Sock Hop Sweetheart

Marina has been learning a number of dances in her gym class at school lately. They've been learning them for the sock hop tonight. Marina came home telling me about learning the Macarena and wanting to wear a poodle skirt. The outfit I ordered for her arrived earlier this week and she's been very excited to dance in it.
 
We arrived at the school early and she and some of her friends danced together. I was impressed at the steps they were doing to the 50's songs. And they were having so much fun in their poodle skirts! We had dinner in the cafeteria - hot dogs, popcorn and root beer floats. On our way back to the dance, she stopped to have her nails painted and got a couple of temporary tattoos.

Once we got back to the gym, the kids were doing the Limbo. After doing that for a while, they started some of the other dances, the Macarena and other line dances - all led by the gym teacher Mr. Norris. The fifth graders did their version of Thriller, which Marina loved.

After two hours, everyone was wiped out. Our first sock hop was a lot of fun!

Birthday Girl

Marina has been counting down the days to her birthday. Last night, she wanted to wear curlers to bed so she'd have pretty hair today. When I dropped her off at school this morning, she announced excitedly, "I get to be on the announcements!" Apparently students get to lead the Pledge of Allegiance on their birthday.

Near the end of the school day, I came to her classroom with cupcakes. Naturally, her classmates were excited to get them. Marina got the take the ceremonial first bite. She waited until everyone in the class was quiet before she did.

After school, we went out for dinner. When we came home, Mr. Chuck and Miss Judy came over for cake and presents. I made her another Tinkerbell and friends cake. I think by this time, Marina was a bit tired of cake, she didn't eat much. She was much more interested in her presents.

Marina was so funny as she opened her presents. She carefully looked at each package and tried to figure out what it was before opening it. But she was pretty happy with what was in the packages.

After our celebration, we settled down and watched The Muppets on DVD, one of her presents. It had been a fun day.

Be A Ladybug

Marina's second grade show was this evening. She's been looking forward to it for a long time. At first, she agonized over what to be - a butterfly, a firefly or a ladybug. Finally, she decided to be a ladybug.

When Marina woke up this morning, her first words were, "My show is today!" She's been so excited. There were two performances, this afternoon for the school and this evening for parents. The show was fun, full of insects of all kinds: army ants, butterflies, crickets, fireflies, spiders, stinkbugs and, of course, ladybugs. And, naturally, my favorite performance was "Be A Lady." Where the ladybugs showed their "attitude" and did a sassy dance. It was a fun show.

Mexican Market

Marina has been studying Mexico at school for a while. She's been coming home with Spanish words she's learned. The entire second grade put together a Mexican Market today. Two days ago, we made Mexican Wedding Cake cookies. My mother used to make them. I'm not sure if they are really Mexican, but we made them anyway. Marina helped me put the sugar on.

So, today I went to the school to see the market. Marina had already set up her stand with the cookies and signs she made. She was wearing a poncho she made out of a paper bag.

She couldn't wait to go shopping, but she had to sell first. It was cute to see the kids use their pesos to buy each others items. When it was her turn to shop, she bought paper flowers, flags and cookies. I suspect she was buying from her friends. Still, it was a fun exercise for the kids.

Carnival

Marina's school had a Back to School Carnival this evening. She was very excited to go. There was a flat fee to get in and that included face painting and unlimited games. Of course, Marina wanted to get her face painted first. From there she played a few games. At each game, the kids earned a certain number of points which they could redeem for prizes. At one game, the young lady punching the cards was quite generous. Marina was so excited to fill up her card.

After trying all the games, she spent a while in the bounce house. It took me a while to get her away from there. Then she went back to playing games. As she saw teachers and classmates that she knew, she'd run over and hug them. It's great to see how much she loves the people at her school - and how much she is loved!

Marina started to get tired as it got dark. So we headed into the prize room to redeem her points. She was able to get two stuffed animals. She left the carnival very happy!

Starting Second Grade

Today was Marina’s first day of second grade! Where does the time go? She was very excited to start after meeting her teacher last week at the beginning of the year meet and greet. She’s actually in the same room as last year – they moved the second grade classrooms to the location where the first grade classrooms were.

She seemed excited at first, but she said her tummy hurt and she seemed tired. She didn’t want me to leave. I stayed for a few minutes to help her get settled. The teacher had the kids on the floor as she talked to them. Marina seemed to calm down, so I left.

After school, Marina was in a good mood. We saw her teacher in the parking lot and she told me Marina had been fine after I left and she had a good day. I was glad to hear it. I think this is going to be a great year for her!