Potential

Bethany made this after our bike ride last week. Can you guess what it is? Here's a hint:

The Virgin River in Zion.

I haven't blogged about my oldest for a while and unfortunately, it's because she's gone all day and I just don't see her as often. She goes to school with her Dad, stays after for a little while, then drives home with him again. It has been a really neat experience for them both. Matthew can't listen to NPR in the car anymore (Have you met Bethany? She talks a lot anyway, but if she can get you in a closed environment like a car, she'll talk you ear off. She invented the phrase.) but the Daddy-daughter time is so worth it. Right honey? Next year both girls will be attending Matthew's school. I'm so excited. This year, Bethany gets hang out in his office after school, read books in the library & help the librarian shelve books and wipe tables. She even gets to eat lunch and play with her Dad at recess occasionally! So cool. It warms my heart (I know that's cheesy, but it does) to see her so excited about school again and bursting to tell us about what she learns everyday.  Her teacher is only a 2nd or 3rd year teacher, but she's amazing. I don't think she's ever heard a good idea for organization or getting kids excited about learning or anything related to teaching and not implemented it. I am very impressed by her. She teaches keyboarding in 2nd grade (a year early - I didn't learn until I was in jr. high. Who am I kidding, I still have to look at my fingers!), her class learned to tell folk tales in their own words and performed them at a story-telling night, they have made blankets after school to give to soldiers in the Middle East and children in hospitals, plus also, she manages to actually teach the curriculum and manage her classroom (something her last teacher struggled with - the reason we moved her). She is kind and soft-spoken, the class has a pet hedgehog, she has a school store every week (way to implement math huh?), etc. I could go on and on. I think she spends all of her extra time and money at school, and I'm not sure she can keep it up, but I am so glad Bethany is in her class this year! And she uses PATTERN BLOCKS. I have been mildly obsessed with pattern blocks since I was in 2nd grade. Every time we get a toy catalog, I tell Matthew how much I love those things & how my teacher took a picture of me by a creation of mine in grade school. (We get a lot of toy catalogs, so he gets a little tired of that story.) Anyway, Look!

(I love this picture because of the pattern blocks AND because she has my dad's chin.)

I took her to choir practice with me today. I really can't sing, but she's been begging me for weeks. I loved sitting by her, explaining the different parts to her, and following along with her. I didn't even feel like socializing with my friends there; I just enjoyed sitting by my daughter, being thankful for this hour we had together before another busy week. We had an awsome lesson in YW today, Finding joy in our Divine Potential, and I was already a little weepy, so listening to my earnest little Beth sing Hark All Nations got me a little choked up. I love moments like that where being a Mom rocks the house!