End-of-the-year Mama brags

Today was the kids' last day of school, so I officially have a middle-schooler (gasp!) and a third grader. I was lucky enough to attend some of the end-of-the-year celebrations this week since G. is on his mid-term break from teaching (he starts summer school Monday). This Monday I went roller-skating with T's class. Thursday I helped at C's fifth grade party and then ran over to help with T's second grade party. This morning was a fifth grade breakfast with the teachers and the fifth graders got to view the Memory CD that I helped compile. After that, the fifth graders did the "Walk of Fame" through the school while all their former teachers and all the younger students clapped and cheered. Then they went to the final assembly of the 2005-06 school year--the Awards assembly.

C. got awards for Battle of the Books (second place team), Art Docents, President's Award for Educational Excellence, lots of music (vocal and orchestral) participation awards, and Physical Best health fitness standards. In addition, she got classroom awards (from her teacher) for being the Best Mathematician, the Best Helper and the Computer Expert! I was thrilled with her report card, as she (for the first time) maintained her grades for the last quarter! She got straight A's except for language arts (her ongoing struggle with her spelling and handwriting issues). I am most impressed (and amazed) that she got an A in phy. ed!

The awards are almost exclusively for fifth graders, so T. didn't get any, but he was chosen to represent his class in the "students vs. teachers" kickball game. I guess he even scored a run! I am also very pleased with his report card. He got all "E"s in academic subjects and he had very positive comments from his teachers, too. A month ago, he was finally able to move up in math class (we'd started the process a month before THAT) and he did a great job keeping up and he will start right away next year in fourth grade math. His teacher sent home GOBS of work from the year and I hadn't realized how entertaining of a writer he is until I had a chance to read some of his work. I'm including my favorite piece that came home--something he wrote in December.

Minty-T
T. loved lindor mints more than anything in the universe. He loved it more than chocolate, and especially more than blackwidows. Everyone called him MintyT. When C. asked, "What will you have for lunch today?" T. always replied, "a lindor mint sandwich!" One morning T. woke up looked down and he'd almost melted! He didn't want to go to school because he was afraid that someone would take a bite out of him, and then he would be nothing but a sphere of chocolate with a bite out of it. Instead of walking to school, he had to roll to school. In the hall, G. almost took a bite out of him. Then T. thought "Okay, I need to be more careful." Then it was time for writing. T. thought "Oh, darn it, I can't write if I'm round." Soon it was the end of the day. When he got home, he made a wish. It was that he was a human again. The next morning, his wish came true. Then he lived happily again.


And while I'm bragging, I'll include a picture of M. on her two-wheeled bike (with training wheels!): She is doing an amazing job pedaling, turning, stopping and getting going from a stopped position. However, I learned that she doesn't fully understand hills (or slopes) yet when I was taking an adorable picture and tossed down the camera just in time to catch her from going into the road: