This is for my Sarah Beth. An account of her daily adventures and discoveries.

My poor child's blog, it's been so neglected and I'm afraid things aren't going to improve much around here, at least not in the immediate future.

 

She does say or do things that literally crack me up everyday, but I'm so bad about remembering them or writing them down.  Sometimes the pace of our conversations or actions are so fast that it just all happens too quickly to register, if that makes sense. 

 

She's really turning into such a little grown up and sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that she's only (almost) 6 and not 26!  The scope of some of the things she asks about and the things we talk about just amaze me, and I'm so glad she likes talking to me and Garrett and she's so open with us.  She doesn't hesistate to say she doesn't understand something and wants to know more, and if neither Garrett or I know the answers the first thing out of her mouth is, "Let's look it up on the computer."

 

She's a great kid and I appreciate that fact every second of every day.

 

I have to admit I did start this entry because I wanted to do some more bragging about her.  And I have, but there's more, lol....

 

As you all know Sarah's teacher informed us recently that Sarah's reading has really taken off and I guess she's been doing so well that Sarah's teacher wanted to start her on a special reading program that is usually started in the First Grade. 

 

I think the name of the program is Star Reading, and essentially the child's reading ability gets tested to find out what "zone" she's in.  All the books in her "zone" are specially selected for optimal growth in reading and comprehension.  Once her zone is known she's encouraged to select books from that zone and then take tests on them utilizing the computers in the computer lab.  This allows for all kinds of measurements and tracking to take place, so you really get a very good sense of just how well your child is reading, and performing.  Plus the program tracks how many words are read by each child and when they reach the million words read mark they get their picture up on a permanent billboard in the school, and it's called the Millionares Club.  It's a big deal and Sarah's noticed that billboard before, now that's she's part of the program she is thrilled.  Sarah's teacher informed me that out of the four kindergarten classes there are about 10 to 12 students who are going to be started on this program and the great thing is that she can work on it during the summer because the school is keeping the library open, yay!

 

So, now I want to share with you the initial results that Sarah received, I was floored.  The grade equivalent she scored was a 2.2.  That means that Sarah reads at a level equal to that of a typical second grader after the second month of the school year.  SECOND GRADE!!!  This is a bit embarrassing but I have to tell you, when I read that I was in the living room and Sarah was suppose to be in her bedroom, so after I read that my immediate reaction was "FUCK!"  LOL, I know, I know, not the nicest or most appropriate response in the world but like I said I was floored.  Sarah heard me, LOL...let's just say explanations and instructions not to repeat the word were given and now I guess not only is Sarah's legitimate vocabulary is improving her colorful one is too.

 

Ok, onto more results...her percentile rank was 59, which means Sarah reads at a level greater than 59% of other students nationally in the same grade.  It's an average score, but average is taking into account scores of children who have taken the test multiple times and of course improve their scores each time.  So, I'm thinking Sarah's score for the first time at it is pretty damn good.  Greater than 60%, of kids her age, over the rest of the nation!  Yay!

 

The final "zone" that she was placed in was 2.1 to 3.1.  So this level should offer her a range of books that are interesting enough and challenging enough to continue improving her reading skills.

 

I can't tell you how exciting all this is.  Laying down a strong foundation for good reading skills is so incredibly important and knowing that my little girl is right there in the middle of it and doing better everyday, AND enjoying it, well it really really just sets my heart and mind on fire.  I love it!  I love her!

 

What's cuter than a bunch of bright, curious kindergarteners, whose reading skills have been growing by leaps and bounds???

 

I'll tell you...not much.

 

Instead of doing the usual slow down/open side door/throw Sarah from the van dropoff this morning, I actually got her there a little early so she could play and romp with her friends.

 

We had Addison with us and she was all decked out in a pretty purple romper with a matching colored bib.  Being the unobservant seen-it-all adult that I am, I didn't even notice what was written on Addison's bib.

 

It started with Sarah, as I was getting my shoes on she was keeping an eye on Addison, when seemingly out of nowhere she asked me, "Am I a diva?"

 

I thought it was an odd question but I replied, "Yes, you are."

 

Then she asked, "What's a diva?"

 

I laughed and explained that a diva was someone who demanded a lot of attention.

 

She kind of shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh, I thought it meant someone who was beautiful."

 

I assured her she was beautiful, but that a diva didn't necessarily have to be beautiful.

 

She seemed satisfied with that and we left for school.

 

Once we got to school she went off to play and I sat down and I had Addison in the stroller.  The usual gang of kids swarmed around her and she loved all the attention.  The bell rang and the kids lined up.

 

As I was standing there waiting to walk them into school a little boy and a little girl came up and asked me, "What does diva mean?"  At the sound of their question a couple more kids piped in, "Yeah, what's a diva?" 

 

I thought how odd is that, everyone wants to know what "diva" means this morning.

 

Then I remembered what was on Addison's bib...Baby Diva.

 

LOL!

 

I told the kid's teacher that the vocabulary word of the day was "diva", she laughed and thought that was cute.

 

OH! Speaking of vocab words and reading....Sarah's teacher shared a bit of very good news with me.  At Sarah's last reading test she scored as high as a mid year first grader!  Can you believe that!?!  I was floored, and so proud of my baby.  The teacher said she was so happy for Sarah, and she was really impressed with how far Sarah has come, especially with the fact that not only can she read at such a high level but also comprehend what she is reading.  That's my little girl

Sarah was writing intently in her notebook this morning on the way to school.

 

"What you working on there Sarah?"

 

"I'm making a list."

 

"A list?  A list of what?"

 

"A list for the boys and a list for the girls.  Mom, is "crown" spelled with a C or a K?"

 

"Um, a C, and what kind of lists are these again?  I mean what kinds of things are on the list?"

 

"Oh, it's a list of favorite things that boys like and favorite things that girls like.  Right now I'm working on the girls list"

 

"Oh, I see.  Can you read me what you have so far?"

 

"Sure."

 

For purposes of this blog, I'll type out the list Sarah style and then the translation, because this is visual as well as verbal.

 

Dres...dresses.

Kisee...kisses

Fab...fabulous things

Boys...I think you can figure that one out.

Hi Hels...high heels.

Glitrspres...glitter sprinkles.

 

That was all she had for the moment.  She was still working on it when we arrived at school.  Who says my kid isn't gifted!?!  LOL!!!

 

 

Ok, Sarah was in the mood for a Sarah Report.  She has a little bit of everything going on in it, so if you can follow along with her and make sense of what she's saying, then all I have to say is more power to you, or maybe start laying off the drugs.  Enjoy!

Sarah wrote her first love note to a boy today.  I mean she's written cute little lovey notes to Alex and Cole before, but she's grown up with those two, it just doesn't count.  The boy Sarah wrote a note to this morning is just some random boy that she seems to have taken a liking to. 

 

His name is Colin and he is in another of the kindergarten classes.  She's never mentioned him before and as far as I could tell she's never even given him a second glance.  Then this morning out of nowhere she grabs some scratch paper and starts some intense drawing and writing.  I thought nothing of it, she does this kind of activity all the time.  As a matter of fact she loves drawing and writing so much she wanted to do that as her "talent" in the school talent show that's coming up.  I suggested that she come up with something that was more visually exciting.  Anyway, back to Colin.

 

So, she finishes her drawing, and as she is very carefully sorting and evening out her "papers" she announces to me that she wants to do one of her Sarah Reports when she gets home from school.  I think, "Hmm, ok.  That's a little odd, but she hasn't done one in a while and must have an urge."

 

Then she set her "papers" down and went off to get ready for school.  On the drive to school she found a little notebook and pen in her carseat.  She starts writing furiously in the notebook.

 

We arrive at school and as I unbelt her from her seat she says, "I want to give a note to Colin from Mrs. B's class."  I scrunch up my eyebrows and say, "Well, what does the note say?"  Because I'm thinking if it says, "Colin you are a booger.", or "Colin you have cooties.", then I wouldn't let her give it to him.

 

She replies, "Colin you are star!" 

 

Oh my!  I stifle my giggle and say, "Ok, sure.  That seems like a very nice thing to say to someone.  I'm glad you could be so generous with your words Sarah."

 

"Thanks Mom.  So I can give it to him?"

 

"Yes."

 

We walk onto the playground, the kids are already lining up.  Colin's class is right next to Sarah's, and Sarah starts scanning the line for him.  One of the girls in the class, whom Sarah is friendly with, calls out, "Hi Sarah!"  Sarah walks over to her and hands her the note and whispers something in her ear and then she hurriedly walked away.  I catch up to Sarah to ask her why she gave Macy the note because I thought is was for Colin.  She informs me that she asked Macy to give him the note.  That explains Macy's confused look.

 

I don't know who this Colin boy is, so as the kids march into school I catch Mrs. Jo's attention and ask her which one is Colin from Mrs. B's class.  She points to a tall, blone lanky kid and says, "He's sweet, and very bright, but a litle weird in that bright kid way."  I told her what Sarah had done, Mrs. Jo rolled her eyes, I laughed.

 

Now that I knew who the infamous Colin was I watched him.  I see Sarah's note in his hand, he reads it as he walks.  He looks up and I see that look.  The look so many boys, and men, have after an encounter with a women...you know, the WTH look.  I hold in my chuckle and resist the urge to say to him, "Colin honey, this may be your first befuddling by a girl, but trust me, it won't be your last."

 

Oh, and the "papers" that Sarah worked so intensely on this morning for her Sarah Report, well take a gander at the image above that I scanned.  It was the last page in the "papers".

 

*****REVISION****

 

I've just been informed by my dear hubby that the above drawing which I initially thought was about Colin from school, is in fact about baby Colin, and the picture was intended to be given to Annmarie....sorry, I can't delete the image and I don't feel like starting over.  So, Sarah's not as boy crazy as I thought, but still it's bad enough.

These are the pictures from Fun Field Days at Sarah's school.

 

1) The entire class

2) Sarah and D.  His mom is the friend who sometimes hikes with me, he looks just like her.

3) Sarah getting her face painted.

4) Sarah jumping rope, she's lousy at it.

5&6) Sarah with the hockey stick.

7) Sarah on the obstacle course.  That little boy behind her is S and he's hilarious, he's the one who had the little Gingerbread Man being rescued by alien Gingerbread people.

8) The kids with the parachute. 

9&10) Some scoopy thowing ball game.

12)  Game of Cat & mouse anyone.

13) Sarah running a relay race.  Isn't she the cutest thing EVER!

 

 

 

There is so much dust here...*clears away the cobwebs*... someone really needs to pay more attention to this place.

 

Do you know the definition of neglect?  Obviously, I do because that's exactly what has happened to little Miss' blog! 

 

So let me quickly update with the latest on Sarah.

 

She graduated high school with honors, she earned a cheerleading scholarship to UCLA and she's been accepted in the fast track program for pre-med.  This summer she's traveling to Cambodia to give out immunizations to orphan children.  She and Cole have set the date for the wedding and their engagement party is sure to be loads of fun.  He's going to spend one more year at the Sorbonne and then it's back home to be with his Sarah.

 

Ok, ok, so this isn't 2020, but I'm sure it feels like it's been that long since I've posted anything on here.

 

Sarah is Sarah.  Life is wonderful with her, and because of her. 

 

She had a fabulous time with Noni while I was away playing.  Then once I got back home we all jetted off for Orlando and they continued their bonding time.  By the time we had to leave they were BFF. 

 

I took some fabulous pictures of Sarah at Disney world and on Easter.  I still have to edit those and I'll post them ASAP.  I also have cute pictures I took from Sarah's Fun Field Days at Sarah's school.

 

The dominating theme in Sarah's life lately has been Webkinz, I think I spelled that right.  I guess it's a "pet" that's purchased in the real world and then cared for in the virtual world.  In any case, Sarah's been trying to earn her first Webkinz by earning 2 weeks worth of Good BEEhavior bees.  She was just two days away from getting one this week and she didn't get her Bee for Wednesday.   She and I were both very disappointed (and let me tell you all it was really really hard not to buckle and just let her get it)  By the next day she worked through her disappointment and when I picked her up from school she happily announced, "I'm back on track Mommy!  Two more weeks and that webkinz is mine!"  I'm just so darn proud of her sometimes I want to shout out my window, "I HAVE THE BEST KID EVER!"

 

*happy sigh*

 

So, that's the latest and greatest with Little Miss. 

Yesterday Sarah was in high spirits and she declared me President of the our house.  She was so happy with this declaration that she proceeded to march/hop around the house yelling out...

 

"MOMMY IS THE PRESIDENT!  MOMMY IS THE PRESIDENT!  MOMMY IS THE PRESIDENT!"

 

She managed to calm herself to make another declaration...

 

"Mommy is the president, and I can't wait to grow up so I can be president of my house and then I can torture my kids all day long!"

Sarahism of the Day:

 

Productor:  a director and or producer, or a combination thereof, of a tv, or stage show or a movie.

 

She then went on to tell me all about Kenny Ortega (and for those of you NOT in the know, Kenny Ortega is one of the producers and choreographer of The High School Musical movies).  I was floored she even knew who he was, let alone what he does, and I got curious about something so I asked Sarah if she knew who the president of the United States was.

 

"No Mom.  Sorry, I don't watch the news."

 

Great, just great.  I have one of those kids that knows who the main characters are in the cartoon lineup on the Disney channel but she doesn't know the name of leader of the biggest nation of the free world, great, just great.

 

So, I told her who the president was and this was her response.

 

"Oh no!  But that Mr. Obama man is suppose to be the president!"

 

"Well yes, we're working on that but for now it's George W. Bush."

 

"Ok Mom, but can I tell you more about Kenny Ortega?"

 

*slaps hand to forehead*

The following is an approximation of the conversation that just took place between me and Sarah on the drive home from school.

 

"Mom, what is St, Patrick's Day?"

 

Ok, at this I start thinking about which route I should take in answering the question, the religious route, the festivities route, just the basic facts route....

 

"Well St. Patrick was a saint and he worked in Ireland a long time ago and I think he's a patron saint of Ireland and the Irish have a special day to celebrate in honor of him."

 

"Oh ok, but what does that have to do with SpongeBob?"

 

*me slightly stunned*  "HUH?"

 

"Well why is there a special day to celebrate Patrick from SpongeBob?  And what does it have to do with four leaf clovers?"

 

Ok, by this time I'm trying really really hard not to laugh and I'm grateful she's in the backseat and can't see my face.

 

"Um, Sarah...well, St. Patrick and Patrick from SpongeBob are two different "Patricks" and they have nothing to do with one another." * I then went on to explain the meaning of four leaf clovers*

 

"Oh, ok.  Thanks Mom."

 

I couldn't resist and I asked her to explain why she thought St. Patrick's Day was about the Patrick from SpongeBob.

 

"I don't know why I thought that Mom.  I just heard St. Patrick's Day and thought of Patrick from SpongeBob and figured it was a day where you got to watch SpongeBob SquarePants all day long."

 

Damn, what a brilliant idea...

 

 

Just a clip of Sarah rockin out with her guitar.  The music isn't quite there yet, but I think she's perfected the attitude.