Sarah Goes Solo

Sarah's 5th/6th grade class put together a performance of the Christmas musical, "The 6th Grade Scrooge," tonight. The kids all did a great job! Of course, our eyes were on Sarah since she had a solo part. She was the expected nervous/excited. It was clear the kids and teachers had really been working on this to make it special. To top it all off, there was a spread of yummy treats! We made mini chocolate cupcakes with candy cane frosting. Strangely enough, there weren't any leftovers...

Sarah School Days

Today was the last day for family groups at Sarah's school, so they had a big outside game time for most of the morning. It is hard to imagine just one more week of school. She was having a blast with the kids and this shot is at the balloon toss.

It was also the last day for her student teacher so we got a photo of them together. He was fabulous, and we'd love to recommend him for a teaching job so let us know if you need a great 5th/6th grade teacher.

Waddle, Waddle

After practicing for a couple of weeks, Ben and Kristian finally had their moment in the spotlight to sing, "The Duck Song," for the homeschool group talent show. It is a fun song for young boys and makes them laugh. There was a bit of nervousness, but they did a great job with Kristian's grandpa helping out on the guitar.

Sarah saw her old homeschool friends, including Emily shown here. All the kids took at bow at the end and we left feeling really great because it was over!

Ben's Science Class

Today Ben and Kristian were met a little early by a mom with a camera. It was fun to watch them finishing up their science project on bees. I always learn a lot from the kids! The kids were happy to pause for a quick snapshot before heading home.

Christmas Band Concert

Sarah's first band concert was scheduled for mid-December with a Christmas theme, but it was cancelled due to the big snow which buried our city.

So we were invited to a recheduled Christmas concert tonight with Sarah's beginning band, along with the orchestra, handbells, junior high girl's choir, and advanced band.

We were delighted to watch her playing her flute with the band! She was front row, near center, often behind the conductor. Ben was wishing it had been a marching band, but maybe next time...

Sarah Meets Fish

Sarah's 5th & 6th grade class was treated to a great experience today. They have been studying fish in science class, and today a guest came in to help them dissect the fish. Now, one might think a typical 10-year old girl would not care for dissecting any creature.

However, Sarah is not exactly typical! She loves this hand-on, real science stuff. She couldn't wait for the day to come and was thrilled to learn her two partners didn't want anything to do with the fish. "That means I'll be able to do the whole thing!" Well, Ben and Becky stopped by after his music class, and discovered Sarah diving into her project with enthusiasm. It was a blue mackerel and her favorite thing was when she got to pop the swim bladder. It went flat like a balloon.

Happy Birthday to Ben!

Today we woke up to something new - an eight-year old boy in our home! We haven't had one of them before so this will be a new adventure. So far we're really liking the change. He was off to school with his homeschool group with a container full of mini-cupcakes. They were made to order with yellow cupcakes topped with white frosting and green sprinkles. We added some gummy frogs on top to make them special. He was so excited to have school on his actual birthday and to be able to bring along treats for the other kids. Becky was able to duck out of work long enough to visit Ben during his lunch/recess, which left a big smile on his face.

An unexpected treat for him was a visit at school from the science center van. They were learning about bodies, and asked for volunteers to come up front. "Without even knowing it was my birthday, they chose me!" Ben reported that he was chosen to be a lung. He had to wear a pink lung suit, and had to puff up whenever the red blood cell ran by him an dropped in a blue ball from the muscles and picked up a red ball which is for the muscles. There was also a heart and brain involved in this process. Facinating stuff!


For supper, Ben was allowed to choose the meal for his birthday. He ordered Dinner Roast, stuffing and cranberry sauce. I added in mashed potatoes and wheat rolls to make it seem a bit like Thanksgiving. We were all feeling thankful for his birthday and to be blessed with him in our family.

Empty Desk Syndrome

Sarah had to clear our her desk at school today. It was really strange for her to look at her empty desk and the giant bag of things to go home. Once we were home, the desk things seemed really out of place. Something tells me it won't take long to move past this 4th grade desk and on to bigger and brighter things. :)

Picnic Day

Clint was able to duck out of work at lunch to join us at Ben's end-of-year picnic with his homeschool group. Everyone was wearing a smile today, and it was fun to see all the kids and teachers one more time before summer. Ben has made some really great friends this year which has made it easier without Sarah with him.

Splashing Good Fun

Part two of Sarah's class field trip was an afternoon at the pool. The rain clouds actually cooperated with us today! It wasn't hot, but it was warm enough to have fun in the water with all of the other 3rd & 4th graders. Ben in popping out of the yellow slide in the photo.

Sarah and Charmaine were having a lot of fun in their matching swimsuits. At one point they were cold, and thought throwing themselves on the warm concrete would be a good idea.

No projects or tests today! Only two more days until Sarah is all done with 4th grade.

Horse Heaven

Sarah's class is unwinding their school year with a double field trip today. This morning we visited Nalina's family horses which included buggy rides with the miniature horses, feeding the horses, and riding a pony around a field. Now if you're familiar with Sarah, you would realize how wonderful this trip was for her. She is quite taken with horses and has learned a lot about them. It was hard to pull her away when it was time to leave!

While standing around with other parents, I learned one of her classmate's dad was a calf roper - a header. This was interesting to me since I married into a roping family! We'll have to find time to get together this summer and talk about roping and rodeo stuff.

Project Fair

The Project Fair for Ben's homeschool group was this afternoon. They lined the hallways of the school with giant displays of art for each child. This included a self-portrait from the beginning and end of the year, along with more art samples chosen by the child. Ben's end-of-year portrait shows him at a football game complete with a football behind his head, goal posts and plenty of fans in the stands. In the photo, he is standing by his display on green paper. His art teacher does an amazing job of teaching many techniques and he learns a lot from her. He also has a giant folder full of other art projects.

In the science room, we found his butterfly workbook. Inside he wrote a butterfly story, lots of butterfly facts and drawings. He is holding a butterfly, sitting on a big flower (made with clay, tissue paper, pipe cleaners and construction paper).

Another table had his work from the reading and writing class. They focused a lot this last part of the year on poetry.

After observing the wonderful displays, we would have gone outside for the big sports jamboree. The kids have been practicing and were really ready for a big soccer game. The weather didn't cooperate. Rain ruined our plans again! It was really pouring and we were thankful to pull together a quick indoor game of kickball in the gym.

Thinking Hats

Ben's homeschool group is getting a little excited about the end of school. Everyone has been working very hard on projects, and today was the last day of classes. Before lunch, they had a guest come to make "thinking hats" for all the kids. It was really fun to walk into their room and see all the crazy contraptions on their heads. I'm sure the hats were working, because you could just feel a lot of thinking happening in their room.

Choir at Church

Sarah's school 3rd & 4th grade choir performed at church today. The music was so terrific! We didn't realize they would do so many songs, and one was with recorders. My camera didn't capture very good photos of the group, but Sarah is in the back row, to the right of the center. You'll just have to trust us that they were remarkable. My fellow moms, Carole and Khai-Ling, were equally impressed with the kids today.

After church, Sarah and Ben gathered with their old buddies, Kinley and Matthew. They are visiting from New York for the weekend, unfortunately their visit was due to their grandmother's funeral last week. We're sad for the reason of their visit, but so glad to embrace their family while they are here.

Science Fair & Dinner

Sarah's class held their science fair tonight, and served the parents a dinner on specially made placemats. Following dinner, her teacher presented the students with awards, and expressed appreciation to the parents.

Sarah's science project and display were terrific in our opinion. She found her hypothesis to be correct - 7-up did the best job on cleaning the pennies. The one in vinegar came in a close 2nd place. The one in lemon juice disintegrated around the edges and on the back. She learned it was made of different materials (made after 1982), and noted in future experiments all pennies should be from the same year. (See entries on May 13 and 19 for more on this experiment).

On the way to the van, we felt a load was lifted off all of our shoulders. Sarah couldn't stop smiling and twirling around. It was a wonderful feeling of accomplishment for her.

Oregon Trail Day

Ben's homeschool group hopped on a bus for a field trip to the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Sarah and I tagged along. We had been there before, but it has been several years. Unfortunately, we didn't get enough time to explore all of the indoor exhibits.

We did have fun working as a team to load a life-size wagon with life-size foam supplies. There was a lot of arguing about whether or not to take certain items, but in the end the kids made realistic choices. We worked on a museum scavenger hunt, but ran out of time before we could finish. Outside we were able to look at some of the many wagon rut trails covering the hills around the center. We were able to visit their mine and wagon encampment outside.

This was the point when the brave pioneers would choose which direction to cross the mountains in front of them. They had to choose whether to continue on to the now Portland area either on the rapids of the Columbia River or the Desert trails, or to turn north to the Whitman Mission and Fort Walla Walla. None of the choices were going to be easy. We contemplated their struggles as we loaded back into our relatively comfortable bus and headed home.

Whale Wonders

Ben and Kristian were included in a giant project today. They rolled out paper with life-size drawings of narwhal and minke whales. The kids had the job of painting the whales and then they will be hung in a hallway at Sarah's school. The boys jumped right in and helped. I'm thinking it is pretty cool to paint a life-size whale, and I'm really glad they were invited to join in the fun.

Field Trip to the Dam

Sarah's class took a field trip to a nearby dam today. We learned a lot about salmon, how dams are built, how they generate electricity, and how they work to protect the river habitats. The fish viewing windows were really fun. We saw lots of salmon cruising up the river.

The Great Penny Cleanup

Sarah continues with the science fair project. It is getting pretty yucky. The hot sauce is growing mold, and everything stinks. The lemon juice is making the penny disintegrate. It's a smelly job, but our 4th grader is sticking to her work!

Hypothesis and Observations

Sarah's class is preparing for an upcoming class science fair. They have been researching various science experiments. Sarah chose to clean pennies in assorted kitchen liquids. She had to find five equally dirty pennies, and selected 7-up, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, and cranberry juice. Her hypothesis states that she believes the 7-up will do the best job of cleaning the pennies.

Tonight she labeled everything and placed the liquids and pennies in the containers. Each day for 7 days, she needs to record her observations. We agreed to keep them in a box in the extra bathroom so they will be out of the way. We don't want to ruin her experiment, and we don't want to smell it in the middle of the house.

We have been curious about the experiments going on in the other 3rd/4th graders' homes. We know of a test for which brand of bubble gum holds the flavor the longest, which method ripens green bananas more quickly, which soil will improve cucumber plant growth, and a fascinating volcano experiment.