Chess Club

I've been meaning to post that shortly after school started, Brenna brought home several notices about school clubs she could join. Several of these meet after school (3-4 p.m.)which makes it pretty difficult for a working mom to allow her to participate since the daycare van only picks up right after school.

One club meets in the morning, before school, though they select their members by seniority (returning members) and then by a lottery (draw names.) Brenna expressed an interest, and I signed the permission form. She came home a few days later thrilled beyond belief because her name was chosen for the .... chess club!

Every Tuesday and Thursday she arrives at school before 7:30 in order to play chess with other members for thirty minutes. Apparently there is a "chess master" (volunteer) who goes around watching them play games, teaches them moves, and sometimes plays against a student. She's learned quite a bit and loves showing off her new strategies and skills.

Brenna's school picture

We finally received Brenna's 3rd grade school photo. It took me by surprise to see that she looks so much older than her 2nd grade photo. I allowed Brenna to select the background color, though it surprised me she chose this one over the blue. She went to school with the outer shirt unbuttoned and opened so you could see her necklace and the "Dream Big" t-shirt underneath. I have no idea why she buttoned it up so high.

School Days

Both of the girls had a great first day of school. Brenna loves her teacher; she gushed about how they wrote out applications for class jobs to earn Kubena Cash that they can use to purchase special items--like sitting next to a friend--or cool stuff from a class store. Brenna applied for the jobs of Computer Technician, Librarian, and Banker. In addition to the benefits, bad conduct marks are accompanied by a citation carrying a fine to be paid from their "cash."

Cameron rides the bus to WAVE in the morning. During homeroom she swapped out her top locker for one on the bottom. Last week at WolfCamp she became very concerned when we discovered she was too short to see the combination lock to open the locker. Cameron also received her revised schedule reflecting the correct Orchestra period - the draft schedule placed her in Viola lessons. We rented a cello.

Yesterday one of the boys in her carpool joined a number of others who missed the bus from WAVE, so Cameron waited with the carpool mom until they found out what happened and that the school was sending another bus around. Eventually she made it to the neighbor's house, arriving just a few minutes before me!

Today both girls reported good days again, though I can tell they're more tired.

Brenna received her classroom job today - Librarian. Naturally I found some sweetness in this since it's a close relative to my own career as Archivist. Then the irony slapped me full in the face. Brenna will be responsible for organizing her class books? This is my daughter who takes books from her own bookcase, reads from multiple titles at a time, stacks them up on her bed frame shelf, her dresser top, the floor, until I have told her repeatedly to put them away. Repeatedly to the point that eventually I put them away for her. Will being "class librarian" rub off on her, providing the desire to put away her own books? I'm hopeful, but not optimistic.

Cameron submited her first & second choices for the WAVE 9-week mini-course offered every M-W-F morning. I believe she told me she marked the TV News as her first choice, though it's limited to 24 students. Her second choice is a writing mini-course where you choose some fanciful other-worldly writing topic. Selections will be published in the Westbrook Journal in May. (Can we say "just like her mother?") Other mini-course options she expressed an interest in included Photoshop, Stained Glass, and Videography.

For the past two nights I've plowed through stacks of paperwork requiring my signature: proof of residency, language spoken at home, ethnicity/race required reporting, phone numbers x3 for 2, alternate contacts. I've written checks for Orchestra Booster, PTA, Orchestra Polo shirt, school pictures, mini-course supplies fees, and probably one or two more that aren't coming to mind.

I hope the rest of the week continues on such a positive note.

New Beginnings

And they're off! Back to school for another year. Where does the time go??

Though we are zoned for Space Center Intermediate school, Cameron will be attending the GT special WAVE program at Westbrook. Instead of starting at 9 a.m., WAVE begins at 8 a.m. and they bus GT kids from the zoned schools to WIS. Also, I've already noticed a marked difference in the level of maturity between GT kids and regular middle schoolers. I'm hopeful that will go a long way towards making Cameron feel more independent, self-confident, and assured.

She had a little trouble going to sleep last night, but woke on time and quickly got ready. By the time I made it into the kitchen, Cameron had already fixed breakfast for all three of us.

We're not dropping her off at the zoned school, choosing to use the bus from the school closer to our house. We left with plenty of time to figure out the new drop-off procedure. I noticed several other students that we know, so she shouldn't have been too uncomfortable figuring out which bus to get on.

Meanwhile Brenna and I parked across the street and watched to see what time the bus actually pulls away from the school. Brenna became a little sad when she realized Cameron forgot to tell her goodbye, but the feeling was short-lived because we headed over to the elementary school. It feels very strange to have my girls in two different schools this year, though I'm not worried about either of them. Brenna is already self-assured and knows her way around the elementary school without worry. Cameron will figure it out. The school and WAVE program are very impressive and I have no doubts that the teachers will spend much of today sorting out issues and guiding them in the right direction.

We have after-school arrangements for both; Cameron's involves a lot of "let's play it by ear" since hers are more flexible. I did get us into a car pool thanks to a kind and generous Mom I know from both church and elementary PTA. It started as a "helping hand" for the first week, but appears to be evolving into a more long-term solution - at least until after-school sports get started. I expect by then Cameron will have made friends with other WAVE students and we'll be in a better place to figure out what we need.

Yearbook Ad

We purchased a half-page ad in the elementary school yearbook to honor Cameron this year. Choosing which images to use in the design proved challenging, but I finally settled on her actual class photos, 2nd grade through 5th. However, I really wanted to use her fifth grade Spring photo (the one in yellow t-shirt) as it really captured her thoughtful nature.

The poem is one I memorized for 7th grade English when we read it in the book The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. I often recite it for the girls when we raise the kitchen shades and see the sun rising across our back yard. They've also memorized the poem and now will occasionally point out "gold" to me. It seemed appropriate to use the poem for Cameron's yearbook as a reminder to her of those mornings.

Family Fun Run

In an attempt to "journal" or "scrapbook" a bit more of 2010, I'm going to work my way through the first half of the year. To start have to go all the way back to Februrary 13, 2010 when the elementary school hosted their annual Fun Run and Family Fun Day.

Just like last year, the school hosted a 3K run and 1K walk. This year all four of us signed up for the 3K, though I wasn't really sure I would run. Temperatures were pretty cold that morning, you can see how bundled up we were in the photograph. True to form, we arrived late a few moments before the run began and had to check in and get our numbers. We told Brenna and Cameron not to hang back with us, but to run at their own pace and meet us back at the school.

I struggled through the first 1K and Bryan kept pace with me. Brenna and Cameron lapped us and finished well ahead of us, but I managed to keep a fast walk/slow jog and I actually finished 3K with Bryan pushing me the whole way.

After the race, we went home, showered, and came back to the school for the Family Fun Day. The girls enjoyed the Cake Walk, playing it three or four times until they'd both won a prize.

I had a volunteer shift at a pickle spin booth, where players spin a wheel hoping to land on green to win a huge dill pickle. Thankfully Cameron wanted to work the shift with me so she handled putting the pickles into the baggies.

Brenna found her Rodeo Art on display. Even though she wasn't chosen for display at The Arts Alliance of Clear Lake show earlier, she was very proud of her own creation.

At the awards ceremony Brenna received a medal for second place in her age/grade division (K-2). We asked her how she did it and she said she just ran. She said she was running with Hailey, who won first place, and that if she had known they were first and second she would have ran ahead of Hailey to win first!

Living History

The day before Spring Break, Cameron's 5th grade presented their Living History project. Students were asked to choose someone "famous" in history and research their lives. Various portions of the project were due weekly including the Bibliography, Research Notes, Written Speech, Memorized Speech, and Props/Costumes.

Cameron considered many "famous" women before deciding on Marguerite Henry, the author of Newbery Award winning books such as Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, and Justin Morgan Had a Horse. I was so proud of her for doing all of the work herself - including deciding on her costume and props, and drawing a large picture of the horse, Misty, in a stable door.

Students in character lined the hallways in their costumes with props. Parents and other students went up and down the hallway engaging the characters by pretending to press a "button" on a sign identifying famous persons in history such as George Washington, Sarah Palin, Juliette Low, Theodore Roosevelt, and many more - inventors, authors, political figures, explorers, etc.

Cameron, as Marguerite, sat on a little stool as though she was in the stables reading a book. When you pressed the "button," she looked up and delivered her speech, identifying herself and telling about Marguerite's life.

Pumpkin Decorating

Both girls wanted to decorate pumpkins for the school contest this year. Last year, Brenna won first place with her incredibly simple design called "Mom didn't want to do anything." This year they both put a little more work and thought into their designs.

Cameron found this idea in a magazine. The original idea called for carving the larger pumpkin with an open mouth and skewering the smaller pumpkins. Unfortunately, no carving is allowed for the school display. So she had to improvise.

I don't remember where Brenna got the idea to do Peas in a Pod, but it came out really cute. Both girls did 90% of the work by themselves with minimal help from Bryan and I.

Neither of them won, but they had a lot of fun.

School report

School pictures have arrived alongside report cards. This is Brenna's first year to receive number/letter grades and she seemed very proud of herself for earning straight A's. She squeaked by in one subject, but came out very strong in Science. Cameron also earned straight A's, all high marks. Cameron's behavior grades were all E (excellent), while Brenna had a few S (satisfactory).

I had a parent-teacher meeting with Brenna's teacher about ten days ago. In second grade the teachers still encourage all parents to have a meeting once each long semester. Brenna's teacher expressed her concern that Brenna isn't being challenged enough in class. She dismisses the impulsive behavior conduct marks as "just Brenna;" however, she does see improvement and thinks as Brenna matures her conduct will continue to improve throughout the year.

Cameron really loves fifth grade and her teacher. She is singing with the school choir, serves as class representative in Student Council, and re-joined Yearbook Club. Her teacher says no conference is necessary; she's a great student. Cameron is really looking forward to her fifth grade class trip to Washington D.C. over Spring Break!

If you want to see the changes in the girls, check out last year's school photos post. It includes photos of the girls from 2006-2008.

Dino-Rama

After much angst, Brenna actually did complete her "Dinorama" this weekend. You might have thought we asked her to complete a 10-page research paper from all her wailing. Understand that reading library books to find specific information about the Triceratops for her report really cut into her play-all-day-outside-in-the-cool-fall-weather plans.

Bryan deserves special thanks for supervising the actual assembly of the dinorama. Brenna did actually have to do all of the work.

Marathon Kids

Every year the girls' elementary school participate in a program called Marathon Kids, which encourages kids to run 26.2 miles during the school year. They accomplish this by running laps at school, with small toe token rewards for every five miles completed.

Each year Marathon Kids holds a kick-off event at one of the universities and we have never attended, but this year Brenna really wanted us to go.

We joined other students and teachers from our school in the stadium waiting for our turn to run two laps around the track.

Thankfully, I walked with two teachers holding the school banner around the short end of the track, and met Bryan & the girls at the finish line. Each runner received a plastic water bottle. Brenna and Cameron had theirs signed by the UH Cougar baseball and softball players.

Guest Blogger: Brenna

I have to do a Dinosaur Dinorama.

Does anyone know how to make a Trisairtops?

How can you design a Trisairtops?

Thank you.

Love Brenna

Reptiles

Brenna loves second grade, especially Science. Tomorrow is her first unit science test on Reptiles. For the last two nights we have quizzed her off the study sheet sent home by her teacher. She hasn't missed a single answer and has long detailed descriptions and explanations. (Be sure to watch her facial expressions, especially the "interesting fact" near the end. (1:35)




If you think the Gila Monster explanation is funny, I should have taped her talking about the Komodo Dragons or the difference between American Alligators and Crocodiles. I think she could give Bindi Sue a run for her money. Wouldn't they be cute together?

Here is the Gila Monster we saw in West Texas at the Rattlers and Reptiles museum in Fort Davis.

Student Council Rep

Second grade is the lowest grade that contributes two class representatives to the school Student Council. Cameron stood for election in each year since second grade without success. This year Brenna could not wait to run for Student Council. On the morning of the election last week Brenna chose her clothes carefully, brushed her hair, practiced her speech, and chattered ceaselessly about the election. She wanted it. She really wanted to be elected.

She wasn't.

On Student Council Officer election day, Cameron had bigger worries - specifically how to choose between two friends running for President? She eventually made her choice and together we consoled Brenna in her loss. And I promptly forgot about Student Council elections.

Until today. Unbeknownst to me, Cameron's class rep election was held today. When I picked her up, she sadly informed me that (sigh) I was going to have to arrange my work schedule to pick her up twice a month after Student Council meetings, because SHE WON HER CLASS ELECTION!

Whoo! We were super proud of her! She asked for Baskin Robbins ice cream after dinner to celebrate and we were happy to go as a family. Poor Brenna struggled so hard to overcome the twisted tangle of emotion within her - all plainly visible on her face. Eventually she was able to congratulate her sister, who gave her a hug and said there's always next year.

Brenna and the Cookie Dough

It's the third day of school and you know what that means!


Fundraising time!

Yes, today we received our Delicious Delights frozen cookie dough forms to raise money for the PTA to provide extra project money to our school. Brenna has been bouncing off the walls since I picked her up. Someone (PTA parents?) showed a video of all the cool things they can earn by selling product. She's decided that she is going to sell a whopping 75 products in order to get the "Mirror Touch Screen MP4 Player with Video Camera."

She barely made it through dinner, begging to walk across the street and knock on neighbors doors. I walked her over to one neighbor after dinner. I'm limiting her to two houses, because there are three other students that live on our street.

Is there a way to support and encourage one in her quest, yet tamper down the competitive spirit between the girls? Cameron didn't seem interested in selling product until her sister got so excited. Now she wants to go to the other neighbor.

I don't want to damper Brenna's enthusiasm, but I can't help her achieve her goal and make it fair to Cameron.

If you live in delivery range and are interested in purchasing a tub of cookie dough, pre-portioned cookie dough, kolaches, gourmet breadsticks, or chocolate, pumpkin, cinnamon, or carrot rolls (only $14 per product), please let us know before September 11. Delivery is October 27.

One down. Only seventy-four to go for Brenna to meet her goal.

The irony of it really is that Brenna, personally, is highly allergic to the cookie dough. She can't eat a bite of it.

Time for School

Not Monday, but Tuesday is the first day of school in our neck of the woods..er.. coastal plain, and the Kelly girls were ready to go!

It's hard to believe that this will be the last year my girls go to the same school until Cameron is a senior in high school.

So here is my 5th grader - proud & excited to be starting her LAST year of elementary school. She curled her hair overnight and it looked so cute this morning. Of course with our Gulf Coast humidity it's probably completely flat and limp by now.

Brenna is thrilled to be starting 2nd grade. She looks much older to me than when Cameron started second grade.

You might wonder about those shorts in the photo... I'm intercepting those as soon as they go into the laundry basket. I don't remember if I've blogged before about battling Brenna over clothes. I didn't even try this morning; the shorts will simply mysteriously disappear after today.

Being a member of Safety Patrol required Cameron to be at school by 7:30 a.m. Brenna and I hung out in the car for about ten minutes until we saw the safety patrol man their stations.

Cameron opened car doors and greeted returning students and parents. Meanwhile I walked Brenna inside and said Good Morning to her teacher.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful first day back to school and a great Fall semester!

Safety Patrol

About a month ago Cameron brought home a permission form for Safety Patrol. Safety Patrol works morning and afternoon by patrolling halls, assisting with the car drop-off lane, and managing the cross-walks. Students with certain grades and behavior conduct marks may apply, but not all are chosen.

While I was in Shreveport, Cameron called to tell me that she was selected for next year's Safety Patrol! She is assigned to morning only (the availability I checked on the permission form). Training started last week and requires her to be at the school by 7:40 a.m (Ouch. We'd been pulling up at 8:14 before the 8:15 bell ever since Spring Break.)

Every day last week Cameron set her own alarm, jumped out of bed, got dressed, and has fixed her own breakfast. We've been on time and she's been in training.

This morning Brenna forgot something at home, so after dropping off Cameron we went home to pick it up. When we came back through the car line about ten minutes later, WHO did we see at the crosswalk??

Literacy Night

The girls' school last night had their very first "Literacy Night." From 6-7:30 p.m. the teachers turned their cafeteria and music room into a fun Safari for word games and reading. The library hosted their biannual book fair; the music room hosted "Genre Walk." Students picked up their "passport" and visited various grade-level stations to play games and collect a stamp. After colelcting four stamps, the student could drop their passport into a box for prize drawings.

We stopped in the library first to see The Cat in the Hat (aka the school librarian).

Next we did the "Genre Walk," which is very similar to a cake walk though the winner must then answer a question to win the prize. The music teacher holds up a book and asks the winner which genre it belongs to. Naturally, the prize is to choose an reader-appropriate book from a wide selection. When they won, Brenna chose an Arthur book while Cameron immediately picked up Toys Go Out.

Next we ventured into the Cafeteria to play games. Cameron disappeared to the 4th grade table to play "Texas History Punctuation" (a dominos style game) and other 4th and 5th grade games (two games per grade level).
Brenna played Sight Word Bingo with three of her playmates and her teacher (in the white shirt.) After three other games, Brenna made a bookmark, while Cameron created a book.

We visted the book fair, where I bought one book each for their teachers to add to the classroom, and I told the girls they could pick up one book each under a certain price. Naturally, both girls picked out more expensive books, but they paid the difference with their own money.

Despite our late night, this is how I found both girls at 9:15 p.m.

I have never heard of Diary of Wimpy Kid, but Brenna would not put it down! Last night she read the first thirty pages!! (Brenna!) I asked the school librarian if it was appropriate for 6 yrs old/1st grade and she could only say that it's on her reading list for the summer because it's never been on the shelf long enough for her to read it! It's always checked out.

On our way out I thanked the school reading coordinator for all her planning, and I mentioned it also to the school principal. The teachers really planned and organized a wonderful event for students. I hope everyone was as enthusiastic about reading as my girls.

Rock and Roll

Tonight Cameron's fourth grade class presented annual school program titled "Rock and Roll Forever." You must understand that there really isn't a "plot" or "story," just a set of lines to be delivered by students (with a homemade teleprompter) and filled in between with at least five songs (one per class and a grand finale.)

Cameron's group was asked to wear either a poodle skirt or jeans (rolled cuffs), a white shirt, and hair in a high ponytail. We pulled out a skirt I made for her a few years ago and loosened the waist.

I edited down the half-hour program to 1 min 15 seconds. You can see Cameron's one line (she opened the program) a snip of her class song and a rough cut of the final song.

Cameron's Choir Concert

I'm taking some time to close-out 2008 with a few updates that were overlooked in the hectic Christmas season.

Just before the school let out for the two-week holiday, Cameron sang in the 4th & 5th grade school choir. They sang six songs: two fall songs and four Christmas songs. Cameron also played "Silent Night" in the handbells section. When they finished, the music teacher asked them to switch bells... and they played it again with a brand new part and bell. They did great!

I only uploaded the handbell (2nd song) for viewing, but if you have any interest at all in the whole performance, just let me know. ;)