I have the grandkids this week while their mom is in Washington DC at a conference. She is a “milspouse” (military spouse) and her blog called Witty Little Secret has been nominated again this year for their annual “Best Blog” award. The kids’ dad is back at his civilian job flying for UPS while staying on active reserves, and he just happens to be on a flying trip this week as well…..so it’s Nana to the rescue!
I moved over to the kids’ house last night so that I could take the kids to school this morning since Mommy had an early flight. So on a typical Sunday night, it was homework, baths, and a review of the week to come with Mom while she will be gone. My daughter likes to push the limits of her stress hormones, so of course a lot of things were left til the last minute! She was still doing laundry at 11:30 last night and packing.
So the evening was mine with the kids, while Mom stressed over what to pack, what to wear, and whether she would get to meet with the First Lady to talk about military families.
They were all watching TV when I arrived at 7:30, so prying them loose from the boob tube was its usual challenge. But eventually they rallied and the evenings activities were taken on. While Lori was going over the weekly routine with me, she said, “Oh…it’s Teacher Appreciation Week at school this week!” and here’s the stuff we picked out. (She shows me her dining room table loaded down with cards, flowers, candy and gifts galore). “Wow!” says I. “It looks like Christmas!” Teacher Appreciation Week pays big dividends these days! Not only had she bought all the presents (2 teachers times 5 days!), she showed me a list sent out by the school of what kind of gift to give the teachers each day! (Pushy, much? I mean I appreciate teachers as much as the next guy, but, really? A list?) But OK…first on the list was “Teacher Appreciation Cards”. Homemade cards, made by each child. A craft project. OK…that is right up my alley, so we get the construction paper, scissors, glue, stickers, markers, crayons, glitter etc. out and start to make cards while Mom heads upstairs to do last-minute laundry.
Both my grandkids love their teachers. Although Coop had a bit of adjustment to handle at the beginning of the year, he has grown to truly adore his rather strict teacher. He has learned how to handle sitting still all day (well mostly) and more importantly has learned to pay attention when instructions are given THE FIRST TIME! A major accomplishment. And he appreciates his teacher for this, it has made his life much easier…which he finally figured out this year! She is a very kind and caring woman who has worked with him throughout the year and helped him settle into school. We all appreciate her efforts.
So it did not surprise me when he wanted to make his card “special”! (Aren’t they all?) So he sat perusing his sticker book, carefully selected crayons, and markers and colored paper. He was very meticulous. This was obviously important to him. (He will be 7 in a few weeks). “Nana, how do you spell ‘smart’?” I spelled it out for him. Looking over his shoulder I saw him peel a sticker off the page that had a big pair of eyes with glasses over the top. “Coop, why are you picking out that sticker?” I asked. He says, “Glasses make you smart.” Ha Ha Ha! If he only knew.
Olivia, conversely was trying to find every sparkly heart sticker and puppy dog she could spot. At this stage of her sense of style….more (and sparkly) is better. ”Does your teacher like puppies?” I asked inanely. “I don’t know,” says Olivia who is 9….”but I do!” OK. She is studying poetry in school, so of course, there also had to be a poem. “Is your poem about puppies?” Again…stupid question. “No, it’s about my teacher.” Duh. “What rhymes with fantastic?” she asked. I guess we know she likes her teacher too!
Here are the results. I hope their teachers get as much fun out of these as I did!
