End of the year Awards

 I can't believe we have come to the end of the year. Jackson has been working really hard during first grade to have perfect attendance and he did it! He was at school on time, everyday. He got a certificate and a pin.

 Josh has also worked very hard this year and he was awarded High Honor Roll and was given a pin and a certificate.

 He also remembered last year that 3rd graders were given a medal for passing off their multiplication up to 12. Josh worked and practiced his multiplication so that he could pass it off and earn his ice cream. He did it and was given his medal.

 Addi also worked hard this year on her math. We worked together almost everyday after school on her math and once a week we worked on her math olympiad paper and for participating in math olympiad she was awarded a certificate.

 At the end of the year after we have saved every scrap of paper we lay it all out on the ground and the kids get to take a picture with it before we sort through it and save our favorites and recycle the rest.

 The thing he was most proud of was his Jesse Owen's report. He wanted to make soure we saved every bit of that report that we could.

Our little Showman

 For the last 2 years Josh has wanted to participate in the talent show and for the last 2 year I have told him that you can't wait until the end of the year to decide what you want to do so you need to be thinking of what you want to do and prepare. Josh and his cute friend Grace decided they were going to sing a song from the Greatest Showman. So we go the song ready and he and Grace practiced a few times outside of school

 They were super cute the day of they dressed up nice and did their best to sing the song. We even got some video of it.

 Mike was able to leave work even though it's the end of the month and things are busy at work and he came to hear Joshy. Molly, Emily, Miles and even Grandma Arlene were there. We cheered so loud for him because it takes guts to get up in front of your peers and sing. Great job Josh!

It's Pinewood Derby Time

 Josh loves scouts. And he really loves the pinewood derby. We have done research to pick the perfect car design to make it fast. We have watched videos and rolled it around the house. he did all the work essentially that he could do himself. He was ready for this years derby. And he was a champ...in his attitude. His car did not win. He did all the work himself: drew the design helped cut it out, sanded it, painted, glittered, helped decide where weights would be glued, attached the wheels and the lego man. I am so proud of him. What I'm dissappointed in are the other cars that the dad's made. That's right, the dad's made them and so my kid who did all the work himself (which is what this project is really about) was celebrated by his parents but crushed because of how his car performed against the others.

 After a little pep talk about how proud we were of him and how much we loved his car, because who doesn't love a flashy gold car, he perked up a bit and we were able to get a picture of him holding his car and smiling.

Woodstock Art Night

 The school hosted the parents for art night tonight. Each of the kids was able to show me their art in the school. It was so fun to walk around and have them show off what they've been working on. 

 In the large group room they had music with Ms. Goeglein who was teaching rhythm with Home Depot buckets and scarves. The kids had a good time hangin out in there.

Read-A-Thon

 This year for the read-a-thon Josh was determined to read as much as he could. From the moment they say go he has a book in hand and his nose is buried in it. He logs his time religiously and only stops to eat, go to the bathroom, or play for a short amount of time. 

He read and read and read and he was hoping so badly to get top reader in the school. He didn't get top reader in the school but he did get top reader in his class. At the assembly at the end of the read-a-thon he was able to choose a book and he got a bluetooth speaker. I don't know what he'll use it for but, there you have it.

 Jackson wanted to mirror what Josh was doing so when Josh read then Jackson read. He also wanted to be top reader in his class. He read his little heart out.

 He got his hopes up and for good reason, he read his heart out and he was top reader in his class. We won't ever be the top fundraisers because I don't send them around the neighborhood to collect money from our neighbors, but they can be top readers.

 Congratulations boys! Keep on reading, you're amazing kids.

Scouting adventurer

 Josh is loving scouts. He is so invested in earning all his awards. He works really hard. Tonight he had a pack meeting and earned more awards. He asks me almost daily to open scoutbook and look at the awards and see what he could do without any parental help. Then he will patiently wait for me to have the time to do things together. He loves scouts and Jackson is super excited to participate in scouts coming up

Black History Fair

This month Josh's class has been studying black history in America. Each student had to choose from a list of influential black people and rate their choice. Josh's first choice was Jesse Owens. He put a lot of time and work into his research and costume. 

 Today all the kids got to set up their posters in the gym and we got to walk around the gym and hear all the kids talk about their person. Josh really loved researching Jesse Owens and we learned a lot about him. We make his olympic shirt and all the olympic medals he won.

Update: Josh used that shirt over and over again as a dress up and still has it 2 years later.

Welcame Back

 We are so excited! My brother Ben and his family are moving back from Japan. When I talked to the kids about it Josh got so excited that he decided to write them a card.

 It says: Welkome home we have mist you Ben remember when we made a garage. We love you. We are so exsited to see you. Jackson thanks you for his toothles. Frum:Josh Jaiden Jackson and Mom

It was so cute and thoughtful of him. I'll also throw in a picture of Miles just because he's so cute!

Christmas program.

 Today was the boys school holiday sing around. Where each of the grade performs two songs for the parents. Jaiden's class sang This Is My Wish. Addi's grade sang the Beach Boys Merry Christmas St. Nick song. Jackson's grade did the Snow Flakes Falling with Dashing through the Snow. Josh's class sang a silly version of The First Noel, and the Very Best Part about Christmas.

Josh's Birthday Dinner

 I can NOT believe my baby is 9! There is no way! But alas he is. He is such a sweet kid and is such a helper. He chose to go to Applebee's for his birthday dinner.

 Now that we are a family of 7 it is not cheap to take everyone out to dinner so we can't do it as much as we used to but it sure is fun when we are able to.

We love this sweet boy and can't wait to watch him grow into a great man. But for now lets just keep him little for a bit longer.

Tubby time and a full moon

 Miles took his first bath. He wasn't so sure about how cold it is to take a bath. We tried to keep him warm but our bathroom is pretty drafty. He sure is cute and changing already.

 Josh's class is studying the phases of the moon so they used oreos to show the different phases. I'm sure they got to eat some too.

 Josh had a birthday party with some of his friends and we had a major parent fail, the camera died. So here is the documentation that Josh had a birthday party.

Reflections: Within Reach

This year the reflections theme was Within Reach. I got an email just before Miles was born that the boys had both won an award for their entry's. Josh wrote a story and Jackson did a watercolor painting of him as a zoologist.

 The both won and Jackson's went on to the district but didn't make it any further than that.

 They both got awards and I am so proud of them for the work that they put into their entry's

Pack of the Wolf

 Josh is loving scouts. He is very motivated to earn any and everything he can. So tonight it came as no surprise that he earned several awards including his cyber chip and his wolf. I didn't know that rank advancements were a big deal so it was just us.

 Doug and Lani Anderson made these lanyards for the moms to have the pins put on by their scout. Josh did a great job pinning it on for me.