The last days of school

Our summer break started last Tuesday afternoon. But before that, I was at the school almost every day for something. Ashley had a field day and her teacher asked if I'd come hang out and help. It was so organized, I really didn't help much, but it was fun to hang out with Ashley all day.

 All year Ashley talked about Schoolmarm Smith, who loves to teach the kids about history. Well, she showed up for field day, too -- all decked out in an old fashioned dress and all. She taught them some old fashioned games, like blind man's bluff and kick the can.

 They gobbled up a ton of watermelon and pizza. Literally, it had to be a ton. Then all the kids were moaning about their sore tummies. But they forgot all about it when the teacher gave them bubble blowers.

The third through fifth graders had a variety show.

Ethan sang You're a Grand Old Flag, and Ashley did a magic trick.

Here's a low quality clip of both (they might not work, sorry.)

(I'll post a better video later, but our internet has been excessively slow lately):

Then we went back to the school another day for an awards ceremony for 3rd through 5th grades.

 Ashley was in a small group of kids who got straight A's all year. They called up the A/B honor roll kids first, and Ashley sat in her seat, stunned that her name hadn't been called. She said it made her feel sad. I forgot to warn her before hand that they do straight A's separately. She was relieved when they called her name (she also got a perfect score on her state tests, which she was so proud of -- but they obviously don't announce those in front of everyone).

 Ethan was an A/B honor roll student this year. He was a bit disappointed, but realized that's what happens when you choose to take a break from doing what you're supposed to do in the middle of the school year. They also honored the kids who were in the spelling bee again. You can see below how happy he was to have that old wound brought up again ;-)

Josh had an ice cream party, but I wasn't able to go because of all these other things going on. He also had a chance to Teach the Teacher. After throwing a tantrum for a few days (and possibly even ripping his clothes off until he was half-naked while sitting in the corner) while he tried to figure out what to teach, he finally decided to show the class how to build a fast Hot Wheels track, and how to pick a fast car. The class loved it, and Josh thought it was great that he got to teach class.