End of School Stuff

The last few weeks of school are always super busy.  This year was no exception.  Here are some of the fun things we’ve been doing lately:

Nate took Abby on her fishing fieldtrip for preschool.  It took Abby a while to catch a fish and when she finally did, she didn’t want to touch it.  Nate made her anyway and she ended up thinking it was cool.  When she got home she told me “It was trying to wiggle out of Daddy’s hand because every fish wants to get back in the water.”  I told her that maybe we should cook it up so everyone could try some.  She said, “No.  I’m giving it to Grandma Reatha.”  We’re not big fish eaters in this house, so all of the kids have given their fish farm fieldtrip fish to my mom.  Abby wasn’t about to break with tradition.  So, we stuck it in the freezer to give to Grandma.  She actually cooked it up when she was babysitting a few weeks later and made all of the kids try a piece.  They still are not fans of fish.

The kids signed up for spring choir and quickly decided that it was not as much fun as choir in the fall.  Between Joseph and preparing for the Christmas concert, they were always learning new songs in the fall.  Spring choir started in January and they got really tired of singing the same songs for four months before their concert.  The concert was cute with lots of fun songs, but we were all glad that it marked the end of choir for the year.

Abby and I went to a Mother’s Day Tea at her preschool a few days before Mother’s Day.  We dressed up and took some fancy tea cups and saucers.  We had cookies and lemonade and the kids sang a few songs.  Miss Jamee had interviewed the kids to ask them questions about their moms.  I liked that Abby guessed my age as 33 (lots better than Elise’s 500).  It is funny for me to see Abby at preschool.  She is super quiet and shy.  Her teacher and friends would be shocked to see Abby’s personality at home.  She is certainly not quiet or shy around here.

The fifth grade got to go to a Bees game as part of the DARE program at the school.  The first-time-mom in me was a little nervous about this fieldtrip.  There were no parent chaperones and the kids were taking three modes of transportation . . . school bus to Frontrunner to TRAX to Stadium and then back again.  Okay, so when I type it out that way it doesn’t seem like a big deal.  Ben is a good kid and a smart kid; he just doesn’t always pay attention.  I was afraid he might be left behind during one of those transfers.  Then some lady was hit and killed by a TRAX train the day before their fieldtrip and I really started to worry.  As usual, I was worried for nothing.  He didn’t get hit by a bus and he had a fabulous time.  He took his camera with him and got some fun pictures of his friends and the game.  They had really good seats.  His only complaint was that there was still ice in his water bottle at the end of the day.  Poor kid.

The first graders do a big program for their parents every year.  They alternate between a bug theme and an ocean theme, but with our kids being spaced every two years in school, I think we might only ever see the bug show.  That’s okay; it is a cute program.  Elise got the exact same part as Emily had two years ago.  She thought that was fabulous.  She actually got to do two parts since her class is smaller and there was an extra.  It was funny to watch how serious she was when she was up there on stage.  You could see the concentration on her face.  She sang and said her parts perfectly.  We had fun watching and the “Going on a Picnic” song was stuck in my head for days.

The first grade had a water party a few days before school got out.  Elise had loads of fun playing with her friends.  Her favorite part was the “crayon guns” (water guns shaped like crayons).  She came home with a pretty bad sunburn on her back.  She had her swim shirt on over her swimsuit when I put her sunblock on, but she took it off when they started the party.  Oops.

All three kids participated in their grades’ talent show at the elementary.  I didn’t see Ben’s or Emily’s since parents weren’t invited.  Both of them played the piano (Ben played Chariot Race and Emily played Fur Elise) and both got lots of compliments from their classmates.  I’m hoping things like that will make them more willing to keep taking lessons.  Elise played the theme from Star Wars for her talent show.  She actually played it better than she had ever done before.  Phew.  I love the first grade talent show.  It is a complete riot.  Anything goes.  My favorites this year were the kid who did 25 pushups and another boy who lifted up his shirt and did a little 7-second belly dance.  Hilarious.

Abby’s preschool graduation was last week.  It was cute and (thankfully) lots shorter than Elise’s preschool graduation was.  Abby had been a stinker all day, but she was an angel during the program.  She sat quietly and did what she was supposed to do when she was supposed to do it.  Miss Jamee had split the kids into small groups to sing a few songs.  I was happy that I could actually hear Abby’s voice when it was her group’s turn to sing.  She has loved going to preschool and really loved Miss Jamee.  She is certainly ready for kindergarten.

This year’s field day was a big success with the kids.  The PTA had planned it really well and each class rotated through 11 different stations.  There were games, inflatables, a DJ, and snow cones.  What more could a kid want?  Abby and I went over to help with the morning session.  I took Elise’s class around to each station.  Abby joined the group and did most of the activities with them.  The kids had a great time.  I came home exhausted and wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to hang out with first graders all day.  :)  I skipped the afternoon, but I walked over to pick up the kids after school.  The fire truck had come over to spray the kids at the end of the day.  Emily got soaking wet.  She looked like a drowned rat.

We scored great teachers this year.  Ben had Miss Wallace.  She was his favorite teacher ever.  She held the kids to a high standard, but was still lots of fun.  Ben did great in her class.  We made it until December before I got a phone call from her (a new record for Ben) and had an amazingly smooth year overall.  We love Miss Wallace.

Emily’s teacher was Mrs. Swanson.  She was in a 3^rd/4^th split which worked out beautifully.  She was able to do math with the fourth graders and really made a lot of progress this year.  Mrs. Swanson is the queen of incentives with class money, market day, and rewards for reading and passing off math facts.  Emily was very motivated by all of those things and really pushed herself to do her best.

Elise was in Miss Carter’s class.  Besides being frustrated by her fellow classmates not keeping the rules, Elise had a great year.  They did lots of writing projects in class.  I loved reading the little stories that Elise would bring home; she has a funny sense of humor that comes out in her writing.  I also loved that Elise became a really strong reader this year.  It is a happy day when a kid makes the leap to being an independent reader.