August Schoolwork

Sarah has had a great first few weeks of first grade....

The first couple of days she got a little frustrated because she told us that everyone kept going over and over all the rules with her class.  She was ready to get started learning and having fun... but each teacher needed to go over the classroom rules and expectations first.  Below is a rule sheet that she made in her classroom.  It is a picture of David, from the "No, David" books, holding the rules that she copied onto her paper.

She has her own desk this year.  The desks have been pushed into groups of four or six children.  Tyson was the boy that was sitting next to her in her group.

The first grades at Sarah's school switch classrooms for different subjects.  They also switch teachers for levelized learning in reading and math.  Right now, Sarah is in the high groups for both reading and math.  Go Sarah!

Me:  What is Jitter Juice?  What did your class do with the Jitter Juice?

Sarah: "It was Sprite with, I think it was cherry ice cream in it.  That's Jitter Juice.  We drank it.  I think three kids didn't like it.  It kinda tastes like Sprite to me."

Me:  What things do you like the best about first grade so far?

Sarah: "Making the Back-to-School Book.  The sticker chart in my planner. The Jitter Juice.  P.E. I just like to run."

 

Me:  You have taken your lunch most days so far, but you have chosen to eat a school lunch a few times. What do you think of eating at school?  Have you liked the school lunches?

Sarah: "Good.  I did not like the quesadilla.  I did like meatball sub and the fudgesicle."

Me: You switch classrooms and have a different teacher for Science... What has been your favorite thing that you have gotten to do or learned during Science time so far?

Sarah: "Bringing two bean seeds and a little pinch of grass seeds home in a little plastic bag.  When they are starting to grow we are supposed to put them outside.  Then watch them grow."

Rosita Web Hendrickson

This is the cool Garden Spider we found in our front flower bed last weekend.  She is a little smaller than others that I have seen before, but just as fun to watch.  My Mom use to have one of these harmless spiders in her classroom every fall for her 3rd graders to watch, help feed, and learn about.  

These Garden Spiders will catch bugs in their web, wrap the bugs up in silk, and then bring them back to the zig-zag part that they spun and eat them there or save them for later to eat.  When my Mom had them in her classroom she would feed them a cricket everyday or every other day.  Using a pair of tweezers she would carefully place the live cricket into the spider's web and the spider would quickly run over, capture the cricket, and get to work wrapping it up and eating it.

So, when my parents came to visit us this week they taught the girls how to feed our new spider crickets.  Now each day since then the girls and I have tried feeding it a cricket.  We have had some success and a lot of fun watching and checking on the spider.

In the picture below the spider has just captured a cricket and is wrapping it up in its silk.

Still wrapping it up....

And, in the picture below everyone is checking out our supply of crickets that we have saved in the bug barn to feed the spider.

Just today, Phoebe told me she had named our spider, Rosita.  Tonight Sarah decided because Phoebe got to choose the spider's first name she would pick its middle name and last name.  First The spider was Rosita Jo Hendrickson, but after we all said it outloud and laughed... a lot, Sarah changed it to Rosita Web Hendrickson.  So, Rosita Web Hendrickson... We want to give you a great big WELCOME to our yard!  We hope you enjoy all the crickets and various other bugs we try to feed you.  Thanks for sticking around and tolerating some very interested little girls.

ALS Walk In Emporia

Below is a t-shirt quilt that I made for my friend, Shirley.  Her husband was Jeff, also one of my good friends.  Jeff died from ALS, (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 2006.  For many years while Jeff was still living we participated in the ALS Association's walks to help raise money for research and those living with ALS.  We still walk each year in memory of Jeff, and for those that are still battling ALS.  I used as many of our "TEAM MCCLOUD" t-shirts as I could find from past years to make this quilt for Shirley.

We walked in the Emporia ALS Walk last Saturday morning.  My dad co-chairs the walk with Gary Ace.  It was a nice morning, sunny and warm.

We had a little spot set up for "Team McCloud" to gather....

Lots of people showed up to walk in honor and in memory of friends and loved ones....

Phoebe wanted Daddy to carry her most of the 2 miles.... Sarah walked almost the whole 2 miles, and got a short 50 yard ride from Daddy near the end of the walk.

My Dad and Gary worked very hard to gather many items from the community for a silent auction.  It was very successful!  There were food vouchers and coupons from local restaurants, Starbucks coffee and tea baskets, tools, Royals tickets, handmade items like birdhouses and bird feeders, pies, a t-shirt quilt that I made, and a quilted table runner, Clint Bowyer autographed shirts, a Danny Manning autographed shirt, and a George Brett autographed baseball.

The walk participants and the silent auction combined raised approx $30,000 for the ALS Association.  Great job to all who helped out in any way before, during or after the walk!

The Zoo

On a recent nice Saturday, we took a family trip to the Sedgwick County Zoo.

The zoo is in the process of fixing up and remodeling the inside area of the monkey exhibit so we got to see the Chimpanzees in their outdoor exhibit area.  The baby Chimpanzee is always fun to watch.

Sarah requested that we walk around in the jungle area (Rain Forest).  She likes to see the birds and walk behind the waterfall there.

The zoo has two new baby tigers right now.  They were born this summer.  They are not out for all to see yet, but there is a camera set up inside where they are being kept with their mother, and this is projected out for all visitors to watch in the Tiger exhibit area.

The otters are always fun to look for and watch.  Silas liked standing by the glass and looking into the water.

Silas also liked the Penguins.  Again, he could stand or be held right up by the glass so that he could be up close to the Penguins when they swam by him.