Alex's Holiday TV Appearance

Alex is in the 3rd-6th grade choir this year and they went to a local TV station and were recorded singing a song that aired after a newscast. They had been practicing with a piano, but found out when they got there that they had no piano in the studio.  They sang it a capella for the first time and did pretty well.  The TV station has made it available online at

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/video?id=6516614

if you want to check it out.  Look for him in the lower left of the screen at 37 seconds into the clip.

Western Movement Sendoff

Today the entire Lower Intermediate (3rd & 4th graders) started their Western Movement unit.  This will teach them about the journey that settlers took as they traveled from Missouri to Oregon.  Each of them took on the role of a settler to experience the journey from their perspective - like writing journal entries about the trip from the point of view of their character.

Alex is a middle aged farmer with a wife and 2 kids.  Today they were encouraged to dress the part and they had a big pancake breakfast in the gym as a sendoff for their "journey".  The mayor of the town they started from (Lower School Head Mr. Baker) gave a speech to encourage them on their way.  Several of the moms, including Becky, came in to help with the breakfast and to wish them well on their journey.

They took the opportunity to get a group photo while they were all in costume.  Alex is front and center.  Happy Trails!

Scouting For Food

Pack 90 asked the other students and families at school to bring in food donations for local food pantries.  The response was great, exceeding their expectations.  People even kept donating more food after the deadline.  This may become a yearly tradition.

Sitting in Sam's Lap

There is a bench on the school campus with a statue of Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) relaxing on it. After Scouts today, the boys took the opportunity to pose on it, with Aaron sitting on Sam's lap.

First Day of School 2008

Today was their 1st day at school.  We posed for the traditional 1st day shot in front of the tree in the front yard, though this is Aaron's first one of these. Last year, they missed the first day because of Aunt Melinda's funeral.  Here's Alex in 2006 (with Aaron nearby) and 2005 for comparison.  This year's first day was much better than last year's.

Open House

Today we got to bring the kids back to their school for Open House.  It was a chance to meet with their teachers, bring in their school supplies early, and let the kids see their new classroom areas.  Alex is moving up to 3rd grade in the Lower Intermediate Section of the school, which are combined 3rd and 4th grade classes.  His teacher is Mrs. Augustyniak and seems very nice.  This year he'll have to carry around that big green binder with a homework planner in there.

Aaron will be moving up to preschool 5 days a week at the same school.  He'll have Mrs. Choka, the same P-4 teacher that Alex had when he started here.  He liked his new teacher and classroom.  Most of the kids he knows from last year.  He is very proud to be moving up to the big preschool out of the 3 year old building, though he will miss Mrs. Meinecke.

Becky also took this opportunity to recruit for Cub Scouts. She made the posterboard display with pictures of previous scouting activities from last year.

She made Scout popcorn and Alex got in his uniform also to attract 1st through 5th grade boys to the table.  She got lots of people interested in the popcorn (it's quite good) and got several kids interested in looking into Cub Scouts when they start it up in a month or so.  More importantly, she found a parent interested in walking the 1st graders through the Tiger Cub requirements.  She'll make one more appeal in a few weeks at the Parents' Back To School night.

Back To School Picnic

With school starting next week (I can hardly believe it), we had one more splash of summer.  The kids' school's parent association sponsored a picnic at Olander Park in Sylvania.  We had burgers and hot dogs and the boys reunited with many of their friends and met a lot of the new kids that will join them this year.

Aaron tried his hand at hula hoops and then just sprinting across the deck. No crashes, no splinters. The deck sits above a large pond and they fed bread to the ducks and watched one kids reel in a catfish from the pond.  It was a fun kickoff for the school year.

Last Day of School Fiesta

On the last day of school, Alex gave his teacher, Mrs. Coffin, a butterfly suncatcher that he made for her.  He was apprehensive about her being his teacher at the beginning of the year, but he has really thrived under her guidance.  His behavior has generally improved and he has been more consistent about completing his schoolwork during class without letting his surroundings distract him.



His reading group/language arts teacher was Mrs. Fish, who enjoyed working with Alex.  Alex has been an excellent reader for years and the small groups allowed him to be paired with kids at a similar level.



Mrs. Weinberg was his 1st grade teacher last year, and this year supplemented his education by teaching social studies.  She'll be moving down to the preschool next year, so Aaron will get an earlier exposure than Alex to her fun and novel approaches to learning.



This afternoon that had an end-of-year fiesta with Mexican food and sombreros.  Alex tried an enchilada for the first time and loved it!  What happened to our picky eater? (This also means that there's hope for Aaron's palate improving someday).  We tell them all the time that there is a world of foods that they would love, but they won't try it because they've never tried it.  Kid logic.  We won't let them claim that they don't like a food that they've never tried, but we learned a long time ago that it isn't worth a fight.  It is worth encouragement and re-offering rejected foods.  Peer pressure is fair game ("other kids your age eat pizza, Aaron").



After the fiesta, parents brought in board games, most of them mildly educational, and had a board game party with the Lower School in the Resource Center.  Summer Break has begun! We'll reconvene here in 2 1/2 months.

Preschool Picnic/Lower School Field Day

This is Aaron and his P-3 preschool teacher, Mrs. Meinecke.  She had her hands full this year with eighteen 3 & 4 year-olds.  Aaron had thrived this year and is very excited about going to the big kids preschool next year.



She had help from Miss Thorpe who was in there for half a day most days in the morning.  Becky volunteered her time there on Tuesday mornings which allowed the teachers more small group assessment and teaching time with the kids.



Today they took the whole class out to a local park and had an end-of-year picnic and playtime in the park.  Aaron was thrilled that they had watermelon and apparently tried to eat two pieces at the same time. :)



When they got back from their picnic, they were able to catch a little bit of the Lower School's field day on the soccer field. It ended with the traditional kids vs. teachers tug-of-war.  Alex is on the far left , second from the end in the muscle shirt and shades.

Alex's Spring Concert

Alex took a larger role in this year's Lower School Spring Concert.  He'd been telling us about a part playing one of the seven dwarves for over a month, but we just found out recently that he had a secret role.



Early in the fairy tale themed concert, several princesses were struggling with what they were looking for in a good man.  Alex came out with a crown and proclaimed that he was a prince and therefore the man of their dreams.  They turned up their noses at him (in song, of course) and he stomped off for a quick costume change.



Soon thereafter he came out as Happy the dwarf.  They had their own song, and the chorus had been echoing through our heads for weeks from impromptu practice sessions at home: (To the tune of Heigh Ho) "Don't mock, Take stock. It's true, we really rock. We're Bashful, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Doc."

Alex promised us that having his shirt half-tucked into his pants was an intentional choice, important to the motivation of his character's personality.

Aaron's Life Flight Field Trip

Aaron's class complimented last weeks trip to the fire station with a trip this week to Life Flight - one of the local helicopter rescue outfits.



The highlight, of course, was getting to sit in the helicopter, though it had to stay on the ground.

Aaron's Firehouse Field Trip

Aaron's preschool class got to tour the Sylvania fire station today.  They learned about the special equipment that they use.  They also learned how to keep themselves safe from fire, including practicing an escape plan to get out of the house if they had to.



He loved touring the pumper trucks and the ambulances they use to respond to emergencies.  Becky got to drive and chaperone, so she got these great pictures.

Derby Racing at Town Meeting

Alex and the rest of Pack 90 got a chance to show off their Pinewood Derby cars in front of the entire Lower School during the weekly town meeting today. Maumee Valley had an old track that had been in storage, but Becky tracked it down and the maintenance crew set it up for them in the Resource Center in the middle of the Lower School. Not only did they get to show the other kids their cars and how they race them, they held the Pack Derby heats live at town meeting. Only 2 kids from each Den can represent their Den at the District Wide Pinewood Derby, so they raced their cars and got the 2 fastest. Alex was one of the Scouts who will get to race his car at District. All of the kids will get to participate though because of our small numbers, the slower cars can enter the design competition at District.

Tumbling on PJ Day

Aaron got to wear his PJ's to school today and Becky got a chance to snap a picture of him tumbling in Gym class with Mrs. Hermann.

Mom's Day 2008

This year they started an alternating pattern of Donuts with Dad (before school continental breakfast) in the fall and Mom's Day this winter. (Next year will be Muffins with Mom and Dad's Day.) Becky got to spend the entire day with Alex, following him, and participating with him at time with his 2nd grade activities. Aaron doesn't have school on Fridays this year, but next year, I'll have to divide my time between both kids. Here they were working together on a math activity that uses small blocks to represent ones, sticks (made of 10 blocks) to represent tens and squares (made of 10 sticks) for the hundreds. They had a great time together and amde me look forward to next year, split time and all.

Valentine's Party in P3

Becky planned this year's P3 Valentine's party for Aaron's class. There were games, valentine distribution, and of course, Valentine cookies. Guess what Aaron's favorite part was. :)

Fruity Hedgehogs

Aaron's class has a pet hedgehog, so his teacher used that idea to set up a fun snack station for the kids. They decoated an orange half with cloves for the eyes and nose, and toothpicks for the quills. They then stuck cut melon and pineapple on the "quills" which the kids could then eat.

Aaron's Winter Concert

This year's Preschool Winter Concert was a big treat. Aaron had been practicing in class and did a great job. His P-3 class sand several songs with their teacher, Mrs. Meinecke, by themselves. Then they joined the 4 & 5 year olds for another couple of songs. The older kids finished out the concert, and we had a nice reception in their classroom that Becky helped plan as Class Mom.

Alex's Winter Concert

Today we got to attend the Lower School Winter Concert which had a very nautical theme. The Primary classes had been studying the ocean this past semester and the music reflected it. Alex and his classes got to dress up like fish and act out one of the songs, "Swimmy", onstage. The older students took turns playing Christmas bells between acts and when they took the stage they sang a medley of songs about China because of the School's international focus and adoption of Mandarin as the additional non-Western language that they're teaching the older students. The Lower School Choir finished with a holiday medley. Alex really gave it his all this this time and it was fun to see him have this much fun, especially with his favorite song, "Nautical Bash". Splish, splash, splish, splash...

Thanksgiving Assembly

The day before Thanksgiving break is always a fun one at the school. Becky helped with festivities in both classrooms. Aaron's class made "Stone Soup" like in the classic children's story. Each child brought in an ingredient and they all helped make a yummy vegetable soup. While Aaron loved making it, he was not alone in not wanting to try it. Alex's class participated in a Primary-wide Thanksgiving Feast. They helped make and ate corn muffins, pop corn, "gobblegood stew", and cookies.


Afterward, before dismissal, all the school gathered in the Resource Center for a tradition of singing Thanksgiving songs. Becky got to participate with her two favorite kiddos.