The Secret Lives of 5th Grade Girls

In this heartwarming episode of "Champagne Smiles and Magical Miles," host Stephanie welcomes her favorite fifth grader, Maddie Jo Parks, to discuss the joys and challenges of being a young girl today. They share laughs over jokes, talk about school uniforms, and explore the importance of confidence and friendship. Maddie Jo shares her thoughts on becoming braver and smarter, while Stephanie encourages listeners to embrace their unique journey of growth and self-discovery. The episode wraps up with a toast to bravery, confidence, and strength, inviting listeners to share the positivity with others.

Champagne Smiles & Magical Miles is a podcast about living with grace, choosing joy, and celebrating the moments — big and small — that make life meaningful.

Hosted by Stephanie Parks, each episode blends mindset, self-care, family traditions, and everyday intention with a touch of Disney magic and real-life reflection. From the words we use and the habits we build to the kindness we extend to ourselves and others, this podcast is an invitation to slow down, show up, and live on purpose.

You’ll hear favorite segments like Words Matter, Magical Miles, Sparkle & Glow Up, and Sip of the Week — each designed to inspire, encourage, and help you leave every episode with simple, practical takeaways you can easily implement in daily life.

Whether you’re in a season of growth, rest, or celebration, this space is for you.

Because every mile matters, every word counts, and life is meant to be lived with grace, joy, and a whole lot of celebrating. ✨🥂

🎙️ New episodes weekly. Follow along and join the celebration.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Let's start this episode with one goal to make your day better than it was five minutes ago. This is Champagne Smiles and Magical Miles. If you're new here, we're glad you joined us. If you have joined us before, welcome home. I am so excited about today's episode. It's very special. We have a VIP in the house today. First of all, it's our first video recorded Champagne Smiles and Magical Miles. So that is a new mile marker for us. But also the VIP in the room is Madeline, Maddie Joe Parks. And she is my favorite human, let's be honest. She's my favorite fifth grader, but also my favorite human on earth. So I feel very blessed to have her join us today. Maddie Joe, let's talk about real life as a fifth grade girl. Say hi. So you always tell me the funniest jokes. Do you have one to share with the audience today? Yes. Okay. So why did the math book look sad? I don't know. Why did the math book look sad?

SPEAKER_01 1:18

Because we had too many problems. Oh Maddie Joe.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

That's a very fifth grade joke. I love it. Thanks for sharing that with us. Alright, so let's talk uniforms. How do you feel about wearing a uniform to school?

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Maybe like on a scale. I would probably say like a seven. Oh like six, seven? Mom. What's the best part about wearing a uniform? Not having to wake up every morning and try to choose an outfit.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

And what's the worst part? I actually feel that because I struggle. I change uniforms a lot.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

The worst part is probably not getting to show my style. How would you describe your style? Well, obviously cute clothes and cute shoes and fun hair.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

I like that. I feel that too. So do kids sometimes try to bend the rules with uniforms? Yes. To give me an example.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Like they will wear a sweatshirt that's not our school. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Like what does it say? Jack Rocket Rule? Oh, just random. Yeah. And then have you ever done anything to break the rules on the uniform? No. If you did break the rules on the uniform, what would you do?

SPEAKER_01 2:37

I would probably wear cute pink sweatpants and a I like it.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Obviously pink themed. Yeah. Alright, let's change the topic. Everyone wants to know what do you think about fifth grade boys?

SPEAKER_01 2:51

My gosh. They're loud, they make weird noises, and they think everything is funny.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Everything? Everything.

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Is there anything good or normal about fifth grade boys? They can be normal sometimes, but they're mostly not. Okay, good to know. Alright, classes. What's your favorite subject? My favorite subject? Well, I like art and I like theater.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

I understand. Your sisters really like theater as well. You made a great Mary Poppins. Was so proud of you. So what's the hardest subject? Wait, no, it's math. Definitely. Great. Math is tough. What kind of math are you doing right now? Oh my gosh. I remember the homework we did. Least common denominators. Oh yeah. You did not freak out. You did just fine. So who's your most fun teacher?

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Hmm. I don't know. I have all of the teachers are so fun. You've loved all your teachers? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Well, I hope they're listening. She loves all of you. And who was your strictest or is your strictest teacher?

SPEAKER_01 3:57

I wouldn't I don't know. Like they're all like they have rules, but they're not strict. That's good. But you are you follow the rules.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yeah. What happens if someone forgets to do their homework?

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Well, they'll get an infraction. What's an infraction? An infraction is like a warning on paper. And then what? But if you get two infractions, then you get sent to the principal's office. That sounds scary. So But how would I know? I've never been to the principal's office. Well good.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

I hope you don't ever have to go. So it was worse for me growing up. If I got in trouble at school, I got in more trouble at home. Gosh. I know. That's a subject for a different day. Let's talk about lunch. What's your favorite lunch? Do you like the lunchroom? Yes. Okay. What's your favorite lunch? Pizza. Two. Pizza, what's your worst lunch? What do they serve that's awful? Chicken wings. Why chicken wings? I like chicken wings.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

I do too.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

But it's not the food, it's what happens to the food. What happens to the food?

SPEAKER_01 5:07

No, I'm afraid that should I even ask what happens to the food, Maddie Joe? Well, you already asked, so. So the boys, going back to the gross stuff, they get a plate and they pile the chicken wings on top of it, and they all eat from it and then put the chicken wing bones back on the plate, and it's gross.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Isn't that kind of what they do? Isn't that what boys do? Yeah. It's it's it's not gonna change. I feel it's not gonna change. Yeah. The definition of boys is gross. The mouth of fifth-year-old fifth grade girls, ten-year-old girls. Alright, so I have a question. Who'd you sit with at lunch? I sit with my best friends. That's super fun. Was that always the case? No.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

We used to only we were only allowed to sit with our class before winter break. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

So that must mean you're growing up and getting ready for middle school. And so now you get to sit with whoever you want to? Yeah. So you don't have to worry about those chicken wing unsanitary. Yeah, I sit with all the girls, so nice and then I'm just curious because I remember mine. Is lunch more about eating or talking? Definitely talking.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Definitely talking.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Really?

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Yeah. What happens sometimes? Sometimes our teacher will get a microphone and attach it to the speakers in the uh lunch room, and she'll be like, We need to be more quiet. This is not a talking room.

SPEAKER_00 6:36

It's a lunch room. Do you ever get put on silence where you can't talk at all? Sometimes. Only like for five minutes and then they they put a timer on and then Trading lunches.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Trading lunches are not allowed, but most of the girls do it. What do you mean? What do you I don't do it, but like some girls they would like look at their friend's lunch and they they just take a piece from it. I might have been known to do that once or twice. I give my friends mints all the time.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Nice. Well, if you have something if you give some girls. And some nerds. I have some nerds we could try. So let's move from stealing snacks from friends to talking about friends. So what do you think makes the definition of a good friend?

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Well, always being there for your friend is what really counts through the good and the bad. And always being nice to them is something that you should always be, because if you're not, then you're not being a real friend.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

So being nice, being loyal. What causes drama in fifth-grade friend groups? Probably group chats. That sounds not so good. Tell me about what's dangerous about group chats.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Well, there's nothing really dangerous about it. It's more of like sometimes there's gonna be like a disagreement on there and then everybody gets involved somehow.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

What do you do? How do you navigate that?

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Well, you just I what I do, I try not to be involved, so like leave it to them. And if it gets like if they're like say if they say something like that involves me or something, I'll just like try I'll just be like, hey guys, let's not like we're all friends here. So what do you do? Like if there's a problem. I try to figure things out and be like, so what went wrong and how can we fix it?

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Do you think it's better to text or to talk? Talk. I agree. So let's talk about confidence because I think confidence is so important, especially for young ladies. When do you feel the most confident?

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Probably whenever I do something hard and I know that I accomplished it and I know I can do it. Like like I you know how I used to be terrified of like every roller coaster? Yes. Well, the day that I went on the roller coaster that I hated, I loved it. Which one? Tower of Terror.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Oh. But as you accomplished that and you overcome your fears, what happened?

SPEAKER_01 9:10

I just knew that after I did that, I realized that like I didn't have to be afraid of it, and I could I turned out loving it, I write it every time. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

So what helps you if you do you ever feel nervous? Sometimes. And what helps you if you feel nervous?

SPEAKER_01 9:28

Well, I always talk to a friend and they always like calm me down or I talk to my sisters or you, and it just helps me calm down. Or I talk to my dog.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah, Mia. Mia is an emotional support. She takes everyone's So do you think girls your age worry too much?

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Yeah. I think they worry about like how they're dressed and like if they'll fit in. How do you help your friends with that? Well, I can just always tell them like they're perfect the way they are, and they don't need to change for someone else. That's so sweet.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Alright, so technology. You and your friends use technology? Yeah. Good or bad? Because like we text each other a lot. Then you end up in that group chat situation. Yeah. So I don't even go on it. They just invite me.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Is there an app that you guys like to play on? Not play on, mostly just messages, like we talk. Yeah. And there's also an app that's kind of like TikTok, but for kids, but I forgot what it's called.

SPEAKER_00 10:31

Well, that's good because that means it's not that important. Yeah. But I I know you've played on like Roblox and things like that too, right? Minecraft. But that helps you like with building things. Yeah. So you think tech is good, but you think you need to control it, right? Yeah. Okay. Is there anything trending right now? Mostly like dance it. I remember doing that Forrest Frank dance with you. Yeah. What's the new one? Is there anything fun? There isn't. I I bet there is a new one. I just haven't seen it yet. Alright, well, what goals? We'll have to look that up and find out. We owe you a dance. Alright. What is something that you would like for parents to understand about kids your age? Probably like feel like hard feelings.

SPEAKER_01 11:14

What do you mean by hard feelings? Like like troubles that look kids have. Like, whenever I do homework, I like I'm like freaking out of my side of my head, and then dad's like, why are you freaking out? It's so easy.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

I'm like, so being Having empathy?

unknown 11:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

Understanding where you're coming from? I get that. I bet your dad freaked out of her math when he was too. Probably. He's just forgotten. So, okay, I have a whole different shift in subjects right now. We started talking about it. You kind of went, oh mom, but tell me about what this is this 6'7 thing.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Like what is it? I don't understand. Okay. A lot of people ask, what does it mean? Yeah. And everybody has a different answer because apparently there's 50 other things about it that are different. So cool. Well, I think it's over, but the boys still. The boy still goes to women.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

Oh my god. And the adults. Yes. Yes. Well, I missed the meeting on that one. Yeah. There's this really important thing called a laboo-boo.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

What is a labu-boo? A laboo-boo is a tiny little not a stuff dan, it's like a toy, but it's a monster. It's like a monster? What do you do with it? It's a cute little monster.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

And what do you do with it? I put it on my backpack. And is it something only you have? No.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

I'm like every single girl has it.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Every girl at your school has one?

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Every single girl. Why? Why do you want something every single girl has? I don't know. It looks cute and then I was like, ooh, that's cute.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

And I wanted it. Secretly. Everyone knows I'm a Disney adult. I saw the ones that were the Mickey Minnie, right? There's a whole series of laboo-boos that are Disney.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

You put it on the lounge floor. I think the ones that like are like characters kind of freak me out. Because they're like a different version of Mickey. It's like a green.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

It's like, nah. If Mickey were a monster. So it's okay to have monster teeth on your backpack, but I can't have a Mickey with monster teeth. Yes. Mickey's not supposed to be a monster. Okay, let's change the subject from laboo-boos to jelly cats. Tell me about this trend.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Well, jelly cats are this stuffed animal that is super fancy. Why are they so fancy? Because they're worth a lot of money. They're from all across the world, and they they have like different versions, and they're so cute. What's your favorite one? My favorite one? Huh. That I have. What's your favorite one?

SPEAKER_00 14:08

I like my croissant one. The croissant one. So here's the story about croissant. Mom and dad were in Paris, and I wanted to bring home something that was Parisian, and I saw this stuffed croissant. Did not know it was a jelly cat. I bought it, brought it home. I gave it to her, and she goes, Mommy got me a jelly cat. I'm like, you're welcome. I thought you had to give you a croissant. Because I like eating crazy croissants. And it is your favorite jelly cat. So when. Okay, so last subject about things that you're obsessed with. I mean, we could go on and on. What's up with slime? Slime.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Well, I love slime and I'm obsessed with it. And whenever you have it, like it's so satisfying that you can't stop playing with it.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

I understand that sometimes you play with slime all day. Yes. And you like yesterday. Yesterday you had your hands covered in slime. And so it's satisfying.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Yeah. What's your favorite type of slime? My favorite is probably the snowy slime because it's like not sticky, but it's like squishy.

SPEAKER_00 15:16

We should bring some on that goosy show people what this actually looks like. So there's also stores that are just about slime.

SPEAKER_01 15:23

Yes, the slime kitchen. That's where I made one of my slimes. It's the golden rush.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

What's the golden rush?

SPEAKER_01 15:31

That's the I don't know my slime.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Oh, we name it. It's gold. Okay. I find slime all over the house. Yes. And in my car, sometimes. You do? I find slime everywhere. Oh yeah. What is that about? So when I was growing up, there was a movie called Ghostbusters and the bat, the ghost like splatted slime everywhere. Slime was not a good thing. So it's weird that slime is all over my house. Maybe a goof. I hope not. Okay, let's play a quick fun round of are you smarter than a fifth grader? So you're the teacher, I'm the student. Here's the question. If a rectangle has a length of eight and a width of five, what's the area? Oh, it'd have to be 40. Maddie Joe, how'd you find out that answer? Where had where did that come from? You just multiply. Don't make me look bad on my own podcast. So she is definitely as smart as a fifth grader. I don't know about me. We should bring dad in and see. Alright, so one of my favorite segments on Champagne Smiles and Magical Miles is Words Matter. And episode six, which just recently dropped about my running story. The word was becoming. And I really filled this word for you, Matty Joe. So in becoming is like growing and changing and figuring out who you are and evolving. You can admit you don't have everything figured out yet. And I feel like everyone wherever they are in their life, whether they're 10 years old or whether they're 50-year-old, 50 years old, they can continue to become who they are meant to be. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:03

So w how do you feel about becoming? I feel that becoming is like growing into the person that you're supposed to be. That like you were made to be. And when do you think you ever achieve that? Like when you become like older? Like Well, I am old and I'm still becoming like whenever you finally know who you're supposed to be. I think we continue to learn. Yeah. I don't think anyone knows who they're supposed to be ever. What are you becoming right now?

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Yes. Well, we talked about also my maybe a goal is getting better at math. Yeah. Smarter, I guess. That's true. What about braver? Huh.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Yeah. Getting braver is like what we talked about earlier. Like being brave to do what?

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Being brave to fund trying. Speaking up for friends. Being brave to speak up for yourself. Yeah, because sometimes it's hard to do that. Well, maybe our word that matters in future episode, in a future episode, should be brave. I like it. Well, I think those are three excellent goals. Being brave, getting better at math, getting smarter. You didn't say anything about being nicer because I think you're already super nice. Yeah. And I can't forget cleaning. I have to be Oh, cleaning. Love that one. Your dad would love it. I should be cleaner too. I love that one. All right. So here's something I would like if there's any fifth graders listening or any fifth grade moms listening, here's something I really want to say. So, Maddie Joe, to you and to all the fifth grade girls out there, you don't have to be perfect. It's okay. No one is perfect. You don't have to have it all figured out. You are becoming stronger. You're becoming smarter. You're becoming more confident. And that's exactly where you're supposed to be. Like becoming. It means we're growing. And that's magic. Okay, Matty Joe. It's time for your favorite sub-segment of the Champagne Smiles and Magical Models. It is Sparkle and Glow Up. Yay! So today it's fifth grade edition. Let's start with the most important glow up, and that's what's from what's inside you. What makes a girl glow from the inside? Always probably always caring.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

And like knowing like that you are perfect just the way you are.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

Yes, exactly. Do you think girls need to look like everyone else to be cool? No way.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

What makes someone cool then? Well, being kind. Being yourself. That's really important. I agree with that. And just like being like funny, because you are a funny.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Everyone needs a good laugh. That's true. See, you're already glowing. Okay, let's talk about a sparkle. So we talked about glowing. Let's talk about a sparkle. What makes you feel extra confident?

SPEAKER_01 20:00

Whenever I do whenever I accomplish something, and whenever I am like ready to achieve like ready to achieve, and I have accomplished something. That's true.

SPEAKER_00 20:13

What's the biggest glow up tip for fifth grade girls? Gl-up and sparkle tip. Probably always be yourself. So you are becoming. I think it's time to toast. This has been so much fun, Betty Joe. I love this. You are welcome back anytime. I would love to continue our conversation. So let's toast. And in our house, we toast to celebrate. We toast um to celebrate each other, to celebrate holidays. Sometimes it's hot cocoa. Sometimes it's water. Today, Betty Joe has, I think, a frozen Arnold Palmer. And of course, mommy is celebrating with her champagne. So let's toast to becoming, to becoming. Let's toast to being brave. To being brave. Let's toast to being confident. To being confident. Let's toast to being strong. Being strong. Cheers. Cheers. Well, let's keep the momentum going. If you heard something that meant something to you that you thought someone else in your life could benefit from, please forward the podcast along. We're having fun here. We're sharing life with you. Please share it with others. I would love, if you're like me, I love free swag. I do have some fun pieces of swag that I would love to share with you guys. I have shirts, I have keychains, I have tote bags. Just follow me at Stephanie in the Parks on Instagram. And if you will share the podcast, DM me and tell me what swag you would like, and I'd love to share it with you. Thank you so much for all of your support. That's a wrap, but certainly not the last time that we will see Matty Joe. As always, I will encourage you to book the trip, sign up for the race, pop the bubbly, love, hugs, kisses. It's Matty Joe time.