Here is what we know about First Grade

1) Jacob's teacher is Ms. Piesik.
2) Jacob's best friend from Cyert, Ani, is in his class.
3) Jacob has a new friend, named Conner, who also has a Wii and who likes to play Super Mario. Conner hasn't made it past the sixth world in Super Mario, poor guy.
4) Every day the kids are evaluated as "Satisfactory, Needs Improvement or Outstanding." So far over 10 days of class this year Jacob has 5 Outstandings and 5 Satisfactories. The last 4 days have all been Outstanding. He is in the zone.
5) There are 28 kids in Jacob's class.
6) Jacob has 12 pages of homework to finish with considerable input from Mom and Dad. It's due next Tuesday.
7) When Nana asked Jacob: "What is the first thing you do every day when you get to school?" Jacob replied: "I get off the bus."
8) In art class Jacob made a silly hat and belt with a kind of paper he called "licking sticks."



OK, you two. Your after school snack wasn't THAT BAD.

Stay Home Day

Yesterday I picked Jacob up from the bus and he climbed in the car. He was tired. But then he perked up:

Mom, there is NO SCHOOL tomorrow!

Really? I think there is school tomorrow.

NO THERE ISN'T. You can CALL MS. PIESEK. SHE WILL TELL YOU.

Well, it turns out Jacob was right. It's Rosh Ha Shannah, the Jewish New Year. I had not recorded it in my Master Calender. So, after Josh got home last night I went back to work and cleared my desk so I could take the day off with the kids.

We spent the morning strolling around the CMU campus and the giant park right next to the university. We ate snacks from home and snacks that we bought on our travels. We ran in the grass. We drew pictures. Now we're home, where I'm ignoring the fact that Casey isn't napping, and I'm ready to eat my lunch. Later on, we'll make home made alphabet soup, with Grandma Gregson's special recipe!



First order of business on stay home day: use the paints that Casey "gifted" to Josh for his birthday!



Jacob painted, and I quote: "A robot pooping!"



Onto the cafe at CMU's library, where we terrorized the undergraduates. All I can say, Beeler Street partiers, is that turn about is fair play!



We got this cool colored paper from the Administrative Assistants in the English department!



In the late afternoon we worked on a project I have been planning for some time: making our own alphabet pasta. Trader Joe's used to make a really cool one, but they don't anymore, so we made our own using little cake fondant alphabet cutters. My thought about how to make this project more effective? Use larger cutters next time! It was hard to find the letters in the soup after they cooked!



Here's the finished product!

First Day of Linden Elementary!

Jacob's first day of school was pretty ho hum compared to the first day of kindergarten last year. But it was still an exciting morning. We ate biscuits with honey and butter and sausage on the front porch, and then Jacob and I walked down to where Jacob thought he remembered seeing the bus stop last year (about 2 blocks from our house). When we saw the bus turn the corner to come onto Beeler we started screaming and jumping up and down. The bus driver probably thought we were crazy!

The bus (and the bus driver) are the same ones we had last year----Jacob is just further along on the route. I snapped a quick picture and Jacob was off! I forgot to give him his back pack for the first day, but oh well. We'll remember tomorrow!

Then I dashed across the street in time to catch Casey and Josh on their walk to Cyert (and then Josh's work). Here is Casey riding her bike to school, dappled by September morning sun!

Aunt Cindy's Xmas Present Realized

I have sometimes wondered what sort of influence I might be having on my kids when it comes to photographs. As most of you know, every year I ask, nay, force, Jacob and Casey to dress up in sometimes silly costumes representing each month of the year. I started the tradition 5 years ago when Jacob was a baby, and now I have virtually the entire family involved in the process. Last year I started telling Jacob and Casey that they were "super models" and that "super models" got paid "supermodel pay," which, in their case, is usually Skittles.

After a photo shoot over the weekend for a month that will remain a surprise until you receive your calendar Casey remembered getting a rock star costume from Aunt Cindy for Christmas. We rooted around in a few boxes and finally we found it. Here is Casey posing on the front porch, looking ready for the big time. She seems very comfortable in her pop star attire!