Welcome to Parents' Night 2013

Parents' Night takes place every year during the 3rd week of school.  It is an opportunity to hear from Mrs. Elizabeth Lyons, Head of Lower School and Assistant Headmaster, about the various lower-school and early childhood education programs like reading, math, science and languages.  It is also a time when parents meet in their child's classrooms to better understand the specific class curriculum.  Tae and I divided and conquered tonight.  I took 1st grade and Tae, Pre-K.

This beautiful welcome letter from Lauren awaited my arrival.  Ms. Shackel shared with me, "I told Lauren she was doing my wedding invitations," referring to her exceptional handwriting.  I have to admit, I was pretty impressed myself. 

Lauren's welcome note to me for 1st Grade Parents' Night

Tae had a great experience during the Pre-K Parents' Night.  He was amazed at how seemingly intense and structured the Pre-K curriculum was.  I reminded him that it was the same for Lauren.  Plus Ebi has been going to school since she was 2-years-old and she is no stranger to classroom structure.  I would venture a guess that today's lesson was focused on the letter B.  During our bedtime snuggles, she was repeating B words like Baby, Boy, Big, Bubbles.

 

 

I captured Lauren and Elizabeth's daily schedule for posterity.  I couldn't be happier with the education and experiences they are receiving at Buckley.  

1st Grade daily schedule

Pre-K daily schedule

Invitation to inaugural Lean In Partners Event

I previously wrote about my perspective on Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In here.  Well, imagine my surprise when I received the following email (edited) from my Global VP, Lisa Utzschneider this morning:

I wanted to extend an invitation to you to attend a Lean In event...  Amazon is a corporate partner of the Lean In program and we are going to launch Lean In circles in the NY office this fall.  (I’ll be an executive sponsor)  Sheryl Sandberg will be hosting the first regional lean partner event on Sept. 23rd.... I want us to have Amazon representation at the Lean In event.  Could you attend on behalf of Amazon?  I think that it would be a great experience for you.  

Could I?  Of course!  I enthusiastically responded, "I would be honored to attend and represent AMZN."  There is a popular quote that's eluding me at the moment but it's something along the line of Success = Hard work + Luck + Opportunity.  Whatever the formula, I feel like I'm living it and look forward to carrying this momentum for as long as I possibly can.  For myself.  For Lauren and Elizabeth.  For my mother.  For all the women who have inspired me to be my best.  For all the women and men who have taken a chance on me.  For all my mentors past, present and future.  For all my mentees past, present and future. 

Happy 6th Birthday Lauren! (Late posting)

Happy 4th Birthday Elizabeth! (late posting)

Rainbow Loom

One of the hottest toys of this past summer was the Rainbow Loom.  It is taking a loom and tiny multi-colored rubberbands and "weaving" them into cool bracelets.  Lauren learned all about the Rainbow Loom at camp.  Her group leader Kassie told me that Lauren would be mesmerized at the older kids making their bracelets.  She and Elizabeth came home with bracelets someone from the group made them quite frequently. 

Rainbow Loom in a makeshift container I designed myself!

I bought Lauren the starter kit after camp so she would have something new and fun to do during our week out in Montauk.  Little did I know that it would turn into a full-blown obsession.  Lauren makes at least 10 bracelets everyday and gives them to me, Tae, my mom or Elizabeth.  She even brought her loom set to the hair salon recently and made bracelets for two hairdressers.  This fits Lauren's personality to a tee.  It requires patience, precision and perfection.

Lauren smiling ear-to-ear with her fully-stocked Rainbow Loom box.

Lauren at Kim Sun Young hair salon in Bayside, NY making bracelets for two hairdressers.

Summer of 2013

How is it September 4th?  How is it possible that my last post was nearly three months ago on June 9th?  Let me get over it and get started...

 

June 2013: Last day of school and the start of camp
Not surprisingly, the last day of Kindergarten for Lauren and Nursery for Elizabeth was very sad for me. Lauren was incredibly lucky to have an extraordinary K teacher named Bianca Lavey. Her love of children and teaching was so evident. Mrs. Lavey knew each child's strengths, weaknesses and individuality. She challenged, praised and worked with each child as if s/he was her/his own. We will remember her for the rest of our lives. Kindergarten highlights from my perspective were:

1. Writing.  Lauren started the year doing 1-2 sentence reading responses and ended the year writing several sentences spanning 2 pages at times.
2. Learning to READ!  She powered through the early reading levels and ended the year at Level J.  She continues to read with intonation, comprehension and pure joy.
3. Athleticism.  Her physical education teachers discovered her outstanding athletic ability - speed, coordination and competitive spirit.
4. Monkey bars!  Read previous post here.
5. Friendships.  Lauren developed a strong friendship in particular with Caroline Blatti (who sadly didn't return to 1st grade for some unknown reason) and Ava Chan.  Lauren's social development this past year has been so heartwarming to witness.

Elizabeth also had a fantastic teacher, Mrs. Lori Zwick, affectionately known by the children as Miss Lori. She created such a warm, loving and fun environment.  Miss Lori shared during one of the parent-teacher conferences that Elizabeth started the year quiet, shy and to herself.  But a few months in, her true colors shined and she became outgoing, funny and confident.  In fact, “funny” was a word used to describe Elizabeth on many occasions.  Elizabeth loved and bonded with Miss Lori.  At various points throughout the summer, Elizabeth said how much she missed Miss Lori.  I reassured Elizabeth that she would see her in school again.  Nursery highlights, again from my perspective were:

1. Friendships.  I couldn't believe how many children in Elizabeth's class asked me for playdates.  I honestly think at least one child asked every single time I did drop-off.  Elizabeth's closest friends were Gabriella Tomei and Gabrielle Silva.  I'm thrilled both of them are back for Pre-K.  Maelyn and Dylan also asked me frequently for playdates.  Too cute.
2. Participation.  I'm sure I have written this before...but my Elizabeth can be a tough cookie.  She has a strong will and is already very set in her ways.  It is not uncommon to hear Elizabeth say, "I don't want to do that."  So imagine my surprise when her teachers told me - and I witnessed myself - that Elizabeth actively participates in all activities.  Music, gym, painting, story-time, snack-time, recess-time.
3. Speaking her mind.  One of the things I love most about Elizabeth, is also what challenges me the most about Elizabeth...she will say what's on her mind.  Period. End of story.  She has no problem asking someone, "What's that?!?" or saying, "Eww, that's disgusting."  She will learn through her own development and some coaching from me to add a layer of tact before verbalizing her thoughts.  But as a nursery student, I was so product that Elizabeth spoke up whenever she felt it was necessary.  For example, she asked her teacher if she couldn't reach something.  She told  fellow classmate that it was her turn on the alligator seesaw.  Elizabeth stated with conviction which morning activity she wanted to do (often, it was coloring with markers or water-painting).
4. Letters and numbers.  Elizabeth can almost write her name.  In fairness, it's a long name!  She learned all the letters (all uppercase, some lowercase) and early numbers.  I know they drill down on each letter and number in Pre-K so I am looking forward to Elizabeth solidifying her knowledge of letters and numbers this year.

Last day of school June 2013.  Lauren's last day of Kindergarten, Elizabeth's last day of Nursery.

July – August 2013: Buckley Camp

Towards the tail-end of June, Lauren and Elizabeth started camp.  They attended the full 8 weeks.  Lauren was no longer in Junior Camp, and instead moved up to Intermediate Camp.  She was in the Beagles 2 Group with Miss Kassie as her Group Leader.  Similar to the school year, I received positive feedback from Kassie throughout the summer about what a great child Lauren is.  Kassie shared how Lauren was always ready for the day, actively participating, always trying her best and kind to her friends and counselors.  Elizabeth was in the Beavers 4b Group with Miss Kim as her Group Leader.  Both of them had an amazing summer but Lauren in particular had the time of her life.  I think it’s a combination of her natural personality coupled with her age.  Lauren was especially sad to say goodbye to her favorite counselor Brianna.

 

August 2013: Annual family vacation to Montauk

As we have been doing for the past four summers, we spent the week leading up to Labor Day at The Surf Club in Montauk.  There were some new eateries that popped up this summer which made dining out there heavenly!  Of course our tried-and-true foods/restaurants like Harvest, the fried chicken at Herbs Market and the oysters and South Edison and pizza/calzones at Sausages didn’t disappoint.  Our biggest decision of the day for an entire week was, “Should we go to the beach first?  Or pool?”  Now that’s a vacation.
 

From Lauren’s eyes, it was a lot more profound (unintentionally).  I think it was about 2-3 days into our vacation when she asked me, “Do you know why I love vacations so much?”  I asked, “Why?”  She responded, “Because I get to see you and daddy every day.  When we are not on vacation, I only see you on Saturdays and Sundays.”  Though that’s not entirely accurate (I work from home on Fridays and we usually get home right after they finish eating dinner), I understood what she meant.  She just loved the simplicity of spending all day and night with her family.
 

The weather wasn’t great this year.  Almost every morning was overcast.  There was rain one morning.  It was windy and chilly.  But it didn’t matter.  The girls recognize and look forward to our annual “Beach Vacation” and are already looking forward to next year.  On the last day, of course the girls were sad about leaving.  Lauren asked Tae, “Can we buy a house in Montauk?”  Tae replied, “Yes.”  J  Let’s see where life takes us.

 

September 2013: Back to school

I did zero back-to-school preparation.  Literally not one single thing.  I did not buy a single notebook, backpack, pencil or eraser.  I didn’t buy a single t-shirt, dress, a pair of pants, a pair of socks or underwear.  Lauren even wore the same uniform shoes she wore last year.  That’s two of the many things I love about Buckley.  Uniforms and all supplies are provided for by the school.  There is no need to stress about BTS.
 

I cannot believe I have a 1^st grader, especially since I still have some of my own memories of being in 1^st grade.  Mrs. Janzow was my teacher.  I cannot believe my baby is starting Pre-K.  We got to school right at the start time of 8:25 and as I walked Elizabeth to class, Lauren met the 1^st grade line coming down from Grace Commons.  She jumped on line and proceeded to make her way to the 1^st grade classrooms with her classmates.  I quickly gave her a hug and a kiss and whispered, “Have a great day.”  Then I unexpectedly felt a moment of sadness.  She didn’t embrace me back.  She was more focused on getting to her class.  Her backpack was filled with her summer writing journal, book log and math workbook.  Additionally, she had her one of her favorite books Ella Sarah Gets Dressed and some pictures as requested by her teacher Ms. Carin Shackel.  I think Lauren was just ready to get the 1^st grade party started. 
 

We made it to Elizabeth’s Pre-K class (same room as Lauren’s Pre-K classroom) and her teacher Ms. Heidi (Weintraub) greeted her.  Elizabeth waved to her friends in the class.  And then after just a slight hesitation, she walked in with Ms. Toomla (assistant teacher) and officially started her first day as a Pre-Kindergartener.
 

And so here we are again.  Another end-of-summer/start-of-a-new-school-year.  I am feeling pride, optimism and happiness.   

 

Sept 4, 2013.  Elizabeth's first day of Pre-K.  Lauren's first day of 1st grade.

 

Hands down the best email ever (Lauren conquers the monkey bars)

Lauren has been on a personal mission to conquer the monkey bars since last spring.  Every time we went to a playground with monkey bars, Tae and I would take turns holding her up (she's ~55lb now!) while she went through the motions.  When she decided to try on her own, she would cross one bar and jump down.  Lauren saw other kids fly across the bars effortlessly and she was mesmerized.  That just gave her more determination to cross it herself.  But she was never able to. She was ridiculously tenacious.  I would say, "Lauren, give your arms a break.  Let's do the slide and come back to the monkey bars."  She shook her head and went back at it.  Again, couldn't make it past one bar.  

Then on June 6, 2013, I received this unexpected email from Lauren's Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Bianca Lavey.  In it contained the picture above and these amazing words:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Kyung,

Miss Kelly and I wanted to let you know how proud Lauren made us today. 
On a regular basis, she makes us proud, but today we saw just how 
amazing she can be when she sets her mind to do something. On the 
playground many of the kids have been attempting to cross all of the 
monkey bars. It's been a bit of a big deal to be able to go all the way 
across and only a handful of kids can do it. Well, today was the day 
Lauren decided to have a go. She is a super star athlete (among other 
things) but at first she could only go one bar without falling down. She 
would look to us to see if we notice and when she saw that we did, she 
got very shy and would immediately drop down. I'm sure you already know 
this, but she is one very determined young lady! Other kids might have 
given up and just played with something else, but not Lauren. She tried 
and tried, over and over again. Each time with more focus and 
concentration. We were amazed at her dedication, focus and determination 
to do what she started. And wouldn't you know, by the time recess was 
done, SHE COULD DO IT!!! All the kindergarten teachers gave her a huge 
round of applause, which embarrassed her terribly. But we were so proud 
at how she just would not give up until she got it. I know it might seem 
like a little thing but this is exactly the way she is in class. She 
works and works, with focus and determination, until she gets it. And 
there is no doubt that she learned this very important life lesson from 
the both of you!

We took a picture of her and a little video so that you could share in 
this special moment with her! Way to go Lauren! We are proud of you!

Warmly,

Bianca Lavey and Jenny Kelly

This email came through around 10 p.m. and as soon as I read it, I went downstairs to the movie room where Tae was.  I said, "Pause the movie.  You have to read this."  He reluctantly paused and read it.  About five seconds in, he said, "This is going to make me cry."  We were beaming.  I shared the email with my mom, brother and friends.  I have felt astronomical pride in Lauren and Elizabeth for the past six years.  I must say this has got to be my Top 5.  For Lauren, this achievement is all about her success in conquering the monkey bars.  For me, the monkey bars are just an example of everything behind it - her innate sense of hard work, determination and accomplishing what she set out to do.  

On Saturday June 8, I took Lauren to the playground near the Manhasset LIRR train station as promised.  Look at her focus and determination in this video as she accomplishes something she has been trying for over a year.  Go Lauren!  You are a gift.