The Websters

First Day of School

It's that time of year again!  Back to school!  Ya hoooooooooooo!!!  Oh, I'm sorry.  I got a little too excited about that! :-)  It has been a good summer, but it got a little long there at the end and I think the kids and I were already to get back to school and a routine.

It was a big year around here.  Mac started kindergarten!

He was so excited.  He even woke up before his alarm asking me, "Is it the first day of school?!"  Too cute!  He was jazzed about his new (enormous!) camo backpack and shark lunch box.  He is attending the same school as his big sister, Gwyneth, which makes it all THAT much more fun!  

Gwyneth is such a big girl.  She started 2nd grade.

 

I can't believe my little girl is already in 2nd grade!  She loves her teacher and loves school, so she is happy camper.

We are starting day 3 tomorrow, and so far so good.  Mac was certainly more tired today when I picked him up at the end of the day than he was on Monday, and I am sure by Friday he will be spent!  Gwyneth is holding up better, but she has had two years practice at this already.

Here are more fun photos from the first day of school.

Our Little Inventor

Wow!  Where do the days go?!  I started this post back on the 15th, and now I turn around and it is the 24nd!!!  Jeez!!!!

Every year the kids in K-6th grade at Gwyneth's school participate in the "Invention Convention."  Kindergarten is pretty low key, but starting in first grade they really start learning the process of inventing and everything that goes along with that.  This is ALL done by the kids, from the initial brainstorming for "bugs" (problems in the everyday world around you/things that bug you) all the way to creating a display board and presenting your invention to be judged at the Invention Convention.  Some of Gwyneth's "bugs" were "one side of my pencil is sharp and the other isn't", "my markers dry out", "my brother takes my toys", "when too much toothpaste comes out of the tube", and "when I come home from school and I can't find my cat to play with me."  The "bug" she chose to base her invention on was " when my cat scratches me it hurts."

From the initial brain storming the kids then chose their favorite "bug" and brainstormed with some of their classmates on possible solutions for their "bug".  Gwyneth's selected solutions were, 1) Put rubber on the cat's nails so when the cat scratches it doesn't hurt your skin, and 2) Put a laser on the cat's nails that beeps at the cat if its nail touches your skin.

Then next step was drawing blueprints of their favorite solutions.  See!  I told you this was involved and thorough!  I never did anything like this in 1st grade!  From her initial blueprints Gwyneth then had to research her favorite solution to see if it had been invented yet and from that write how her invention was new and different.  Well, after a search on Google for "laser cat nail" we came up with nothing like it, so we deduced that Gwyneth's invention must be an original.

Now on the real blueprint for her yet-to-be-name invention!

 

Once Gwyneth started working on the details of her invention she realized she'd have to modify it a little, so she decided to add "fur lined medal sleeves so the laser could bounce off my arm."  Man-she is thinking!!!

The "ZAPER ANTI-SCRATCHER" is invented!!!!!!

In Gwyneth's words, here are the details of her invention.

 

Now that she had an invention and a name, one of the last steps was creating a logo and a slogan to go along with the invention.

The majority of this invention work was done in the classroom.  A few homework assignments dealt with aspects of the inventing process, but truly, the MAJORITY of the work was completed by the kids.  It finally all came together and all the students from 1st - 5th grade displayed their inventions at the Invention Convention hosted by the school.  Various professionals, as well as a few teachers from the school, reviewed and judged all the inventions.  The inventions were broken up in to different categories, such as "Non-Working Models", "Games, "Jules Vern", etc.  Gwyneth's invention fell into the Non-Working Models category.

Here is our little inventor in front of her invention display at the convention, as well as some more photos of her display board she put together.

 

 

We thought she did a great job!  All the kids received Participation ribbons, and we thought that would be the end of it until next year.  (Gwyneth already has a "bug" on which to base an invention on for next year: something to help prevent the toothpaste bubbles from running down your hand when you are brushing your teeth!)  There was an Awards Ceremony after the convention was over.  Mac and I attended, mainly because the ceremony was at 2:30pm and I had to be there for a Daisy meeting 3:30pm, so I picked up Mac early from school and figured we'd head to the awards ceremony and I could take some photos of the kids for the school.

Well, let me tell you, was I surprised and so proud when Gwyneth's name was called as a 2nd place winner for her invention in her category (Non-Working Models) and her age group (1st/2nd grade)!!!!!  I think Gwyneth was almost as shocked!

 

Check out her face as she examines her ribbon! :-)  She told me later that she was surprised that she got second place because she thought she'd get third place!  Love that confidence!

Mac was so proud of her, too!

Here is Gwyneth with her 1st grade teach, Ms. Rose-the Queen of Inventing!  Ms. Rose is so amazing, and puts this whole Invention Convention together and is so patient with the kids.  I could NEVER do what she does to help pull all this creativity and critical thinking out of the kids.

 

And lastly, a photo of Gwyneth with one of her classmates, who also won a 2nd place ribbon for his invention (the Jet Pow, pronounced "Po"-a jet powered pillow that can put itself back on the couch, so you don't have to pick it up.  Genius! :-)) in another category, with the Head of the school.

 

Way to go Gwyneth!!!  We are so proud of you!

First Day of School-Round 2

Today was Mac's first day of school.  He was so excited to start!

Not exactly what I had picked put for him to wear, but that is another story!

Don't ask about the pirate patch. :-)  It was in a goody bag from a birthday party we went to yesterday.  More pictures of "Blood Thirsty Mac" to come...

Mac and his teacher, Miss Jan.

Here's to another great year, Mac!!!

First Day of 1st Grade

Gwyneth started first grade today with Ms. Rose.

My baby is in the 1st grade.  I remember1st grade!  How can she be in first grade?!

We got her backpack packed last night and her lunch made ready for today and got to bed by 8pm. 

Good-bye summer.  HELLO routine!  Guess that means I need to get my act in gear too-planning dinners, going to the gym, etc.

We all headed over to school this morning to get Gwyneth settled in her new classroom and hang out at the parent coffee.

It was a good morning.  Mac was even excited!

 

He really wished his school started today!  One more week, and then it is his turn.

Last Day of School

I can't belive it?!  Gwyneth's first year of school is over.  Kindergarten is over, and she is so excited to start first grade.  I think she'd be happy to start again on Monday!  Of course, we first have to make it through summer.  I am really looking forward to a fun summer, although I won't lie-it can be a little intimidating having both your kids home and waiting for you to entertain them for 3 months!  We do have some fun activities planned, so I know we'll be OK.

So, schools out!  It seems early?  June 5th?  I thought I remembered not getting out of school until mid-June, but we all know how good my memory is!  I thought it would be fun to take a "Last Day of School" picture, like we did on the "First Day of School" so I could compare them.  Let's see how much Gwyneth has grown...

  

Here she is on her first day, and then yesterday on her last day.  Different house, of course. :-)

We had a great last day.  They had a regular full day.  The first half of the day they did some regular stuff, and then 1:30-3:30pm we had their end of the year party.  Different crafts, snacks, storytime, gifts for the teacher, etc.  Lots of fun!

Gwyneth had a wonderful teacher this year.  And she amazed us even more on the last day.  The class presented her with a scrapbook that we had put together with a page made from each student, as well as a collection of photos taken through out the year.  Well, Mrs. Boazman trumped us all and presented each student/family (14 in all) with their own personalized photo album of all of the various projects, etc. that they had done as a class over the year-each book had photos of your child and their personal artwork,etc.  AMAZING!!!!.  What a priceless keepsake.  She is amazing, and we will all treasure these albums forever!

We had such a great first year.  Not only did the kids have a good time, but all the parents in this class really bonded and have made some lasting friendships.  We are really looking to many more years and memories at this great school.

In closing-another comparison between the first and last day of kindergarten. 

First grade...here we come!

Swinging 60s Baby-Here We Come! Yeah!

Saturday night we headed to Gwyneth's school auction.  A "Groovy 60s" theme.  What a BLAST!  What really made the night was that everyone dressed up and was ready to party (and spend money to support the school-the reason we were all there!)

As you can see, Fred was ready to go all done up in his Austin Powers gear, right down to the bad teeth.  He was a huge hit at the party!  It didn't hurt that he could quote a lot of the movie and do the voice perfectly.  There was a couple of other Austin Powers, but he was voted the "Best" by the lead singer of the band, so there!

I was able to find my outfit at this great little vintage shop in town.  I even found a couple of really great vintage coats to wear every day.  Ii told some of the other parents about it and they were able to find fun clothes there for the night too.  I got together with some of the other moms before the party and we did our funky 60s makeup together-lots of black eyeliner with cat eyes, green shadow and false eyelashes.  It was like prom for grown ups!

I offered to the be the "DD" for the night-Designated Driver.  I am such a light weight these days when it comes to drinking it really isn't worth it.  Here we all are upon arrival.  Like the picture taken in the parking lot?! :-)

Once we got inside, we were able to gather most of the moms from Gwyneth's class for a picture.  It was so fun seeing everyone dressed up and having a good time!

Here are Fred and I with some other parents from the kindergarten class.  My girlfriend here has really curly red hair, and I seriously didn't recognize her at first!

All in all a great night!  Lots of fun was had by all and lots of money raised for the school.

We can't wait for next year!  The theme is "Lights, Camera, Auction!"  I believe.  A Hollywood theme.

Here are some more fun pics from the night.

Frazzled Guest Reader

Today I was the guest reader for the entire kindergarten class at Gwyneth's school. How is it that 26 kindergartners can be intimidating and strike fear into a fairly normal adult mom who is used to being around kids?

My guest reader saga began as my overachieving/need to impress side took over, so I spent several days agonizing over what to read, and since my daughter goes to a private school (but not a religiously affiliated one) there was the whole question as to "what was acceptable" to read. God forbid we mention little baby Jesus (no pun intended). ANYWAY, I think I was over analyzing this a bit-it all works out in the end. :-)

Then, not only did I have to select my books, I had to bring something to hand out. The mom who talked about Chanukah the week before handed out chocolate coins and dradles, so there was no way I was going to show up empty handed! So, I was rushing around all morning racking my brain. Spent an hour in Michael's wandering around trying to get inspired. Actually I must give credit where credit is due. My sister gave me several great ideas, but none of them really tied into the books I was reading, and I just wasn't feeling it. (FYI. If you EVER need some great children's book recommendations, or you are doing a reading segment and need some theme ideas, etc. talk to Christina-she is amazing! Guess that's what a Master in Education gets you!) Then as I was really getting desperate, I heard another woman in the store talking on her cell phone and I heard the words, "Reindeer Food!" PERFECT! Now for those of you that have never heard of reindeer food, check out, of course, my crafty sister's blog. My poor children are so deprived. It was the perfect thing to hand out to the kids, and I now remembered that I had handed it out to Gwyneth's preschool class last year, so I already had a little note written up about it to attach to the bag-one less step to take care of in the two hours or so that I had to accomplish all of this. So I raced around Michael's gathering glitter and bagging supplies and was on my way. I rushed home, unloaded Mac, got our shoes and coats off, set all the stuff on the table to start rapidly producing 26 bags of Reindeer food-crap! No oatmeal! Are you kidding me?! I forgot to run by the store while we were out and get oatmeal. Sorry Mac, who was all settled in to watch a little "Harry Potter" while mommy was neglecting him for the sake of the kindergartners, back to the car for a speedy trip to Fred Meyer.

Whew. I am reliving this all over again and I am getting tired all over again. Next hurdle-printer trouble. Why does the darn printer always give you trouble when you are in a rush and your husband is out of town? I swear the computers work fine when Fred is here, and as soon as he leave town-caput! After a quick call to him on his cell I got that sorted and got my Reindeer Food tags printed out. I got all the Reindeer Food mixed, bagged and looking cute, and we were out the door!

Shoot, I wish I had taken a picture of one of the bags-they came out really cute. Maybe I can get a picture of one tomorrow at school. Stay posted.

So Mac and I headed off to school with the selected books, 26 bags of Reindeer Food, and a tray of back-up Christmas cookies (in case I couldn't pull off the Reindeer Food in time.) I settled into the reader's chair and started the reading time with:

1) Pinkalicious

Now I know you are all saying, "Whoa! This isn't a Christmas book?!" I know, I know. But this was a special day for Gwyneth too, so last night I asked her what, out of all her books, was her favorite, and this was it, so I told her I would start the reading time with this one in honor of her. See-sweet mom that I am. :-)

2) Next was The Snow Angel

Beautiful illustrations and a nice story to go along with them.

3) The third selection was a book that I happened upon at Barnes & Noble earlier in the morning and actually walked by several times before I picked it up, mainly because it looked like another book about Santa, and I was really looking for something more Baby Jesus/true story of Christmas centered, but I finally picked it up and read it, and was I glad I did.

Santa's Favorite Story

Nice story with unique illustrations that ties the whole Santa Christmas thing back to the story of the first Christmas.

4) The end of Santa's Favorite Story story was a good lead in into my last book that worked right in with the Reindeer Food.

Christmas at the Top of the World

I found this book awhile ago and I love the illustrations, but my kids also just love the story.  I don't know how many times I have read it to Mac.

As I said, this last book fed nicely into the handing out of Reindeer Food.  I explained what it was and that I had included the recipe so they could make more with their family if they wanted.  It went over really well.  Well, not as well as the cookies, I think.  Darn-after all that work and stress and all I needed to do was bring sugar to make them happy! :-)  I did have another stressful moment.  As I mentioned, I really just grabbed the cookies as a back-up plan for the Reindeer Food, but I figured since I had them I'd bring them.  Well, when I grabbed the tray of cookies at  Fred Meyer it looked like there were tons of cookies on the tray, so I didn't even think about counting them.  So here I am passing out cookies and I have gotten to about half the kids when I realize, "SHOOT!  I might not have enough cookies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  That would have caused mass hysteria for those kids who hadn't gotten a cookies yet!  Here I was counting the cookies down as I handed them out, praying that some healthy kid would say, "No thank you."  Ya right.  We're talking 5-6 year olds here.  Have you ever seen one turn down a cookie before?

Are you holding your breath yet?

I reached the last kid and...I had one cookie left!  Whew!  Well...that is if you are not counting my sweet Gwyneth.

I know!  Again-horrible mom!  Her teacher immediately said, "You're telling Gwyneth she doesn't get a cookies!"  Thanks, Kari!  Sweet Gwyneth was currently out in the hall helping her little brother (who was the first cookie recipient) get a drink of water.  Do you see how bad this is heading?  Mac got a cookie, but there was not enough for her?  Perfect!  I caught them as they were coming back into the room, and luckily Mac had only eaten half of his cookie, so I explained to Gwyneth the situation and asked Mac nicely if he would give the other half of his cookie to Gwyneth since there were none left, and guess what?  He did.  See-they can be sweet and share.  Of course I don't think he really understood what was happening because he kept asking me for a cookie, and then proceeded to have a meltdown in the car about not getting a cookie.  An explanation of their nice sharing was wasted breath at this point to a tired 3 year old.

So, all in all, a good experience.  Lesson learned-be more organized!  It isn't like I didn't know my date for reading since about the first week of school and I had to wait until the morning of to get my stuff together?!  Next time I am calling Christina a week month ahead of time for a theme and some book suggestions!

Happy Reading Everyone!!!!

Rafting on the Payette

What a fun day!  Outdoor education is a big part of Gwyneth's new school.  So each fall and spring every grade, K-12, does some sort of outdoor adventure.  The K-2 grades take a rafting trip down the Payette River out of Horseshoe Bend, about 25 miles North of Boise.  Yesterday was the day of the raft trip, so off all the K-2 kids went on the school bus, while many parents tagged along.  It was a beautiful day, but there had been some talk of a potential cancellation due to all the fires we have burning in the area.  Everything was OK, so the trip proceeded, but as we were driving through Horseshoe bend we did see a makeshift camp site which ended up was the staging area for all of the firefighters.

After a picnic lunch and some play time at a local park we all headed off to the drop in point on the Payette.  12 of us loaded up in the raft with our trusty guide, Crockett 1, leading us down a calm section of the river.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day!  Mid 70s, not a cloud in the sky, very little smoke (from all the fires burning).  I decided to risk taking my camera so that I could get some shots.  I did take along a Ziplock bag, which was a good idea because we did hit some mild rapids which could have spelled disaster for the camera had I not had it covered.  We all had a great time, and several of the parents and kids even hopped in the river for a dip.  Gwyneth and I decided to stay in the raft, but next year I think we'll head over board.  Crockett, our guide, did dip Gwyneth in, which she thought was fun.

We spend about an hour out on the river and had a blast!  What an amazing experience to do with the kids and the other parents.  We have been so happy with her new school so far.  We really look forward to what else this year holds for all of us!

Mac's First Day

Yesterday Mac has his first day of preschool.  He was so excited to go!  He loves doing the same things that his big sister gets to do.  In fact, I saw that when his started class, the teacher asked for all the kindergartners to stand up (he is in a Montessori preschool so there are 3-kindergartners in his class), and he stood up.  I guess he has heard so much about Gwyneth going to kindergarten, he thought that was what grade he was in too! :-)    

Anyway, he had a great day from 9-12:30pm.  His teacher said he had a great day, and colored up a storm.  Here is a sample of his work. :-)

He had a blast and can't wait to go back tomorrow and Friday! 

First Day of Kindergarten

I found this poem, and it pretty much sums up how I am feeling.  While I am so excited for Gwyneth on her new journey in school, I just can't believe this time has already come!  Where has the last 5 years gone?!

She started school this morning,
And she seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside her
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as she took her place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw her as
She first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When she began to talk.

This little girl so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though she must have grown
To girlhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar her first big day

Oh how I longed to stay with her
And keep her by the hand
To lead her through the places
That she couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew she would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But she must have her chance to live,
To work her problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little girl
With friends and work and play;
She's not a baby anymore --
She's in Kindergarten today.

~author unknown

I bought Gwyneth an alarm clock recently so she would be able to get up earlier for school. It is a really cool alarm clock actually-it is Cinderella's castle and it plays "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and other quotes from Cinderella.  Anyway, the point is, I set her alarm to go off at 6:30am today.  I swear, it was 6:31am and she was there standing in our bathroom all dressed-down to her socks, shoes and hair bow-ready to go!!!  She was so excited for school!

We all took her to school today.  What a momentous day this is!  Our first child off to real school.  Wow-where has the time gone?  I am sure it will seem like no time at all and I will be saying this about her going off to college!  We arrived at school, and since we got to go and visit the school and her classroom last Thursday, she was totally comfortable and headed right in and started playing.  I was so happy that she was so comfortable.  Her teacher is great, and the other children and families seem really nice.  I have volunteered to help out as a room parent, and I hope to get opportunities to volunteer in her classroom.

Now it is just me and Mac at home for the next week, until he starts preschool on Tuesday.  It seemed so quiet and peaceful around the house today.  Next week when Mac is in school 3 morning a week it will seem like a near ghost town around here.  WOW!!!  I can't wait!  Actually, I can. :-)  But I can't deny that a few morning a week by myself do sound nice.

I can't wait to hear how her first day went!