Highs and lows...taking it in stride!

Well, I officially have a FIFTH GRADER in our home! I cannot believe it.

Today, Paige woke up before any of our alarms. She was soooo cute. She had picked out her hiphop cargo shorts, a cute purple Gap Tshirt, put her own hair up in a ponytail and picked out matching ribbon and brushed her teeth without me having to ask~!

She was so excited to see who her teacher was. We prayed last night that she would get whoever she was meant to have (however, she secretly wanted a particular teacher). To our excitement, she got the teacher that she desired AND her class is stacked with SUPER SMART, outgoing, well rounded kids from excellent families! YAY! She WAS so happy...was, being the key word.

After she got home, we decided to spend one of our last summer days together at the pool. Upon arriving, she saw so many of her "besties" and they all did their group hug and giggled and took off to play.

I perched on a lounge chair, opened my book and proceeded to read and get some sun.

Within five minutes of my arrival, two mamas sought me out. They walked up and with a "oh I feel so sorry for you" face, said, "Paige is a great kid and is smart and will get through this year and it'll be ok". Ummmm, yes to all of the above statements, I thought. I proceed to tell these moms how excited P was to have a very structured teacher and loves a challenge and thrives in that kind of environment.

One of the moms, who is really a great friend (this is why I am so baffled), kept on and on. "Oh, the homework, oh the projects, oh the torture of this fifth grade year, blah blah blah" ... now sounding very much like Charlie Brown's teacher.

Finally, I just said, "Paige is happy! Until this teacher gives us a reason to be unhappy, we are going to continue to be excited". End of story.

I have a hard time with preconceived notions and why people want to discuss the doom and gloom. It is the one thing about being an educator that bothers me. It is a proven that children learn in different ways. Just because my friend's son had this teacher and didn't do well, doesn't mean that is going to be the case with Paige.

Am I so naive to think that this year isn't going to be academically challenging? Absolutely not. Am I happy that my girl is excited? You betcha.

I am on a positivity kick and I kept finding myself all day long saying, "It will be JUST FINE". The phrase caught on and as I was leaving the pool, many of the moms were saying "It will be JUST FINE".

I am proud of my girl and how positive she is about having a "tough" teacher. I am proud that she is not going to listen to people to decide who she is going to like and not going to like. I know that this year is going to be JUST FINE! I mean, seriously, it IS just fifth grade!

How was your day? :)