Art Fair 2012

 Another mother and I helped the school's art teacher put on the Art Fair again this year, with the theme of "Let Your Art Shine." The second graders made their own vases with flowers and above is Louie's.

 The first graders made butterflies and above is Benny's version. Aren't all the colors great?

 Each class does the same project, but each one is so different, often reflective of the student's personality. It's really neat to see.

Along with the gallery portion, there was a table with ten projects that would be easy to do at home with things you find around the house, and then kids had an opportunity to make an craft. It went along with them theme--they made sun catchers!

Green Eggs & Ham Day

March 2nd is Dr. Seuss's birthday and the boys' school is celebrating "Read Across America Day" by having an illustrator come in to talk to the kids and show them his stuff.

Like the mid-bite shot? Louie is wearing his Horton ears and Benny found a shirt that reminded him of the Cat-in-the-Hat's hat.

 We started out the day by having green eggs, ham, and toast. Luckily, as you can see from past special days, we always have eggs and bread in our house! The boys had a great time with the speaker that came to their school and bought two of his books. The came straight home from school that day and set out to become illustrators!

Bear Comes to Visit

 This is the third trip for Bear to Casa Llena, as both Louie and Benny had the chance to bring him home for a visit when they too were in Miss Cathy's class. He probably isn't, but to hear Charlie tell it, he was the last person to get to bring Bear home. He was pretty pumped that the visit coincided with Valentine's Day!

Bear got to meet the other bears that live in our house. He got to have a special treat with Charlie and Meredith. Charlie taught him all about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while they watched the movie. Bear also got to be a part of our special Valentine's Day dinner. It was a good day!

Wax Museum

  For the last few weeks Louie's class has been preparing for the annual Second Grade Wax Museum. The "great American" that Louie got to portray was Jackie Robinson.

 He did a fantastic job with researching and writing a speech, then memorizing it to tell each time someone pressed his "start" button (the red circle on his chest).

  
It was pretty warm in the cafeteria where his class's museum was located. That, on top of the fact that he gets   a little nervous speaking in front of people gave him a somewhat unhappy look on his face, but afterward he said that he enjoyed doing it.

There was a mix of characters portrayed and one that stuck out in my mind was the young lady who portrayed Jane Goodall. Her family must have had some sort of relationship with the gorilla expert because not only was she very thorough in her speech, one of her props was a "scrapbook" that had real pictures of her mom as a baby with Goodall and gorillas!

There were some parents who were concerned with the kids having so much pressure on them to do speeches in front of people at this young age, but I disagree. Coming from someone who considers herself shy and extremely uncomfortable in public speaking situations, I wish that I would have had the opportunity to practice this skill early on before the self-consciousness of the teenage years sets in and then there was no hope! Congrats to Louie and his classmates; they did a terrific job!

Married: To Be or Not To Be

I'm not sure where they got this from, but I heard the last part of this conversation:

"You're half-married already, Ben." (says Lou)

"What? No I'm not!" (Ben replies)

"If you walk down the aisle you're half-married." (Lou shoots back)

"Well...I didn't like it!" (Ben shouts)

The story I got later was that this interaction was a result of something I had Ben do with his homework. He rushes through the stories he reads and I'm not sure that he's digesting what happened in them, just reading the words.

After he read a book about a little boy going to his big sister's wedding I had him draw a picture of something that happened in his life that was similar. He drew a picture of him walking down the aisle as a ringbearer with the adorable flowergirl Alice at Aunt Joanie and Uncle Josh's wedding. The wise and all-knowing older brother had to clue Benny in that he has entered partially into matrimony because he walked down the aisle with Alice.

Girls are gross, I suppose. Let's hope that feeling stays around for a while...

Conferences

As a former teacher, conference nights were always something I dreaded. But I imagine it's different when you're dealing with parents of teenagers, as opposed to parents of 6- and 7-year-olds. Last night I went to meet with Louie and Benny's teachers for the 1st quarter conferences and it went well.

It's always neat to see a side of your child then isn't familiar to you. The reports their teachers gave me made me smile in that they are kind, courteous, respectful, helpful to their classmates and work really hard from 8am-2:30pm. The story may be a bit different when they get home, but it's good to hear that at school they are on their best behavior.

Louie is entering into more math and they're teaching it differently these days. I understand why schools do it--giving more options to get to the end result will allow students to find the answer. Kevin thinks otherwise, that the old way was good enough for him and it's good for our kids, but I also think that math came naturally for him. As for me, I can't math.

Schoolin' Time (2011-12 Edition)

The summers go by too quickly. We love our late nights, slow-to-wake-up mornings, picnics and trips, baseball and swimming...these are some of our favorite things. Now we're going to get back into a routine, mandatory showers, homework, early mornings, set times for meals, practices and all the other things the school year brings. It's not that I don't love to see how my kids grow and change with all that they learn and experience, but I do cherish those days between June and August.

My, Have the Tables Have Turned...

Today, on the way back from dropping Louie and Benny off at school, Charlie is flipping out because it is not a school day for him.

This is the same kid who pretty much cried every day right up until the Christmas break last year. The kid who Miss Sue had to peel off my leg to get him into the classroom.

One year makes quite a difference and Charlie is the happiest 4-year-old in preschool. He bounces out of bed in the morning. He thinks about what he's going to bring for show and tell for a whole week. He tells stories about his day for hours after he's home.

Charlie is making friends, making art, and showing us that he's more than who he was at 3-years-old. It's been a neat transformation to witness.

Pictures from the last day of school

There's times that I go to pick up the boys from school and it is a downpour. That would not have been fun on the last day of school, and we've been lucky that both last year and this year it has been a gorgeous day.

We got there early and Charlie and Meredith ran around the school yard with some of the other little siblings.

The preschoolers and kindergartners get out first, so this is Benny (and Charlie) with some other kindergarteners. I couldn't get over how nice they all stood together--and this is with no instruction.

Apparently something happens between kindergarten and first grade because this is about the best shot I got of Louie and his friends. Although, two of the goofiest are Ben and Char. Louie's wonderful teacher was kind enough to step in for the picture. I kept thinking that must be relieved to have a break from these goobers, but I swear that when I went to say goodbye she had a tear in her eye. I think she grew very attached to our little monsters, and they in turn were very good for her.

This is afterward at the water party. It cracks me up that they are choosing to stick their heinies and faces in the spray of the water. Is that a boy thing? (Look at Benny's face.) And Charlie also chose to wear black sweat pants. It was part of his "baseball" outfit, that also included knee-high gray socks and a plain green T-shirt. He said he was on the Green Sox team.

Good Start

After breakfast the boys rush to brush their teeth and then, it begins. In the ten minutes or so before Lou and Ben's ride comes the three of them play a high-intensity game of baseball in the small space between the front door of the house and the dining room table.

They've created rules for this version of baseball. Sometimes they all agree on these, sometimes they don't (but really, isn't this what they see on the big league fields when players, managers and umpires come together to bump chests?).

But right now they are getting along. I'm typing, listening to the play by play that they call out, imitating the broadcasters they hear. Little Charlie is still in his jammies--pirate-looking striped pants with a "Great American" T-shirt--and the boys have their clothes, shoes and jackets on (yes, it has dipped back below acceptable temperatures for May).

Their ride has driven past our house to drop off a little sister to grandma's, pick up another boy, and they know they only have a few minutes to play baseball before it's off to school.

I love mornings like this.

Oh, and the Reds just swept the Cardinals. It's a good start to the week :)

Nature vs. Nurture

Most school mornings go like this:

• I quietly wake up Louie and Benny at 7am so that Charlie can get a few more minutes of shut-eye (this doesn't always work).
• They come down to the living room where their clothes are laid out, often items that they have picked out the night before.
• They eat breakfast, usually cereal or cinnamon toast with juice.
• I have to remind them (multiple times) to be quiet when brushing their teeth because Meredith's room is right by the bathroom.
• If need be, they put on their coats, hats, gloves; put their backpacks by the front door; then plop down on the couch to watch Arthur or Martha Speaks.

Today I found the three boys on the couch poring over a Oriental Trading Company-type catalog. They were getting ideas for birthday parties--theirs and other people's--and other ideas for get togethers we could have.

Of course, I jumped right in and joined in the fun. Not sure if this is something that they have learned from their crazy mother, or if it's something already hardwired into them.

Success of the Art Fair

Yesterday was a very long day, but it was well worth it. the Art Fair was during the school's conferences, 2pm-7pm. We had to wait to set up in the cafeteria (the "art gallery") until after lunch was finished. Another mother and I walked in as the last class was walking out.

We were still hanging art work when school let out and the kids, parents, teachers and others walked in to see what was going on. There was a lull in patrons until conferences got in full swing and after that we had a steady flow of parents, grandparents and, of course, the artists!

It was awesome to see the kids so proud to show off their hard work to the ones they love. They were excited to do the potato stamp painting project we had set up for attendees (parents participated, too!). And both kids and parents took home the idea sheets for easy to do at-home art projects--made from things that you most probably were going to throw away anyway.

I wanted to get involved in the Art Fair this year after volunteering last year. It was run by an outside company that had all the kids' artwork in frames that you could buy. They had kits and supplies for sale. They had projects for the kids to work on at the Art Show, but you had to pay to participate.

That was the table I worked at, and I can't tell you how heartbreaking it was to turn away kids who just wanted to create, use their imaginations, but didn't have the money to pay for the project. Now, I can't tell you what I had for lunch yesterday, but I can tell you that I recognized those kids' faces when they came up to the project table (fun! free!) this year.

That was the focus this year, the famous Pablo Picasso quotation: Every child is an artist. It is important that kids know that you don't need fancy supplies or kits to create. You should have seen what the kids made last night. We have quite a few artists on our hands!


I've been having trouble uploading the boys' art from the fair. I'll update in a later post!

Busyness

I never would have guessed that the jump from one kid in grade school and one kid in preschool, to two kids in grade school and one kid in preschool (and a crazy toddler running around) would be that big of a deal. It's been a busy year, and has gotten even more so since I decided to get involved in events at the boys' school.

I'm coordinating the art fair (which is happening today!) and next month, a recycling project/contest where the winning class gets to have dessert with Mr. Redlegs! I'm enjoying both projects immensely, but it has been keeping me on my toes, and then there's the trickle-down effect with the rest of the family. Fortunately, these are the two main things I've decided to get involved with, so after April I'll be done!

It's been nice getting to know more of the teachers and staff at Louie and Benny's school, getting to know the other parents. It's such a great place and I believe that it is not just up to the staff to make a school great--the parents have to get involved, too. For me, I guess I'm taking baby steps into full-blown involvement!

I have some last minute details to do for the art fair, so I better hop to it. Hope to have some good shots from the event to share with you!

Valentines for Friends

I got this great idea last year for making your own valentines and decided to make them for the boys to give to their friends this year. Charlie had his party this past Thursday and they got a great response. For whatever reason it just cracks me up.

One Hundred Days

On Friday, the boys celebrated their 100th day of school. In kindergarten they read a story called Mrs. Bindergarten's 100th Day of Kindergarten. Kind of amazing that a person with a name like that grows up to be a kindergarten teacher. Kind of like a farmer with the last name Farmer. Or maybe it would be Barmer? Benny's class made special hats for the day, and made a fruit loop necklace with a rainbow of loops that added up to one hundred.

Louie's class made the hat and necklace as well, but added in more fun of math by counting to 100 by 10s--100 marshmallows; 100 chocolate chips; 100 cheerios; 100 raisin; and so on, to make "100-Day Trail Mix." The first grade teacher also had the kids make a picture of themselves of when they will be 100-years-old.

Benny made a book for the special occasion. Here, he drew and wrote that he wished he had 100 dollars. Then, he drew and wrote that he can do 100 jumping jacks. He also said that if he had $100 that he would buy and airplane. Very insightful into Benny's head.


Not sure why all of Louie's drawings end up sideways, but here is a picture that Lou drew of himself when he'll be 100-years-old. Apparently glasses and tanning beds are in his future!

Busy Weekend!

We had such a great weekend! I'll start by telling you about Friday and then move from there.

After much consideration, I deleted the paragraph I wrote on the "importance of school" and decided just to let you know that on Friday night we decided to celebrate the end of the first quarter by going out to eat as a family to Blue Ash Chili. We let the boys decide where we were going. Two wanted chili the third wanted burgers and we chose the place that had both. No one had a burger and only one had chili. Those crazy kids.

It was such a nice evening. We rarely get to go out to eat as a family so really this was a treat for us all. The kids got to color on place mats and check out the servers in their wacky costumes, and Kevin and I could relax without worrying about cooking or cleaning up afterward!

We left to go home, got in our jammies and hung out for a bit before going to bed. This was a very much needed evening!

Strutting Their Stuff

Today is the day Louie and Benny's school has their Halloween parties and a big part of it is having a parade. The kindergartners walk with the preschoolers through the school, and then first grade on up walks through the neighborhood.

Benny's was in the morning and we stood in the hall, waiting to caught a glimpse of him. There are three kindergarten classes and two preschoolers. He came by so quickly and didn't look at us, so this is the best picture I got!

In the afternoon, we went up for the outdoor parade and to kill time we ran suicides on the basketball court, with Mere chasing Charlie and his buddy; we played line jumper on the court; ate peanut butter crackers and took pictures.

Both Charlie and his friend are fantastic photographers. They took turns posing for each other and got some great shots of Meredith, each other, and the random passing car.

Charlie took this one of Meredith.

Here comes Louie's class! There are four first grade classes and the teachers were Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Louie's teacher was one of the bears, if you couldn't figure that out for yourself.

And here's Rafael! Louie was so excited to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, and so was I, as it's one of the many things from my childhood that are making a comeback.

They were mesmerized by all the kids' costumes. Not happy, not scared, just in a trance. Some costumes were rather scary for little kids, I thought. Others seemed a little inappropriate for their age, but most were cute, and typical of elementary school. Most popular costume for boys: ninjas; most popular for girls: old ladies/grannies.




Fortunately for the big kids, it was a gorgeous day!

Bustin' Buttons

Just wanted to give a little shout out to Louie. The end of the first quarter is upon us and Louie is taking it all in stride. He was recognized at the awards assembly today for academics, attitude and most importantly, The Principal's Award. One student is recognized in each class as someone who works hard and makes good decisions each day.

The spittin' image of his father, he acted like it wasn't that big of a deal, but I'm really proud of him and I thought you should know.

Parade of Cuteness

It's hard to think of the kids as "spooky" or whatever else they're hoping for when they're so adorable!

Charlie has gotten over his stage of not wanting to go to school--especially today when he was so excited to see what Cole was going to be for Halloween (Batman, a perfect pairing to Charlie's Spiderman), and he participated in all the songs the class sang to the parents, which is a huge step up from where Louie and Benny were in the 3-year-old class.

Miss Sue sat in front of the class on this chilly morning so the kids had confidence to sing their Halloween songs to the parents and grandparents.

This is Miss Cathy. I love her costume of The Cat in the Hat. She even has the little fish in a bowl next to her. She teaches the 4-year-olds and had both Lou and Ben.

The kids then walked through the church offices back to their classes, and with each person they passed they practiced saying "trick or treat!"

Charlie came home proudly displaying the picture he made today: a mixed-media piece using paint, coloring and construction paper that he cut to illustrate the story of "Five Little Pumpkins." He was so happy to share his work.

Everybody Counts

On Monday I volunteered at the boys' school to be a part of the Everybody Counts program. I was excited to do this because I have great memories of it when I was little. My job was to help the kindergarten classes learn about people who are blind, deaf or who have physical disabilities. Basically, it was a basic overview for kids who are probably learning about this for the first time.

Kindergartners are so darn cute. They have so much to share, even if it has nothing to do with what we're talking about. It's nice that they like to share bits of their lives with me. There were three classes and with each one we started off with a book talking about differences between people's parts (i.e. different shaped noses), but understanding that we're basically the same (e.g. they all breath, sneeze, etc.).

Then there were three activities where the kids learned about braille, sign language, and how difficult it would be to do the things we take for granted if we had trouble using a body part (e.g. they had to pick up cheerios with a sock over their hand).

It wasn't overwhelming for them, just a taste that will be built upon in the coming years. I think it's great that schools have programs like this because I wouldn't even know what to do in approaching subjects like this at home with my kids (e.g. the smoking debacle).

On another note, one of the classes was Benny's and I loved meeting all his friends, and seeing how he interacts with them. It's great now to be able to put a face to the names in the stories he tells.