Phoebe's April School Happenings

Phoebe has had another great month of school!  Only a few weeks left and then school will be out for the summer!  Below is the cover page of a workbook titled Kindergarten Morning Work - A Teeny Tiny Teacher, and a few pages out of it that Phoebe completed.  She was excited to bring this book home and to show me that she had completed every page in the workbook.

What have you been learning/doing in Math?
Phoebe:  10 blocks and adding and subtracting

Tell me about the picture you drew below.
Phoebe:  It is me and my friends outside.

What are some things that you learned about plants?
Phoebe:  They need water, sun, soil, seeds, and air to grow.

Tell me about the Bunny that you made below.
Phoebe:  I used shapes.  I had to cut them out and then glue them to make a bunny.

Below, left says "I am the onle wun at has yelloy hiw." (I am the only one that has yellow hair."  Below, right says "a rooster and a chicken cumd. to are has to da." (A rooster and a chicken comed to our house today.)

Below, left says "Dear naneee and popee I like you. Phoebe"  (Dear Nanee and Popee, I like you.  Phoebe)  Below, right says, "a ladybug and a dee and a ant cumd to are haus to ba because it was my brta and we got to slep in a tit" (A Ladybug and a Bee and a Ant comed to our house today because it was my birthday and we got to sleep in a tent.)

You have been learning to read in Kindergarten.  You are getting very good at reading books, signs, and papers.  What is your favorite book to read?
Phoebe:  The Big Red Barn and One Big Pair of Underwear

Below are several farm animal books that you made... What was your favorite animal to learn and make a book about?
Phoebe:  Chickens was my favorite book to make.  Horses were my favorite animal.

Tell me about the bean experiment that you did with your class.

Phoebe:  I had a bean seed and I planted it in a bag with a wet paper towel.  Then my teacher taped the bag on the door.  Then mine got rotten.  Some kids bean plant grew in the bag.  Then we got two bean seeds to take home...only the kids who's got rotten got the new seeds.

Your class got to take a field trip this month to attend and watch the circus.  Tell me about the trip.  What were some of your favorite things you saw?
Phoebe:  We rode the bus to get there.  We went in and find our seats.  Then we waited for the circus to start.  Then it started.  I saw clowns, and Elephants were balancing on balls.  Tigers were jumping into a circle with fire on it.  My favorite things were the Elephants, Tigers, and clowns.  The clowns were funny.  We eat lunch there.

What have you been doing during P.E. time?
Phoebe:  Practicing for field day.  Hula-hooping, egg race, running, Limbo, and bean-bag toss.

Do you like spiders? What did you learn about spiders?
Phoebe:  No!  I learned about that they have eight legs and two body parts.  And some of them have eight eyes.  And some of them are as big as a dinner plate.

Below is Phoebe's April calendar that she brought home every night from school in April.  A parent must initial it each night and send it back to school in the morning.  Each school day, at the end of the day, Phoebe gets to color the square with the color that her clip/clothespin has moved to and is still on at the end of the day. 18 green days and 2 blue days in April.

Birthday Joy

**GUEST BLOGGER**

 ~ Eric Hendrickson ~

My grandma, Dorothy, turned 83 on April 23rd, so we made a trip to Olpe to celebrate with her.

We had a good couple hours of fishing at Grandma's pond.  We caught 9 good sized Channel Cat.  One was over 10lbs.

Phoebe reeled in my first Channel Cat.  Good job, Phoebe.

Mike let all the kids take turns reeling in the big one.

Silas had a lot of fun catching small frogs, helping to reel in whoppers and touching the fish.

After fishing, we went to church, and then went out to eat.  I took a group selfie at the Chicken House.  Starting on the left side: Me, Grandma Dorothy, Gloria, Phoebe, Stacee, Mike.  Right Side: Silas, Paul, Sarah, Marilea, Marvin (Dorothy's older brother)

After dinner, we went back to Grandma's for birthday cake.  Silas picked a chocolate cake with strawberry icing for Grandma.  He also wanted to buy dinosaur shaped candles for the cake, but Stacee steered him toward flower candles instead.  Stacee made the cake and I topped it off with pink and blue sprinkles.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Great.  We love you!

Block Party and Photo Booth Fun

**GUEST BLOGGER**

 ~ Eric Hendrickson ~

Hutton, my employer, has a family event each year called the Hutton Block Party.  This year's event was at the Lawrence-Dumont Baseball Stadium where the minor league baseball team Wichita Wingnuts play baseball.  We were one of the first people to try out the photo booth, so we got to take a handful of pictures before the long line formed.

Sarah took a funny picture with her friend, Bella.

You got to take 4 pictures per turn and there was 7 seconds between each picture.  Therefore, you had to be quick to the next prop for your next picture.

Below, Stacee, Phoebe, and Silas got a picture with Spinner the squirrel, the Wingnut's mascot.

Other activities included playing wiffle ball on the field, corn hole game, a gaming trailer, catch with the football, inflatables, and a live band.  A ballpark type meal and snacks were served.  They had also planned on doing fireworks at the end of the night, but it was too windy.  We had a great time and stayed till the end (9pm).

MS Walk 2016

Last Saturday was the MS Walk in Wichita.  It was our 5th year in a row to participate in Walk MS.  We had a smaller walking team this year, but we had a large group of friends and family who supported us with their thoughts, prayers, and funds.  Many of you have supported our "Go For Gloria" Walk team for several years.  We want to express our gratitude to each of you.  Without the funds raised the National MS Society would not be able to provide life-changing programs, ground-breaking research, and guarantee a supportive community for those with MS and their families who need it most.  So, THANK YOU!

Multiple Sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that disrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.  Mom was diagnosed with MS in 2009.  She actually started showing some symptoms in the 1980's (vision changes), but was not officially diagnosed until almost 20 years later when other symptoms appeared and many tests were run to get answers.  Today, when asked, Mom would always tell you that she is doing "good".  She wouldn't want you to think any different.  But, MS has changed her life.  She no longer has the energy she use to.  She gets tired and becomes fatigued easily and quickly.  It is harder for her to walk, especially up and down stairs, and she can lose her balance easily.  She has walking sticks to help her keep her balance as she walks, a weighted therapy vest that she wears daily that helps her with balance, and one loving husband who holds her hand and her heart on days that seem the hardest.  Modifications have been made in my parents house to help her to be able to stay in their home and get around the house safely.  She still treats her MS with Copaxone shots 3 days a week and other medication that she takes help to slow the MS symptoms.

Before the Walk there were a few tables and booths set up for walkers to check out.  We found Starbucks offering coffee and sweet treats, MS information tables, and tables that provided information about different drugs available to those with MS.

We also found WU there!  He is the Wichita State Shockers mascot.  Some of our walkers were excited to see him and get a picture taken with him... others were not so sure about getting too close to him....

Silas wanted to look at WU from a distance and talked about meeting him, but when he had the chance would only get about 4 feet from him, and would not even give WU a "five".  Maybe next time.

Gloria Balding from Wichita's KAKE News Good Morning Kansas was there to help emcee the event.  She noticed our team t-shirts right away and told us how much she liked them.  She was a fan of our team and our shirts when she found out we were team "Go For GLORIA"!  Of course we had to get a couple pictures of the two Gloria's and one with WU.  WU really liked the Gloria's too!

10 Facts about MS

1. Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system.

2. More than 2.3 million people are affected by MS worldwide.

3. Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50.

4. Women are much more likely to develop MS than men.

5. There is no evidence MS is directly inherited.

6. It is challenging to diagnose MS.

7. No two people have exactly the same symptoms.

8. MS symptoms can be invisible.

9. The majority of people with MS do not become severely disabled.

10. MS has no cure.

Dad and Sarah went up onto the stage with Gloria Balding to introduce our team and to tell about our team t-shirts.  Our team logo was designed 5 years ago by my brother-in-law, EP.  He did a great job and was able to design something we could wear every year and put onto other things such as stickers, postcards, and our Go For Gloria facebook page so that our team could be easily identified and used from year to year.

Sarah wanted to walk the mile route with Popee.  When "GO" was said for all to hear, Sarah and Popee took off.  Power-walking, and passing people in front of them like crazy.  This was NOT a race, but when Sarah is lined up and the word "Go" is shouted, (or whispered) a switch flips, she gets the itch to win, and Miss Competitive comes alive.  She even ran the last stretch of the walk to pass as many people as she could and becoming the 2nd person to cross the finish line on the 1 mile route this year.  Good job, Sarah!  Way to Go For Gloria!

Our 2016 "Go For Gloria" Team Fundraising Stats:

• We had 9 registered team members.  
• 7 registered team members raised $100 or more.  3 of them are under the age of 10!
• Our team total raised this year was $930.
• Altogether team "Go For Gloria" has raised $15,070 over our 5 years of participating in Walk MS for the National MS Society.  (approximated totals rounded to the nearest ten are as follows:  2016 - $930, 2015 - $4500, 2014 - $1560, 2013 - $4090, 2012 - $4000)

We brought our lawn chairs and found a nice spot where team "Go For Gloria" could all sit together before and after the walk.  Lunch was provided for all the walkers and participants as they finished their one or three mile walk.

Again, "THANK YOU", to everyone who has donated funds to the National MS Society, helped us raise awareness of this disease, and given your time to participate or volunteer for MS events.  By giving, you are helping to STOP MS in its tracks, RESTORE lost function and END MS forever.

CLICK HERE to be taken to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's website. This site is a very good resource.  It provides a wealth of information about Multiple Sclerosis: Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment, research, support, and ways you can be involved.