Fun friday is back at school and this week all the kids (plus two dads) went stand up paddling down a river in Manzanillo. Lil Pookie was so excited to see her teacher and go on the big board! She woke up at 7:05 am and we were all out the door by 7:20am.

She made a special card that she couldnt wait to give Ashley which said “I love Ashley’s school”. She did this all on her own and just asked me to tell her how to spell it all. When she ran up to give it to Ashley, a 12yr old boy named Grayden was standing next to her and so sweetly exclaimed “Wow Sophie, this is awesome. Give me a high five. You did this all by yourself? Great Job!”. Ugh i melted into a big fat puddle in an instant. What an adorable, encouraging, sweet kid. I just love all the positivity this school surrounds her with. Ashley told me later in the day that during art class Grayden switched seats so that he could sit next to Sophie, and his younger brother Dillion commented on how sweet Sophie was because she told him that his painting of a tiger was awesome. She said Sophie slid right into the class “like a stick of butter” and they all adore her. She has one little girl she needs to win over b/c she is jealous of the attention that Sophie is getting (she was previously the youngest in the class and got all the cute attention). I saw glimpses of the jealousy during stand up paddle, and Ashley and I laughed b/c Sophie was not paying any mind to it and just kept trying to get the girl to play with her. She will win her over in no time.

It was another magnificent day at school and Pooks is absolutely loving it all! I hung out with sweet Sabs while they all paddled down the river and we had a blast jumping off logs, splashing in the ocean, searching for crabs, and enjoying some mommy and me time. Oooh i love these little runts! When they all got back from paddling, Sabs took a ride on the board with Dada and loved it too! Guess we have a new past time we may need to explore :).

PS (Ashley was the only one to fall off the board. She was telling me for days how her boyfriend showed her videos of ppl SUP in a river and there were crocodiles and gross river creatures. She was majorly creeped out but determined to try. She was the only one to plunk into the river. She went fully under. Will said she popped out so fast it looked like there was a dynamite under her butt. I didn’t get to see it b/c they were already down into the jungle, but the replay i have created in my mind has me laughing each time. She is so the type that would have that happen to her. I bet her boyfriend was cracking up when she got home and told him the story. Poor Ash).

This pic is from the other afternoon while Pook was at art class and we were at the beach with Sabs. So amazing.

Well today was another big day around these parts! Pooks headed off to the school down the road for the very first time. Her teacher Ashley set me up with the lady who taught the crystal class that Pookie missed (because she was sick) and she invited Pookie to come see the class at another school since she wasn’t able to go with her class. The school she was teaching at today is a private school down the road that a handful of kids go to from town. It is significantly larger than Sophie’s current class and full of kids her age. She only knew one of the kids today as the other two (her best buds from art class) are in France until October. This school goes from age 2 through 1st grade.

Before learning about Ashley I had showed Pooks pictures of this school and she has been on the property several times but she never had any interest in going (even after i told her that her buds from art class go there). This school is run by a super sweet lady from London, and she focuses a bunch on the arts and learning through play. She really is fantastic. It has been around for years now and every parent that has their child there really raves about it. People in town have been asking me ever since Pookie turned 2 years old if she is attending this school.

There is only one other private school in town of this size and it is at the opposite end of town. The town is pretty divided about the two schools and it tends to be a bit of a battle over which one is better. I was never drawn to either, though if i were going to chose one, it was always going to be the one she went to today. My major issues with it were only that it was strictly 5 days a week no matter what age (9am-2pm), it is only until grade 1 (which means Pookie would be there for just 2 years and then have to switch to another school), the school that most the kids go to after this one is 1/2 hour away in Cobano (which for me is not an option), and Pooks never wanted to go for whatever reason, no matter what positive details i told her about it. That being said, this is the first time she ever agreed to go check it out and both Will and I thought it was important to let her see what a big school would be like, and also what it would be like to be at school with a bunch of kids her age. This environment is much closer to a traditional school environment and although we are not into it, I wanted to make sure that we weren’t making that decision for her and she was given the opportunity to decide for herself.

I asked her the night before if she wanted me to go with her or if she wanted to just go by herself. She said, “Umm, if you come the other kids are going to be like Whyyyy is your mom here, so I don’t want to be embarrassed”. Ah, ok Pookie, i forgot you were 13 years old (puke). I’m kidding, i was laughing inside and super happy that she just has such confidence and independence.

I walked her to the gate and brought her into Sonya. She introduced her to the little kiddos (only one said Hi when she first sat down) and Pooks gave me a kiss and said goodbye. She had no hesitation going right in, she didn’t flinch saying goodbye to me, and Sabs was the only one crying when we were walking out (she wanted to stay with sissy). It was very different than when i dropped her off for the first day at Ashley’s class. At Ashley’s all the kids came out and said Hi Sophie! The little girl Gaia wrote that she was thankful to have Sophie at school that day and that was one of her 5 things she was grateful for that morning. Ugh, i was secretly hoping Pooks wouldn’t like this school as much b/c I love the influence of the other school but i was holding that all in and staying really positive so she would have an unbiased opinion and her own decision. The class of kids her age really wasn’t that big compared to traditional schools. It was only about 10-12 kids (most of which were boys) but there were kids of all ages running around everywhere. It felt like a kid factory when i dropped her off. Im not sure who teaches the class she was in and actually she wasn’t sure when i picked her up either. It is a big open space and really people were just everywhere. Ok, on to Pooks day.

So I went back at 1:45pm to pick her up. Sabs was sleeping at home so i went by myself and Dada stayed with Sabs. When i walked into the school, Pookie was off in the yard with a little clipboard busy jotting some things down. I saw Sonya in the back corner so i walked over to her to thank her for having Pooks and stood to the side so Pooks wouldnt see me. Sonya and I know each other from town and she has seen Pooks ever since she was 2 years old at different events, the grocery store etc. Her and I have the conversation in the past how Sophie wasn’t in school and she was home with Will and I all day. Sonya was always very supportive of that and always agreed that all kids are different and it is fantastic that we are both able to be home with her. When I saw her yesterday she asked me about the classes Sophie was taking and commented that we obviously did an amazing job so far because she couldn’t believe how Sophie walked right in and talked to everyone like she had been going there for years. She said that she was so adaptable, friendly, and confident. I thanked her all the while thinking, crap Pooks liked this school (wahhhhhh). Yes, those were my genuine thoughts, followed by my beaming pride of course knowing how amazing she is and glowing feedback we always receive.

Once Pooks was done writing on her clipboard Sonya and I both walked over to see her little illustrations. She told Sonya all about them, we said thank you and went on our way to the quad. About 2 minutes into the walk down to the quad we started chatting:

ME: Pooks what great drawings you made, these look awesome! How did you like this school?
POOKS: I had fun but I only want Ashley to be my teacher. I like hers better. I wonder who my teacher was here, I dont even know?
ME: Well what about the crystals?
POOKS: They were fun, but a boy took a picture of me and I was holding a blue crystal for sadness so i hope he doesnt send you that picture b/c why would he take a picture of sadness.
ME: Were you sad?
POOKS: No but i look sad in the pic b/c i was holding a blue crystal.
ME: What about all the little kids your age?
POOKS: They were nice. I made friends with a little girl with a ponytail. But i like the kids at Ashley’s school more.
ME: OK, then Ashley’s school it is (insert happy dance here)

And so you have it. She chose the school we thought she would love all along but I am glad we still double checked and had her try out another place for herself to know for sure she wanted to be where she is now. Yay for Pooks. I am so excited for her learning journey, which is exactly that…her journey. So proud of our sweet wee bit.

We messaged Ashley after school and told her what Sophie said and she said we made her day. The day before this she was worried her last lesson was a little too much for Pooks and that she bored her. She is so amazing that she messaged me because she wanted to know if it would be ok that she just hang out with Pookie for a half hour or so one day this week on her own time to just have fun with her. She wanted to make sure that she didnt discouraged her. Actually here was her exact message from two nights ago after a learning session with Pooks:

Hi michelle, feeling a little guilty tonight. I have some fun ideas, an alphabet scavenger hunt… And I found a song for her. I’m on this. Tonight was a little boring for her… I need to think outside the boX, maybe I could even see her for a half hour one day this week aside from Sunday, my own time:). Like I mean it would make me feel better, and no charge. Just hangin with her;) thank you for everything. Xx

I of course told her she is looney and Sophie had a blast, to which she replied this

Thank you Michelle… I adore you and the your family and want to make sure that I make a difference… So having something she will like 🙂 xxx thank you for the kind words;) xx means a ton

UGH SERIOUSLY, she is the greatest. She has limited access to supplies here, teaches kids from age 5 through teenagers, has to create all different projects for each one and creatively does so each week, is always staying later during her tutoring sessions and asking us if we mind (at no charge), like really, asking us if we mind that she is running over!?! She really is one of a kind and clearly it shows through, since our lil pooks chose her hands down over a school full of five year olds. It also shows through in the group of kids she teaches who are all super respectful, kind, and chill. LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY! Ok it is obvious i could gush about her for days, and well, apparently im going to get to be able to b/c this is where Pooks wants to be! BIG FAT YAY!

Here are some pics from Pooks first big day at a different school and a pic of her with Sonya and her clipboard. All such good memories from both places 🙂

After school yesterday Sophie had about an hour to eat, get dressed and head to yoga class. She had a blast again at yoga! At dinner she started falling asleep at the table. Guess the little busy bee is adjusting to her fun filled schedule :).

Pooks was sick earlier this week and couldn’t go to the crystal healing class at school on thursday :(. Sicky sleeping beauty.

She was so bummed and it broke my heart bc she was super excited about that class. They messaged us and said they did a special healing ceremony for her and are sending her  big hugs. Here are some pics from the class she missed.

Luckily she kicked her fever by Friday and was so excited to be able to go to school for the day! The class was held at a little girl named Gaia’s house because her mom owns an organic restauarant/hotel in town and was going to teach everyone how to make chocolate. Win! They learned about the history of cacao and then made their very own. Her teacher sent some pics.

After the lesson they went for a swim in the pool :). Teacher sent this pic as well.

I told Pooks teacher that I was going to come back around noon to drop off her lunch and double check that she was feeling ok since she just had fever the night before. When I popped in with lunch, Pooks was sitting on the couch outside cuddled up with a girl name Aria and listening to a story that Ashley was reading. It was adorable. She didnt even budge when i walked into the yard. She looked up at me and yelled “Thanks Mom” while she gave me a thumbs up for bringing her lunch. She looked so happy, confident, and chill that I just kept picturing the moment over and over for the rest of the day. I tried to sneak a picture on my way out so I wouldn’t embarrass the peanut so this is the best I got. Trust me the picture of this moment is forever ingrained in my head. The glow on her sweet Pookie face was so beautiful. I didnt have even the slightest bit of aching in my stomach seeing her all independent, she didn’t have an ounce of hesitation, it was pure pride beaming from both sides. Bless her pookie heart. There she is below in the far back with the pink bathing suit.

This is another quickie i tried to sneak of Pooks riding up to class on her teacher’s quad.

Later that day Sabs had fallen asleep while we were riding on the quad and since it was getting a bit close to pick up Pooks we decided to go park at the beach and chill for a little. We pulled into a beach near Pook’s class and I looked down by the water and was surprised to see little Pooks running from the waves up to the sand giggling and making sand angels with Aria! We had no idea the class was down at the beach. It was so cool to be able to see the peanut having a blast and not knowing we were there (this last all about 3 minutes until we were spotted). Again, she didnt even come over. Just a wave and off she was running around. She did stop by on her way back up the hill to hand me her Frozen book and tell me I could bring that home. Here’s another pic i tried to sneak as she was off in the distance holding Ashley’s hand and walking back to class.

What a fantastic day at school! She came home happy, energize, and loaded with a pile of sand in her butt and hair. 3 days later she is still finding sand in her hair :).