The last Day of School Awards

The last day of school had a lot of award ceremonies and I unfortunately needed to be in 2 places at once so I didn't get to Mackenzie's and barely made it to Alexa's. We got a letter telling us that Alexa's Presidential Education Award was going to be a surprise for her so I had planned on attending that one but Mackenzie ended up getting a whole bunch of awards including the Presidential Education Award. Now the girls have something signed by President Obama.

Yeah for the last day of school! Alexa now moves on to the Junior High! 7th grade....seriously where does the time go. And Mackenzie leaves elementary school and is off to intermediate school for the 5th grade. Dayton stays put for the next few years. All three kids will be in different schools, on different buses, and different time schedules. I'm just happy summer is here and we can spend our time doing what we want to do, as opposed to what needs to be done for school. Although, Mackenzie has to do summer math because she is going into 2 year advanced math next year. She is not excited about math during the summer but the other kids are joining her by completing a few pages of math each day too. At least we can decide when we want to do math!

Inventions

Mackenzie and Anushay invented a stuffed animal that glows in the dark. It is the perfect thing for kids who are afraid of the dark and need some kind of light on. It eliminates a nightlight that would be plugged in to an outlet and it has a feature that allows it to gradually turn off. The kids had to come up with what they would invent, then go through the process of creating it. (Initially the girls wanted to make a toothbrush that was attached to a fan...then they switched to the stuffed animal nightlight) They came up with the name they would call their company and they even had business cards to hand out to everyone who came to look at their product. Mackenzie's company was Stuffed Light Inc. They had to come up with a marketing pitch that they then gave to engineers. Nathan was able to take the morning off of work to see and hear about the inventions. Some were quite clever. Mrs. Strnat also had a patent lawyer come in to the class to talk to the kids about the process of patenting their inventions. To get started it is about $15,000. It was a awesome learning experience.

Vase of Flowers

Last year, Mackenzie had some of her art work chosen to be framed and displayed the hallway of her school. I finally was able to get a picture of Mackenzie with her art.

Court of Honor

Dayton has thoroughly enjoyed cubscouts. He is constantly wanting to do something in his wolf book and that hard work payed off. He was awarded his wolf badge and is chomping at the bit to start the bear book. The scouts performed several skits and all of them made us laugh. Dayton was not shy at all as he performed for everyone. He was also the announcer for the flag ceremony. This from a kid who used to hide anytime someone tried to talk to him. Congratulations Dayton, we are very proud of you.

As a side note, while watching some of those skits, Alexa somehow caught her shirt on her braces. How? I'm not sure but it was extremely funny. She was a little stressed out but managed to untangle herself.

Meeting of Minds

Mackenzie's 4th grade teacher is awesome. Alexa had her and had a great experience and Mackenzie has enjoyed her just as much. Mrs. Strnat is the kind of teacher who embraces each child for the strengths they have and doesn't expect anyone to adhere to a cookie cutter mold. Each year, her students pick a famous Hoosier and learn everything they can about that person and then they team up with others from the classroom and write a skit depicting what would happen if those people were to meet. It is really quite creative and a great way to incorporate several concepts into one project. Plus it is way more fun than writing a report.

Mackenzie was Gene Stratton-Porter. She is an author and was a nature freak, which is why Mackenzie is holding a flower and a book. She was born in 1863 and she observed nature for many years to put in writing and books what she had observed and that information helped to improve education. For the skit, Gene Stratton-Porter met Larry Bird, Frances Wright, and La Salle. It was very creative and had us laughing a couple of times.

Dragons

Mackenzie and I have been reading some dragon books written by Jessica Day George. Mackenzie loves to read. She would choose to do that over just about anything else. I read the dragon books and knew she would love them. I was right. So during church she drew her interpretation of a baby dragon.

Father and Sons Campout

Dayton was super excited! He helped Nathan pack and made sure he had lot of snacks, packed his clothes, and packed the frisbee. Playing frisbee at night was the best part, according to Dayton. The frisbee glows in the dark which makes it even better. Nate totally forget the air mattress and was feeling every bit of his age. His first comment when he got home was, "I'm not sure if I missed you or the bed more."

4th Grade Track Meet

Mackenzie is on the very far end, left hand side of the picture.

Mackenzie decided to sign up for the 4th grade track team. They practiced 2 times a week for about 2 months and she really enjoyed it. The track meet took place on 2 days due to some inclement weather. They held the track meet at the high school and most, if not all, of the elementary schools in the district participated. Mackenzie ran 100 yard scramble, the 60 meter dash, and the 100 meter sprint.

Meditating

Dayton makes me laugh often. The other night, it was time for bed and he didn't really want to go to bed so he decided to meditate instead. Mackenzie thought that was a fantastic idea and joined him. The whole thing made me laugh. How can they get their legs to do that?

Piano Recital

I sometimes wonder if I will ever stop getting nervous for things. I would expect that the more I do something, the easier it would be to calm my nerves. I had my second piano recital today and I think I might have been more nervous than some of my students. Most likely because I know each piece as well as them and I also know the parts where they have struggled. I should not have been nervous. All 26 participants did a fantastic job and I couldn't have been more proud! Teaching piano is something that I have come to really enjoy. I currently have 30 students and some on a wait list. I can't handle any more than 30 right now. I am grateful for a talent that is providing me a lot of joy. Mackenzie played Skateboard, by Lee Evans...she did fantastic! Alexa played Wizard Wheezes, by Nicholas Hooper....she was fabulous! Dayton played Boogie Woogie, also by Lee Evans...he did awesome! Piano is not something they would choose to do sometimes but due to the fact that I've never met someone who regrets learning and I teach...they are kind of stuck. But for being stuck, I am really proud.

Silly Bands

I wish I would have been the one to come up with these things. Rubber bands that stretch but then reform back into a specific shape. They are quite the fad right now at the schools and I am not one to buy into a fad. However, Alexa miraculously ended up with 25 silly bands sans purchase. How? She was given one by a friend and then used her negotiation skills to trade her way up to 25. I have to admit it was pretty impressive. So, I did finally break down and buy some and now we have silly bands coming out of our ears. The kids come home excited to show, share, trade and tell about the new silly bands they acquired during the day. Most of my piano students are really into them too. One of my kindergarteners wondered if I wanted to trade any with him. My kids think I totally should.

The Lawn

I usually mow the grass because I am home during the day, have the time and would rather have Nathan do other things than mow the grass. But, due to my back issues my lawn mowing duties have been seriously lacking. SO...Nathan mowed the grass this week. Well almost all of the grass.









He was quite proud of his "creation" and the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever. I think our neighbors are wondering why we mowed "WOW" into the lawn.