One Smart Cookie Revisited

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Dear Emma,

I met with your teacher this week. It was such a pleasant experience. She was excited to talk about you. She told me all about your accomplishments this year, thus far, and showed me some of your work. You are doing such a great job. I am extremely proud of you. She noted your compassion, your ability to try hard, your improvements, your leadership, and how much you genuinely love to learn. I shared with her the ways that you will randomly throw pairs of numbers out at me, testing me - confirming your own calculations. I think you are one of those people who lives life by equation. No matter what is thrown your way, you will always figure out all of the answers.

Today, I am treating you to a day at the movies. Your reward for doing your very best.

Love,
Mommy

Whoa!

Dear Emma,

You're well into your third year in elementary school now, and today, you said something that finally cemented your big girl status. We were in the car, and talking about the day's school activities when you reflected on your spelling test. We had only studied your spelling words together the night before, paying careful attention to the words that had tricky combination of letters. You said that you thought you did good, confident that you had spelled "campground" correctly. And then you said, "we didn't get our tests back today, I don't think she (your teacher) had time to grade them." Oh. My. God. You actually said "grade", as in referring to classwork, as in referring to something other than your current academic standing! I swear, I had a That's So Raven moment. I couldn't help but flash to my Cal days, those mama bear days that became your baby bear days - thinking about how you've grown up in the lingo, about how you know what to expect from academia because you've been prepping for it and taking it in since you were 7 months old. Wow. Babies don't get graded, they get happy-faced and stickered. However, scholars-in-training sure definitely get graded.

Something as simple as a 2nd grade spelling test, as simple as introducing yourself to a friend's father in Spanish, is a testament to who you are becoming and proof that you're unstoppable.

Love,
Mommy

One Smart Cookie

Dear Emma,

Each afternoon, after getting an earful of your day, I check my rearview mirror to catch you sleeping on the ride home. Possibly a tale-tale sign of our lengthy commutes or one of just how hard you've been working and learning since becoming a 2nd grader. You wear this accomplishment with so much pride. I think you feel accomplished. Like an underclassman, thinking ahead to when you will gain a Kindergarten reading buddy as a 3rd grader. You tend to think ahead a lot. You think about what it'd be like to be a teenager, to drive a car, to own a cell phone, and even about going to college. I tend not to worry too much about your future because you are such a natural born leader. You are not shy and you are not fearful. You face each day as a new adventure and dare others to stand in your way.

Current likes: Math, Science (chemistry), Reading, Writing, Baseball, Computers, and Video Games.

Love,
Mommy