My Hannah

At the kids’ back to school night last week, I was given some homework by Hannah’s teacher.  Yes, I was given homework.  Sheesh!  All parents were asked to write a little something about their child to help their teacher get to know them from our perspective, “In a Million Words or Less”.  Since I missed doing a special post about Hannah’s eighth birthday last month, I thought that I would share about my oldest daughter here and then share it with Mrs. T. 

Here goes:

 

Dear Mrs. T.,

Here is Hannah.  She recently turned 8 years old which puts her at the younger end of your students.  Don’t worry, she is so ready to be a third grader.  She has always been a bit mature for her age, going all the way back to when she was a baby.  But, don’t let that fool you, she has a super silly side and loves to giggle.  Also, she is quite adventurous and athletic.  She will ride the big rides at the fair and can out run her big brother every time.  She will be the one in the car saying “Drive faster, Daddy!”.  (I know this will be a problem when boys that can drive come into the picture.)  For her eighth birthday, she asked for a long board.  And she can ride it!

 

She also loved paddle boarding this summer!

Not only is she athletic, she is a girly girl to the max!  Hannah loves, LOVES clothes and shoes.  She has been putting together her own outfits since she was about 4.  We call her the fashionista of the house and she is training her little sister to do the same. 

 

I think you will find that Hannah is a good friend and gets along well with the other kids as she is quite social.  So much so that she does not like to leave her friends to sit in the hall and eat lunch with her mom, sister and brother.  She will come home and tell me about “girl drama” sometimes and I try to help her decipher how to not get involved in the drama as it does get to her once in awhile.  Also, at recess, you will most likely find her playing tether ball with the same girls each day.  Her best bud is Sophia, they have been in the same class since Kindergarten!

In the classroom, Hannah likes to help.  I think you will find that she will jump at the chance to help you with activities like passing things out, cleaning up and running errands.  She is also very good with her hands.  At home she can sew with a sewing machine, she helps me bake and likes to slice veggies and she loves to bead and make jewelry with her grandma.  Hannah has very nice penmanship and was just telling me this morning that she is excited about learning cursive.  She also really enjoys writing.  She writes in a journal at home and loves to make up stories and songs.    I think her favorite subjects to write about are her friends and her family.  You will probably learn way more about our family than you ever wanted to know!

The one subject that Hannah does not look forward to is math.  She is proficient at math and finished second grade right on track, but it is her least favorite subject.  It takes a little more brain power for her to do math and that can discourage her from wanting to try sometimes.  Last year I had to help her frequently with her math homework, but by the end of the year, she really seemed to have it figured out.  The other day her brother was quizzing her and asked her what the square root of 64 was (because all third graders should know this, right?  I know you are laughing right now because you know Josh!).  Hannah disappeared for a bit into the living room.  A few minutes later she returned with a piece of paper and declared, “I figured it out!”  Sure enough she had written it out: 8+8+8+8+8+8+8+8=64.  I think she is better at math than she lets on.  I feel that she wants it to come to her easily and when it doesn’t she prefers to give up than to put out the extra effort.  This is something that we are working on and may be a long process as her mom is almost 38 and still struggles with this.

Reading is something that Hannah moderately enjoys.  She does not pour into books like her brother does, but she will read chapter books.  It is not something that she loves to do, but she will read from time to time.  Last year most of the books she brought home from the library were picture/story books.  She only just started getting into chapter books this summer.  She does a pretty good job of recounting stories to me, although her story telling skills tend to leave out bits and pieces.  She did finish second grade on benchmark in reading.  Because she is such a social person she prefers to sit in her room and watch the goings on out her window and listening to music, but sometimes I will find her in her room reading a book.

The last thing I want to tell you about Hannah is that she is a great kid.  I guess that is what most parents want their kids’ teacher to know.  Hannah is kind, compassionate, motherly, helpful, athletic, brave, silly, a little crazy, sweet, great with her hands, smart, mature and cooperative.  I think you will really enjoy having her in your class and getting to know another, different, child from our family.  Hannah and Josh are pretty different kids and it is so fun to watch Hannah be her own person.  Please feel free to contact me any time you have any concerns about my girl, as I know you will.  Thank you for reading my long (less than 1 million words, though!) description about Hannah.  Like you said at back to school night, what parent wouldn’t jump at the chance to talk about their kids?!  Here’s to another great year with Mrs. T.!

 

P.S.  Hannah has been on pins and needles waiting for school to start since she found out you were her teacher!  This is the first year that she has had the same teacher that Josh had the year before and we all count it as a blessing!