I'm a fourth grader!

I was excited and nervous to start fourth grade. On the walk to school, Mommy asked me what the worst thing I thought could happen would be. "A tornado," I said. I told her and Daddy that I would hide in the library since it's in the middle of my school building. Daddy said, "But you don't want to get hit by flying books!" I didn't know what I would do.

Luckily, no tornado.

And now that the first day is done, I'm very happy.

We picked out our seats. I sit next to J!

No homework the entire week!

My teacher is really nice!

I like fourth grade!

I'm a Third Grader!

Last Monday I started school again. I was so excited to see all my friends and start a new grade. I was so excited that I put my pants on backwards and didn't notice until Mommy noticed when we were ten steps away from the house. She wouldn't just let me wear the backwards pants so we had to go back and change. Luckily we still made it to school on time.

Don't tell Mommy and Daddy, but I really like walking to school. We play a lot of make-believe games. We pretend we're Angry Birds or Pacman and chase each other on the sidewalk. Sometimes we just talk. It's nice. And we usually bump into friends on our walk too. Fun! It's like recess before school!

I was excited to see the same crossing guard there again!


Mommy asked if she should walk up to class with me. "Eh, it doesn't matter. You can if you want!" She said she was going to walk me to the door anyway. And she did. And I kinda liked that, but don't tell her.



My teacher Ms. B is super nice, fun and I really like her. J and I think that she's as nice as our kindergarten teacher Ms. F. I'm happy Ms. B is my teacher. She says we're going to do a lot of science this year. Yay! Science is my favorite.

This is me as a third grader!

Junior Olympics!

Last week my school had Junior Olympics. Each class pretends to be a country. The country we pick is from our United Nations Days, where we travel around to each classroom and learn about different countries. Our country was the Netherlands because that's where Nikki is from. Nikki was our exchange student. She was super nice and fun. She would eat bread with butter and chocolate sprinkles for lunch. Yum!

The Junior Olympics has an opening ceremony. We all walk around holding our flags. Then each grade does a performance. My grade did the ribbon dance. Can you spot me? I'm wearing a turquoise shirt.





After the opening ceremonies, we get to play games and do sports and all sorts of fun activities. I like the obstacle course.

Yoga

I love yoga. Don't confuse "yoga" with "yogurt," because while I love them both, one involves bending and balancing, and the other involves a spoon and slurping. Also, one tastes delicious (it's not yoga).

Every Friday afternoon, Aloisia teaches us yoga. It's super fun. I love the spongy mats we get to use even though they kinda smell like feet. On Earth Day, we went outside to do yoga. Yay! We all spread around the climbing dome and Aloisa went inside.



Sometimes it's hard to balance. Woah!


There, that's better!


I'm a jumping frog!


I love yoga!

Spring Break

I'm in the middle of Spring Break. I know it sounds crazy... but... I kinda miss school.

Crafty Valentines

Sometimes I feel like crying when I have to do something hard. Like make 20 valentines for everyone in my class. Mommy helped me out for this. I picked out pretty pictures on the computer. I picked out the type of letters to use in the writing. She printed a bunch of them out on paper and cut them out. Then I decorated them with homemade heart stickers that Mommy cut out. I wrote all the names on the happy green origami envelopes (also made by Mommy--she's crazy). I put more stickers on the envelopes. Then I put all the cards in the envelopes. Now they are ready to pass out at school tomorrow!

Countdown

Only 5 more days until Valentines!
And only 6 more days until Bean and Cheese burrito day for school lunch!

Tomorrow is my last day...

...of first grade! I learned a lot. I read lots of chapter books now.


I know what 5 times 7 is. I know that germs on my hands can grow into many more germs in a Petri dish in one week.

I did so many fun things this school year.

Halloween school parade:


We built (and ate) Gingerbread houses:


I saw Chinese New Year lions dance at our school:


We had a Valentine's Day party!


A nice man from the Opera visited the class and helped us put on a show.



We learned about many countries for United Nations Day. It was actually two days! Our classroom was Ethiopia. They grow coffee there. Mommy and Daddy should visit Ethiopia since they love coffee so much.


Last week we had our Junior Olympics! I like the obstacle course. It's tricky!


On Tuesday my class spent the night at the Marin Headlands. We are the only first graders in the school to go on an overnight trip. Without parents! We hiked, learned new songs, and stayed up real late. I became a member of the Hard Core club. That's where you eat an entire apple -- including the core! There's a special way to do it. I can teach you if you ask nicely and bring me an apple.

And tomorrow we're going to have a party with the other first graders and kindergartners. And then after school the Taco Truck is going to come! And then after that I get to go get ice cream. With two scoops!

I had so much fun in first grade. I wonder if second grade will be just as fun. But I can wait. Because I want it to be summer vacation!

Things I did in March

I told Mommy that time is going by way too fast. She said, "Hey, that's what grown ups say!"

In March, I did lots of things.

I went to Yosemite with my friend Izzy and her family. We went together last year, too. I hope we go to Yosemite together next year. And the year after. And the year after that.

I walked.


I hiked.


I sledded.


I didn't want to leave Yosemite. I found some really big rocks that made caves and told Daddy that we should move there. We could park our car next to the rocks. Daddy said it would be a long commute to school. Silly Daddy.

I guess Yosemite didn't want us to live in their rocks because we ended up back home again in San Francisco.

In school I made a penguin! And the secret part is that if you shake it you can hear the clay ball inside. It's a rattle! Mommy helped our class with the painting. That means her job was to make sure we didn't paint each other instead of our art project.



I cooked over spring break. Sabrina gave me a cookbook with recipes made just for kids. Yay! 'Cause I'm a kid. I decided to make Mommy and me lunch. I made pink lemonade. I went into the backyard and picked some lemons and then squeezed all the juice out. The pink part pink lemonade is food coloring. I just love those pointy food coloring bottles. I wish I had a collection of them. But all ours are full so I can't play with them. Yet!

I also made French Toast. I even used my special party napkins and fancy glasses to set the table. It was the best lunch I ever had. Mommy liked it too!



In March, I also played with my friends. That's one of my favorite things to do! It's so fun. Especially when the grownups aren't paying attention.




And I have a new friend! His name is Theo. He's tiny. But he weighs a lot more than any of my stuffed animals.



And those are some of the exciting things I did in March!

Hey look at the fish

Here's me and my 100 Day Project! I drew Mommy pointing and saying, "Hey look at the fish" and I'm making a sand castle.

100 days of school

Today is my 100th day of First Grade. I celebrated by putting 100 flower petals into fishy shapes. There are ten petals for every fish. That's ten fish! I'm getting good at math. I'll try to get a picture of it to show to you. I like it. I think you might like it too.

Last year I was in Kindergarten. I also did a 100-Day Project for Kindergarten. Also with flower petals. I guess I'm the Flower Petal Girl now.

I have a video from my first day of kindergarten, way back in 2008! It's mostly from my walk to and from school. Because Mommy and Daddy weren't allowed to stay in class. I know they would have if my teacher had let them.

At the symphony

Last week we took a field trip to Davies Symphony Hall. To see the San Francisco Symphony. Mommy even came! She rode the bus with us and everything. Mommy said something about liking the shoulder seat belts in the bus. She's weird.

Mommy sat next to me. I pointed out these clear plastic rectangles hanging down from the ceiling. She asked what they were for. I told her it was there so the music can bounce off it and land on the people watching. Mommy said something about uh-coo-stix. Again, weird.

So the music people started coming onto the stage and setting up their stuff. Mommy and I chatted.

Mommy: Ooh, look! There are some people with cellos over there. (She points to the right)

Me: No, Mommy, the cellos are over there. (I point to the left.) That's the bass and double bass. (I point to where Mommy pointed before)

Mommy: Oh. We'll I'll be!

What will she be?

Read-a-thon

Today we got to wear our jammies to school! I wore my purple and green froggie jammies because they are nice and soft. I brought my slippers in my backpack to wear in the classroom. I wore my bathrobe as a jacket. Fun!

Today was called Snuggle Down and Read to start the first day of our Read-A-Thon. That's where kids read books and then get money! But the money doesn't go in their piggy banks. It goes back to my school so that our library can get more books. And you know I love books! And you wanna know a secret? I love smelling books.

So this readathon goes something like this. Starting today until December 4th, I keep track of the amount of time I read every day. I also keep track of what books I read. Or chapters of books if the books are long. If a grownup reads to me, this counts too.

I write all this down on a reading log. This is not a tree that fell down. This kind of log is fancy talk for a piece of paper with information on it.

If you want to help me and my school, you can sponsor me. You can pledge to donate a certain amount of money, like 10 cents for every minute I read. And then let's say I read 15 minutes a day, every day. That's 0.10 ($) x 15 (minutes) x 30 (days) = $45 that you will give to my school. Or you can say you will donate a certain amount of money for every book I read. Or you can pledge money based on how many pages I read. I hear that you can even just donate a flat amount. So many choices!

So if any of you want to sponsor me or want to know more about this read-a-thon stuff, please let Mommy or Daddy know. You can email them, leave a comment here, or send them a Facebook message. Or the good ol' telephone works too.

Thank you very much!

Early night sky

Last night I stayed at school for a super long time--12 hours. There was a Pee-Tee-Yay meeting. It's where the parents and teachers talk about school stuff. I hear it's pretty boring, so after the potluck dinner in the cafeteria me and the other kids played together and watched videos while the parents talked their boring talk.

It was very warm on the walk home, even though the sky was dark. There was a breeze, but it was toasty and felt good. I tilted my head back to look up at the dark, blue-black sky. I said to Mommy, "Ooh! The sky is so pretty! It's like... drinking blueberry juice... and the stars... they remind me of cookies."

First Day of First Grade!

Today was my first day of first grade.

Usually I sleep without clothes on because I get hot. But last night I wanted to make sure I would not be late for school, so after Mommy and Daddy gave me my bedtime hug-kiss-nosies, I put on my school clothes. Then I went to sleep. In the morning Mommy found me sleeping in my clothes. I told her that I wanted to be ready for school. She said that I'm very efficient, whatever that means.

After eating a toasty bowl of oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar for breakfast, I brushed my teeth, put on my shoes, and put on my backpack (with my lunch bag inside). We went out the door but then I realized it was super cold so I put on my sweatshirt. I didn't zip it up though 'cause I didn't want to cover up my doggie picture on the front of my shirt.

Mommy, Daddy and I walked to school. The big hill didn't feel so big this time. Mommy said it's because I'm stronger now than when I was in kindergarten. I walked ahead of them on the last couple blocks because I was so excited.

We actually made it to school before the bell rang. This hardly happened last year. We always ran late for some reason. They really should just make the bell ring later. Then we would never be late. It was great seeing everyone again. Except for the boy team that my team always runs away from. We usually play Chase. I don't always like it though.

I lined up with my class and we walked in the room together. My teacher is very nice and she told us the rules of the classroom and all that. I found at my desk my very own box of 24 new crayons. And pink scissors! And a pencil! And an eraser!

I had lots of fun in first grade. Except that we only get to play once in the classroom. The rest of the time we do first grade work. But that's okay. It's still fun. And we get to play a lot in the After School Program too.

And guess what else? On the walk home, Mommy and I saw the SF parrots near our house. What a long, happy day!

I'm now a first grader!

Today was my last day of kindergarten. Now I'm big.

In kindergarten, I learned how to count by ones, twos, fives, and tens.

In kindergarten, I learned how to read.

In kindergarten, I learned how to write.

In kindergarten, I learned how caterpillars turn into butterflies.

In kindergarten, I made new best friends.

In kindergarten, I had a lot of fun.


Here is a page from my writing and drawing that I do every day.



"In kindergarten I learned how to do my writing and how to play nicely."


I wish I could go to kindergarten forever.

Dogfest

Saturday my school had a big fun-raiser. A fun-raiser is where you have fun and make money. The fun-raiser we had was called Dogfest. It's a party for dogs. And kids too! There were all sorts of games, facepainting, and food. Mommy made cupcakes with sprinkles. My favorite!



I dressed up as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz because Dorothy has a dog. I brought my Snoopy in a basket. Snoopy pretended to be Toto. I got my face painted with a butterfly. That's me in the top picture in case you didn't recognize me in my disguise.

There were so many dogs. Big dogs, little dogs. Some dogs had a lot of fur. Some had hardly any.



Mommy told our friend Sabrina to bring her doggies and enter them in the "Best Coat" contest. Her doggies are big and super fluffy white. They look like clouds that drool.



And guess what? Her dogs won!



I told Mommy, "When Sabrina's doggies won, I felt really happy on the inside."

"How did you feel on the outside?" Mommy asked.

"Even more happy than on the inside. I said, 'Yay!!!!!'"

Wahh!

I have my bad moments. This one was from yesterday during my gingerbread house making activity at school. Mommy was no help at all.

Read-a-thon

Would you like to help me and my school? We are in the middle of a read-a-thon at my school. It's called Snuggle Down and Read. I like snuggling. And I like reading. If you want to sponsor me, please email me your pledge. You can do as little or as much as you want. It's tax deductible too, whatever that means. Email me and I'll give you the details.
pinkrobot AT gmail DOT com

Thank you!!!

Boo! Boo! It's Halloween!

A couple days ago, it was Halloween. It's a silly day where people dress up in costumes and pretend to be all kinds of things. It seems like little kids like to be princesses and superheroes. And at night you go up to all sorts of houses and hold open a bag and ask for candy by saying "Trick or treat!" You cannot do this every night. There's only one special night a year you can do this. And it could very well be the very best night of the year. It's spooky too.

A couple days before Halloween, I went to my friend Kiely's house to carve a pumpkin. Then the next day I got another pumpkin from my school. I carved that one too! We roasted the seeds and ate them. So yummy!


On Halloween day, I had a parade at school. I was a ghost princess bride. Here I am with my friends J (she's dressed up as Belle) and X (she's a Tinkerbelle Fairy):



This is me from the back:


And then at night I decided to be a ballerina fairy.



And Mommy took my ghost costume:


I had such a fun time. I got candy and toys and played with my friends. It was the best Halloween ever!