Third Grade Planet Project: Out of This World!

This year Winston had what I consider his first big school project - a planet project!  He was tasked with researching and presenting on an assigned planet.  He received a list of questions he had to answer and include in his final presentation.  The teachers also provided a list of ways that the students could showcase the information.  

Have you heard? Winston is in Third!

A new school year is upon us with Winston starting third grade!!  He has grown in inches and in maturity and I'm not sure that my heart is ready for it.  I told as friend the other day, there are times I miss the sweet little baby moments but it really is a joy and a hoot to have a front row in seeing their personalities, likes and dislikes and dreams take shape.

Truman is in Kindergarten!

I can't believe we are here.  Truman is heading to Kindergarten!  He is so ready to start the new school year in the same building as big brother! 

{kinda} Back to School!

When registration for school became available, Benjamin and I decided {after a chat with Winston} that he would attend in-school sessions.  I gotta tell ya, honestly I was torn. I truly have loved having my buddies at home with me and selfishly, I don't want routines to start back up. I know deep down though that the best thing is for them to see their friends, properly learn from folks who have a passion for teaching and Lulu and I could use a day of just the two of us in the house!

After choosing the in-person option, our district came back and stated that the first three weeks of instruction would be on-line regardless of which option chosen. There have been a few amendments and now they are doing a staggered start.  For one day, in a few weeks, Winston will be able physically be  in the school to find his class and experience what the day will look like with the safety modifications.

So here we are and it's time to go back to school. But we're not really going back to school so it just feels a little anti-climactic.  We did take our first day of school pictures, get up and dressed with a snack packed and a water bottle ready. He made the treacherous commute across the living room floor to my desk {his chosen spot for the day} and settled into the morning! 

After the first Zoom meeting and one activity he was ready to call it a day! 😂

Benjamin had the day off which was a help with keeping Truman occupied while we sorted out log-ins, SeeSaw activities and how to submit completed work.  As a special treat, and because we could!, we ate lunch at Uncle Julio's!

While the day didn't look like most previous first days of school, it was still a great start to a new season. I'm so thankful we have access to a school who has a solid infrastructure to support our teachers and students. I'm thankful for technology and the internets. I'm thankful for this extra time we are afforded to spend time together.

I'm thankful for this kid and how flexible he is. Winston has been such a trooper during this crazy time.  Sure he's had his moments of being sad and a little angry, but who hasn't?  He has remained positive and we've tried to have fun and make the best of all the things because really, let's hope this is a once in a lifetime thing! 😂

How old are you?

Seven!

What is your favorite color?

Red, Blue and Green.

What is your favorite food?

Cheeseburgers and French fries from Whataburger and McDonald's.

Me: Whataburger and McDonald's?!

WAC: Well, the fries from Whataburger and the burgers from McDonald's!

What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas. Jingle bells, jingles bells, jingle all the way!

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?

Be crazy with her. Run around the house screaming.

Me: Gives him a look.

WAC: giggles

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

Build Legos with him.

What is your favorite thing to do with Truman?

Play Statues with him.

What was your favorite thing you did this summer?

Go to Watercolor so that we could visit the beach.

What are you most excited about this year in school?  

Seeing my teachers in person!  Dude, in three weeks I'm going to be in school and I'm going to stop by to see Mrs. Gaska, Mrs. Herbein and Ms. Willard!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

An archer. 

{Poses like he's shooting a bow and arrow.}

What is your favorite movie?

Good question. There's so many options! Gimme some options.

Me: You have all minion movies, Sonic, Trolls, 101 Dalmatians, Sword and the Stone....

WAC: I take Sonic!

What is your favorite toy or stuffed animal?

My favorite stuffed animal is Peep!

Here's to a fabulous year of Second Grade sweet Winston.  You are kind, comical and I love how you are confident in your own skin!  We love you to pieces!

Winston's Interviews

First Grade

Kindergarten

Truman Heads to 3's Class

A few weeks after Winston started school, it was Truman's turn!  He is returning to our favorite preschool and following in brother's footsteps by being a part of the Bee class!  One of the things I am thankful for is that over the years we have had the opportunity to get to know the fabulous teachers.  Going into meet the teachers we knew the fabulous ladies who would be teaching Truman this year.   We made a quick stop at McDonald's on our way to get one of Truman's favorite things: an orange slushie!  

Truman was very opinionated about what he wanted as a backpack and lunch box for this school year.  He was on a mission to find all things shark!  I'm happy to report that our mission was successful! 😂

Truman is such a comical, passionate headstrong little human.  He loves all things sharks + monster trucks and when the two are together, hold down the fort because that kid is determined he must have whatever it is! 😂 Truman loves music.  Like loves it so much that he has his favorite songs and sings unabashedly to them in the car.  He has a great memory and loves to snuggle.  One of my favorite things he says every night is "talk me how good I be today."  And then we speak over him all of the good things about him in that day. 

And without further ado, here are Truman's answers to his questions.

How old are you?

Three!

What is your favorite color?

Orange and blue and red.

What is your favorite food? 

Chocolate donuts!
oooo!  And MOD Pizza too!

What is your favorite holiday?

Halloween

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?

Play with Monster Trucks.  Oh, and I like to be a shopping buddy.  I'm a good helper.

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? 

I like to do puzzles with him.  And build Legos.  Sometimes I'm a Master Builder.

What is your favorite thing to do with Winston? 

My favorite thing is to build with him.  And to make smooshy, mooshy mud pies!

What was your favorite thing you did this summer?

London!  My favorite thing was riding in ALLLLL the taxis!

What are you most excited about this year in school?  

Doing experiments maybe and playing with my friends!

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

A dragon!  No, a knight!  I'm Sir Trumy the Knight!

What is your favorite movie?

Cars

What is your favorite toy or stuffed animal?

Moo Moo and Rocky the Shark!

Truman, may your year as a Busy Bee be full of all the fun and good things!  I pray that you will be an encouraging friend and patient student.  We love you to pieces buddy and are so proud of you!

Flying into First!

Here we are, the start of another school year!  It means new backpacks, new shoes and a rude awakening to early starts to the day filled with good things such as PE, recess and lunch! 😂 Winston is in first grade this year!  He is at the same school as last year which makes it nice that he is familiar with the layout of where things are.  

We went to meet the teacher and found out that she before coming to teach in our area, she taught in the northeast at a school where for six years she had all boys!  Her classroom is full of flexible seating.  This means there are stand desks with tiny trampolines, regular desks with bouncy ball chairs, and sitting desks where the kids can kneel or sit on a fluffy pillow.  During every subject change there is a mini break time and the kiddos can pick a different seat if they like.  It's been fun to ask Winston where he sits each day  His favorite chairs are the bouncy ball and the wobble chair.  😍

Before school started I took Winston shopping and he picked out a big kid backpack and some new kicks.  I love watching him come into his own.  He knows exactly what he wants and once his mind is set, there's no changing it!

We rode bikes again for the first day and he knew exactly how to go!

After a few first day pictures with Mom and Dad, we gave big hugs and left our little guy to take on his first day of First Grade!

A few hours into the day his sweet teacher sent an email to the parents.  💙

That night Truman curled up in Winston's bed with him and asked him to read him some Piggie & Elephant books.  Truman missed his big buddy.  It's still so sweet to see them share these precious moments together.

In continuing with tradition {that was started last year!} here are Winston's answers to a few questions.  He is just so comical!

How old are you?
Six!

What is your favorite color?

Red, blue, green.

What is your favorite food?

Chicken.  I mean, cheeseburgers.  But only if they're from McDonald's.
😂🍔🍟

What is your favorite holiday?

Haaalloowweeeeen!

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?

Hug her.
Me:  Not reading books or shopping together or snuggling?
WAC: Ugh, fine.  Snuggle with me.

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

Build Legos.

What is your favorite thing to do with Truman?

Boss him around. {starts giggling}
Me: What?  No!  Pick something different.
WAC: Stare at his beautiful eyes. {more giggling}
Me: Oh my.
WAC: Well, I do like to play with him on the avocado.  {A blow up pool toy}

What was your favorite thing you did this summer?

Visiting Legoland in London!  My favorite ride was the Ninjago ride.

What are you most excited about this year in school?  

Meeting new friends.
Me: And?
 WAC: Having fun!
Me: And?
WAC: Playing soccer!
Me: And?
WAC: Please stop saying and!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

An astronaut who studies space rocks

What is your favorite movie?

Despicable Me 3

What is your favorite toy or stuffed animal?

Fuzzbert my Porg!

Here's to a fabulous year of First Grade my buddy.  You are brave, kind and courageous!  We love you to pieces and look forward to watching you grow this year!

Winston in Kindergarten

100 Days of Kindergarten

Around here schools make a big to-do for the 100th day of Kindergarten.  I think it's because they have a goal to teach each student how to count to 100, but don't quote me on that! 😂  Winston came home with the task of making a shirt that contained one hundred items on it.  It could be anything he wanted just not anything too heavy as he would be wearing the shirt all day at school.  

Winston threw out so many options: dinosaurs, air planes, pom poms, Lego bricks.  We finally landed on monsters with 100 googly eyes!  I went to Hobby Lobby where I bought a shirts in a few different colors {including one for Truman!}, googly eyes in all shapes, sizes and colors, a 20 pack of puff paint and a tube of E6000 glue.  

To set up, I sliced one of our many Amazon boxes in pieces and put a piece in each shirt to prevent the two sides sticking together once we decorating started!

Truman Starts Year 2!

Truman returns to the sweet preschool program that our family has been apart of since Winston was 18 months old.  Last year was a special year because both boys were there together.  This year is special because Truman proudly calls it his school and waves with big smiles at everyone we walk pass!  One of the many things I love about the place where Truman attends is that we are familiar with the amazing teachers and staff.  So going into Meet the Teacher, Truman already knew the two ladies that would be spending the year with our little guy.  In fact, one of them taught Winston when he was in this class!  I was pregnant with Truman during that time so she has seen him grow up through the years!  Truman picked out his Moo Moo shirt to wear for the Meet the Teacher and of course, Moo Moo came along too!  {Two of them actually, if you can see! 😂}

On the first day of school Truman was excited to go "like Winston goes to school."  He was a champ walking into his class, grabbing his nap mat and carrying it in all on his own.  

I am so eager to see how Truman will continue to grow and develop over the next months.  Already he has come home from school telling me about friends, new songs he is learning and all about the blue and green slides on the playground!  😍  At two, Truman is a comical little guy who loves for us to play right along side with him although he is content to be lost in his own imagination at times too.  He is caring and loving, he loves music and wants to know what the names of songs are.  He is quite strong willed and while that quality can be exhausting and overwhelming when trying to parent, I pray that God will use it for his glory!  Truman has a catch phrase and it just slays me with cuteness each time he says it.  It's a few times a day that we hear Trumy exclaim, "Oh my stars!" in relation to seeing something exciting, in relation to a great lunch laid before him or while we're out shopping.  Trumy is also very interested in having options for breakfast, for what to wear, for what to do next and if I don't give him any he'll tell me, "Gimme some options, Mommy!"  

And now for the questions that he answered this year!  I have to say that in the Spring of this year I was worried that he wasn't speaking much.  He understood what we were saying but wasn't quite yet interested in talking.  And why should he be?  Winston talked a lot for him! 😂  Gradually, Truman started stringing words into sentences and now I have two little chatterboxes!  I wouldn't trade it for the world.

How old are you?

I two!

What is your favorite color?

Orange

What is your favorite food? 

Macaroni and cheese.

What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas!

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?

Watch a show.

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? 

Build Legos and take a nap!

What is your favorite thing to do with Winston? 

Build a fort and play outside.

What was your favorite thing you did this summer?

White House and water balloons.

What are you most excited about this year in school?  

 Playdoh and playing with trains

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

A dentist like daddy.

What is your favorite movie?

Lightening McQueen

What is your favorite toy or stuffed animal?

Moo Moo!  

Truman, you are sweet little buddy to your friends, you love fiercely and are quick to learn new things.  May this year be full of adventure and fun!  I am so thankful I get a front row spot to seeing you grow!

Winston starts Kindergarten!

This year Winston started Kindergarten at an elementary school about a mile away from us.  He was super excited!  Our school did an excellent job at ensuring the students were ready to find their way to their class on the first day by hosting a Meet the Teacher night as well as a Kindergarten Round-Up the next day.  This extra meeting provided an hour for the students to be in their classes while we were inundated with all sorts of information about the front office, clinic, drop off/pick up and lunches.

A sweet friend made this shirt for WAC and it seemed like the most appropriate thing to wear on Round Up morning!

On the morning of the big day, he we eager to get on the road to his new class!  Benjamin had the day off making the drop off that much more special!  Winston led the way to his classroom without any hesitation.   I am proud to say that I held it together {for the most part!} and all of us, even Truman, counted down to when we would go and pick up him in the afternoon.

When we were on the bike when we saw a rainbow in the sky!  Winston in all of his sweetness said, "That's God saying He'll always be with me.  I am going to be strong and courageous!"  {Cue all the tears but not too many tears because I was driving the bike!}  That moment was exactly what I needed to know that we were sending a pretty cool little human into the next chapter of his life prepared with the knowledge that God was always near him.

When we picked him up that afternoon, he was all smiles and buzzing about his amazing day with two recesses and lots of new friends.  The phrase, "...because I'm in Kindergarten now" comes up a lot reinforcing to me just how grown up he is.  And then there are moments when he still wants to curl up in my lap and suck his thumb and I cherish those times because I know they won't last forever.

In order to revive this space as a way to document life in our family, I asked Winston a series of questions that I hope to continue asking him each year before the beginning of school.  Some of his answers were so comical!  

How old are you?
Five!

What is your favorite color?

Green.  No blue, definitely blue!

What is your favorite food?

My favorite chicken!

Me:  What is your favorite chicken?

WAC: You know, the chicken with the sauce and the brown.  Oh, just say rolls!

Me:  Whaaaat?! 😂

What is your favorite holiday?

My favorite holiday is Halloween!  oooOooOo!!!

What is your favorite thing to do with Mom?

I like it when I snuggle up with her and she reads me books.

WAC: I didn't say read me books!

Me:  I know, I put that in there! 😜

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

Build Legos.

What is your favorite thing to do with Truman?

My favorite thing to do with Truman is building forts together.  Usually, I do all the forts and he helps a little.

What was your favorite thing you did this summer?

Spend time with Dharma on our vacation to the Ford City House!  Love it when we play water balloons!

What are you most excited about this year in school?  

Making new friends and running in fast races.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Hmmmm.  A race car driver!

What is your favorite movie?

My favorite movie is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer!  

Me: Really?

WAC: Yes, really!

Me: Not any of the other movies we watch all the time?

WAC: Well, I do like Lego Ninjago too.

What is your favorite toy or stuffed animal?

My favorite toy is Legos and my favorite stuffed animal is Leafy.  {Who is the Canadian Beanie Baby}  And we can't forget Lego blankie!  

Here's to a great year full of new firsts, big adventures, lots of learning and growing.  We love you Winston Ace; you are going to rock Kindergarten!