The kids have just 3.5 more days of school! So before we leave this school year behind I wanted to quickly share a few of the things they have been up to in the last month.
Make way for Chief Payton. He did a state report on New Mexico -- why he didn't choose Oregon, I'll never know. On presentation day he came dressed as the Apache Indian Geronimo and I whipped up some sopapillas (my first ever attempt) for him to share with the class. Apparently they were a huge hit.
As you can see, Field Day was pretty much awesome.
The PTA put on a Father/Daughter Dance at school and everything surrounding this event pretty much melts my heart. It deserves it's own post. I'll add that to my list. Anna looked and felt like such a princess.
I was so proud of Payton for earning a gold medal in the Great American Challenge. He had to memorize the Star Spangled Banner, write the Pledge of Allegiance, and memorize all 50 states capitals. While this other kids had been working on this for 8 months, he completed this in just 2. Plus, he earns a gold medal for having the cutest smile on stage. It's true. A random mom even leaned over to me and said "what a cutie" after he accepted his medal.
While the rest of the 5th graders went on a whirlwind, chartered bus, 24 hour field trip to Disneyland and back . . . . Conner went to school, with the 15 remaining kids. It sounds like he had a great day. I mean, just look at that face. A definite highlight was when I met him for lunch, with McDonald's in hand.
For inquiring minds: we didn't send him to Disneyland because 1 )I don't think it was an option because we moved in long after the fund-raising & payments were made and 2) even then, we wouldn't have sent him on a 24 hour (essentially overnight) field trip. Age 10/11 is too young for that, in my opinion.
After a big Heritage unit in Conner's writing class (he did lots of research on Denmark - my ancestry), the 5th grade classes put on a program for the Heritage Feast. Crepes, hummus, japanese rolls, Norwegian pancakes, swedish cookies, croissants, enchiladas, apple strudel, pasta, Filipino duck eggs . . . plenty of food to go around.
Signs that summer vacation is right around the corner:
- The homework load around here has taken a nose-dive.
- The kids have started to bring home memory books and journals.
- I loaded "School's Out for Summer" onto my ipod to prepare for the big day.
- Realized today that I need to pull together teacher gifts soon.
- The Summer Fun List is up and ready (I'll share next week).
