Burp Cloths

I spent more than an hour tonight embellishing cloth diapers for Thing 1's teacher, Mrs. W. They are now officially known as burp cloths. Adorable ones at that.

Earlier this year Paige did a pee-in-your-pants funny Postponement Parenting post. A few months after that she blogged that her daughter's teacher, Mrs. W, was pregnant. I stalked Paige until she finally picked up her phone and told me that it was not the Mrs. W who was Thing 1's teacher, it was the other Mrs. W who teaches first grade.

Still, I knew that our Mrs. W was not far behind. She's in her early 30s and has just been married a few years. Sure enough, later in the school year our Mrs. W announced her new body shape was not due to a month-long burrito binge but due to a due date. I actually figured this out a month before the word was officially out and no one believed me. Hey, I've been pregnant twice: I know the signs. Mrs. W is very thoughtfully having her baby this summer.

First grade is my favorite academic year. If done right, the kids learn to love reading and the possibilities it opens them up to. The best part of the year is now: the life cycle of a chicken. No joke. This unit culminates with the arrival of an incubator and eggs. The children watch the eggs, guess when the chicks will hatch and brainstorm then vote on names for them. This is all carefully timed so the chicks hatch right before Open House. Thing 2's class named their chicks Jellybean and Fuzzy. Fortunately she has not asked to bring one home. Yet.