You've seemed awfully grownie here recently. I was commenting to a dear friend about how you look so different from October 2016. I look back at our family Halloween picture from last year (when we dressed up as the Batfamily) and yesterday (when we dressed up as a 50s Family) and the difference in you is startling. And when I combine yesterday's picture with the picture of almost-two-year-old you also dressed up as a 50s girl, I have to take a deep breath. As I've said many times, I've never been one who mourns each passing stage because each new stage has been better than the one before it. But looking at your toddler sock-hop-y picture and seeing you yesterday makes me realize just how quick seven years has passed and what an amazing person you've grown into. I've loved getting to witness this growth first-hand.
You've always been artistic but you've been uber-artistic this month. We found a channel on YouTube that's full of cartooning tutorials and you've been working through them at a steady pace. I'm incredibly impressed with the smattering of cartoons you've drawn. It took a few months but I'm glad to have finally found a good art channel to supplement our homeschool curriculum.
Speaking of homeschool, it's still going great (and all the mommas said AMEN). It's fun to teach you in a grade when I specifically remember being in that grade. I loved my teacher; I loved learning what the word satchel meant (my teacher called them satchels instead of backpacks and it took well into the first day of school before I figured out what she was talking about); I loved math; I didn't love social studies. In fact, I got my first C in third grade - my final six weeks grade in social studies was a C+ and I thought that meant I wasn't going on to fourth grade. I was sobbing at my desk on the last day of school because I thought I failed the third grade.
One of the things I distinctly remember learning in the third grade was multiplication. We spent days and weeks and months going over multiplication tables. Then we spent a week or two doing 100-problem worksheet drills to test our speed and accuracy. One of my few claim to fames is that I was the only student in my class who could correctly answer 100 multiplication problems in five minutes. It took three or four tries (it took that long for me to remember that 7x8 was 56 and not 54), but I finally did it. And my reward was that I got to play with clay (like actual artist's clay, not Play-Doh) during the next day's math lesson. Which was awesome. Except that squishing and kneading the clay to where it would be soft enough to actually play with took the entire length of the math lesson. So, awesome but kinda not. However 30 years later, I still remember that 7x8=56. Boo yah.
So I'm passing on the 100-problem torch to you, my dear student. And you couldn't be more thrilled or excited to carry on this time-honored tradition. Ok, so maybe thrilled isn't the right word. Maybe eye-roll-y tolerating is more accurate. We've only done two worksheets so far but you went from missing four to only missing one (8x6 is definitely your version of my dreaded 8x7 ... psst, it's 48 not 46). And you've shaved five minutes off your time. Another boo yah.
I love being present for each of your boo yahs.
Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy
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Headlines for November 1, 2017:
- NYC Attacker Followed ISIS Playbook, Planned Rampage for Weeks
- Navy recommends sweeping changes after ship collisions
- Team U.S.A. Prepares for the Winter Olympics
- Fellow soldier, intel analyst defend Bergdahl
- Harvey Weinstein banned for life from the Producers Guild of America
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