Blogger Catch Up- First Day of Pre-K and Third Grade

Off to school, handsome Smiley boys!

Blogger Catch Up- Right to Read Week

The theme for this year's Right To Read Week was 'Community'.  Hmmmm- a tough one to ignite the imagination for sure.  

Earlier in the week, Will went to school dressed as Jack Hanna for Dress-Like-A-Community-Hero Day.  After seeing Jack Hanna cry last summer on the news when speaking about having to shoot those wild animals which that idiot released before killing himself in Zanesville, I think we all gained a new respect for the heroism of Jungle Jack.

I carried the theme into our design for the cake contest and planned a cake based on the book 'Z is for Zookeeper'.  

Who doesn't love an heroic Zookeeper?

How Can It Be?

First Day of Preschool 2009

First Day of Preschool 2013

Right to Read Week

This year's Right to Read Week was a little bittersweet, knowing that the Diocese had eliminated the librarian position for the upcoming year and this would be one of our last opportunities to enjoy the boundless enthusiasm of the amazing school librarian, Mrs. Ruefle.  

I was also a little nervous about this year's theme: 

The Civil War.  

How on earth would they get elementary school students interested in the Civil War?  How would they explain some of the complex and very mature issues?  

Because I spent many of my formative years living in the south and because we vacation frequently in Charleston (the very place where the Civil War began) I tried to interest Will in the historical places he had been and seen.  

"Will, remember Fort Sumter?" 

"Will, remember the Hunley? The first submarine to sink an enemy war ship?" 

"Will, remember Fort Moultrie?"  

Will just wanted to know who the good guys were.  I tried to explain that both sides wanted different things.  I tried to explain about states' rights.  Will just wanted to know which side wanted slavery.  I gotta give him that- that's pretty much a deal breaker.  Despite my best efforts to muddy the waters, the school did a great job of making the Civil War exciting to kids.

The festivities kicked off with a field trip to a Confederate cemetery right here in Columbus (yes, really!).  Camp Chase was a prisoner of war camp on the west side of Columbus and the cemetery survives.  There are 2260 Confederate soldiers buried there.  It was nice to see the soldiers from so long ago being honored in a beautiful, peaceful place.  All the trees in the small cemetery are native to the south and every year, reenactors hold a ceremony where they sprinkle a little dirt that has been brought from somewhere in the south on each grave so the soldiers can rest in southern soil. So interesting! 

The next event was the family cake decorating contest.  I found a book about a cat who was the garrison cat at Fort Sumter during the war.  We won First Place.  

Score one for the South. 

We put together a drummer boy costume for 'Dress as a Civil War Person' Day.  Note that Will chose to wear Union colors.  

Score one for the North.

At the end of the week was the Reading Festival.  The Drum and Fife Corp from Camp Chase provided amazing music.  Will sampled hard tack and johnny cakes.  An Abraham Lincoln impersonator delivered the Gettysburg Address.  At a model field hospital some kids from the upper grades pretended to perform limb amputations without the benefit of anesthesia, which was interesting to me.  

Score a million for Right to Read Week and Mrs. Ruefle and the teachers at St. Mary School. 

Right to Read Week

This year's theme was Medieval Times and the week got off to a busy start with the family cake decorating contest.

Our cake was based on a really cute book called  

'When a Dragon Moves In' 

about a boy who builds the perfect sandcastle at the beach and a dragon moves into it.

The rest of the week was a flurry of wearing knight costumes to school (A Day For a Knight), Medieval Feasts, and a family movie night ('Robin Hood').  

Friday night was the Medieval Festival  featuring Maypole dancing, crown-shaped cookie decorating, (no joke) fire juggling, and (Soren's favorite) writing with a feather quill...

 just like Harry Potter.

 We are so lucky to have such a neat, creative, energetic librarian at St. Mary School to organize such amazing events.  

Thank you, Mrs. Ruefle!

First Day of Kindergarten

This is Will on the morning of his first day of Kindergarten with his Schultute. In Germany kids get a Schultute on the first day of school filled with school supplies and goodies. Next year, he'll get a Schultute from school; St. Mary's practices the tradition of the German Village immigrants who founded the congregation. This year Mommy was happy to supply the Schultute.

This is Will in the cafeteria with his class, listening to the lovely welcome and prayer assembly led by our new pastor, Father Franks, and getting psyched up for Kindergarten adventures.

This is Soren after we left Will at school. He cried as many tears as Mommy. Daddy was the only brave one- I think he was a little excited, actually.

These are my Smiley boys, reunited after a long day and being nice to each other... at least for a moment or two.

Farewell to Preschool

Friday was Will's last day of Preschool.
Ever.
We celebrated with an end-of-year picnic: hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill, visiting with teachers, and tearing like maniacs through the school playground with our buddies.

I guess it's official. Will's been accepted to Kindergarten.
(sniff sniff) His first acceptance letter