Pioneer Schoolhouse

Our Social Studies unit in second grade this month is Pioneers. An annual visit to a local one room school house is part of our curriculum. So last Friday we all dressed the part and headed out of town a ways to this quaint little school house. We taught the second graders for a morning using slates, old time readers, and lots of other things. We had a blast! Here are some pictures of our morning. The weather was beautiful too. I kept thinking that I was on the set of Little House on the Prairie.

The kids loved running in the grass in their costumes.

Students hard at work.The parents joined us at lunch and took some group shots in front of the schoolhouse.

We rang the bell and the kids lined up-boys on one side, girls on the other.

We began the morning by raising the flag in front of the school and saying the pledge.

Looks authentic, doesn't it?

Go, Go Speed Racer!

One of the blessings of our time in Seminary has been that I have been able to spend more time at home with our kids. This rainy morning Troy discovered an "old" toy from the basement. It is a Speed Racer track (from Aunt Sarah, I believe). Troy sat there for quite a time shooting the cars around the track. He would call me over to see the replay of a crash or other event that had happened. It was fun to observe him.

Happy Mother's Day!

We woke to a beautiful sunny day after chilly temps and clouds yesterday. I was treated to breakfast in bed made by my wonderful family. (We'll save those pictures!) We had a good church service where Troy sang in the childrens' choir. We enjoyed lunch with family. I am very thankful for my mom and mother-in-law today. Also, I'm thankful for the great kids I am blessed to be the mom of. I hope everyone has had a super day!

Odds and Ends

Life has been moving FAST lately! There's lots going on. Here are some snapshots of some recent happenings...

We had Grandparents' Day at school today. Troy is impressing the grandparents with his artistic ability. (It doesn't take much!)

Grandma R. giving a pointer.

Grandma E. watching Kamryn play with electricity. (?)

This is what happens when four teenage girls get assigned an English project for school. Nice creativity! (These are their sock puppets.)

Scott is finishing up his actual classes and Seminary responsibilities this week and early next. He's pretty excited.

Needed some kid pictures, so Kam and I did a little photo shoot in the yard. Lookin' good, Kam!

Softball- A New Adventure

Kamryn has been playing soccer since she was four years old. She is quite a natural player and has been a lot of fun to watch out on the field. This year she announced to us that she would like to take a break from soccer to play softball. She has never played softball before, but we encouraged her to try it. After only one practice the Vipers had their first game yesterday. Kamryn and her teammates did great! They are actually playing in an older age group, but held their own quite well. The game ended in a tie. It looks like a great group of girls and some really good coaches. We're looking forward to a fun season!

Forensics

Katie has been involved in a group called Forensics this year. It actually has nothing to do with crime scene investigation and everything to do with dramatic speaking. She has been perfecting her speech for poetic monologue and has done very well. We attended an awards night at school the other evening where Katie received her letter and an award pin. Katie has been chosen to attend the state competition this weekend! Great job, Katie!

A Great Day For...Hockey!

The sport of choice for the neighborhood boys these days is hockey. You would tend to think that since winter is now over they would be moving on to baseball or another more spring-like sport, but they love to go at it with the sticks. Today the rink happened to be on our driveway. They decided how they would all pose for this shot.