate assembly.  He had to learn a song, and also did a reading (that he wrote) about the blunderbuss.  The song we heard before and were expecting him to do a good job at.  We didn't know about the reading, though, until at the assembly when he stood up and read so well, never missing a line, never stammering, and read.  We were so proud of him and pleased that he did such a great job.

Joci had a traditional Christmas assembly.  She was a sweet, beautiful angel.  During the assembly she had a slight wardrobe malfunction with her halo, but she picked it up and carried on with it.