Daniel
has been learning square dancing all year. On May 2 the sixth grade celebrated their year with a hoedown. They had dance
cards and everything. I guess this probably counts as Daniel’s first boy/girl
dance. He has really enjoyed the square dancing and has anticipated the hoedown
with enthusiasm. He borrowed my dad’s cowboy boots and hat and had a great
time. His favorite dance is the Virginia Reel. (Look for the kid in a red and white striped shirt.)
The
morning after the hoedown, I got to attend Mom and Me with Matthew. We did some
activities in his classroom, got our picture taken and ate muffins. As soon as
we were done, we dashed over to the gym to see Daniel and Nathan in their choir
concert. We were lucky enough to have a teacher volunteer to do a school choir
this year, so for the past three months Daniel and Nathan have been going to
school early twice a week and singing with the choir. They enjoyed it and
Nathan was pretty bummed when choir was over for the year. The program was
songs from the 1940’s and when they sang “Back in the Saddle Again” the sixth
graders got to show off their rockin’ square dance skills.
The
following week was Matthew’s kindergarten program. As part of the program, they
held a fashion show and each child got to wear their favorite outfit. There
were no rules about what to wear except that they needed to have some kind of
clothes on, so each child got to choose. I was in no way surprised by Matthew’s
choice. Here is his favorite song from the program:
A few days after his program, Matthew got to ride the school bus and go on a field trip to the zoo. He was all hyped up for days beforehand. Kevin went with him so he would have an “in the know” adult with him at lunch time. Matthew had a wonderful time and was mightily pleased by the fact that he got to see the new section of the zoo before the rest of us.
On
May 17, Daniel participated in an art show with his class. He took some of his favorite
paper models to show. Daniel really likes modeling and a few years ago he
discovered that people create models made out of paper and then post them on
the internet for the enjoyment of anyone who wants them. It has been a great
thing for him because it was getting expensive to keep him in plastic models
and with the paper ones all he needs is cardstock, a printer, scissors,
toothpicks (to glue small parts) and some glue. And honestly, some of the stuff
he has created is amazing.
I think the most impressive of his models is Ironman. There were about twenty printed pages of pieces and it has taken him about six months to complete. The head moves. The shoulders, knees and hips move and the elbows bend as well as rotate like a real elbow. Each finger is individually formed. The thing is seriously impressive.
Yesterday
Nathan had a pioneer day at school. My dad’s hat and boots got worn again as
Nathan learned how to make butter, made a button pull, played pioneer games and
ate lunch outside.
In
addition to that, Daniel and Nathan have both completed their standardized
testing this week and Matthew had his kindergarten assessment which assured us
that he is totally ready for first grade. So yeah, it has been a busy month.
Next up, Nathan’s birthday.
