So Long 3rd Grade!

Hard to wrap my mind around the fact that the school year has ended!! Miss Maddy is finished with 3rd grade! When my son, Philip, started med school, he told Maddy that when she was finished with 3rd grade, he'd finish medical school. At the time, I thought -- whoa -- that's a long ways off, and . . . here it is already!

This has been a big year for Maddy. I've heard that often the odd-numbered school years are tougher and are bigger challenges for students. I believe that! This was really the year that Maddy had to study more for each class and prepare for tests. Once she (and I) figured out the best way for her to study to learn all the nuances of 3rd grade subjects, her positive outlook returned, her grades improved and she didn't worry quite so much about tests. There seemed to be tests galore this year along with book reports and writing projects. Even though she was worried at the beginning of the year, I could see her confidence and abilities grow as the school year went on.

She became more willing to ask her teachers about assignments when she had questions -- which was huge for her. She loves her teachers. We kind of wish they would move to 4th grade with her!



We are so proud of the great year and all her hard work! Way to go Miss M!!

The Scat Cat Hustle

[Maddy's in the middle in the green shirt]

A few weeks ago, Maddy started singing a "cat" song and doing some rather strange movements. Now, I dance a lot like Elaine (from Seinfeld), but hoped that Maddy would not inherit my lack of rhythm and luckily, she is a good little dancer with a great sense of rhythm!

She finally let the "cat out of the bag" (tee hee hee!) -- it seems the 3rd graders always do a Scat Cat Hustle song and dance at the end of the school day towards the end of the year.

[Maddy's good friend, Ian, in the white shirt!]

It happens on a random day and only 3rd graders and their parents know when it will occur. So happy that I knew so I could be there to see it. Wished I could have caught it on video!

Oh my word -- it was the cutest thing ever! Of course, it would land on one of our incredibly windy days, so they had to hold on to their hats!

[Adorable!!]

Homework and Tests - Oh My!

Whew -- 3rd grade is proving to be a challenge.

But, challenges are good . . . right?!!!

Yes, of course, a challenge makes us grow, blah blah blah.

If that's so, we're doing a lot of growing at our house lately.

Don't be mistaken, Maddy loves 3rd grade and her wonderful teachers.

It's the homework and tests that are bogging her down a little.

This week has been an especially tough one with math and social studies tests on Tuesday, then English and science on Wednesday and spelling on Friday!

Her little back nearly buckled under the weight of her school books on Monday! Luckily, I was there to carry it to the car for her. Seriously, it was heavy for me!

Well, you can only study for so long when you're 8! It's not like you can pull an all-nighter. And really, we study a little every night -- I try to go over the next day's lesson with her and we spend about 10 -15 minutes per subject, so maybe 30-45 minutes in all.

Having to spend time studying again for tests on Tuesday night after having done so on Monday night was starting to stress her out. Maddy was getting a wee bit frustrated, and I could tell that she needed a breather. So, instead of chowing down on chocolates (which I totally would have done to deal with stress), we pulled out some crafts!

She painted rocks with Halloween sayings and creatures, and I worked on a cute ribbon-pumpkin project! We both felt better when she went up to bed with a smile on her face instead of a frown. I hate to send my little pumpkin to bed when she's upset and worried.

Now, we just have to get through that spelling test this week!