Field Day 2012

 We had Field day yesterday despite the weather.  We had showers and sun breaks pretty much the whole time and a down pour towards the end.  The bad weather kind of cast a shadow on our event just a bit but the kids didn't seem to mind much. 

 I drove the kids into school so that I could help with anything they needed but all was really quiet.  We passed out our end of the year teacher gifts and then I headed to the gym.   After signing in I was told I was a co-helper for the bubble table.  I got our station set up and my partner arrived to chat.  As we were getting to know each other and talking about how to run the bubbles someone came up and asked to split us up.  They needed help with the pogo stick station.  As my kids just did that in the talent show this was a perfect job for me.  I quickly moved over to the blacktop just as the kinders came flooding out to play.  I heard that several helpers did a no show.  The coordinator was saying this was the first year she had so many no parents not come.  Maybe the weather scared them off.

 Within no time at all the pogo station was hopping.  There were 5 pogo stick that were an older model.  The springs were super tight but the kids made them work the best they could.  It amazed me how difficult this was for about 90% of the school.  All the little guys couldn't get it even started and needed help while the middle group could do about 2-3 jumps before loosing their balance.  I did have a handful of pros, my kids being 2 of them.  It was great fun to watch them all try.  I think they gained a new respect for Meg and Andrew's talent show act.

 I had a few try the no hands and one foot like they saw.  I'd say about 2-3 could do each trick but usually not both.  I of course had a few spills to the cement from several kids.  Those kids just popped right back up saying they were fine.  No one wanted to stop trying to master the pogo.  I did have a few tears as well when the line got crazy.  They were so eager to try that the line sometimes got wide instead of a straight line.  I had a timer and did my best to keep order but there is always a few that get a bit wild.

 I don't think anyone really noticed the rain.  The fence would be lined with coats then empty and then loaded again as the sprinkles came and went.  At the end once we were down to just 3-5 grades the sky opened up a bit and we had some hard rain.  I got a bit soaked at this point and we still had a good 45 minutes of play.  My station didn't let up a bit in the rain I had kids going crazy and wanting to get good. 

Stayed for lunch with Megan.  She had 30 minutes but it felt like only 15 minutes before it was time for me to leave for the day.  I know she'd like for me to stick around but there wasn't anything left for me to help with.  I had completed yet another successful field day.  I know the kids had a blast and I was happy to have helped.

1st Grade Field trip to NW Trek

Andrew got to go on his very first field trip ever for Central Ave.  For his 1st grade field trip they went to the Northwest Trek.  We've been here a few times before as a family and it is so beautiful.  I love the chance to go out and experience all the wildlife.  I was super excited to go with  him.  I didn't get the chance to go when Megan was in 1st grade so this was fun for me.

 The weather wasn't all that great we had on and off showers for most of the day and towards the end of our time a full on down pour.  I didn't hear one person complain as no one cared if they got a little wet.  What they had to see made it all worth it and I'm not even sure they noticed the rain.

 I had 4 kids in my group.  It was again 2 boys and 2 girls.  At first when I got my group I only had 2 boys.  Then when it became apparent that 3 helper Mom's were not coming Andrew's teacher had to make a mad scramble to rearrange the groups.  I felt really bad for her as she was really frazzled.  I told her I'd take as many as she needed me to and not to worry.  I was ready for these 1st graders.  This was my 2nd day of field trips and I was prepared.  She only gave me the 2 girls and it ended up that each group had 4 kids so we were all even.

 We got our map and were off.  The kids really wanted to see the bears the most and then snakes.  That was the only thing I heard for the 1st hour.  Then it became the "I'm hungry" whines.  We got about half the park looked over and then we stopped to have some of our lunch.  It was only about 11:15 so it wasn't exactly time for full on lunch but they needed a snack.  It was amazing to see how much food some of these kids brought.  I had to carry it all in my backpack and it was overflowing.  There was plenty for a snack and full lunch and another snack if needed.

 After our snack we set out to look at the "cats" section before heading over to the tram for our tour.  The tram was so awesome.  We saw a ton of animals and a handful were up really close to us.  This was the first time that I saw so much and so close.  It was so amazing and I just took it all in.  The kids were super good and listened to all the rules.  When an animal came around they were glued to the section and just seeing it all.  This was one of the highlights of the day.  It was just so beautiful and I wish we could have gone slower and just soaked it in more.

 After our tram ride we continued to explore.  This time since we saw the bears and hadn't made it to the snakes all I heard for a while was snakes and more snakes.  We still had a portion of the park to explore so I followed the map and gave the kids a game plan.  We still needed to fit in lunch and the gift shop.  They were all happy with the plan and we set out to explore some more and eat.

 One of my girls tripped at one point.  Her knee got a little wet but she popped back up and was good to go.  My group was typical 1st graders and I have to say they were really cute and fun.  I think I've come to realize I have more patience than I thought.  I saw several Mom's with this worn out tired grin.  I even had one say she was going nuts.  The kids were all somewhat hyper and crazy at times but you've got to expect that.  I really had a great group and an awesome time.  I think Andrew's favorite part was at the snake center.  It was more of a learning center with a few glass snake aquariums.  They had coloring, books, puppets, and computers.  Andrew loved the puppets.  He found one of a skunk and liked to go around and pretend to spray people.  This is the area I think the kids got the most hyper and crazy.  It was also towards the end and was pouring outside.  It was nice to have the shelter of indoors but we had about 20 or so 1st graders trapped in a small space.  Of course they're gonna go wild with free time.

 I think Andrew loved having me there.  I know before we left when I was in his class he was so excited and hyper.  Once we got on the bus he mellowed out and was just ready to have some fun.  As this was his first field trip he wasn't really sure what to expect.  I tried to explain to him what was going to happen but I think he just had to experience it for himself.  I loved getting to go and he was really good.

Andrew will be in 2nd grade next year.  I'm hoping that they switch it up and we don't go to the hands on museum but if they do I'm sure I'll be there.  I love the chance I get to spend with my kids and most of the time the events are super fun.  I did hear a teacher asking one of the regular helper Mom's about a new place.  I'm thinking this might mean a switch up.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see.  The whole point for me is just getting to be there for Andrew and spend that time with him.  I'm ready and willing for what this new year will bring.

4th Grade Field trip to the History Museum

 This year for Megan's 4th grade field trip they went to the WA History Museum.  I was excited to actually get to go do something different.  For the last 2 field trips Meg has gone to the hands on museum and I didn't think I could handle another year.  This was something fresh and new for both of us which was exciting.

 Megan loves when I get to come and help.  She becomes all smiles and excited to have her Mom there.  It seems to make her feel special and it's such a simple thing.  I'm so glad to be able to go with her and enjoy as well.

 As we've never been to this museum we had no idea what to expect.  It was all about the Northwest region and it's history.  There were a handful of rules like no flash photography and no touching.  We sat through probably 15-20 minutes of orientation before we got to go into the main exhibit.  This is definitely an outing for older kids.  There are alarms on exhibits and special rules that I know younger kids would never handle as these 4th graders had some problems with them.

 My group was 2 boys and 2 girls.  This is the first time I've had boys in my group ever so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Our class had a packet of questions to answer as we went through the exhibits.  There were several schools there and let's just say it was chaos.  The map they gave didn't match the packet of questions very well and the sections weren't labeled to match the map.  I guess you have to smarter than a map to figure it out.  There were several Mom's all wandering about as confuses as I was not sure if we were in the right place or not.  It wasn't till after lunch that I think we were getting the hang of it.

 The questions were not really easy and took some investigating.  One of my boys was really frustrated and couldn't understand what was going on half the time.  We had to slow our pace for him and that kind of frustrated the other 3 kids.  We made it work and I controlled the pace the best I could so everyone was happy.  My kids did a great job of following the rules and I proud to say we set off no alarms.

 I loved getting to go and see all the exhibits.  It was neat to see the different time periods and what they had on them.  I kind of wish I was on my own so I could of read more of what was in each section.  With the 4 kids I did a lot of skimming of the informational boards for each exhibit.  There was no way they wanted to take their time anywhere.

I'm pretty sure their favorite part was the 5th floor. This was the traveling exhibit floor which changes every few months. There were no questions for this section and they just got to explore at their own pace. They had a few more hands on things to touch. The kids all loved getting to be on this floor. Once we had finished our packet the rest of the time was spent on this 5th floor and they hated to leave. I have to agree it was a lot of fun.

I loved to get to do something different.  I loved the one on one with Megan and seeing her smiles.  I think it meant a lot to both of us.  I can't wait till next year.  I believe Meg gets to go to the capital  building and a 3 day science camp.  I'm hoping to get to go to both with her and am excited for her final year at Central Ave.

My Kids have talent

This year Megan and Andrew entered the talent show as a pair.  This was huge as Megan wasn't sure she liked the idea when I suggested it but soon got really excited.  We tried to come up with something different from the norm and when I thought about doing something with their pogo sticks, both kids were immediately sold.  They love to bounce on those things whenever we have down time so why not make an act.

 Megan quickly selected the high school musical song "get your head in the game" and got to work on creating an act of it.  Jeff and I told them to just brainstorm and come up with as many tricks as possible for us to review and help with.  Let's say they got a bit crazy with their ideas.  I think they wanted to jump rope while on the pogo stick and throw balls back in forth.  Their balance isn't that swift so for safety we had to eliminate some of the external props.  I'm sure it would have been exciting but might not have been good for their health.

They had a great audition and were so excited to perform for the big show.  We brought some pool noodles for them to jump as part of the act and it was great fun.  We had a little snag as the music teacher had the wrong version of the song.  We gave her the cd that the kids have been practicing but she already had it so didn't bother to copy ours.  She gave Megan back the cd a few days before and said we were all set.  It wasn't till the performance began that Meg quickly found that the song version that they had wasn't the right one.  This caused some of the parts of the performance to be off a bit for timing because they didn't know where to change to the different tricks.  Meg stopped once she realized it and was lost.  Since I didn't bring the cd with me they had to just make it work, which they did.

I really couldn't have been more proud.  There were about 34 acts or so and more than half were singers.  I try to stay away from singing because so many kids try their hand at singing and it doesn't always turn out great.  As I'm not all that musically inclined it's just easier to stay away from that category.  We had a few piano players and a handful of dancers.  I do believe my kids were the most original and got tons of compliments.  The kindergarten classes all raved about them being their favorite.  Andrew teacher from last year came and told me how much her class LOVED what they did.

The music teacher has asked for an encore performance from Meg and Andrew for their last CARE assembly of the year.  She felt bad about the song mix up.  Since they were one of the schools favorite performances she'd like them to perform again along with one or two other acts.  I think the others were for absent kids that she wants to give the chance to perform.  Megan is thrilled to be asked and totally wants to, while Andrew says it makes him too sweaty and would rather pass.  We are currently undetermined whether we'll give it a go but I'm sure they will if Megan has her say.  She'll work hard to talk him into it.  We had great fun and Megan has already decided she wants to go out with a bang and not perform for next year her final 5th grade year.  She's got tons of stuff on her plate for next year and doesn't want to hassle with practice and such.  We'll see if Andrew's been bitten by the bug or not.  I'm totally out of interesting ideas so who know what we'd even do.  I guess we'll see we have a whole year to decide. 

Fishing in Style

So Jeff took the kids out fishing a few weeks ago in Robbie's new boat.  This was their first adventure in any kind of fishing boat and they were super thrilled.  When Jeff said they might be going, all the kids could do was talk about it none stop and hope that it all worked out so they could go.

The weather appeared to be nice and sunny so the kids got on cool clothes and were ready in no time.  Once out on the boat the weather didn't stay as nice as they thought and ended up a bit chilly.  The  weather didn't phase them one bit and they soaked up every minute of fun.

 Megan was the big winner and caught their first catch.  She seems to have good timing to hook the fish.  Every time but once she has been able to catch something so she must have the special fish skill.  I could never catch anything as a kid so who knows where she gets it.

 A little while later I'm told Megan once again hooked another one.  This one was their big catch of the day.  She handed over the pole to Mia to reel in.  This was a bit of a hard lesson to hand it over and let someone else have a turn.  These lessons in life seem to be difficult for my kids sometimes.

All in all they caught just those 2 fish and we hope Robbie's family enjoyed them as their meal for dinner.  The kids loved their boating trip and we say a huge thank you to Robbie and his family for giving us the experience.  It was a ton of fun.

Meg's 4th Grade Fruit and Veg Battery

So a few months back Megan had her 4th Grade science project.  I've been a little slow with the blog so I totally forgot to post it.  I found the pictures on the camera and realized that I missed it so I decided to catch up.

Last year Meg had to choose from a list of different projects but this year she could pick anything she wanted.  We were sent a list of websites we could browse to come up with the project we wanted.  Once we selected what we thought we wanted we had to submit it for approval.  Megan had a few projects that sounded fun to her but she settled on the question of "Do fruits and vegetables conduct enough electricity to light a light bulb?"

She was really thrilled with the chance to experiment and couldn't wait to get started.  I had Jeff help her since this is more his area of fun and they were cute together.  Meg really wanted a project to have huge results and tons of fun.  Although she had a great time the data was all pretty much the same that each piece of produce conducted about 1 volt of electricity and not enough to light a  light bulb.

After all was done we helped her create her science board for her presentation.  She loved making the board her own and putting her own touches on it.  She got an A on the project and had a great time.  She can't wait till it's time to do her 5th grade project and already has some ideas of what she want to do.

Andrew's 1st Grade Concert

Andrew had his 1st grade concert and he was super cute.  They have a new music teacher this year that is in charge of the younger grades so this performance was completely different from last year.  She centered their performance on what they learned this year.  They were the typical songs you would find in elementary school.

I have to say the circus from last year set the bar pretty high and this one didn't exactly get there.  Andrew was still really cute and super excited to be performing.   He had a hard time staying still while preforming and keeping up with the words but he hung in there like a champ.  He loved getting to be the center of attention and having the family come to see him.  I loved all his smiles and excitement.



He has come along way in such a short period of time and grown so much.  The progress has been awesome and he always leaves Jeff and I smiling.  He just marches to the beat of his own drum and we love him!