Lunch with Stella

Last week I finally went to Stella's class to help (I really thought I'd be more productive with her in school all day long, but it seems to have had the opposite effect). Anyway, I did some little tasks for Mrs. Damer outside of the class and every time I came back into the class, Stella couldn't refrain from yelling "MOMMY!" and running to give me a hug.

I love 6-year-olds. They are so interesting. I don't know if it was because I was a greasy, unshowered, hair slicked back mess, or if they were truly inquisitive, but nearly all of the kids would stare at me and then shyly ask, "Are you Stella's mom?" before they relaxed and wanted to start showing me their work and continue being a little out of control.

Stella was excited to have me stay for lunch. I don't remember how long my lunch was as a kid, but boy do they have to eat fast now! No wonder Stella never eats all of the food I pack for her. I felt very rushed, but most of the kids just want to get it over with so they can go to recess anyway.

By the way, here's a couple of school comments:

*Elliot went to Stella's parent/teacher conference and although Mrs. Damer did say that Stella is a role model, she didn't specify whether it was a good one or bad one. We're assuming it's good.

*Also during the conference, Mrs. Damer mentioned that we should put Stella in some sort of theater class. When Elliot tried to laugh it off, Mrs. Damer was like, "No, seriously."

*Stella is excelling at reading and we need to do more chapter books and ask challenging questions.

*However, I think we should start working on her math skills because the other day I asked her how many years until she got baptized. She thought about it for a second and couldn't answer, so I gave her the prompt, "If you are 6 and you have to be 8 when you get baptized, how many years until you get baptized?" She confirmed my thoughts on the math skills when she answered, "12." Wow.

*Stella's principal is awesome! He's a crossing guard for crying out loud. One day I was walking with Stella back to the car when the principal said, "Bye STELLA!"(everyone yells her name) Then he said, "You should be very proud of Stella. She is an amazing girl." Yeah, I know.

*OK, so I'm not always on time to pick up Stella from school. I'm definitely not getting any mother of the year awards for this one. I fell asleep the other day and didn't wake up until 25 minutes AFTER I was supposed to pick up Stella. PANIC! I rushed as fast and safely as I could to get her and was 40 minutes late! I don't know why I was worried that she might be sad because upon my arrival in the office, I found her entertaining everyone with her one-man show. The principal came out and said, "You must have so many quotable quotes from her!"

*Stella says what she wants. We like her.