Phoebe's October Schoolwork

Phoebe received a Positive Office Referral from her teacher and principal on October 7th.  Character traits that apply to her deed or accomplishments, per her teacher, are respect, honesty, attitude, preparation, and integrity.  Her teacher wrote, "Phoebe is a great example of a model student.  She comes to school every day with a smile and a great attitude.  Phoebe always shows integrity and classmates follow the good choices she makes.  She is ALWAYS respectful to students and adults.  Sometimes she has a little ornery side which is always fun to see.  I really enjoy having Phoebe in class.  My goal is to have her talk to me more."  The principal wrote, "Phoebe is maturing into a nice young lady.  She demonstrates school PRIDE every single day.  Keep up the sweet, positive attitude."  For getting a Positive Office Referral Phoebe got to add her name to the Good Behavior bulletin board in the hallway, got a free kid's meal coupon to Chick-fil-A, and gets to attend a pizza party lunch with the principal and other students who earned a Positive Office Referral in the month of October.

Tell me your favorite things about school so far this year.
Phoebe:  "Candy from the desk monster.  Doing art projects. Lunch and recess.  Taking A.R. tests.  Getting gum from my teacher."

Tell me your least favorite things about school so far this year.
Phoebe:  "Math, because I have to count to 120.  At recess I don't like people being mean to me, like punching me."

What are some of your favorite books that you have read lately?

Phoebe:  "The Shy Little Kitten and the Bible."

Phoebe's class is participating in the Pizza Hut Book-It program again this year.  She must read 6 books every month, record the titles and authors, and turn it in to her teacher before the end of the month.  If this is completed each month the students are rewarded on an individual basis with a coupon for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.

Every student at the girls' school is participating in the Mighty Milers program this year. (from the Mighty Miler website), Mighty Milers is a FREE running program for kids of all fitness levels from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.  It's designed to get kids moving and prevent obesity and illness.  Participation in Mighty Milers helps kids build their self-esteem, and learn to make and reach personal goals.  Over the course of a program cycle, children in Mighty Milers set goals to run and/or walk a certain distance and earn rewards for reaching milestones along the way.  To find out more about the Mighty Miler program and get information about bringing the program to your school,

Click HERE on their website, mightymilers.org

There are incentives and rewards for running/walking miles in the Mighty Milers program.  Phoebe has already earned her membership card, the drawstring bag, and the T-shirt in her grade level group (Pre-K through 1st grade).

What did you think your teacher would dress-up like for Halloween?
Phoebe:  "A Pumpkin."

Phoebe is doing GREAT in math.  She seems to understand the concepts being reviewed and taught so far this year.  She completes her math homework with ease and accuracy.

Tell me something that is hard or challenging for you in math.
Phoebe: "Counting to 120."

Your class took a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  Tell me about it.  What were some of your favorite things about the Pumpkin Patch?

Phoebe:  "We got to ride on a barrel pulled by a tractor.  We got to run around in hay maze.  We got to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.  I ate a sack lunch there."

Phoebe's Fall School Picture

Phoebe's teacher had all positive and fantastic things to tell us about Phoebe's first nine weeks at school.  She is right where she needs to be academically and above level in math.  Way to go, Phoebe!

At school on Halloween there was an all-school Halloween parade in the gym.  Parents were welcome to come and watch with the students.  Each class took a turn parading around the gym so that everyone could see each other's costumes.  After the parade all of the students went back to their classrooms for their fall classroom parties.

Phoebe's teacher dressed up as the Cat In The Hat.

What was your favorite costume that you saw another kid or adult wearing at school?
Phoebe:  "My teacher!  The Cat In The Hat."

Silas wore his Lion costume to the school and got to enjoy some party snacks with Phoebe's class.  Phoebe's class is pictured below, in their Halloween costumes.

Pumpkin Run 5k and 1k

On October 22nd, the girls and I participated in WSU's Pumpkin Run.  The 5k and 1k run is held on the Wichita State University Campus.  We each received a great glow-in-the-dark Pumpkin Run t-shirt.  (The girls have both already worn theirs to school to show their friends and teachers.)

There were over 500 people in the 5k race.  It was a great course with some hills, along sidewalks and on roads throughout campus.  The streets throughout campus were blocked off prior to the race and reopened after all races were over.

Sarah fell behind me a bit but kept pushing herself to run hard.

She always amazes me at the end of her 5k races!  In the progression of pictures below you can see her begin her sprint and pass several adults at the end of her race.  She has done this at each 5k she has run in so far...passing people to better her overall place and her time.

AMAZING race for both of us!  I am so impressed with how far Sarah's running smarts have come in one year!  She continues to improve her times too.  

Sarah placed 177th out of 552 runners in the Pumpkin Run 5k.  She got her PR (personal record) 5k time, 27:42, and placed 1st in her female age division out of 6 other females.  WAY TO GO, SARAH!  I placed 121st out of 552 runners in the Pumpkin Run 5k.  My time continues to improve also, 25:47 (not as fast as my high school running days, but getting it trimmed back down slowly).  I placed 2nd in my female age division out of 22 other females.

In between the 5k race and the 1k race the kids each painted a small pumpkin.

When it was time to line-up for the 1k, Phoebe asked me to run with her.  I said, "sure", and we were off!

Phoebe ran hard for her entire race.  She worked on her breathing, pacing herself, and sprinting at the end of the race.  Great job, Phoebe!

The Pumpkin Run was organized and well run.  We had a beautiful and fun fall morning as a family.  This is a 5k and 1k race I would recommend to other individuals and families next year.

Halloween 2016 ~ Wizard Of Oz

This year our kids decided to dress as Wizard of Oz characters for Halloween.  We couldn't talk Eric into dressing up this year so only the kids wore costumes.  Sarah was the Wicked Witch.  Phoebe was Dorothy.  And, Silas was the Lion.  They all hadn't actually seen the movie The Wizard Of Oz until about two weeks ago.  We decided to have a family movie night and watch it all together so that they would know about the character that they were going to dress as on Halloween.  I was afraid that parts of the movie might scare them and they wouldn't be able to sleep.  So far so good though.  No bad dreams yet.  

We started our Halloween festivities at the girl's school with a Halloween parade and classroom parties.  

Next we headed to Eric's office to trick-or-treat everyone there.  It was fun to visit Eric at work and see other friends he works with, and some of their children dressed up too.

Back at home we regrouped, ate a quick dinner, took some pictures, and headed out for trick-or-treating on our street and to a church trunk-or-treat.

The Wicked Witch ~ Sarah

She wasn't crazy about the big green witch nose as part of her costume.  She said it hurt her face to wear it.  She didn't smile in many of my pictures.  I thought it was because she was really getting into being a witch, but she told me the nose hurt her face even more when she smiled.

The Cowardly Lion ~ Silas

While trick-or-treating, I prompted Silas to tell one man what he was searching for... (the answer, which we had rehearsed several times, was obviously COURAGE).  He told the man the other obvious answer, CANDY.

Dorothy ~ Phoebe

Phoebe liked her sparkly shoes and carrying Toto in the little basket.

Silas and his Jack-O-Lantern.

Phoebe and her Jack-O-Lantern.

Sarah and her Jack-O-Lantern.

Popee and Nanee visited us for a few hours.  They went to the Halloween parade to see all the kids and teachers dressed up in their costumes, trick-or-treated Eric's office with us, and ate dinner with us, then headed home.

We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz.....

The Lion, Dorothy, and the Wicked Witch had a nice time trick-or-treating.  They got along well, (no melting of each other) and came HOME with buckets FULL of candy.  No clicking of the heels required.

Carving Our Pumpkins

Eric helped the kids carve their pumpkins the night before Halloween.  We looked at pictures of Jack-O-Lanterns on cards and in books for ideas.  Each one picked a completely different face.  Then Eric drew them onto the pumpkins and cut the tops off.

Sarah still does not like to put her hands into the pumpkin goop.  She wants someone to help her, and by help her I mean do it for her....  She did a little bit and then had help from me, Phoebe, and Eric.

Phoebe dug right into her pumpkin...with both hands!

Silas was a little hesitant, but once he got started he kept on taking seeds and goop out a little at a time.

Here they are with their finished Jack-O-Lanterns.  Sarah was a silly smiler.  Phoebe's had a dog face, and Silas's had a spooky face.

Thank you Eric, for being our best and favorite pumpkin carver!  This job takes a certain amount of patience and skill, and you've got both.  We love you.

Happy Halloween Eve!