A Letter to a Veteran

Today Emma's school sent home a paper asking for all students to write a letter to honor a current or former Veteran which would be displayed on the local PA Career Link's "Wall of Honor." Here is Emma's letter....

My Daddy is awesome. His name is Greg but I like to call him Daddy. He's a veteran of the United States Marine Corp. Even though my daddy served before I was born, I'm still super proud of him. He worked in the field artillery and was trained as a sniper. He served in Iraq. 

My daddy is my hero. I love him so much. I'm happy to be his daughter and I'm proud to call him my daddy. 

(Thanks to Mommy for helping me write this.)

Emma's Up Coming Schedule is Exciting

Today when Emma came home from school, she brought with her... the Wednesday folder. This folder is used to send parents important newsletters and notices. I'm so excited to see what they have planned in October for the school.

One thing I'm proud to say is the school is having a Fire Fighters Breakfast. They will honor the local fireman during a breakfast. The students will sing songs, read poems, and kits for the firefighters. By doing this, they will be showing their gratitude for all the Fireman have done in our community. How awesome is this? I'm so glad that fireman aren't being forgotten. My cousin is a Fireman and has done it since he was a teen. His heart and strength is one to be noticed. Therefore, James Piper, my cousin, is one of my hero's.

The next event is the Grandparent Breakfast. We are excited for this one too. The children get to eat breakfast with their grandparent as well as have their picture taken. Emma's super excited for this one. She can't wait to show her Me-Maw off to her friends.

As always, Red Ribbon Week seems fun. Each day the students get to do something different and fun. Red Ribbon week is to basically say "No Drugs." Dressing her this week will be a blast for me.

The end of the first nine weeks is the last day in October. The school is having a attendance contest for students who have perfect attendance in each nine weeks and perfect attendance for the entire year. Emma wants to try hard to get her name in the hat for her chance to win the super prize. (Her words... not mine)

Well, that's the update. Thanks for reading.

Road to Reading

After Emma came home from school today, there was a note in her folder telling me of a few words that she needed to learn. This gave me the idea to do two things to try to help her learn. One would be to create basic word flashcards to go over with her every night. Second is that I wrote a letter to her teacher asking him for a list of the words he plans on teaching them. This way I can add them into the flash card pile.

I've done some research and found some awesome websites that help Kindergarten students learn to read. Emma just loves them. Google brought up a bunch of websites that were also very helpful.

What did you do to ensure your child was staying up with the rest of the class when it came to reading? All creative ideas are great. I'd love to learn some fun ways to help Emma learn how to read.

Joys of Childhood

Here we are again, Monday afternoon. Emma woke up in a rather great mood this morning even though she has an annoying cough that won't go away. She came home today in an awesome mood. She told me that she got several surprises within her homework folder to show me.

When she tells me this, I get excited. This means she's got some good paper/homework grades. Of course this is going to make all parents happy. Their children bringing home excellent grades.

We get into the house and she immediately begins her homework. (I didn't have to say anything to her) As I am going through her folder, I come across an envelope. I open it to find her first invitation to a classmates birthday party. So exciting. She's brain storming on different things she can get her little guy friend for his birthday.

I just love how willing she is to give to him for his birthday. It's great.

Well, thanks for reading. Have a wonderful Monday!

School- Week Four

I'm really excited. Emma's progress in school is going great. Homework isn't such a battle anymore because it seems she's getting used to doing it.

One of the things I do with her to excite her as well as get her to behave, is this: I have a calendar just for her. I got stickers as well. For each day she does what she's supposed to do without an attitude, she gets to choose a sticker to place on the day on her calendar. This week, seems to be the first week since she's started school where she's got stickers every day. YAY!!

Fall pictures were taken this past Monday. She came home upset because her teacher made her stand on a chair. She said, "We aren't supposed to stand on the furniture. He made me do it." I told her that some times it's ok to do this. Especially when an adult tells you to. This seemed to calm her down.

I'm very proud of her. She's managed to bring her coat and lunch box home all week. (This has been a task since she started school.) She's progressing well with writing and learning. I can't wait to get her first report card just to see how she's really doing.

Well, that's the update. Thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated. :)

This and That..... And Everything in Between

For this post, it's going to be a mixture of updates with Emma.

First, school. She's doing a lot better. Homework doesn't seem much of an issue lately. I think this has to do with my mom being here this past week. (Her and Emma had a sleep over week.) She seems to be getting more and more used to the idea of school. When I wake her up in the morning, I have to see to it that she's ready right before she walks out the door. If not, she complains that she wants to go to the bus stop and that she needs to leave now. (Even if it is 30 mins early)

So far, I believe, she's doing well in school. She's turning in her homework and all papers returned home have a "great job" stamp on them. I can't wait to see her first report card.

Monday is Pictures. I've been waiting like crazy for this day. I'm so excited. I have her outfit and a hair style in mind.


The second update is.... we found out that Emma is not ready for a brother or sister anytime soon. On Thursday, my nephew came to stay with us for a few days because his momma had some dental work she needed to get done. While he was lying in his pack-n-play, we heard Emma (out of the blue) saying: "Goblin King, Goblin King.... Where ever you may be..... Take this baby far away from me."

Ok so she's watched Labrynth way to much. In the middle of her saying this... I peeked into the livingroom to make sure she wasn't hurting the baby. She was standing by the pack-n-play with her arms in the air while saying this.

I couldn't help but to laugh.

Well, that's the update for now. Thanks for reading.

Kurtis Is Here

As a new mother we all know the feeling. Ya know.... the lack of sleep feeling....My sister just had her baby not too long ago and I offered to take the baby over night so she could get a good nights rest. Kurtis and I went down to the bus stop to pick Emma up from the bus. When Emma saw him, she was extremely excited. She kissed him and couldn't wait to get back to the house to play with him.

When we got back home, Kurtis needed a bottle. I mixed one up for him while trying to get Emma to start on her homework. She pretended she didn't know how to make an M to try to get my attention off of feeding Kurtis to her. I explained to her how to write an M again. She began whining.... "I can't do this."
I told her we can do anything we put our minds to.

After the feeding, the baby needed a change. Emma didn't like this either because she had to wait for me to start her dinner. Patients is not in her vocabulary. She began saying that my sister needed to come get her baby so I could spend more time with her.

While I was in the kitchen and Emma was watching a movie. (Labyrinth) The next thing I hear is Emma yelling. I look into the living room and she's standing by Kurtis's pack-n-play saying. "Goblin King, Goblin King..... where ever you might be.... please.... take this baby far away from me... right now."

So, I've come to the conclusion that she wouldn't like the idea of a brother or sister. Perhaps we'll think about one later on in the future when she's a little older.

Kindergarten- Week One Ends

Well, this week has been a journey. Emma seems to be enjoying school more than I thought. I woke up this morning (Sat) and she's asking me to get her ready. I've explained to her that she only goes Monday thru Friday. She simply said , " I can't like this."

We've been doing some work with her writing here at the house. But she doesn't like doing it. I made flash cards out of index cards so she can start identifying the alphabet. She knows them to say them but doesn't know what they look like. It's the same with her numbers as well. Do you have any tips and tricks on doing this that you did with your child(ren)?

She's also upset because she doesn't have school on Monday. She said that's not right. How is she supposed to learn if they won't let her.

Her school pictures are in a few weeks. I'm excited about that. I have the frame ready for the photo. Yeah sort of crazy but this is my first child. I've scrap booked her entire life so far. She will have plenty to see what her life was like as she was growing up. I even have the discharge papers from the hospital from after I gave birth.

Well, everyone have a safe and happy holiday weekend.

Kindergarten Activities for Learning

As I was searching the web for tips and tricks to helping your kindergarten student learn their alphabet, numbers, and writing their name- I came across a great activity that I just had to pass on.

Items Needed:

Clothes Pins
Fine Tip Marker
Something to pin the clothes pins to. (Examples Small clothes Line, strips of cardboard, paint sticks) I will be using the paint sticks



Next, you and your child sit down to write the letters on each clothes pin. Doing this together grabs their attention to the activity and adds in some fun. Once all letters are written on each clothes pin, you can begin using your imagination for games. You can teach them how to write their name. (Using several sets of the letters). Teach them to identify what letters are on the clothes pins.

I can't wait to try this.



We also got the idea to decorate index cards with the alphabet and numbers. I wrote the letters nicely on the index card while on the back, my daughter drew something that starts with that letter. Once all are decorated, you can hold them up and use them as flash cards. It's very helpful and handy.

Kindergarten- Week One

As we are coming to the end of the week, I must say... it was a tough one. The difference between summer school and actual kindergarten is like night and day. Emma was excited to go to summer school. But every morning this week, Greg and I had to fight her to get ready. She doesn't have any problems going to the bus. Several mornings, she was even trying to rush down to the bus stop early. Homework has been an issue. Getting her to actually sit down to do it has been a headache. She does nothing but fights with me. The bad part is, if she just listened to me telling her what to do, it wouldn't take 1/2 hr to actually get it done.

So, do you have the same issue when it comes to homework? If so, how do you handle it?