Run Rikard! Run!

Life keeps marching - or running - at break neck speeds. Rikard started middle school this year and is adjusting quite well. His class load includes all the regular required classes with the added bonus of a robotics class.

 

He tried out for the cross country team and finished in the top 10 for his grade level. His first timed run, a practice race last week, was 7 minutes, 30 seconds.

 

His team hosted the first meet of the season yesterday at Mountainside Middle School. There were hundreds of boys from more than a dozen schools at the starting line, and the ranks thinned out along the route.

Rikard is in the center of the photo, wearing very bright blue shoes with orange laces. All races at this level are 1 mile.

At the finish line, he poured on the speed and finished with a time of 6:43, placing 79th in his first race. A great personal improvement and a great first race!

Another V-ball player!

The 5th grader boys completed their volleyball season the last week of classes before Christmas break. It was his first time on the court trying to master this sport and he did AWESOME! Must be genetic.

He is very focused on learning sports, but struggles for acceptance among the other players as he is usually the smallest on his teams. Size is such a big deal to boys!

 He isn't afraid to show off his mad skilz! LOL. He thinks he is setting, but doesn't quite have all the motor skills happening in the right order or combination yet. For those who think volleyball is easy, it actually requires your entire body to be doing the right things in th right order to move the ball. It isn't an easy sport to master.

But, Rikard gives it his all everytime!

We have a few weeks before his basketball season starts up at school. Tatum's club volleyball season starts up the first week of the new year. She was moved up to a U-14 tournament team (she's only 12), so the heat is on.

Back to School

Today, everyone returned to school for the 2011-2012 year. It was Tatum's first day of middle school - such a "precious" time. She was completely unhappy that I was snapping pictures as she is too old for this. Can you tell?

 Next, it was a race to the bus. You can just see Rikard reaching the bus door and Keeli scrambling to catch up. Not only was it Keeli's first day of 1st grade, but it was her 7th birthday! Happy Birthday to Keeli! The shopping bag is filled with her favorite snacks, cheese and Ritz crackers for everyone.

Rick is teaching 8th grade science this year, specifically physics and earth science. He had to move his classroom down the hall and around the corner at the end of last school year, but on the up-side he now has a window to the outside. A little sunshine never hurt anyone's perspective.

Last Bus Ride of 2009-10

We closed the books on another school year Friday.

When the bus returns next fall Tatum will be headed to 6th grade, Rikard will be in 4th grade and Keeli will join them on her way to Kindergarten.

Both Tatum and Rikard returned home with "acceptable" report cards. I'm not sure I like the standards based grading system that is now in effect. They are both passing all their subject areas, although Rikard got a low mark in neatness and the component of music that has to do with carrying a tune. The system we have doesn't allow for any comments from the teachers regarding the level they receive (0-4 scale with 4 being the highest). And, most of their marks were 3s, which means they meet the grade level expectations. The biggest problem I have is that the system is very nebulous to the parents, we don't see the rubric or system their grades are based on and some of us - mainly me - do care.

Preschool Graduate

There was a short ceremony at the preschool to honor the graduates. Teacher Lori read the list of all the items the children listed as their favorites or the tasks they did the best throughout the year. Keeli listed coloring in the lines, eating lunch, singing, counting and writing her name.

The students led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance and sang Puff the Magic Dragon.

The school collected the kids' work throughout the year and photographed several activities. A scrapbook was compiled and on display for the preschoolers to share with their families and friends before the ceremony.

Keeli has flourished beyond expectations at preschool this year. She is often described as caring, helpful, considerate and bright by her teachers. She has worked very hard in the classroom and always creates more and more "homework" for herself outside the classroom.

This is a current sample of her handwriting. When the year started her K was a stick with two arms and her es were upside down, almost like 6s. It is still difficult to discern her l from her i, but she's getting there!

She counts to 20, recites her ABCs, and sings many lovely verses of The Wheels on the Bus and One, Two, Buckle My Shoe.

She has a graduation ceremony Wednesday evening. Stay tuned for photos.

Nerd Day

The school has spirit week activities the first week back from spring break. It has been a welcome distraction as the weather has been cold, wet and windy. Not much outside fun.

Today is Nerd Day in Rikard's classroom. His pocket has a calculator, some math flashcards, pencils (Ticonderoga #2 of course), a mechanical drafting pencil and some graph-lined index cards. We couldn't find a pocket protector! We did add a ring of keys, complete with a kid-sized tape measure, to his beltloops and a black comb to his back pocket after the photo was taken.

Holiday musicals

The kids had some great muscial performances to share with us this year. We had to attend three evening concerts before Christmas. The first was Tatum's orchestra concert, followed by two evenings of their individual classes performing Christmas songs.

Tatum's choral concert was fairly traditional. Her class sang Beboppin' Santa Claus, Follow the Star and Winter Magic.

Rikard was a total ham in the front row (green shirt). He can't hold still so thankfully there was some dancing. During the sing-along, he started yawning as soon as the lights dimmed so the audience could follow the lyrics on the overhead. Do you wanna rock?

Before all the cute stuff began this was the scene from seats:

I just don't get some parents. No "excuse me." No attempt to kneel down. This mother wasn't the only one! Only a few of them displayed manners or any kind. It was a parade of parents with cameras and most of them were directing their children to stop singing and hold still for the photos or to wave or..... It completely disrupted the concert for a lot of other parents - not to mention those 3rd graders who already have a naturally short attention span. Thankfully it only took up the first song or two and then the parents settled down.

And, so it begins...

Bikes, helmets, backpacks, lunches and we were off! The kids are excited about returning to school. I spent my bike-ride to school today reminiscing about my 5th grade teacher Mr. Baerlocher and my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Farnam. They are mostly good memories - although there are a few funny stories that could never happen in a modern classroom without loss of job or criminal charges. My fondest memory of Mr. Baerlocher was his naming a "student of the week" and treating the students to dinner and activities (many of us chose a trip to the skating rink). Mrs. Farnam is known to generations of children for her vice like loving hugs and her preference for straight pins over staples.

Tatum is now in 5th grade. She knows several of her classmates and is pleased with the teacher she was assigned. There was a bit of a fashion dilemma this morning over which tennis shoes to wear with her jeans.

Of course our day wouldn't have been complete without another dash of drama! The nylon zipper on her lunchbox broke. There are a few broken zipper teeth and the pull is completely removed from 1/2 the zipper. It was a struggle (literally), but we managed to get the zipper to work for today.

Getting to Rikard's classroom was a challenge. First we had to stop and see his 2nd grade teacher and give her a big hug. He missed her all summer. Then it was back to roaming the halls and searching for his new classroom. We eventually found it.

Rikard is so excited to have a male teacher for 3rd grade. He claims his new teacher is the best teacher because he wears kids clothes, go to recess and eats peanut butter sandwiches. Hopefully he has some mad teaching skills (and a lot of patience) hiding under that kid-friendly facade!

WARNING - self promoting post

Finally, a chance to talk - or brag - about myself. :-)

I walked through graduation this weekend, celebrating the near completion of a master's degree in communication studies. It was a gratifying experience, recognition for the time, effort and sacrifice it took to earn the degree.I asked Rick to take a photo of me with my parents. Somewhere there is a framed photo of the three of us celebrating my long-ago high school graduation. My mom has a photo of Rick, myself and the kids on her camera. I've learned to be patient.

I smuggled a camera in my gown and took photos of my classmates in the procession and while listening to speakers. If you look closely at the crowd you can pick out my fan club, my peeps. Rick, Tatum, Rikard, Keeli, Jim, Joyce, Kyle and Jessica all made the trek to watch this auspicious occassion.

All three of my children thought the ceremony had a lot of people talking for a long time, but overall they thought it was pretty good. There were a couple of speakers who should have been reigned in, like the one who reminded me to thank my high school counselor (whatever! like that would happen) and my residence hall advisor for helping me get to where I am today. That may have worked for the undergraduates, but not the crowd I was seated with.

Rikard wanted to wear the "smart hat." I look foward to the day when we can celebrate him wearing his own cap and gown. That should be in about 10 more years.Before he gets his accolades I will hopefully earn a doctoral degree. Keep your fingers crossed and hope I find a pot of gold to help pay tuition.

Drum roll please...

Our little Amadeus had a school performance recently. These are highlight photos from the 1st and 2nd grade spring music program, featuring the xylophone. Rikard and the other students were all very focused, very intent.

They had a special move in the middle of one of their pieces, called "click and spin." They clicked their batons together, quickly spun around in a circle and went right back to playing. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in intensity.

He wants to learn to play the drums and the electric guitar (like a rock star) before 5th grade when students here typically choose between band, choral or strings. I remember back in the day my brother practicing his trombone out in the barn because it was too much for the rest of us to bear in the house. I think we may be faced with a similar situation sooner than later.

Collecting - educational/political commentary

We are getting "reminders" in the kids' backpacks almost daily for all the school fundraisers and drives and how important they are to the quality of education offered at school. They just wrapped up a penny drive, which caused the kids to raid our secret stashes of change, including Rick's poker fund. The PTA is holding a dinner and silent auction. We are expected to donate an item, purchase dinner tickets and buy the item back at a higher price.

Currently the classrooms are in a contest to collect the most corporate labels. Like many other schools, they are collecting Campbell's Labels for Education and

General Mills' Box Tops for Education. The General Mills Box Tops for Education are worth 10¢ each. The Campbell's Soup labels are worth 1 or 5 points each depending upon the products purchased (who knows how much money this equates to?). General Mills proudly proclaims on its website this program has earned $250 million for schools across the nation over the past 12 years. While it may sound good, think about it carefully. Those dollars really can't stretch that far in improving education when you consider there are 100+ schools in our little community vying against 1,000s of others for a share of that money.

It is difficult to believe these little labels can make that much of a difference in the educational opportunities afford to our children, however every little bit will help until our government - both state and fenderal - decides education is the greatest social service we can provide our children. We shouldn't have to rely on purchased charity from private corporations to enhance our public schools.

If you'd like to chip in and donate your box tops or soup labels, email me at kate_stine (at) yahoo dot com. It may make a difference and tip the scales for one of the two classrooms represented in this house to win the drive.

Science Symposium

The Science Symposium - sounds imposing and important, huh? - was held this week at school. The kids had a good time preparing, they both developed their own ideas after several pointed suggestions from science teacher dad.

Rikard wanted to test what chocolate chip cookies would be like with and without baking soda. So, we whipped up a couple of batches. Rikard really has some *mad skills* in the kitchen, or so he tells me. He likes to make the cookie dough scoop work.

In total we made five batches of cookies and really only two were edible. The rest were like little toy boat anchors, or paper weights, or hockey pucks. He did a basic observation for his project, comparing texture, size, color, etc. Not bad for a 2nd grader.

These were some of his finest cookies. They didn't survive to make the trip to school - heck, they didn't even survive til morning.

Tatum's project was a bit more involved. She compared the evaporation rates between muddy and salty water. Downstairs in the mad scientist portion of the basement (Rick and Tatum's workroom) they developed these miniature environments under a heat lamp. Tatum ran her test a couple of times, always coming up with new questions.

They could only take a single display board to the symposium. Tatum used her new camera to document her test and did a pretty fair job of presenting her stuff for the event.

Keeli, the little queen of destruction, attended the symposium too. She went straight for the volcanoes.
Sadly for mom, the symposium was on a night she has class. So, dad rounded the evening out with dinner at the local pizza parlor. Isn't he the greatest?!

At the Sock Hop

The PTA at our elementary schools hosts a sock hop at the end of the first week of classes to celebrate the new year. The tradition is to wear poodle skirts, penny loafers, satin coats, rolled up jeans and leather jackets. We didn't dress the part, but sure enjoyed the event.

We did the stroll, the mashed potato, some twisting and jitterbugged...

Rikard was popular on the dancefloor as most of the other boys didn't want to dance with girls.

At times, he had more dance partners than I could count or fit into the photo. Hopefully this isn't a sign of trouble to come.

Then, we all took a break for an old fashioned root beer float. Yummy!
Our hostess, the PTA president sure was dressed for the part, wasn't she?! Then, it was back to the party. We did the limbo.

This activity was so popular, we did it again! It was challenging for some, but the skill of trying to fit under something was lost of Keeli.
Then, the kids called for a conga line!

And Rikard and I finished up the evening by tearing up the dance floor during the parent/student dance event. I think Tatum did a fantastic job capturing the essence of our dancing skills and talents, don't you?

Back 2 School

Tatum and Rikard started back to school today. Once we arrived, they fell in step with droves of others at their new school, backpacks brimming with new school supplies. Both were anxious about their new schools, new classmates and new teachers.

At the end of the day they had good reports.

Rikard stated that his favorite part of the day was having two recesses and meeting three new friends (two have the same name, but they really are different people, he promises).

Tatum really likes her teacher and brought homework to complete on the first day. Her favorite part of the day was that her first class was P.E.

My fave things 12.19

School music programs! This year's program was titled "One Day in December" and was familiar, almost like we saw nearly the same show last year.

Tatum and the rest of the 3rd graders sang "One Day in December" and "Jingle Bell Boogie."

Rikard and the first graders sang "Island Christmas" and "Hip Hop Reindeer."

School Daze

The first quarter of school is over! Everyone here is celebrating in their own special ways.

Rick is preparing for parent teacher conferences. I'm getting ready to take a couple of mid-term tests - I have to talk myself into liking theory before Wednesday. The kids are excited about having a couple of days off while their teachers conduct parent-teacher conferences.

School pictures arrived on Friday.

Rikard is in first grade and excelling at reading. It has taken him most of the quarter to adjust to being in school for the entire day, struggling in the beginning with paying attention and speaking at appropriate times. Luckily he has a very patient teacher. He brings home a different book almost every day to read to us.

He is a picky eater, a trait he inherited from his father. His favorite lunch is a peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread, apple slices or applesauce, a juice box and a piece of licorice or a mini candy bar.

Tatum is in third grade. She is doing well, coming home with good grades in reading and math. Her current favorite books include the entire collection of stories by Beatrix Potter and a novel titled Princess from Another Planet. She needs to focus some effort on her penmanship.

Each day she is wanting to express a bit more independence. Her latest venture is offering to make her own lunch for school because she "knows we are busy parents." Her favorite meal is bologna and mustard on white bread, a Yoo-Hoo, apple slices and Cheetos.

This past week she scored 100% on her spelling test. If the students get a perfect score on the pre-test they don't have to take the follow-up test on Friday.

Columbus Day - Rikard Style

As part of a classroom project, Rikard recently drew a picture and wrote a paragraph telling three interesting facts about Christopher Columbus. His paragraph reads: I no alot uBat Christopher Columbus. First, he went on advenerz. Next, he went on three ships. Last he found land. Christopher Columbus is best in the west.

Personally, I like the giant whale riding on the horizon and charging toward Columbus' ships in his artwork. It adds a touch of Rikard's own fictional interpretation to the adventure.

First Day of School ... Remembered

Tatum was asked to write a short paragraph about her favorite part of her first day of third grade. It went as follows (her spelling, grammar and puncutation were left unchecked):

"Seeng my friends and seeng the greates teacher in the world!! Anoter is getting to work on math and sience. Plus the plaing on the play ground with my friends!! :) and seing my 1st grade and 2nd grade teachers. and getting back on the bus and paing fund games in miss.skidmores class."

I remember 3rd grade. It was down a set of red stairs in the basement of the school building, right next to the principal's office and across the hallway from the boiler room. Mrs. Farnam was my teacher and she liked to hug her students. She posted poems for us to memorize and recite before the entire class. We used stick pins to attach our papers in the upper left hand corner rather than staples. We learned cursive, but could not write with ink pens. Our windows looked out onto the playground and we longed to go outside and play when we saw the legs of other students running by enjoying their recess.

Back to School

School started today. Rick and the kids left early in the morning and everyone reported having a great day.


Rikard is now in 1st grade. He took his lunch to school for the first time today and was excited - and worried - about all new things.

Tatum is in 3rd grade. She has two good friends in class with her. Her big news of the day was that she was asked to help serve lunch to the next classes arriving in the lunchroom. She even got a hairnet!

Classes at the middle school started today also. Rick is in a new classroom. His days will be long for the next eight weeks or so as he is coaching football right after school.