Twas the night before school

T'was the night before school
and all through the nest
every child was wailing at mother's request:
"Go to bed, Go to bed, You must go to bed"
The dawn will come quickly,
"Please rest your head."

Your book bags are ready,
new clothes are bought,
lunches are packed
you're prepared to be taught.

One last thing that must be done
a blessing for each daughter and son.
A father's blessing was given
to his children of four
Words of advice, counsel and more.
Admonishments, support and warnings of love
Poured out from his heart from heaven above.

Each blessing so special, each one unique.
Your potential is boundless, the sky is your peak.
To another great year we wish you all well
You'll do your best and you will excell.
Don't worry that your best is not good enough
we have traveled the road and know it's tough.

But, with daily prayer to Father above
He'll see you through it with guidance and love.
Look forward, be happy and do not fear
for your mother, your father and creator are near!

OK, OK, it's too late for me to try to rhyme another verse.
We look forward with great anticipation for the start of another new year.
Snacks and school supplies galore and each of the 4 received a blessing.
It's hard to believe that we have a senior in the house, a freshman, a 5th grader and a third grader. School tends to make us more structured and scheduled. The summer was great and always too short but we are looking forward to one heck of a year! It will be so busy with all the senior activities and drama that freshman year brings.

CANDY LEIS

INSTRUCTIONS AT BOTTOM OF POST
Today was the rug rats last day of school! Do you hear the angelic voices singing? I have been looking forward to this day for 9 months, since the first day school started.
Dash has had an amazing teacher! I made her a lei and she had so much candy left over from the awards ceremony for her class that I volunteered to come back into the classroom and teach them how to make candy leis.
I did a few things wrong. I over estimated a class full of 7 and 8 yr. old abilities. I forgot how needy 7 and 8 year old girls are. I definitely prefer 7 and 8 year old boys, at this age. The boys were very motivated and got the job done. They asked for very little assistance.




The girls, DRAMA MAMA! I am so thankful that Warrior came with me to help. He was a huge help. Warrior's last day of school was last week. He has been eating lunch with each one of his siblings. They enjoy it and the teachers and staff like having him come back. He has a lot of patience with little girls. With their incessant questions and beckoning. I would just farm them to Warrior and he patiently tied their leis and made their ribbons curly, and fixed their leis when the candy fell out. I on the other hand, was very busy trying to get all of their leis made before the end of the day. They all did a really good job. WE were just pushed for time. I was so happy that each of them finished. We shared a little about our culture with the class and they were so inquisitive and polite. I have enjoyed volunteering for Dash's class. They were all so sweet.



Unfortunately, Dash's class took more time than anticipated and I was not able to visit Sweetheart's class but Mr. Incredible was able to eat lunch with both of them today, while Warrior had lunch with Beauty. Dash had already ran onto his bus so he missed a photo op with his teacher.

HOW TO MAKE A CANDY LEI!
First you need to gather gum, chocolates or hard candy. You can use anything!
Use saran wrap or colored saran wrap.
Need a spool of curly ribbon, scissors

Carefully lay out about a yard and a half of saran wrap onto table.
(length may vary according to how long or short you wish your lei to be)
Lay candy across the middle of saran and space approximately 1/2inch apart
Once Candy is laid across saran, carefully fold the saran wrap up to top, make sure candy lyes flat and is secure in wrap. Fold the saran again so that it is snug and makes a long tube with candy in middle. Cut strips of curly ribbon into 2 inch strips. Tie ribbon at the start of candy lei. Continue to tie curly ribbon after each peice of candy (choc bar or gum) or candy cluster (multiple hard candies) to finish the lei off gather the end of the lei and tie curly ribbon snuggly around both ends. Then curl each ribbon by taking the scissors and pulling it tightly against the ribbon ends, the ribbon will curl.
You can make a gum lei, cookie lei whatever lei you wish. If it will wrap you can turn it into a lei.

END OF YEAR PARTY

Dash had his end of year party. Mrs. Robinson has been an excellent teacher. She has made it her personal goal that each one of her students would meet their AR goals. She has ensured that each one of her students would read above and beyond the required 100 wpm. She had one spanish student that could only read 2 wpm and has that child reading over 100 wpm! This is a true and dedicated teacher.

Each one of the students received an award. Dash received the speedy gonzales award. He is so quick and fast in his school work and at recess. Although, quick he should still take a little more time to avoid simple mistakes. Dash seems to be an appropriate name for him. He took home the "Best Participation" Award. He is always so eager to volunteer and answer the questions or do whatever Mrs. Robinson asks of him. His class made a red carpet for each of them to walk down after receiving their awards.

Atlas, Party time!

NC Lightrail

The second graders at Dash's school went on a field trip. I was one of the chaperons and had a lot of fun. Our city put in a light rail to help with transportation. It has saved on gas for many people. It was just like riding the subway in NYC, with two major differences. Less crowded and it was above ground.
With all of the stops it took about 25 to 30 minutes to get into the city. The same amount of time if you were to drive with traffic. It doesn't save you on time. We got off at the last stop, 7Th street and went to Imaginon. It is also connected to the city public library. I had 4 children to keep an eagle hawk eye on. Plthh... I spit at the challenge. After having 4 of my own and none of them ending up on the side of a milk carton, thus far. I felt pretty confident about trekking through the city with 4, 7 year olds. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing. Except, I did lose Dash ONCE! He, never felt loss. He knew where I was ALL the time. Doesn't matter. I didn't know where HE was! Did I, a mother of 4, panic when I realized one of my ducklings were missing? NOPE, not at all. Did a quick scan of the place, moved outside my perimeter and caught a glimpse of him and walked away. I was urked that it was my own child that walked off. I had already checked out the security measures of the place. It seems to be second nature for me to know where all the exits, doors, and possible hazards are. I can do this in a matter of seconds. I feel quite proficient in casing a joint. They had a guard at every possible exit. There was no way someone one going to just walk out, unattended.


I became quite bored quickly. Imaginon really left nothing for the imagination. They had a mini theater where the children were allowed to dress up and play on stage and with lighting effects. Many really old inventions that were semi hands on. But, the entire place could be seen and touched in about 30 minutes. I wanted more, so I took my group upstairs. I was sure there was more to see. NOPE! I wondered why everyone stayed downstairs. We ventured upstairs and I found a wonderful thing at 10am in the morning. I found a VENDY machine. Yep, I let each choose an item from the machine and we sat and had ourselves a snack. The only problem was when asked what was the favorite part of their trip. My group replied, "When Mrs. Incredible (aka, Mother goose) bought us candy". "oops, my bad". The other mothers wished they had ventured too because they were hungry. Ummmm... I'm a Solomon; I can always find food! LOL



We then rode the bus back to school. Played simon says on the bus. I had to be quite creative with that. It was a lot of fun. Simon says,"Snap your fingers, do the twist". You know the song? I got them all out. Simon said only snap your fingers. I would say touch your toes and touch my knees. They would all touch their knees. LOL. We ate lunch and played on the playground. I love enjoying school life with them.

Dash at School

Dash had another readers day at school and begged me to attend. He didn't have to beg too hard. I already planned on going. It was so cute and fun. The class was reading a story about a husky who was a sleigh dog. His teacher would stop and ask questions about what the dog was feeling or thinking and if you had the puppet on your hand you had to act out in first person what the dog might have said or done. Dash really hammed it up. It was a little silly but he and the class had fun. He also welcomed the parents. His teacher has been so good for him. She loves what she does but she really cares for her students. She is going to come out and watch one of Dash's baseball games. He is so excited!