End of the Year Field Day

Field day is finally here and that is a sure sign of the end of the school year. I was a bit hesitant to volunteer this year as last year wasn't that fun for me. I had the sling shots and it was very chaotic and dangerous at times. Megan really wanted me to go so since this is for them I signed up. I was determined to be the squeaky wheel if they gave me an activity that I didn't feel worked for me.

Andrew was actually really lucky this year. Since he attends both a mainstream kinder class and a special ed class he got to have 2 field day. I volunteered for both days and they have been great fun. In addition to the field day fun, since he has a summer birthday they selected his kinder field day for him to bring in birthday treats. He requested chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. He is definitely my kid!! He loved decorating them with sprinkles and had a blast getting all the attention from his class.

I started my fun with Andrew on Thursday. This was just the kindergarten classes. They had the field to themselves. I drove the kids to school and stayed to help in the class before the actual field events started. It was kind of nice that I did since she really needed some help. It seemed like a flash before we headed outside. There were only a handful of stations but still they had a blast. The volunteers got to really just roam around and follow their kids. We didn't get any station assignments for this day. I hung out on the grass for the most part and covered a few activities there. Andrew was hooked on the bubble station and spent the bulk of his time there. He was super cute and I loved watching him have such a great time with his peers. I even got to stay and have lunch with him and his class. After lunch I was relieved of my duties and headed home.

Today was field day for the rest of the school and that included the special ed. So both my kids enjoyed today. As we drove in, both Megan and Andrew were excited for all the fun. Megan gets class money and we made gooey butter bars for the teacher to auction off. Our kitchen has been churning out goodies all week. She was super excited to bring the treats. She said almost all the kids she talked to were going to buy one. She loved the attention let me tell ya.

I helped the kids to class and then headed to the gym to get my assignment. As I stated early I was a bit nervous but it turns out it was all for nothing. I signed in and learned my activity was the "minute to win it" station. I was paired up with another adult. It turned out to be the other Megan's Mom so that was funny. We had 3 challenges that the kids could choose from. There was taking a spaghetti noodle in your mouth and with no hands trying to string on 6 penne pasta noodles, stacking 4 or more dice on the tip of a tongue depressor that is held in your mouth, and then bouncing a pencil on the table to land it in cups. It was a great station and lots of fun.

The kids of course swarmed around and no one wanted to form a line or listen. It is to be expected for their ages but I tried to crack down and form order. At first the kids liked being timed but as they couldn't master it started to get frustrated. We quickly adapted and just let the kids try them for a bit and rotate turns. Most just wanted to master the tasks and didn't want to be timed. I did have a few that were obsessed at being perfect. It was funny to see the different personalities.

When Megan's 3rd grade class came out she came over to see what I was doing and quickly moved on. She wasn't all that interested but did come back later to give it a try. Andrew never attempted it and couldn't be bothered. He spend most of his time playing volleyball. I found that interesting and was very happy for him.

After all had exhausted themselves and field day came to a close I got to eat lunch with Megan. It was really nice to spend the last two days with my kids and getting to eat lunch with them both. I know it meant a lot to my kids and I felt just as happy to be there. I can't get these moments back and I cherish every one of them that I get to make. Megan is moving onto 4th grade and Andrew will be in regular mainstream 1st grade with a bit of resource room help. We've come a long way and I'm excited at the huge growth in both my kids. With such a great experience this year I'm sure I'll be there again until both my kids have moved on. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Meg's got 3rd grade talent

Once again Megan decided she wanted to do the talent show this year. This is her second year in a row and she really wanted to do something. This time she lost her partner from last year but it didn't stop her from wanting to put something together. She was a little sad and a lot nervous but was very determined.

She kind of wanted to do something with singing but unfortunately she takes after her Mom on that one and can't hear the notes. We are cursed with tone deafness so we had to come up with something else quick. While Meg was playing one afternoon with Andrew she was using her hula hoops and I suggested that maybe she ought to do an act with the hoops. This idea took off quickly. The next thing I knew Meg had a song picked out and several tricks to perform. Some of which made the cut if she felt comfortable doing them. Megan would come out and show Jeff and I what she had and we'd offer up suggestions on different things she could add or do differently. She did a routine to Justin Bieber's Baby Baby song and it took a little over a minute. I finally got the video clip to upload. I missed the beginning of her act but got a bit for you to get the idea.

There was 36 different acts and it took a little over 2 hours to get through them all. I think we counted 14 singers, 9 dancers, 6 piano players, & 7 unique acts. I was super proud of Megan, it took a lot of courage to perform by herself. I feel in comparison to everyone else she did an awesome job. I am constantly in awe of her as I watch her grow and couldn't be more proud of her. I'm so glad I had the chance to go as always. Now we've got to figure out what in the world we are going to do next year as Megan is already talking about it. Andrew will be eligible to perform so who knows if we will see a little pair up or not. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what next year brings.

Fishing take 2

So since we struck out with only one fish at our last fishing derby we decided it was worth another shot. We found another derby here locally and decided we should go. This one was for all the early risers. We had to be there by 6:30am to register for a 7am fishing start. We were so ready that we actually got there at 6am and found that the lake was already half full of people ready to fish.

We were a little unprepared for this new scene. People were serious about fishing in this derby and had tons of stuff with them. We just had our two little chairs, tackle box, poles, and a few snacks. It was interesting to see how people acted. I asked one guy in line if he had any tips or tricks and he was very tight lipped. Really??, this is a derby for 12 & under, come on people.

After finding the spot that we considered perfect we set out our chairs and waited until the 7am start. It was funny to see people eye us as we walked by. No one wanted you to squeeze into their spots. Some had already started fishing which was interesting. This was not the scene we were used to and the kids were kind of on the fence about the whole thing.

Finally after getting our station all set up and a few morning snacks it was 7am and time to fish. Jeff would cast out and turn the poles over to the kids who just hung out waiting to catch something and reel in every once in a while. After about 30 minutes and neighbors catching some fish the kids started to get bored. We had one nibble on Andrew's line that we lost but nothing else.

Soon the kids got so bored they decided to sit and play games instead of fish. At that point we decided that this wasn't going to happen and packed up to leave. On our way out we heard several success catches but we came up ended. It just wasn't meant to be this year. I'm not even sure the kids liked this one. It's so much more fun to actually catch something and makes you want to go again. We'll see if they are still interested as the summer begins. For me it was so beautiful out and I was glad to be out with my family doing something fun.