Celebrity First Grader

Dear Laney,

About six weeks ago, you started first grade, and you've been rocking it ever since. 

As I like to do (because your answers are usually hilarious) I took a picture of you on the first day with your response to what you want to be when you grown up:

My friend Jessica saw this picture and suggested that "Artist Vet" might be code for 'Taxidermist," but I'm not buying it. On Facebook, I posted this picture and suggested that your business might one day offer a deal where you neuter Fluffy and then paint his picture for an extra $50. 

You skipped away to your first day of school without a moment's hesitation:

You love your new teacher. You like that you're sitting at your own big-kid desk, instead of a shared table. The biggest change from last year is that you now have homework; every night, you have to do a math worksheet and read us a story and complete a spelling activity. The instructions on your homework folder read: "Homework should take 15-20 minutes a night." Whoever wrote that seems to have the same grasp of time as your dad, who will call me from three counties over and tell me he'll be home in ten minutes.

Your teacher uses an app called "Class Dojo" that all of the parents can put on their phones. Throughout the day, she gives individual kids points for great behavior or "bummers" for not-so-great behavior. It looks like this:

It's invasive and Big Brother-y and I love it a little too much. 

You and I have made a deal that every Friday afternoon, if you've gotten no "bummers" for the week, you get to pick a prize, like going to the climbing gym with your dad or getting dinner from a drive-thru. This seems to be working great, because there's very little you won't do for a trip to Taco Bell. 

The Class Dojo also has a messaging feature for parents to communicate directly with the teacher. That's how this exchange happened:

It's true you're a rock-star kiddo, but it may also be true that your kindergarten teacher warned her I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs and she'd better go ahead and give you a certificate. 

You know how fashion magazines are always featuring articles about the impossible quest to find an outfit that transitions from the office to a night on the town? That's not half as hard as finding an outfit that will satisfy the demands of Pajama Day turns P.E. Day becomes Bobcat Assembly. I mean, what's a girl to wear to THAT combination of events?!?

I guess this:

It was only Pajama day for YOUR class, so you look especially nutty-but-cute.

Your teacher gave a speech about how you're a kind friend and a hard worker and a joy to have in the class, and then you got to help lead the Bobcat cheer about being "Safe! Respectful! Responsible and Kind!"

We could not be more proud of our first grader.

Love,

Mom