Halloween is here!

Only 3 days until Halloween! No one is surprised that I’m going to be a doctor for Halloween.  I already have the scrubs and lab coat, I just need a stethoscope to hang around my neck.  I have one of those plastic ones from a toy doctor set, but for my costume this year I want the real thing. Janelle said she’d ask her grandmother if I could use hers.  Janelle’s grandmother has to have her blood pressure checked every day so she has a real stethoscope at home.

Janelle’s chef costume is awesome! Her grandmother sewed her some really cool chef pants and a tall puffy chefs hat.  She’s going to hold an eggbeater in her hand.  Sienna is wearing a DC United soccer uniform that she had signed by her favorite player.  Joy is going as a judge, she is wearing her brother’s graduation robe and a frilly white shirt.   Her mom bought her a gavel to carry.  We all got together after school today at Sienna’s house to try on our costumes and her mom says we look great.

But Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without one of our parents giving us a safely speech.  We’ve heard this speech so many times we know it by heart:

“Eat only the factory wrapped treats, only walk on sidewalks, always stay with your group, and don’t forget to put reflective tape on your bags.”  

The Prodigyrls agreed to follow the rules and we're ready for Halloween! My mom is our chaperone this year and we are going to meet at my house at 6 PM.  From there we’ll march for a bit in the neighborhood parade and then we have mapped out a rout around our neighborhood.  Our rout hits all the houses that hand out the best candy.  Our first stop, Mrs. Jennifer’s house on Holly Street, she always has the best treats!  

Banish Bullying

On Monday we were allowed to wear hats to school in support of Anti-Bullying week.  I wore my favorite pink Washington Nationals cap and Janelle wore her chef hat.  To tell you the truth, I have never been bullied and I didn’t think any of the gyrls had either. I was wrong.  At lunch Janelle told me a secret, she was being bullied on her school bus.

We had an assembly and learned that bullying usually involves 3 things:

1.   Imbalance of  Power:  That means the person doing the bullying has control or power over the person being bullied.  That makes the person being bullied feel like they can’t do anything about it.

2.    Intent to Cause Harm: This means the person bullying wants to hurt you.

3.   Repetition: The bullying happens over and over again.

At the end of the assembly we signed a pledge promising to tell our parents or teachers if we are being bullied.

In Janelle’s case, the person bullying her is a 5^th grade boy who rides her bus.  He teases her about living with her grandparents and calls her a stupid 4^th grader.   Sometimes, if he likes what she has for snack, he takes it from her.

I love riding the school bus.  I was wondering why Janelle said she hated it and why her grandparents had been picking her up from school. I made Janelle promise me she would tell her grandparents about what was happening. Thankfully she did and that boy is no longer a problem.

Helpful Homework Hints

OMG! 4^th grade is no joke.  We have homework every night.  I always have math and spelling homework.  When I get home from school I’m starving and exhausted.  My mom is always fussing at me to sit down and start my homework right away.  I want to say “No, can’t I have a break, I just got home.” But I don’t, mom would say I was being disrespectful.  But it’s true.  When I get home all I want to do is have a snack and chill. 

Guess what? Today at school our counselor told me I was right! OK, she didn’t tell just me. We had an assembly about success in school.  She said we should remember 3 things when it comes to homework.

1. We should only have 10 minutes of homework for the grade we’re in.  4^th grade = 40 minutes of HW.  I need to start keeping track. 
2.   My favorite, wait 30 minutes from the time you get home to start your homework. Kids need time to relax.
3. Work in a neat and quite place.  She said not to do homework in a busy place where people are talking or watching TV.  I think I’ll start doing my homework in the living room, it’s quite there.

I told my mom about the assembly and now she’s on board.   When I come home I’ll have a snack, relax for 30 minutes, and then go into the living room to do my homework.

This year is going to be a S-U-C-C-E-S-S!