CHAPTER 5
Every school day my mum work me up at 6 AM, but on my second of my third grade I had woken myself up, guessing I slept quite well plus was excited about my second day of school in third grade. I got up, cleaned up, got dressed, finished packing and went downstairs to have breakfast.
Diana: Good morning mum and dad (give me kisses and hugs)
Mum and Dad: Good morning Diana. You woke yourself up without mum waking you up today?
Diana: Yup, guess I either slept well or just too excited to go to school.
Mum and dad: laughing…puts the breakfast on the dining table, we sit down and have breakfast.
Our breakfast was quite simple, cereal, juice, milk, coffee or tea, toast and eggs, bacon and sausages and pancakes for me (always loved it when mum made the pancakes). I always made sure to have a full healthy breakfast that would give me the energy needed for the morning classes before our first snack and recess time. For snacks, mum would either prepare a sandwich, some fruits or muffins (home baked) and yoghurt (again healthy snacks).
After finishing my breakfast, brushed my teeth, did my hair with my mum's help and then prepared to leave for school. We would often leave at 7:15 AM taking about 30 minutes to get to school –mum driving me to school.
Mum would drop me off at the elementary school office building, when I got off the car, we would kiss each other on the cheeks and wave to each other, mum would get in her car drive off while I entered the school building and went directly to my class. One thing my parents always made sure was that I would never be late to school and if I couldn't make it for personal or other reasons would notify the school, otherwise would never miss school.
When I got to class pretty much most of my classmates had already arrived as I saw backpacks on the floor and folders on the desks. I put my backpack on the floor, took out the folder and went to find my classmates on the playground. We didn't play for too long as the morning classes were about to begin-the bell rang and we started walking back to the classroom.
Mrs. Cooper welcomed us with "Good morning class"
All students: Good morning Mrs. Cooper.
We went over the agenda and schedule for the day, and then begun our first lesson. I must admit the information we were learning was quite interesting, fun and enjoyable. I loved the way Mrs. Cooper taught math, science and language arts, although it was a lot to process but was able to keep up with her teaching style and method.
Did we have homework? Yes, was unavoidable since we officially started learning the subject lessons today.
In the afternoon, my computer lessons, art, music lessons were all about introductions and playing some very interesting games, of course all related to the lessons. And finally was the favorite lesson everyone loved P.E. class. We were introduced to some activities and fun and games which required running, jumping, moving our bodies' left and right….although it was fun but by the end of the lesson when it was time to head home, I was tired….was such a long day but was quite enjoyable.
Oh yes, we also started our foreign language classes which I choose Spanish. Our teacher was indeed a Spanish teacher, quite strict I might add, but quite professional at what she does and the way she teaches her lessons, you will definitely not forget what you have learned for sure. I had always loved Spanish; don't know why, guess have heard all the great and beautiful things about Spain so it was my hope that I would continue taking Spanish all the way until high school.
As the autumn season came to an end, we were now preparing for winter one of the longest seasons of the year, no more waking up to the bright sunny mornings, but rather waking up in darkness and going home when it is already dark, those winter days when you just don't feel like getting out of bed at all! If there was one thing I learned about winter especially as a student is to ALWAYS dress warmly indoors or outdoors because getting a cold, flu or even just a fever was enough to keep you in the house for a few weeks and that was something I avoided.
Grade three had quite a large number of students, mostly each class having about twenty five students'. Some of the things that would take place in the first semester of grade three were the indoor classroom activities and competition activities with other third grade classes, the performing arts activities that were organized by the music teachers and the finally the large list number of after school activities we could choose to do after school.
The performing arts activities included singing, dancing and a bit of storytelling as well. Some of these performing arts activities would have parents come in the evening or in the late afternoon to watch the performances. I took part in the singing event which was so cool but was also nerve wrecking as I had never sang in front of such a large crowd, but every time I would sing, would try to find my parents to give me confidence and encouragement which cooled my nerves and I would just sing out loud with joy and excitement. As for the sports, we had indoor running, jumping, tag game, hula hoop competitions which were so exciting especially the hula hoop, was so funny watching third graders wiggling themselves from one A to Z on their hula hoops, but it was so much fun. That was something I was definitely not going to do, what I did participate in was the tag game so basically were divided into teams, and each team had five members, all we had to do was make sure that we were able to complete the activity from start to finish, tag your partner and they would continue running. The first team to complete all the given tasks without cheating was the winner. For our class, we divided ourselves into teams and we came in third place, the other two classes that beat us were just so fast, but that's alright, we had fun which was the most important.
The "Weekly Star Awards" was one of the highlights of my third grade, because we would not be told in advance who would be getting the "Weekly Start Awards" it was quite difficult to know who got what star. We would have to always keep checking the "Start Chart" for the results and this is what everyone in my class was dying to know. We would only know the following day when we arrived to school and that was always the first thing I would go check when I entered the classroom. I would always have a smile on my face when I saw I had two to three stars next to my name, and then I would also check Jaime's, Chris, Cynthia's and Carl's as they were my desk mates and we each got the same number of starts-the feeling of excitement was running on my face. When they walked in the classroom, I would motion them to the "Start Chart" with excitement for them to see how many stars they got, and they would jump up and down with excitement as well. I would always share this news with my parents and they were very happy and proud of all the good things I was doing at school.
To mention homework, pretty much every single day, and I mean every single day we had homework. The only classes we didn't or rather never got homework was art, music, and computer, as all the work was given and completed in class and if not would be completed in the next class. P.E. was the GREATEST, NO HOMEWORK!! This was such a relief because I was not sure how I was going to handle or manage the huge load of homework moving forward. It would have meant giving up my after school activities just to make sure I am able to successfully complete and submit all my homework on time.
The subjects that gave quite a large amount of homework were math, language arts, Spanish and science. When we would be given our homework and were writing it in our diary, I would always look at Jaime and Chris and laugh just seeing how frustrated they were because they both never and I mean NEVER loved homework, and this is not something that started in third grade but since grade 1, but somehow they would always complete it and submit it on time. I guess they were avoiding trouble which I don't blame them at all because I would do the same, less headaches and fewer problems with the teacher and parents.
When it came to completing our homework, Jaime, Chris and I would always do it together either at Jaime's, Chris's or my place. We would go to each other's places weekly, sit in the living and work together to complete the given homework. If there some parts of the homework we didn't understand, would work it out together, explain it to each other and IF and ONLY WHEN it was understood we would move on to the next question. We would always make sure that every single question given whether in math, language arts, science or Spanish was well understood before doing the homework. To be honest this was such a joy and relief to me and our parents' because we supported each other, liked helping and encouraging each other, this also helped us be good in our studies, have great study habits, being responsible, organized, and independent. We tried to ensure that we did our best, gave our best from the beginning to the end and not have our parents worry about our studies. Of course an adult was around to supervise us while we were doing our homework and once we completed our homework, we would show it to our parents, and they would sign it off with their signatures acknowledging the work was well done and each task completed successfully. This continued through the entire elementary school years. We made sure never to have issues completing or submitting our homework and never got into any trouble regarding uncompleted homework.
The first semester of grade three came to an end in the winter of December 2010, as usual before we started our winter vacation, we got our report cards, exchanged our reports, read the scores and teacher comments, we all three did well except for my art score which was 'not very satisfactory':
Jaime: What happened with your art grade?
Diana: Yeah, not to good at all!! Hey drawing for me is like telling me to go swimming. I am terrible at drawing, wasn't born with Picasso or Leonardo Da Vinci genes, so I can ONLY do my best but I do try.
Chris: I hear what you are saying but you have to try and make the effort.
Diana: I know, but every time we have art class I start to panic and to make matters worse, sitting next to Cynthia and Carl, makes me even more discouraged. I know Mrs. Campbell, always tries her very best to encourage me but I don't know why my heart just isn't in art.
Jaime: Try not to get discouraged Diana, I am sure all will be OK. Just have to practice doing some drawings during the winter vacation and see if they can help. Or we can try helping you with some simple drawings and see how it goes.
Diana: Thanks guys. I mean granted, art is a subject we are learning in school and will be learning it till high school, so the least I can try to do is make and put in the effort and hopefully will improve next semester.
Chris: For sure, but in the mean time if you need any help just let us know.
Diana: Thanks! I know one thing, once I get to high school, art will be the first subject dropped with a heartbeat.
Jamie and Chris were laughing as we got ready to head home ending our first semester of third grade and starting our winter vacation which was for three weeks. Thank goodness, I could sleep in and enjoy being in my warm pajamas, warm house and not having to leave my house for another three weeks.
Diana: We should hang out sometime during this winter vacation if you guys won't have any plans.
Chris and Jaime: For sure, we will let you know.
We wished everyone happy holidays, said goodbyes, and started walking towards the stairs as Mrs. Cooper was escorting us to our buses. Jaime, Chris and I were being picked up by our parents. I greeted both Jaime and Chris's parents, walked with my mum to our car, hopped into the car, and my mum drove off. We talked a bit about the day and all that had been going on, but for some reason, I ended up sleeping in the car until we got home when my mum woke me up.
Mum: You must be quite tired Diana
Diana: I guess it had been quite a long semester and it is winter, the cold just makes you want to sleep.
Mum: laughing as she packs the car, we get off and walk straight home.
Dad was home surprisingly, which I wasn't expecting, but I was happy to find him home even earlier than me. I gave him a hug and went upstairs to put my backpack, changed my clothes, took out my report card and gave it to mum and dad. As they were reading my report card, I quickly walked back upstairs to my bedroom before they started asking me questions.
Dad: Diana? Can you come downstairs please?
Diana: Sure dad. I walked downstairs and went and sat on the sofa where both my parents were also seated and I could already see what was coming my way.
Dad: So your mum and I looked at your report card and we are quite impressed with your grades and the weekly star awards that you received this semester. Well, with the exception of arts but that's OK. I am sure you will do better next semester.
Mum: We are so happy with your performance this semester, top scores in all subjects especially in math, language arts, science, P.E., music, computer, Spanish well except art, but like your father said you will do your best to improve and do better next semester.
Diana: Art is not my subject, not that I don't like it, but I was telling Jaime and Chris that I don't have the Picasso or Leonardo Da Vinci genes to be an artist, and then in the art class, I am sitting next to two of my classmates who draw, paint and color like art is their job. It is quite discouraging and frustrating, but Mrs. Campbell tries her very best to help me not get discouraged and she is very patient with me, so hopefully next semester will be able to make some improvements and do better.
Mum and Dad both laughing at my comments, they both give me a hug and assured me that everything will be OK, and should not worry.
Diana: Thanks mum and dad. I love you lots.
Mum and Dad: We love you too and will always support you.
I turned around and went back to my room with a sigh of relief and just crushed on my bed looking at my bedroom ceiling just relaxing telling myself 'everything will be OK, you can make it Diana,' don't have to be the most glamorous and famous artist in the world but as long as you can draw as requested by Mrs. Campbell, everything will fall into place.
I got up from my bed, took out everything from my backpack, my books, folders, P.E. clothes and sneakers, my snack boxes, and my school diary. I started putting everything where they should be, and once that was all done, all that was left were my books, folders and school diary on my study table. I had been contemplating on whether I should get started and working on my homework right away as it was quite a lot, but then I told myself, I just started my winter vacation, got three weeks to get it done. Of course was not going to wait till last minute to start working on it, nope!! Will give myself a week to rest then begin working on it with Jaime and Chris the second week.
December was usually a very busy month for my family; it was not only about the winter holiday, but with only three weeks of holiday and the crazy heavy snow and sometimes the blizzards, travelling was not an option, but had to prepare and get excited for the Christmas season, Boxing day, New Year's Eve and Year New, but the biggest one was my birthday which was three days before Christmas. We would always buy a Christmas tree, decorate it, buy gifts, and drink nice hot chocolate and the food my mum would cook was just out of this world. This year though as we were not travelling we would be celebrating our winter holiday just the three of us at home. However, I decided to do something different. I had a conversation with my parents:
Diana: For this Christmas can we invite Jaime and Chris's family over for our Christmas dinner and my birthday please, pretty please? Seeing it is their first time in this neighborhood far away from home, we all get along and I think it would be great and they would love it too.
Mum: Sure, I will speak to their parents and hear what they say and let you know.
Dad: Of course we can invite them for your birthday and Christmas. Would also be nice to have some fun and enjoy the festive holiday together.
Diana: Great!! Yey!! I rushed back up to my room, sat on my bed and started drifting in my imagination how exciting and fun my birthday and Christmas will be this year…..I just could not wait.
The next day while we were having supper, my mum tells me…..
Mum: I have some good news for you Diana. I spoke with Jaime and Chris's parents and they agreed to come for your birthday party and Christmas dinner.
My dad seeing me smiling and jumping up and down with joy and excitement.
Diana: Thank you, thank you, love you mum.
Mum: They were quite excited at the invitation as they were not sure what they were going to do, in the past they would travel and visit friends or relatives but ever since they moved to this neighborhood and don't get along with the other neighbors, the only neighbor they knew was us. They had also thought of inviting us for dinner at their place for Christmas but they read our minds. I am glad they accepted our invitation. They are very nice people, humble, friendly, and welcoming and they don't like drama or gossip which goes for the same as our family. I am guessing that's why we get along quite well and we have never had any issues with them and you have never had any issues with Jaime and Chris.
Dad: They are wonderful people, easy to get along with; in fact Chris's father invited me to play golf with him at one point and we both had a great laugh and enjoyed chatting with each other. Jaime's father is not that much into golf, but he accompanied us just to hang out and enjoy the weekend with us. They are low key people, simple; don't like complicated and extravagant lifestyles especially showing off, gossiping and drama, not their cup of tea at all!
Diana: Wow that would explain something….
Mum: What Diana?
Diana: When I first met Jaime and Chris, I asked them whether they had friends and if the friends in the neighborhood hang out with them, they answered me "No, we don't like them." I didn't ask why, didn't want to push the topic as I noticed they were not interested in talking about the other kids in the neighborhood. Now that you mentioned what kind of people they are, it explains why they don't like hanging out with the other people in this neighborhood and to be quite honest I don't blame them at all!!
Diana: But I am so excited they accepted our invitation and we shall be celebrating my birthday and spending Christmas with them as well. It will be a great winter holiday, thank you mum and dad.
Mum: You are very welcome sweetie. Now finish up your dinner before it gets cold.
Eating my dinner with the biggest smile on my face after receiving the wonderful news, I finished my dinner, took my plate to the kitchen, and watched some television till around 10 PM. Before I went to bed I took a sneak peak out the window and saw that it was starting to snow heavily, told my parents about it and I was already imagining how the ground will be full of snow tomorrow, which meant I can go out, and build a snowman, and play in the snow.
Diana: Mum, dad, good night (gave them hugs and kisses) and went upstairs to my bedroom, was already yawning which I am guessing was either I was just quite tired or the fact of always feeling sleeping around this time during school days and was a routine to always be in bed before 10 PM. "I need to recharge my body and get some energy if I am to enjoy this winter holiday and have the energy to do my homework," I said to myself.
I left my parents watching television and I went to my room, tucked myself into bed, turned off the lights and went to sleep. Before I slept, I was thinking of the good news mum shared with me tonight that Chris and Jaime's parents will be coming for my birthday party and Christmas dinner. I was so overjoyed which put a bright smile on my face and without anymore thoughts; I turned to the left and slept with a BIG smile on my face.
The next day I woke up, looked out the window and the whole road and our garden was covered with heavy snow. I had no idea what time it was until I went downstairs and saw my parents were already both awake.
Diana: Why are you awake so early I asked?
Mum and Dad: they both look at me saying it is almost 10 AM!! (Laughing)
Diana: What? You mean I slept all the way from 10 PM to 10 AM?
Mum: Yup, you must have been quite exhausted, but you are on holiday so it is probably the long autumn and winter you had, add the school work, after school activities, and all that has been going on for you, the body just felt tired, but it is good you allowed yourself to get some good sleep and rest. How are you feeling now?
Diana: I am actually feeling so much better, refreshed actually (laughing).
Mum: Well go get cleaned up and then come down for breakfast.
Diana: OK. Oh can we play in the snow today, build a snowman?
Dad: Sure, we can, after you have cleaned up and had breakfast as your mother said.
Diana: Nice! I rush back to my room, make my bed, wash my face, and change into warm clothing, do my hair and rush downstairs to have breakfast. When I finished my breakfast, ran back upstairs to brush my teeth, put on my winter jacket, rushed downstairs, put on my winter boots and out I went to play in the snow.
When I went outside, I saw Jaime and Chris were also outside playing in the snow. I called their names and asked them to come join me at my place. They both came running to our house, and we played in the snow, made two huge snowmen, rolled snowballs and tossed them to each other, we were having so much fun, laughing, falling on the snow and my parents were watching us from the living room window.
"Having a good night's rest really was the antidote I needed," I said to myself as I had so much energy and was having so much fun, smiling laughing and I kept on looking at Jaime and Chris telling myself "I am so happy that I have both Jaime and Chris as my best buddies, being in the same school, same class for four years." I stood and said to myself "this will be one of the best winter vacations I am ever going to have and will always be remembered for the rest of my life."
We continued playing in the snow till late afternoon; we were so tired that we fell on the ground and started talking about how our winter holiday has been so far….we have been enjoying it but we all had the same thoughts that today was the best snow day we ever had this winter vacation. At around 4 PM, we hugged each other, said our goodbyes and went home. We had planned to hang out over the weekend to begin the winter vacation homework.
CHAPTER 6
The first of the winter vacation was coming to an end and now the preparations for the Christmas celebrations and my birthday were underway, dad and I went to the mall to buy the Christmas tree while mum went Christmas shopping. It was quite an adventure and in our Chicago city, you know how crazy it gets this time of year, you either get to the mall early to get the best stuff or you might lose out of the finest of the finest. Luckily, for us we were early risers, so by 10 AM were already in the mall, shopping and getting everything needed that would last pretty much until New Years. One thing about my parents was they were bulk shoppers, never the type to buy just one item, they either bought three or in bulks and I mean it was A LOT!!! Sometimes, I used to think we were going to feed the entire neighborhood, but I later on learned that they liked buying things in bulk just to make sure they have extra items and to have them in stock, save yourself from having to go to the mall every other week.
So once the shopping was completed including the gifts, decorations, Christmas trees, food and drink shopping, we put everything in the back of the car, and drove home singing and chatting about how we were going to celebrate the holidays. I was listening to the conversation between my parents, but somehow I ended up looking outside the window at the snow, people walking down the streets carrying bags of shopping, cars passing and driving up and down...not sure why such would get my attention, it was the Christmas spirit that I was seeing in everyone that put a smile on my face, as this is the time when friends, families and relatives get together to enjoy, eat, celebrate one of the best festive ever.
We got home; car was packed and started unloading all the shopping from the car. Dad was in charge of the Christmas tree so left that job for him; while mum and I took the shopping bags to the kitchen…..I could only carry the light stuff, but was nice to help out. In the kitchen I helped mum put away the groceries, other stuff where they belonged…was quite easy as I was already quite familiar with where everything would be placed so quick, easy simple kitchen chore. I left the kitchen to go see how dad was doing with the Christmas tree and decorations while mum started making late lunch.
Diana: Dad you need any help?
Dad: No Diana, you can seat and watch how I decorate the tree. Oh can you hand me those two decorations on your right.
(Stretching my hand for the two decorations and passing them on to dad). By the time mum had finished making lunch, the first part of setting up the Christmas tree was done, and a few of the decorations were already in place. I was just blown away at how beautiful and wonderful the Christmas tree was looking and I just kept starting at it (even when my mum was motioning for me to go have lunch)….OK its' not like I had never seen my dad decorate a Christmas tree before...all the Christmas's we ever celebrated as a family since I was born, dad always bought and decorated the Christmas tree but I don't know for some reason I was feeling that this year's Christmas tree and decorations were going to be special. I went and sat down at the dinner table and started having my lunch.
Dad: Diana, what do you think of the Christmas tree so far?
Diana: It's huge and cool, can't wait to see when it's all done.
(Mum and dad laughing)
Dad: Wait till it is all done, you will love it and your mum and I have a great surprise for you…..guess who will be celebrating their birthday soon?
Diana: Shyly, with a BIG SMILE looking at both my parents…..me me me me!!!
(Mum and dad laughing)
After lunch, I helped take the dishes to the kitchen and went to the living room to watch some television while watching dad finish the Christmas tree. As I was watching a cartoon series on the television, I started thinking about my winter holiday homework (weird right?) but it was time to start working on it sooner rather than later, so I spoke to Jaime and Chris and asked them if they would like to start working on the homework together, and surely enough they had also thought the same. We made arrangements to meet up tomorrow at 11:00 AM at Chris's place. Jaime and my parents' agreed we could go to Chris's house to do our homework; Chris's parents were going to be home so we were going to be under their supervision.
By the time dinner came around, dad was done with the Christmas tree; the lights were lit up, the decorations were all placed nicely on the tree and at the bottom of the tree. What was now left was the wrapping of the presents which was left to my mum. My mum has always been so good at wrapping presents; I always enjoyed watching her, seeing how she wrapped them using the wrapping paper and tape, almost like it was a full time job she did at a gift wrapping store. She was going to start wrapping the presents after dinner, so would get to watch her wrap all the presents and they were many, mainly because we also bought gifts for Jaime, Chris and their parents. I also bought gifts for mum and dad, but what I was going to do was try and wrap them myself in my bedroom as I didn't want them to see their gifts, and then place them under the Christmas tree. Luckily I had taken some extra wrapping paper to my bedroom before they noticed it (phew). And just to make sure I knew what I was doing in terms of wrapping the gifts, I sat next to my mum when she started wrapping the gifts and watched her wrap all the gifts….she saw me watching her and asked…
Mum: Do you want to try wrapping a gift?
Diana: shaking my head with enthusiasm, yes…..
She gave me a gift and wrapping paper and she also had a gift and a wrapping paper as well.
Mum: I am going to show you first how I do it, and then we will wrap a gift together, OK?
Diana: OK.
So I watch carefully how she took the gift, placed it on the floor, took the wrapping paper and begun to wrap it step by step. I was like WOW WOW, amazing!! Once she was done, she showed me the wrapped gift and asked…
Mum: How does it look?
Diana: Great!
Mum: Ok, so now let's wrap one together.
So we both picked up the gift and placed it on the floor, took the gift and I started wrapping while watching mum wrap her gift, followed each step and yeah!! I did it!
Diana: Mum, Mum, look I did it….I did it. I was more confident than ever that I would have no problems wrapping my parents' gifts.
Mum: Yes, you did it sweetie, you did it (gave me a hug and a kiss).
We both placed the gifts by the Christmas tree, and as mum went to the kitchen, I sat on the sofa continued watching television until I fell asleep. My dad carried and took me to bed, tucked me in saying "good night" with a kiss on my forehead. I rolled over to the sides and slept till the next morning.
The next morning was awake at 09:00 AM, cleaned up, made my hair, had breakfast and started preparing the books I was going to take to Chris's house to work on my homework. We decided we were going to do math and science. Tomorrow, we would go to Jaime's house and do language arts which was quite a lot and in the afternoon work on our Spanish homework.
At 11: 00 AM, I arrived at Chris's house, Jaime had already arrived. Chris's mum very pleasant and friendly greeted me with a hug and a kiss and offered us hot chocolate with chocolate chip cookies which were my favorite. After taking a break, started working on our homework, first up was math, took out my textbook, worksheets and math notebook. We decided to work on the worksheets, which took almost two hours, we checked our answers and discussed about the ones we didn't know and how to do them. When we were done with the worksheets, we then completed the exercises from the textbooks on to our notebooks. Most of the math homework included multiplications, divisions, addition, subtractions and division, oh and some word problems. This took another two hours, but we had a break in between and had lunch that Chris's mum made which as always was really good and delicious, we then had an hour's rest after lunch to also relax our hands and bodies as our brains were pretty fried after doing all that math work.
At 3 PM, started working on science homework, we had some worksheets to complete and a short writing project. Luckily while at school, we had done the research needed to complete this writing project, so all that was needed was to put everything together neatly and organized in our notebooks. We were all writing different things but the procedure and process needed to write the project was to be written the same by everyone; it was the end product that would be written differently using your own words as everyone's conclusion would be different. This was the first time working on such a project and I was having a very hard time writing my conclusion. I was watching Chris and Jaime and they were writing away as if they were scientists….I was just watching them until they noticed and asked "If I was OK?"
Jaime: Are you OK?
Diana: I am just watching how you guys are busy writing your science projects like scientists while I am stuck not sure what is going on or how I am supposed to write it (showing frustration)
Jaime and Chris: Laughing at Diana's frustration.
Chris: (Taking Diana's science notebook and reading what she has written) Well you have written the procedures and process as we were told to do….I guess it's the conclusion is where you are stuck, right?
Before Diana could speak, Jaime takes her science notebook and reads what she has written.
Diana: Yes, that is the part I don't know what do write.
Jaime: Ok, so your conclusion has to be based on what you think will happen or would happen when this experiment or if it disappears what do you think would happen to the earth, how will it affect people like you and me, the animals, oceans, and the environment?
Chris: Yes, so it is you taking all the information you researched and prepared and taking all that and giving your own conclusions, remember the conclusions don't have to be 100% true but have to make sense and valid based on the evidence you provided.
Jaime: Does that make sense?
Diana: Ah, now I get it, so all I need to do is take all the information I have written and form a conclusion based on what I know, think, believe or guess might happen, almost like a prediction but should make sense, valid with evidence, right?
Jaime and Chris: Exactly, you got it.
After hearing all that and finally understanding what I needed to do, I went back and read all that I had written, took a minute and started writing my own conclusion. I was done in ten minutes, read it again and was satisfied with my conclusion.
Diana: Can you help me read if what I wrote is OK, makes sense?
Jaime and Chris: Sure (they take my science notebook and read it together)
I was watching them read it aloud; they were looking at me as they were reading it….
Diana: Anything wrong?
Jaime: This is good.
Chris: This is good, should have no problems at all.
When it came to learning sciences, Jaime and Chris were really good at science; they could remember most of everything that was taught and were good at explaining things very patiently especially to me when I didn't understand most of the time. So I trusted them when I had problems with my science homework because I knew they would be there to help understand and show me how to do it without any hesitation.
By the time we had complete both math and science homework it was already almost 6:30 PM and it was time for me to head home as it was already quite dark. We arranged to meet at Jaime's place tomorrow to do the language arts homework, same time which was 11:00 AM. I thanked Chris's mum for the hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, lunch, snacks and for allowing us to do our homework at her place. They escorted me to my house and watched me go inside, I waved goodbye and walked into my home.
Diana: Hi mum, hi dad.
Mum: Oh hello, I didn't even see you come in…..how was it?
Diana: It was great, Chris's mum took really good care of us, she gave us hot chocolate with chocolate chip cookies, cooked us lunch and gave us snacks. We also had a good rest which we needed after completing a lot of math homework. We also did our science homework which I struggled with a bit, but Jaime and Chris did a great job helping and explaining it to me, we checked each other's homework just to make sure all questions, and exercises were completed.
Dad: Wow that was a lot of work you guys was working on, but I am glad you were able to work with both Chris and Jaime and had a good time.
Diana: Yeah, you will both have to check and sign it to make sure my homework is completed and well done.
Mum and Dad: Sure.
Diana: Tomorrow, we are meeting at Jaime's place to do our language arts homework, and then take a break and work on the Spanish homework the last week before school starts.
Mum: No problem.
It was already December 20th, just two more days to my birthday and five more days before Christmas and eleven more days before the end of the year.
The next day, we met up at Jaime's place at 11:00 AM; Jaime's parents were at home and were both just as friendly and pleasant as Chris's parents. For me it was actually the first time meeting Jaime's father as I had always met his mum. He seemed like a very nice, polite man. We sat by the dinner table, we were offered drinks and some snacks and started working on our homework.
Jaime's father: Diana, how are your parents doing?
Diana: They are doing great thank you Mr. Anders. They told me to say hello to you.
Mr. Anders: That's good to hear, send them my greetings when you go home.
Diana: I will Mr. Anders.
We took out our notebooks, worksheets and started working on our homework while having out snacks. There was a lot of talking and discussing we were having, explaining what the homework was so that we all were on the same page with what is to be expected and what was to be written. Once that was done, we quietly started working on our worksheets, then did the writing in our notebooks. We completed the language arts homework by 2 PM. We exchanged our homework, checked to ensure all questions and exercises were completed, and all looked good.
We could now relax and enjoy a few days off before finishing up our last homework which was Spanish.
Diana: So, you guys are coming over for Christmas?
Jaime: Yes, my mum told me about the invitation you mum gave us for Christmas and my parents asked if I wanted to go, I was OF COURSE!!! They were both laughing so hard….it was so funny.
Chris: Yes, my mum also told me about the invitation and even before she asked me, I was like "I want to go, mum" Diana is good friend and I like hanging out with her and Jaime.
Jaime: Oh yeah and tomorrow is your birthday right?
Diana: You actually remembered? WOW! Yes it is my birthday!! And of course you are both invited to come celebrate my birthday with me, alright?
Jaime and Chris: Cool!!
Diana: Alright, I think I am going to go home and see what my parents are up to (start packing my bags)
Mrs. Anders: Oh you are leaving already Diana? I thought you were going to stay and have lunch with us.
Diana: Oh, is that OK?
Mr. Anders: Of course it is OK, we would love for you to stay and have lunch with us, no problem, come join us at the table.
I walk to the dining table, and had noticed that Mrs. Anders had already prepared a plate for me. I thought wow, very nice!!
Diana: OK, thank you Mr. and Mrs. Anders.
Mrs. Anders: No problem, you are always welcome to our place any time, you are not a stranger here, and this is also your home.
Mr. Anders: Exactly, make yourself at home.
I turn to look at Jaime and Chris; we were all smiling while I almost had tears in my eyes, not sure why but I was moved by what Jaime's parents said and I also thought about how Chris's parents treated me when I went to his place, I felt the same as I am feeling right now moved, happy, relaxed and excited.
Mrs. Anders served me the food, and we all ate while sharing our stories and jokes on the table, it was quite a wonderful day we all had.
After lunch (late lunch), hung out with Jaime and Chris while watching television until 6:30 PM, I started getting ready, and thanked both Mr. and Mrs. Anders for a great day well spent at their house. They escorted me to my gate, I turned around, waved goodbye and walked in to my home.
When I walked into the living room, I didn't see mum or dad, so I thought maybe they went out, but again I thought with that heavy snow and dad's car is still packed outside, so they must be home. I took off my shoes, put my backpack in my room, came back downstairs and went to the kitchen, they were both in the kitchen cooking or baking….couldn't see clearly.
Diana: Mum, dad I am home.
Mum: Hi sweetie, how was your day at Jaime's (giving dad and mum a hug), it was awesome. I met Jaime's father, Mr. Anders for the first time and he is a cool and friendly man, he asked me to say hello to you.
Dad: The Anders is a great family, very welcoming, friendly, low key folks who don't like drama and gossip. They have a small circle of friends which I don't blame them at all, at all! That's good you had a wonderful time.
Now as we are having this conversation, I noticed a lot of baking paper, baking pans on the kitchen table, and also lots of flour and sugar and out of curiosity…
Diana: What's going on here? What is all this stuff?
Mum: Oh this, we are just making sure we have what we need for the Christmas dinner we are going to have, and also making sure it is all clean.
Dad: Yes, your mum asked me to help her out as it was a lot of work.
Diana: Ah OK….well I am heading to my bedroom to take a nap. As I was leaving the kitchen was thinking have they forgotten tomorrow is my birthday? Are they thinking of celebrating my birthday on the same day as Christmas? Well could be as it is only three days apart…..I was thinking OK, but on the other hand was sad because I wanted to celebrate my birthday on my date, the date I was born, not on Christmas.
I walked upstairs feeling sad, heartbroken, went to my bedroom closed the door and sat by the window side. Somehow I fell asleep, only to be woken up to come downstairs for dinner.
Diana: What time is it?
Dad: Almost 8 PM
Diana: You mean I slept for that long….two hours?
Mum: You probably were tired after spending two days studying and doing your homework. I am glad you have taken some days off to relax.
Diana: Yeah, it was quite a lot of homework, and I always want to make sure it is done right, completed and every single question well answered even if I may not know how to do it, but I must give it a shot.
Dad: That's a very high expectation to have on yourself Diana.
Diana: I kind of feel it is important to be organized, being responsible for your own studies, having good time management, being on time, these are skills that I learned from Jaime and Chris as well. The earlier you start learning these skills at an early age, the easier it will be for me to complete or work on any given task without any pressure or having deadline issues.
Dad: That's very true and well said. I am glad you have started learning these skills and good that Jaime and Chris are also helping you learn these skills because they are not only important for you now, but will be even more important when you go to college, university or when you start working.
Mum: That's right. So we are happy for you and very proud of you Diana. We have always known that you will do great things in the future.
Alright, let's eat. Mum serves me, dad serves himself, and we sit, talk, share stories and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. After dinner as always help mum take back the dishes to the kitchen and I go to the living room to watch some television until I fall asleep.
As I am watching television, I start having flashbacks on how the last three days have been or rather how my winter has been since we closed school. I had thought it was going to be a very dull winter vacation, but having spent the weekend and today with Jaime and Chris and their parents and then coming home to my wonderful family, I feel so blessed, joyful, a heart full of excitement in knowing that every day I spend with my family, Jaime and Chris and their parents is a day to be cherished, blessed, and a gift that can never be traded or given away.
I got up from the sofa, went and said goodnight to my parents with hugs and kisses (while yawning) and climbed up the stairs, brushed my teeth, changed into my pajamas and tucked myself into bed. I rolled over and was fast asleep with a BIG SMILE all over my face.
CHAPTER 7
On the morning of December 22, I got up around 8 AM, quite early on a winter vacation, went to the bathroom, washed and cleaned up, looked at myself in the mirror and told myself "Happy Birthday Diana, Congratulations on turning 9 years old" gave myself a smile, walked back to my bedroom to change and started walking downstairs (not in a happy way). As I walked downstairs, I could hear whispers and wasn't sure what was going on, but as I got closer to the end of the stairs I saw the best thing ever!
My parents were holding a banner that said "Happy Birthday Diana"!! I started jumping up and down saying, it is my birthday today, and you remembered my birthday!!!
Mum: Of course it is your birthday; of course we remembered your birthday!! How could we forget?
Dad: "Happy Birthday Diana" (both mum and dad give me lots of hugs and kisses)
Diana: I thought you had forgotten or were going to celebrate my birthday on Christmas day since it is only three days apart.
Mum: Your birthday is your birthday…..and Christmas is Christmas, we couldn't put those two celebrations together.
Dad: You are and will always be very special to us, you know that Diana?
Diana: Thank you mum and dad, this is the best day ever for me!!
Mum: We made your favorite breakfast…..
Diana: Wow, pancakes, Danish pastries, and sausages…cool…I didn't even sit down to eat, but started grabbing the Danish pastries and eating them….
Dad: Careful while eating you are going to choke!!
Diana: I am just so excited and happy
(Mum and dad both laughing while watching me eat my breakfast)
The morning went by and all I was doing was jumping with joy of me being the special girl of the day, as it was my birthday.
At 12 noon lunch time, mum and dad were already getting ready to set the table for lunch, and the table was very well set, wasn't sure what was going on, next thing I heard the doorbell and I rush to open the door, I see Jaime, Chris and their parents holding gifts, and they come in to the living room. I call mum and dad telling them who is at the door. My parents rush out of the kitchen, they greet and welcome them.
Jaime: Hi Diana, Happy Birthday
Chris: Hi Diana, Happy Birthday
Jaime's parents Mr. and Mrs. Anders also wished me a happy birthday as well as Chris's parents Mr. and Mrs. Peterson. I was overjoyed and excited that I started crying, I could not help it, I just let myself cry and I kept on saying was 'Thank you, thank you, thank you' gave Mr. and Mrs. Anders, Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, Jaime and Chris a BIG HUGE!!
I tried to clean my tears as we sat on the sofa, started smiling and laughing again; I gave them a tour of my home as this was their first time as a family to visit our house. They saw my room and they were like, "Wow, your room is so neat, clean and organized" I was smiling and just said "thank you".
We went back downstairs and saw that mum and dad had already set up the table, brought the food and drinks. Everyone sat at the dinner table, served their own food, well except for us, we were served by our parents. On my birthday my mum and dad cooked roasted chicken, stir fried beef, lasagna, mashed potatoes and rice with vegetables and salad. We had plenty of drinks including soft drinks, beer, water and wine.
We were enjoying ourselves, talking, listening to our parents share stories and jokes on the table and I could see how they all got along very well, topics they talked about they had so much to share, so much to say, just like when Jaime, Chris and I are together, we also seem to have so much to talk about, we never run out of topics.
Mrs. Peterson: This is all very delicious Mrs. Johnson, love the stir fried beef!!
Mrs. Anders: Absolutely delicious
Diana: When my mum cooks you can see she really enjoys it and puts in a lot of time, she is a great cook.
Mum looks at me laughing…."but its true mum" I say
Mrs. Johnson (my mum): Thank you!! Yes it is true I do enjoy cooking, I watch a lot of cooking shows on television and online and practice cooking the dishes at home. I am glad you like the food. Please do eat more and enjoy yourself, make yourself at home.
Mr. Anders and Mr. Peterson were busy talking with my father, and they seemed to be having a great discussion as they were laughing most of the time.
Jaime, Chris and I just kept on eating and eating, laughing and talking and smiling at each other and I could picture myself not wanting this day to ever end.
An hour later my mum and dad brought out the cake (which my mum baked) and they started singing the 'Happy Birthday' song!! I turned around in shock but with a HUGH SMILE as everyone came around and joined in the song!! After that I was asked to blow out the candles and make a wish. My mum and I cut the cake and gave a piece to everyone, and as everyone was busy eating the cake, I started opening my birthday gifts.
Mr. and Mrs. Anders got me a colored pictured notebook that I would use for writing my schedule, diary and other things, and the best part was that it had my name written on the front cover. I ran and hugged them, and hugged Jaime for the wonderful gift.
Mr. and Mrs. Peterson got me an art set of sketch books, colored pencils.
Diana: (excited, jumping up and down) I like it so much, this can actually help me practice my art work, as I have trouble with art and drawing.
Mrs. Peterson: Yes, Chris told us that you were frustrated about your art grade and he wanted to find a way to help you improve and get better at it, so he was the one who came up with the idea of getting you an art sketch books and colored pencils.
I walked and hugged Mr. and Mrs. Peterson and hugged Chris for their wonderful gift.
Finally was my parents, I was actually dying to see what they got me for my birthday.
Mum and Dad: Pick up their gift and give it to me saying open it.
I quickly tear the wrapping paper and open the gift; it was a pair of the winter boots and jacket I had wanted for the last two months. I looked at them and started crying (gosh I am emotional)
Diana: How did you know this was what I wanted? I tried them on and they fitted perfectly.
Mum: Every time we went shopping, you kept on starting at the jacket and boots, and would always want us to pass by that particular shop just to make sure these two items were still being sold.
Dad: Your mum told me about your little adventure that you would have with her and I was laughing. I told your mum to try as much as possible to get the jacket and boots for her before they run out of stock, and we could give them as her birthday gift.
Diana: Hug both mum and dad crying saying thank you! Thank you! Love you!
We continued eating the cake as my birthday day was still today and just at the thought of seeing the happiness on my parents face and the excitement, the joy and happiness of being able to celebrate my birthday with Jaime, Chris, their parents and my parents was the best birthday gift I could have ever asked for as a nine year old. I never wanted this day to end at all!!
At around midnight, Jaime, Chris and I were still wide awake, laughing, talking, running and playing around the house, while our parents were having drinks, chatting and relaxing in the living room. At some point, I started feeling tired as was Jaime and Chris; we sat on the floor and rested quietly not knowing even how we fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up shortly after 9 AM, went downstairs and saw my parents having breakfast.
Mum and Dad: Good morning
Diana: Morning mum and dad. How did I end up in bed last night? I remember Jaime, Chris and I were running and playing around the house and then we sat and rested on the floor….then…can't remember what happened.
Dad: Your mum found you guys lying on the floor fast asleep. We all knew that it was time for you guys to sleep as you had a very long day and were quite exhausted.
Mum: I took you to bed, helped you change into your pajamas tucked you in bed and you continued sleeping. The Anders and The Peterson's took Jaime and Chris home as well. We escorted them to their homes. They did thank us very much for a lovely and wonderful day and once again wished you a wonderful happy birthday.
Diana: Oh that's what happened. Well, I want to thank you mum and dad for preparing and surprising me with such a wonderful birthday and allowing me to celebrate it with Jaime and Chris. I really enjoyed it and had a great time. Thank you and love you both, giving them hugs and kisses.
Mum: You are welcome sweetie. Alright go get cleaned up and change out of your pajamas and come downstairs to have breakfast.
Dad: You are welcome Diana ( Diana hugging dad and mum again).
I went upstairs, cleaned up, changed into my casual clothes and joined my parents for breakfast. I spent the day at home, resting watching a movie "Home Alone 1 and 2" funny movie; I would say one of my old time favorite movies. Had lunch with my parents, went outside and played on the snow with both Jaime and Chris and enjoyed spending the rest of the afternoon with them making snowman and playing in the snow.
On Christmas Eve, my parents had been busy preparing and setting up for Christmas, I enjoyed watching them singing and dancing to the Christmas songs, well they do say Christmas is a time for joy and celebrations, spreading and sharing the love but most importantly spending time with family and that is exactly what was going on in The Johnson Family Home. We were clearly ready for Christmas.
On Christmas Day, we all woke up early saying Merry Christmas to each other with hugs and kisses, had a wonderful home-made Christmas breakfast prepared by both mum and dad, singing Christmas songs and you could tell they were truly both in love, enjoying and dancing full of the Christmas spirit in them. I think this was the first time to ever see them actually dancing and singing in front of me….and it was wonderful bringing joy and happiness in knowing how lucky I was to have such wonderful and loving parents in my life.
Our Christmas Day was celebrated with a late homemade cooked lunch and we had also invited The Anders Family and The Peterson Family for Christmas lunch. From talking to Jaime and Chris about their Christmas celebrations, they told me that for every Christmas they would visit their grandparents' and relatives and would also spend New Year's Eve and New Year's together, but since they moved to Chicago they wanted to spend this Christmas as a family, no traveling and no visiting friends or relatives, but somehow they accepted my parents' Christmas invitation and actually came!!
This festive season was very special for all three families, my mum and dad had made as usual the Christmas meal turkey, and other fine delicious meals. Mrs. Anders brought a chocolate cake which she baked and it was looking good. Mrs. Peterson brought a lemon pound cake-something I had never tried before but I am sure was be quite delicious by the looks of it. We all helped set up the table, opened wine, drinks, watched television and enjoyed the finest Christmas celebrations. I could see The Anders and The Peterson's were relaxed, calm and enjoying their pleasant conversations with my parents while we were laughing and enjoying the Christmas movie on television. As we were eating we also opened our gifts. I gave Jaime and Chris their gifts which was a box of the latest Lego Games, it is funny because they also gave me a set of the latest Lego Games….is this a coincidence? Either way I loved their gifts and they loved my gifts as well. I also gave mum and dad their gifts, actually, I went with dad and bought mum's gift and I went with mum and bought dad's gift. Mum's gift was a matching necklace and bracelet with her name on it and for dad he got a watch and a pair of silver cuff links. They both loved the gifts, thanked each other with hugs and kisses. We continued the Christmas celebrations till almost midnight when we bid farewell to The Anders and The Peterson's, thanked them very much for joining and helping us celebrate Christmas. My parents and I thanked Jaime and Chris for their gifts. They thanked us so much with hugs and we escorted them home.
We returned home and begun cleaning and clearing the tables, taking everything to the kitchen for cleaning and for garbage. The cake that Mrs. Anders and Mrs. Peterson brought was so delicious that I told my parents I want to have it for breakfast and dessert after lunch and dinner.
(On a serious note...)
Diana: Mum and dad?
Mum and Dad: Yes
Diana: Thank you so much for making my winter holiday special and wonderful. Thank you for a wonderful birthday and Christmas celebrations and for also inviting my friends Jaime and Chris. I love you!!
Mum: Aww, come here, you are so welcome! I am glad you have been having fun and enjoying this festive holiday.
Dad: (Hugging my dad), you are welcome! We are happy that you and your friends enjoyed it as much as we did too!!
Diana: I am going to clean up and go to bed. Goodnight.
Dad and mum: Goodnight, sleep well and pleasant dreams
The day after Christmas leading up to New Years' were spent at home. I did meet up with Jaime and Chris on December 28th to work on our Spanish homework (had completely forgotten about it). It wasn't much though, but a lot of writing and reading was involved, took us a little over an hour to complete the homework. For the rest of the days, we each stayed at our homes watching movies, relaxing and preparing to welcome the New Year.
The year 2010 came to an end on December 31st, in the past we used to be with our relatives or grandparents celebrating New Year's but this year we decided to celebrate it as a family in our home. We spent the evening watching the countdown on television that would end the year 2010 and welcome the New Year 2011.
A lot truly has happened this year which for the most part all had a happy ending, doing well in school (well not in art…but that will change) there were lots of celebrations, spending time with friends and family, getting wonderful gifts. However, I think the best part of 2010 was that no matter what was going on in school or at home; I was always happy, smiling, laughing, full of excitement, joyful, full of energy (well not all days) and for this I have my parents, Jaime and his parents, Chris and his parents and my school to thank, because without their support, love, friendship, believing in me and encouraging me I don't think I would have had a beautiful and colorful 2010.
Happy New Year! Happy New Year! (Wishes from people on television) Happy New Mum!! Happy New Year Dad with hugs and kisses.
January 1, 2011 had officially begun, our neighborhood wasn't quiet as I had thought, and people were wishing each other Happy New Year!! We did go out to wish The Anders and The Peterson's Happy New Year!! They also wished us Happy New Year as well!! It was rather a very cold night, but was worth the walk to the gate to send them our wishes.
With all the celebrations and festive events well celebrated it was time to now focus on preparing for school, the second semester of third grade. I have to say in my previous years, I was never looking forward to returning back to school after having such a nice and relaxing holiday, but this time it felt different. I was not only ready to get back to school but was also excited at starting school sooner-which is not usually normal for a third grader or is it?
For the next week was spent relaxing, recharging my batteries and preparing everything needed to take to school, gave my homework to my parents to check and ensure all was completed as asked by the school and then it was waiting for the countdown of third grade second semester.
On Monday January 10th 2011, we started our second and final semester of grade three. Everything was still the same as we had left it back in December 2010. Mrs. Cooper was still our classroom teacher. She was as I was very excited to see her again and I was also excited to see Jaime, Chris, Cynthia and Carl. As we are settling into the class, we started talking to each other asking questions about their winter vacation.
Cynthia and Carl: How was your winter holiday?
Cynthia: It was great, we visited some parts of the States, went to see my grandparents and relatives. We actually just got back last week.
Carl: I was at home most of the time, but my grandparents and some of my aunties and uncles came to visit.
Diana: That's nice.
Cynthia: How about you guys? How was your winter holiday?
Jaime: It was great!! We stayed in town, hung out with Chris and Diana, celebrated Christmas and Diana's birthday and then (gets interrupted by Chris)
Chris: Diana's mum is a fantastic cook, for real.
Diana: Thanks Chris
Carl: Do you guys live close by?
Chris: We live in the same neighborhood, a block away from each other.
Carl: Cool.
Mrs. Cooper: Alright, good morning everyone! Welcome back to our second and final semester of grade 3. I trust everyone had a wonderful restful break and are ready to kick off the semester on a positive bright note.
Mrs. Cooper spent the morning going over a few things and changes for the semester, the schedule and the subjects we would be learning stayed the same as last semester, including the classroom rules, and the 'Weekly Star Awards'. The only new change with the subjects was an additional new subject 'Social Studies'. Her classroom stayed the same as last semester but I did notice we got new desktop computers and additional reading books and brand new cushions and the carpet looked like it had been seriously cleaned because when I walked on it barefoot was not feeling like I was walking on a carpet, it was so comfortable!!
Mrs. Cooper: So let's begin our class, first things first, all your homework is to be placed in the labeled boxes by the window, so put your math, science and language arts in correct labeled boxes, thank you!
Everyone got up and placed their homework in the right boxes and returned to their seats. We started our first lesson with mathematics and ended the day with Spanish lesson.
As the semester kicked in, the weather was also starting to change from winter and welcoming spring then summer. For some reason, I felt this semester was a lot easier than last semester; the lessons were easy to follow and understand, it was easy asking questions, and even though the homework was a lot it was easier to work on but I would still ask Jaime and Chris questions when it came to the science and math. I was able to join in some after school activities and guess what I joined this semester 'art club' by Mrs. Campbell. I know you must be thinking what? Seriously!! That's exactly what Jaime, Chris and my parents said when I told them that I had joined the art club. I mentioned joining the art club might help me gain more practice and confidence in my drawing which will better help me in class. I only wanted to one activity this semester as I didn't want to over work myself and end up being exhausted every day. Thanks to my parents support, they agreed, encouraged and supported me with my decisions.
With the additional new subject social studies, we were now doing individual and group presentations. I thought it was great as I didn't have any problems doing them, and since my group members were still Cynthia, Carl, Jaime, Chris and I, it was even better, because we already knew each other and have worked with each other but most importantly we all got along quite well. I think the challenging part was the individual presentations because all the preparation, the putting together of power points, the research and compiling all the information was quite tedious but I had to be confident and not give up. We also had to do some science project presentations but for this one it was group work which was a relief.
Mid-term which was followed by spring break of having two weeks off which was not at all pleasant as we got full classes of homework except P.E., music and computer, but all the other classes we got homework and I had to work and practice on my art work. During the after school art club activity Mrs. Campbell gave me some art work to do at home as practice which was very helpful plus I have made lots of improvements. She was actually very happy that I joined her club and has been helping me with my art ever since and now when I attend our art class I could sit, listen and do my art work with full confidence and even got better support from Mrs. Campbell.
The two week of spring was spent at home, mainly doing our homework and as usual meeting either at Jaime's, Chris's or my place. The hours of completing the homework were even longer than expected. At times we would have to meet up the next day, first review and talk about what we did and then continue on from where we left off. By the time I was getting back home, all I did was take a bath, have dinner and bed because my body and brain were overloaded and we were ONLY in third grade....what will happen in fourth and fifth grade?
Back in school after the spring break and now going into the summer season. We were starting to do more outdoor activities as the weather was getting warmer including track and field, music activities, swimming activities and grade level activities. This was also the time when we would be celebrating Jaime and Chris's birthday on April 20th and May 23rd. This year their birthdays were on weekdays when we were in school so would have to buy their gifts on the weekends and give it to them either during break time or when we were heading home. On their birthdays Mrs. Anders Jaime's mum and Mrs. Peterson Chris's mum brought the class cupcakes, and a huge cake with drinks and snacks. We sang the happy birthday song for them and took lots and lots of pictures, just like my birthday and Christmas and when we played in the snow their parents and my parents took lots and lots of pictures. We celebrated their birthdays during lunch time as it was when we had a longer recess and a longer break, which was great, that meant no need to go eat in the cafeteria. As we were heading home on April 20th and May 23rd from school, my mum had come to pick me up, I told my mum that I wanted to give Jaime's birthday gift to him before they went home and also give Chris's birthday gift to him before they went home as well. As we headed to the cars on April 20th after celebrating Jaime's birthday and on May 23rd also after celebrating Chris's birthday, we all stopped at Mrs. Anders' car and also at Mrs. Peterson's car and that was when I took out the presents from my backpack and gave it to them. It was a bit difficult to know what to get them for their birthday. In the end I got them a puzzle game of math, science and social studies and a scrabble game. I knew they liked puzzle games and solving puzzles so I had to make sure I found some hard challenging but straight forward puzzles games for them. They smiled, thanked me saying 'we love them, they are great', thank you Diana. Mrs. Anders and Mrs. Peterson were very pleased with the gifts and gave me a hug. We then waved our goodbyes; each got into our cars and drove out of the school parking lot heading home. My mum had to stop by the supermarket to pick up some groceries which wasn't a long list as I had expected, once that was done, we got back into the car and drove straight home. Dad wasn't home yet, but I was feeling exhausted, not only from celebrating Jaime and Chris's birthday's but there was just too much of other activities going on in school and it was mandatory to participate in them since they were class activities, and activities done by the entire grade 3. To top it all, the homework we had to complete, the presentations we had to prepare and present…..I almost felt like I was in high school but I am ONLY in grade 3!!! Life as a student I often ask myself does it get any better or worse?
We were now a few more weeks away from finishing the school semester, grade three and school year 2010-2011, then would be off for the summer vacation. Lot of activities, events, and goodbye parties were happening at school. We had our school year track and field events, music and performing arts events, parent teacher conferences, the seniors graduating. There were some students and classmates from grade 3 who were moving to another city so we wouldn't be moving on with them to grade 4 next year. It is always quite sad during these times and also knowing that Mrs. Cooper won't be our fourth grade next year, but that was OK….I truly enjoyed having her as my classroom teacher, learned a lot from her, liked her a lot because she was kind, always smiling, strict but that is with most of the teachers, and always fair.
As the last two days of school were approaching summer plans were already on the way, could hear my classmates talking about their summer vacation where they will be going, what they shall be doing etc. I was also thinking about it as well, not that my parents had mentioned anything about it, but was pretty much hoping that it would an adventurous one and would be able to hang out with Jaime and Chris. On the last day of school, we all hugged each other, got hugs from Mrs. Cooper, was a very sad day, some of my classmates were crying. I tried so hard to hold my tears but I couldn't as it was so emotional. We had taken our class photo which we each got a copy of and the many other photos that were taken in grade 3, we gathered all our belongings, lined up and as we were heading towards the bus, I turned around and looked at my classroom one last time, as I knew this was going to the last time I will be in grade 3. My mum was standing next to our car waiting for me, I waved goodbye to Jaime and Chris as I walked towards my car. I got into the car and was looking out the window as I watched my mum drive out of the school gate. School day was over, another school year was over, grade 3 completed and the summer holiday begun.
My overall performance for grade three was more than just GREAT!! All my grades were 'very satisfactory and excellent' including art class. Mrs. Campbell had written that "she was very impressed not only with the fact that I had joined her art club but had made a great improvement in my art work and was becoming more confident. She ended commenting that she hopes that I continue with the positive learning attitude next year". I smiled and said to myself "looks like taking art club after school was the best decision I had ever made"
My parents were extremely proud and happy of my achievements, grades and overall performance; they were quite pleased and happy with Mrs. Campbell's comment. Jaime and Chris's parents were also very proud and happy with their grades and overall performances and to congratulate them, their parents and my parents got together for dinner at Jaime's place. My parents also thought it was a great idea as it would a good way to celebrate the ending of the school year, all the success we three have achieved and accomplished over the years at elementary school and what better way to celebrate it with my two buddies Jaime and Chris.
As the summer vacation kicked in Jaime, Chris and I would spend days in the yard playing and having fun, but also finally got around to talking about our summer vacation. It is funny because none of us knew what was going on or what we would be doing for this summer vacation but all in all to me that wasn't important. What was important was that I was officially on summer holiday, free to relax, sleep late, and was not going to be waking up at 6 AM on Monday morning to go to school!! Yey!!