Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree

It was the last day of school for my little guy earlier in the week. In addition to finishing 4th grade, its also the last day in his school. Our district is opening a new elementary in the fall, which is where he will be going. It’s bittersweet, because he’s been going to this school since pre-school, so there are a lot of memories. On the other hand, we are all excited about the new school and new possibilities.
On the last day, not much gets done, so his class will be watching movies. As a special treat for it-and since he’s had such a ball in 4th grade, I made popcorn balls this morning. It was super easy and super fast!

I made my brown bag microwave popcorn in three separate batches.

After that I micro waved 2 cups marshmallows and ½ c butter. I stirred it well and mixed in a box of Jell-O (I used strawberry with colored marshmallows, since that’s what was in the pantry). You mix the ooey gooey mixture with the popcorn and shape into balls.

Seriously, it took 15 minutes from start to finish.

3 cups popcorn
2 cups marshmallows
½ c butter
1 box Jell-O

Microwave marshmallows and butter. Stir in Jell-O. Mix with popcorn. Form into balls.

O Pioneer

Yesterday I went on a field trip to Prairie Village (http://www.prairievillage.org). I have a disclosure to make-I've had a fascination with pioneer life since reading the Little House books as a kid. I loved the tv show and was obsessed with it. When Mary went blind, my friends & I pretended to be blind, too. We played wagon train on my bed, where we'd put stuff on the bed as we went across the plains. It encouraged me to learn as much about that era in American history.

My favorite little house book still is Little House on the Prairie (which is not the first in the series, that distinction goes to Little House in the Big Woods. My obsession has a new layer as many of the books are set in South Dakota, my adopted home state. Earlier this school year, my son and his class read By the Shores of Silver Lake (http://www.littlehousebooks.com/books/bookdetail.cfm?ISBN13=9780064400053) and I was so excited to share my love of these books with him.
Except, he's all boy and would much rather read Conspiracy 365 or Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

The Ingalls homestead is in DeSmet, SD (http://www.ingallshomestead.com/index.html). The amazing thing to me is her life bridged two centuries and many, many changes in the world. She was born before South Dakota was a state, and died as rock and roll started to take off.

I was fascinated by the various buildings at Prairie Village. The size of the homes-especially the sod house-was amazing in how small they truly were. He was fascinated by the one room school house.
He went on his first train ride.
We saw the Lawrence Welk opera house (which was a source of entertainment in that era)
There were many churches on the grounds.
The boys were fascinated by a snake and a salamander in the bathroom.
The boys claimed everything was haunted.
The carousel was great.
They loved the merry go round the best.

It was a great day to go back in time.

Blueberry Hill

Last week my son's school had the Dakota Step tests. This time of year can be incredibly stressful for kiddos, especially those who are on the spectrum. Little Man can get really anxious over the fact that there are time limits, and the hoopla leading up to testing week. At home we try to help him prepare for them by ensuring he eats healthy and gets enough rest. We also make sure he has fun! That's equally important.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm quite the goofball and I love to have a great time as often as possible. That goes over into my parenting too. We sing silly songs, I tend to break out into spontaneous song & dance numbers (I've seen way too many musicals). I leave goofy notes in my son's lunch box and around the house. To help him feel less tense over testing, I used a few motivational tools. I saw this on Pinterest and knew this would be perfect:

From http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Motivational-Testing-Notes


You were 'mint' to succeed! (Mint).
Do your best Smartie Pants! (Smarties)
Don't be an Airhead! Ace the test! (Airhead)
You're a Starbust of knowledge! (Starburst)
Blow that test out of the water! (Bubble Gum or Blow Pop)

He-and his classmates-got a good giggle out of it.

I also made a healthy snack for his class-blueberry muffins.

2 c bisquick
1 container blueberry chobani yogurt
1 c milk
1 pint blueberries
1 eggs
1/8 c sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients and blend well. Pour into a greased muffin pan (I made mini muffins) and bake for 15-18 minutes.

Back in the Saddle Again

A year or so ago, I walked away from being involved with the parent teacher organization at the little man's school. I was president, I was struggling with my post surgical recovery, we were attempting to add to our family and something had to give.
So, I walked away and just became a mom. It was a struggle, because that's not who I am. I want what's best for the school, and my son. By not being involved, I didnt have a say, and I felt a huge disconnect.
Let's face it, I missed it.
I missed being involved and doing things to make school a fun, happy place. I missed planning events. I missed being part of them. I missed all that jazz.
And so did my son.
So last night, I put on my big girl panties and a big smile and followed my heart.
Now I'm back in the saddle again.

Den blomstertid nu kommer

There is less than a month left in school here in South Dakota. While my son may be excited about summer, I am nervous about brain drain. We have almost 14 weeks of summer vacation, which can be used to be productive and learn new things.
Last summer, we really didn't do a lot of learning, and it really showed in a struggle to relearn at the beginning of the school year. Studies have shown that students, on average, lose 1-2 months of learning over the summer. This loss is more significant for low income students. Overall, students regress an entire reading level on average over summer vacation and lose almost a month's worth of math skills.
My biggest gripe is that our school district doesn't have a summer reading list, so I'm reliant on lists from other parts of the country. I struggle with that because both the Princess and I attended two top rated school districts growing up, and summer reading was a key component. While I encourage my son to read what he chooses, as he gets older he will have to read certain books. Why not start now?
Kids can still have summer vacation AND continue to learn. At the end of the school year, we buy a "summer learning" book that helps us to grow. My personal preference is the Summer Bridge series, which we have used since kindergarten. We try to spend at least 30 minutes a day on our learning, plus time reading a book.
Another great source to establish a framework for summer learning is your state's curriculum and rubric website. It's helped me create weekly themes for the summer that are cross disciplines.
Some of the themes I am looking at for this summer:

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory-read the book, watch both movies-comparing/contrasting them to each other & the book, nutrition and exercise, making chocolicious chocolate chip cookies.

Night of the Twisters-read the book, study tornadoes, develop a safety plan & emergency kit, watch a tornado movie, make a tornado in a jar, make tornado art (by twisting a paintbrush & splattering it on paper)

Cricket in Times Square-read the book, learn about NYC, make a cityscape collage, interview family members about their experiences in New York

Fudge a mania-read the book, make fudge, conflict resolution

That's just the start!

The Kids

It's hard to believe that there is less than a month to go in the school year! Little Man has had an amazing year in third grade. He truly has grown up so much, going from a little boy to a tween right in front of my eyes.
He has learned to write in cursive exclusively.
Basic multiplication and division.
Standardized tests.
The changing balance of friendships.
I'm thrilled at how much he's learned in his class.
Im thrilled at how he's growing up, even though it's faster than I'd like, but probably all mothers say that.