Test Results

I'm not sure if these will show up or not, but I wanted to post about Caleb and Ella's test scores in Math and Reading.  The tests were administered at Parker Street AEP and we couldn't be more excited or proud of our kids' hard work this year.  They are amazing students! :)

Kindergarten - Ella's Grade Equivalent for Reading: 2.2; Math: 2.3

2nd grade - Caleb's Grade Equivalent for Reading: 6.3 (97th percentile); Math: 5.3 (99th percentile)

Teacher Appreciation Day

Never did I think I would be on the receiving end of Teacher Appreciation Day gifts!  I can say for sure it will never be for teaching anyone other than my own kids!  

Scott surprised me with a card and gerber daisy bouquet on Tuesday.  He snuck it in the house while we were gone to P.E.  Inside the card was a gift card to Carrabba's, which we ended up using that night for dinner.  We hardly ever eat out so it was a treat for everyone.  I think Noah may have eaten more than any of the other kids!  They were all great and we had such a fun time together.  Not to mention the delicious food; I just love Carrabba's!  I even splurged and had a peach sangria, which I never do.  Gotta love Happy Hour!

I feel so blessed to be not only my kids' Momma but also their teacher, and so thankful for a husband who encourages and appreciates me in both roles.  I love my family!

P.E. Water Day!

Today was our last day of P.E.  There is an awards lunch picnic next week, but for the last "play" day the kids got to do all kinds of fun water games.  There were several stations set up, and all the classes rotated through each of the stations.  

Our day started rather miserably when I had to fill the thirty water balloons that my kids were supposed to bring with them and I realized I should have bought the special attachment for the hose.  I may or may not have sent my kids out of the kitchen for fear of blurting out a word they probably shouldn't hear.  I FINALLY got the balloons all filled and texted Scott that the person who thought of water balloons must not have any children, and we loaded up (late as usual) to head to the park.  We finished the fun with some cheap Happy Meals from McDonald's and called it a morning.

Be Magic

Caleb had the chance recently to attend an Orlando Magic Homeschool Day in Orlando with Scott.  We let it be a surprise, up until he got there with his daddy.  I wish I could have seen his reaction when he found out!

The day started with a hands-on basketball clinic taught by one of their youth coaches, followed by an afternoon at the Fan Fest, and then the game that night in the Amway Centre.  I found out about it by chance just a few days before, so I was thrilled that Scott was able to get the afternoon off work and take him.  That has been one of the biggest blessings of his new position at Harrell's - more flexibility for things like this (and for the extremely rare occasion that I may need a sick day like last Thursday - don't ask!).

I don't know a lot of details about the day, but I at least wanted to post a few of the pictures Scott took.

Caleb with Hedo Turkoglu (had to Google that one) 

Renaissance Festival

Last Friday one of the other homeschool moms in our group put together an impromptu field trip to Children's Day at the Renaissance Festival at MOSI in Tampa.  I had to explain to my kids that we were not going to the actual museum so they were a little disappointed at first, but they got over it pretty quickly after we got there.  It was our first time going - I had never even heard of it before.  I was a little anxious about going with all the kids by myself, but after Kindergarten they aren't free anymore so I figured this would be the year to go since I only had to pay one adult and one child admission.

The entire festival was outdoors and they had a little area especially for children which is where we spent most of the day.  We ventured out to play a couple of games and to find a drink station (we couldn't even take in water which really was a disappointment since they were charging $2 for bottled water).  The kids played a slingshot game and Caleb tried the archery game, and later in the day the girls participated in the maypole dance.  There were puppet shows, a knighting ceremony, jousting competitions, and even a petting zoo.  The girls REALLY wanted to get their hair braided but the cheapest braid was $10... way more for anything they would have wanted.  I told them maybe next year we can save up their allowance and get one of the fancy braids with flowers in it. 

After the festival, we met Karen for dinner at Acropolis, a greek restaurant in Tampa.  I had an amazing plate of spanikopita with greek salad and some baklava for dessert.  We got to see the waiters and waitresses dance to greek music and they had someone playing live music while we ate.  Delicious and fun!

It was a very fun (and exhausting) day.  I am still not sure if I will do the festival again, at least not by myself, but it was a great first experience.

Lego Club

This year the kids have been participating in a Lego Club once a month. There are 10 or 12 school-aged kids in the club, but along with moms and siblings it is quite a large group! The very brave mom who hosts it every month pulls out all her son's lego blocks and all the kids sit and build something. It's fun to watch their little brains working as they create, and even more fun at the end when each of them gets up to explain their creation. My kids definitely enjoy talking in front of people more than their Momma does!