2nd grade- I will miss

2 nd grade-what a great year.  Ethan is in Mrs. Walsh’s first second split class.  We love Mrs. Walsh.  I work in Ethan’s classroom two times a month and I just love his teacher and all of his classmates.  They are a respectful and enjoyable group of children.  I really like working in his class because I get to know all of his classmates, and when he tells me stories about things at school I know exactly who he is talking about.  I also feel that I get to be part of his 2^nd grade life. I feel very fortunate that Ethan has had such a wonderful 2^nd grade experience!

Here are some of the things that I have enjoyed this year!

All the second graders participate in a living history museum.  They each pick a famous person from the past, dress up like that person, and then give an “auto” biography of their life highlighting their important accomplishments.  The parents are invited to come to their classroom. A parent or other classmate can tap them on the shoulder and then they give their little speech.  I just loved it.  They were all very cute and took their roles pretty seriously.  Ethan was John Adams and he did a great job!

Another thing that I love about Ethan’s school is they are trying to teach kindness.  Mrs. Walsh will hand out kindness tickets when she sees the children going out of their way to help other students.  Once a child receives 5 kindness tickets they earn $1 to give to a charity of their choice.  Ethan just earned 5 tickets and he was ecstatic!  He donated to the international disaster fund.  He said that he and his friends would talk about what charity they would donate to once they earned their 5 tickets.  I just love how the school is fostering those types of values to the children.  I liked it so much that I am implementing it at my house as well.  I love that their reward for kindness, keeps on giving!

We go to a school with an amazing PTA and parent involvement, because of this extra financial support, given by the families of the school, Ethan is fortunate enough to have a music teacher.  So every year all the 1^st,2^nd, and 3^rd graders participate in “the spring sing”.  It is kind of a big deal, and Ethan was so happy singing on the stage with all of his classmates.

One of the parents from Mrs. Walsh’s class came in to teach some basic poetry to the children.  I was so impressed with Ethan’s poems that I took a picture of it, so I can keep it always.

"I am like a shark, I swim in the ocean, I feel wild like an ape.  The moon said good night to me and I said good night back. And I said what is it like up there I want to see it.  He said hop on so I did.  I saw all the stars and I saw the planets.  I smiled at my mom.  She smiled back and she said I love you." Ethan

I of course also loved his Mother’s Day picture and letter to me!  Thank goodness for good teachers, who do this, because my husband does a lot for me on Mother’s day, but he wouldn’t sit down and make the kids write me a letter.  It is so precious and really priceless, something I will hold dear forever.  Only one year of his life will he be 7 years old.  Such a precious innocent year of life, that will never be again.  I am getting so sentimental as I write.  

This is why I like blogging.  I can have a very hectic, draining, tiresome day with the children, and then at night when they are asleep I can write and think about all the wonderful and precious parts of childhood and it helps me feel peace.  It draws me back to what matters most. I love you E-man.