A bright looking crew! Sean - 1st grade. Chad - 4th grade. Halle 3rd grade.
A Story About HalleHalle is usually a very helpful and obedient child. She does well at school and has the perfectionist gene. A couple of weeks into school I got a phone call from her teacher. She had gotten into big trouble. As I listened to the story the teacher told me I just could not believe that this was my child (let alone Halle) that had done this.
I was told that Halle went to the bathroom (they have their own stall out in the portable) and then locked the door from the inside and left it that way for the next person. It was a mean thing to do. This just didn't sound like Halle - she is a great tease for her brother but she has never been purposely malicious before - and especially at school. The teacher said she confronted her (there was proof that she had been in there). At first she said she didn't do it, then she started crying and admitted to the crime. They talked and Halle was warned that the teacher would be watching her and would have to call home and tell her parents what had happened.
After the phone call I confronted Halle. She admitted to doing the deed through big sobbing tears. She was so upset. I lashed out at her and asked her why she did it. Why would she be so thoughtless and mean?! Didn't she know the next person wouldn't be able to use the bathroom, or would have to crawl on the yucky floor to get under the door? She wouldn't answer and just kept crying. I was so mad and embarrassed - but tried to remain calm.
Later that night Chris and I both talked to her some more. She finally explained the whole story. While in the bathroom, she discovered that she could manipulate the lock from the outside of the bathroom stall. She was able to lock it from the outside. She locked and unlocked it several times in the excitement of her discovery. Then she heard another person coming into the bathroom. She panicked - knowing she wasn't supposed to be playing in there and hurry and got out when the other girl came in. She hadn't really thought about if the stall door was still locked or unlocked.
Then when a complaint was made about the bathroom stall door being locked she was panicked. She was embarrassed about what she had done and didn't want anyone to find out. But when her name was mentioned as being a person who was just in there - then she knew she didn't want to lie and confessed.
Once she told me this story - it made much more sense. I could definitely see Halle being bored and discovering something new. I knew that she would never do something like that just as a joke or to be mean. So not that is was okay - she still didn't think her actions through all the way - but now I understood how she had got into that predicament. I think she learned multiple lessons through this experience.
The school letters came rather late this year. The children were getting very anxious about who their teachers would be for the new year. They didn't find out until 3 days before school started. We knew 4th grade was going to be a surprise no matter what. Both 4th grade teachers were new to the school this year. So there were no expectations about teachers - just about friends being in the same class. Unfortunately (or fortunately) Chad did not get his best friends in his class. They got the new teacher, Mrs. Weigle (whose name I still can't remember how to pronounce correctly). Chad got Mrs. Smith. So to try and cheer him up and have some positive feeling towards this new teacher he had never met yet, I said, "Isn't great that you get the teacher whose name is easy to say. Isn't Mrs. Smith a great name to remember?"
Chad looked at me and was silent for a moment, probably trying to figure out why I had just said what I said. Then all of a sudden he had an epiphany and exclaimed, "Yea, mom. Mrs. Smith is just like Joseph Smith. Cool, huh mom?!"
I loved that his first connection with his teacher was to relate her to Joseph Smith. I love it when moments like that happen.
One evening I was fixing dinner. From the piano room I could hear someone singing. As I concentrated on the sound I could hear Sean singing the BINGO song. He was singing it from start to finish and adding all the claps as letters disappeared. I was already enjoying a small chuckle to myself to hear him singing and clapping when I decided to peek in on him. Not only was he singing to full lung capacity but he was conducting the song to an imaginary audience. He was standing on the very edge of the arm of the couch. Looked like he was trying to be the teacher. It was so cute I knew it was a moment I had to remember.
Sean creates his name out of play dough. He was so excited to be such a big boy and to have Mrs. Miller (who Halle had just previously had the last two years).
Chad the big 4th grader gets put right to work with his new teacher, Mrs. Smith.
Halle the 3rd grader knows how to stand out in a crowd.Labor Day
For Labor Day weekend we just stayed at home and worked on a few projects that didn't get finished up during the summer. For Labor Day (September 6th) we had just a fun relaxed weekend. Our only activity was to go to the park and hang out together and then BBQ hamburgers when we got back home.
Three crazy munchkins ready to be spun, and spun, and spun. It makes me dizzy just to watch them.
Halle brought her new soccer ball to get some practice in for the new season.
Dad teaches Sean some football moves.
Chad practices throwing his football through the holes in the play set.School Hawaiian Luau
The kids decked out in their Hawaiian gear and ready for a fun day at school.
Grandma and Bompa were able to make it this year. Here they are sitting with Chad and his friends during his lunch period.
We went through the lunch line and had lunch with Sean since this was his first year of having school lunches. Sean enjoys his ice-cream treat first.
Halle came and joined us too.
Cross Country
Halle coming to the finish line. She did great for her first race ever!!!! She came in 7th place for the 3rd grade girls and qualified to run the All City Meet with a time of 7.53 minutes. I was quite flabbergasted! I wasn't even expecting her to run the whole mile - let alone do so awesome.
Here comes Chad to the finish line. Chad has great long running legs - but still needs to work on some endurance. He did a great job too. He finished 21st for the 4th grade boys with at time of 8.33 minutes.
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