First grade and third grade are in full swing!
Annual school shopping lunch at CPK down in Ventura.
This mall is so bizarre with these rideable stuffed animal things.
Without a Target in town, the long-ish drive to Ventura is a must.
Thatcher's hair was still in style according to H&M.
Crazy cloud of smoke still going strong from the fire.
Had to please Samantha with a few Ivivva outfits and backpack.
All stocked and ready for the first day!
What's funny is that I sent Thatch to school with some sort of Mr. Clean Magic Eraser but I guess I read the school supply list wrong, it was asking for a Magic Eraser (non-Mr. Clean) which is actually just a pencil eraser. The teacher got a kick out of my failure.
We lucked out and got the teacher we really REALLY wanted for Thatcher, Mrs. Howe.
Thatcher is 2 and 0 for knocking it out of the park with great teachers so far!
He's got such a good crew of kids (and parents to match) in his class this year.
I agree!
And we hit the jackpot with Sam's teacher. For the FIRST time in Peabody history for Samantha, she got the teacher that you hear the most chatter about wanting, Mrs. Craviotto! Yay!!!!
And for the first time, Sam has two of her closest buddies in class, Stella and Charlotte.
In no time we were back in a routine of early mornings (6:30 sharp wake up call!), driving back and forth and back and forth from the Mesa to San Roque, after-school activities, after-school sports, homework, school projects and late nights (why don't my kids go to bed at a decent time?!)
I'm already longing for the summer but we will make it through our hectic routine Monday-Friday (I hope!)
Only one week into school and Thatcher received a Panther Paw at the first assembly. A Panther Paw is a certificate given to students who staff see around the school doing something good for the school or for classmates. The principal announced that Thatcher received a Panther Paw for, "being a good friend by tying his classmates shoe at recess." If anyone has seen the tie-job that Thatcher does on his shoes, you'd know that his friend probably received a quadruple knot tie. ;)
Thatcher and Mateo are so excited to be classmates again. They've already been separated to new tables because they talk too much to each other ;)
New desks for homework!
Picture Day!
Lunch at Peabody never disappoints. Coach Jethro sent us this pic of the boys.
A note to us from Thatcher at Back to School Night.
He looks to be outdoing Samantha with his phonetic spelling at this age.
A note from Samantha at Back to School Night.
No Big Buddy for Samantha this year because she has a Little Buddy! Taylor is a cute little kindergartner that beams ear to ear each time she sees Samantha in the halls. Actually the feeling is mutual, Sam is over the moon that she is a Big Buddy this year.
Both kids took an after school chess class for the Fall session. Thatcher gave chess two thumbs up, Samantha finished the session out but you will not be seeing her joining the Chess Club anytime soon.
Cinnamon roll Fridays are back!
Thatcher is doing great in first grade. He started off the year in a reading group that was one level below the highest and was bumped up to the highest group about a month ago!
I rotate every other week and help in both kid's classes.
These four kids make me smile!
Samantha is all about the bars this year.
Miss-matched day at school!
First grade welcome party at the Dunbar's home in the foothills.
Thatcher LOVES Ula and McKenna.
Ula and McKenna LOVE Thatcher!
I was helping in class one day and Ula, who is the smartest and sassiest first grader I know, wrote this when asked how she knew what the picture in the book was about. Best answer I've seen ;)
Harvest Carnival!
Cake Walk!
We left with lots of prizes, no cake though.
Lunch with my buddies.
Thatcher got to bring the Sock Monkey (I can't remember his name) home from class and share about his adventures for the week.
As you can see, we forgot about this project, hence the same outfit and just hanging around our house...
Thatcher can finally play kickball at recess without getting kicked back to the kindergarten yard.
The ceramics are getting better and better.
A rose and a special note to Mrs. Howe for her birthday from Thatcher.
New this year, I don't have to go into the school to get the kids. Thatcher knows to go meet up with Samantha by third grade and then they both walk out together to the front of the school. Game changer for sure! AND, Lollipop gets to ride along sometimes.
Lollipop's tail starts wagging when she sees Sam and Thatch.
Caught these two reading in the hallway.
Sam's chalk art.
Thatcher is clearly doing "(G)ood" (mostly) in first grade. I had a great conference with Mrs. Howe who assured me that Thatcher is doing just fine. He is super focused on reading books in class during free time because every ten books read gets you a trip to the prize box and when you reach 100 books, you get to go out to lunch with Mrs. Howe. He has already chosen El Pollo Loco as his lunch date when the time comes.
Sam is doing "(E)excellent" and is ahead in her assessments.
This is pretty much what comes home in Samantha's folder.
This is what comes home in Thatcher's folder. I need him to decode it for me. "I make the turkey. I make the potato. I eat the food." Bet you didn't know it said that!
"I would like to get my mom a card. I would give my dad I would rub his back. (okay that sentence was a bit mixed up...) I am thankful for my dog because she gives me kisses.
Thankful for God and not thankful for bullies.
Thankful for food and not thankful for robbers.
Thought this was a cute assignment except he put his noodles backward.
There's been lots of voting going on in first grade since the recent election. I'm pretty sure most adults would have rather voted for their favorite breakfast
or occupation.
Cute surfer art.
Samantha's learning cursive.
Thatcher is learning about himself.
It's cute that Thatcher associated his country with President Obama (or Obomu)
"I am Thatcher.
I am a runner.
I live in a house.
I like to eat.
I see Erin.
I feel water.
I want to be a gorilla.
I am going to be a gorilla.
I am Thatcher."
Deep stuff!
Video: Thatcher Journal Reading
Thatcher's teacher uses a program called Seesaw which is an online sharing platform for parents to see what is going on at school each day. She uploads photos and videos of the kids each week.
3rd grade class photo
1st great class photo
Fall quarter is over and we are headed into Winter. Time flies!
