Star of the Day

Today in school Mallory was Star of the Day!  Each school day one of the kids in her class is Star of the Day.  When your child is chosen to be Star of the Day depends on their birthday.  The earlier in the school year that you have a birthday, the earlier you will be Star of the Day.  Mallory's birthday is in July, so she is one of the last kids to be Star of the Day before the Christmas break.  When we found this out during orientation, I was worried I would endure three months of "when am I going to be Star of the Day", but Mallory did a really good job waiting for her turn. 

Two weeks ago we got the notice from Mrs. Meliza that on Friday, November 16th, Mallory was going to be the Star of the Day.  One of the tasks that comes with being Star of the Day is you are asked to make a poster about yourself that includes five to seven photos of things that are important to you.  When I asked Mallory what was important to her she replied "my family, you know Grandma Dee, Grandma Judy and Grandpa Bob".  I asked if there was anything else that was important to her or something that she really enjoyed doing to which she replied "I LOVE Lucy and I can't wait to swim again in Grandma Dee's pool."  I was giggling at her response about Lucy when she interrupted me and said "I LOVED Hawaii too and want to move there (me too Mallory).  Let's be sure to put a picture from Hawaii on there Mom!"  I went to work sorting through and helping Mallory pick out some pictures she would want on her Star of the Day poster.  

Once we had determined what was important to her and what pictures we were going to put on the poster, I let her color, stamp and sticker her way through it while I organized, glued and decorated the photos.  We were quite pleased with the finished product...  

The poster is broken down into four categories which Mallory identified by writing those words all by herself (left to right, top to bottom) SWIM, ALOHA, FRIENDS and FAMILY.  Under SWIM she had two pictures of her enjoying the water.  Both were taken this past summer, one at the cabin on Lake Jefferson and the other in Grandma Dee's swimming pool.  Next we have a family picture of us in Hawaii at the Old Lahaina Luau.  She labeled this ALOHA.  I was able to make this one unique, making the frame out of a shell necklace we received in Hawaii!  In the bottom left Mallory chose a picture of her best friend Lucy and another of all the neighborhood kids and some school friends in the castle bounce house at her birthday party this past summer.  These were described as FRIENDS.  Lastly she had two pictures of her FAMILY.  One with Grandpa Bob on his 70th birthday this past April and one from Mother's Day 2012 with all the ladies in her life, Grandma Judy, Mommy and Grandma Dee!  All of these pictures were trimmed with stickers that say MALLORY and a stamp that reads MALLORY, making this poster all about Mallory.  Why not right?  She is the Star of the Day after all!  

Being Star of the Day is not just about making the poster and sharing those pictures with your class.  You also get to be the line leader, sit in a special spot on the carpet, use the tapper (what the teacher uses to tap each child to indicate they are released) and help with the day's weather.  It's quite the honor to be Star of the Day.  I know other parents out there have had similar experiences with their pre-schoolers.  For me it was a defining moment.  She is on her way to kindergarten and she is learning about things that are important to her and have meaning.  I was a little emotional when she told me what was important to her because the first two things she said were Family and Friends.  I was so proud of her.  We must be doing something right!  From the moment she woke up, she was beaming ear to ear today!