Sarah's August And September Schoolwork

Welcome back to school!  Sarah is in 4th grade this year.

Sarah was excited for school to start and a little nervous this year.  We knew she would be fine once she got in there with her friends, and got use to the new 4th grade routine.  It helped that we got to meet the teachers and see the classrooms the day before school started.  We talked to her teacher and found out she is a Royals fan (she even went to the same Royals vs. the Rangers game that we did on a hot night in Texas last summer), and even better yet, she is a Kansas State University graduate!  She and Sarah can wear purple and Wildcats all year long together!  She was excited to hear that Sarah had run in the Bill Snyder 5k last Spring, and even more excited to hear that we all had gotten to meet and take a picture with Coach Snyder.

Sarah has homework almost every night, a math worksheet and to read for 10-20 minutes.  She also has a spelling test and a math quiz at the end of every week that she has to study for at home.  Toward the end of September, 4th grade started to play their Recorders again in music, so she also has to practice her Recorder at home.  She reviewed songs from last year and has started to learn some new songs.

What has been the hardest or most challenging for you so far this year?
Sarah:  "It's math.  We have to do more work and it is a lot of new stuff, and reviewing a little."

Tell me about the book report quilt you made, pictured below.
Sarah:  "First we read the Sarah Plain and Tall book.  Then we started to work on our projects.  Then while we were working on our projects we got to watch the movie Sarah Plain and Tall.  The quilt took a lot of time to make.  I liked making it."

You are participating in an after school program this fall called Girls On The Run.  Tell me about it.
Sarah:  "There are 18 girls at my school in GOTR.  We meet two times a week.  When we meet we all get a snack.  Then we do an activity, stretch, and then we run.  I like the running part.  We run for 20 - 40 minutes each day at GOTR.  The activities/lessons at each practice are team building, self-esteem building, and about making healthy good choices.  At the end of our season, in November, we will run a 5k with our running buddies, and all the other GOTR people and teachers/coaches.  My running buddy is mommy."

What is your favorite special so far this year?
Sarah:  "Music because we get to play Recorders."

Tell me about the art project below.
Sarah:  "We had to pose and then my teacher took our pictures.  Then she printed them and we cut ourselves out.  The we drew and colored a picture of our background.  We each had to create a fall picture and then glue the picture of ourselves onto the fall picture.  I glued myself jumping into the leaves.  I called mine Autumn Chilly Day."

We are thankful that Sarah wants to do her best at school and in her activities that she participates in.  She is determined, has a fighting spirit, a desire to win, a kind heart, and compassion for others.

Phoebe's August And September Schoolwork

Welcome back to school!  Phoebe is in first grade this year.

She was excited for the first day of school.  She has several of her friends from last year (kindergarten) in her class again this year.

Phoebe has math and reading homework every week.  She has to read one book and practice reading her Lightning Words as quickly as she can each evening.  She usually has one or two math worksheets to complete at home per week to help reinforce what she is learning that week at school.

Phoebe made (wrote and illustrated) this cute little book at school called "Friends Play", by Phoebe.

Friends play marbles.

Friends play tag.

Friends are fun.

Phoebe has had the desk monster visit her desk a couple of times already this year.  Each time the monster has visited has been when her class is not in the classroom.  The monster comes in and inspects their desks, then leaves them little notes, like the one below, and a piece of candy.

Do you take your lunch or eat a hot school lunch?
Phoebe: "I take my lunch to school.  I pack a sandwich, water, a juicebag, fruitchews, breakfast bars, applesauce, crackers, muddy buddies, and cookies.  I don't take it all at one time.  I pack a sandwich, a drink, and three more things."

What is your favorite special so far this year?
Phoebe:  "P.E.  I like it because we get to throw bean bags into a hula hoop and then get a clothes pin and put it on your shirt.  You try to see how many you can get.  We also stack can lids to see how many we can make in a stack."

What do you do in your classroom for morning work?
Phoebe:  "Sometimes we write sentences and sometimes we do different things."

What do you like to do at recess time?  Who do you play with?
Phoebe:  "I like to play house and tag.  I play with Lila, Rayna, Abby, and Lydia, and Molly."

We are thankful the Phoebe enjoys going to school, learning, and being with her friends.  She likes all of the first grade teachers.  She told me her teacher is her favorite and that he is funny.

The Pumpkin Patch 2016

We went to the Pumpkin Patch last Saturday.  It is our 7th year in a row to enjoy Papa's Pumpkin Patch just north of Newton, Kansas.  There is no admission fee, and only minimal fees to take part in some activities throughout the Patch and charges for a pumpkin if you pick one.  They have many varieties of pumpkins to choose from... some are already picked and brought up out of the Patch, but the majority are left out in the Patch so that families and children can experience walking out into the Patch together and really picking their own pumpkin.  Wagons and cutting tools are provided.

A free activity that our children ALWAYS love is the giant white slide.  While we were there last weekend they were finishing up adding in a second big white slide close to the farm playground.

On our way to the Patch this year, one of our tires sprang a big leak.  Enough of a leak that Eric and I did not feel comfortable with both of us staying at the Patch and letting it keep going down... So, Eric dropped us off and headed back to town to get it fixed.  Three hours and one new tire later we met him back at home.  We were especially thankful that Popee and Nanee had decided to go to the Patch with us this year!  We were able to have fun with them there and then get a ride with them back to our house while Daddy was taking care of the tire issues.

It is no secret that Fall is my favorite season, so I always make my kids pose for some Fall pictures while we're at the Patch.

Hendrickson kids at the Patch ~ 2016

We took a hay rack ride all over the Patch before walking around and picking out our pumpkins.

There were several large fields filled with orange, green, white, grey, striped, and bumpy pumpkins of all sizes.

The kids picked to try out the Straw Scramble this year.  They were given three minutes to dig around in the straw for candy and coins.  They each found some candy and coins.  Sarah had the most coins and Phoebe found the most candy.

They liked using the corn grinder to clean the corn off the ears of field corn.

There is a new farm animal petting barn and outdoor area this year.

Our kids liked seeing and petting goats, calves, bunnies, pigs, a cat, chickens, and turkeys.

Headed out to the Patch.....

Sarah found a giant tall pumpkin first that she wanted.  She had to have help to carry it to our wagon.  It weighed over 30 pounds!  Phoebe found a shorter round pumpkin with a giant stem for herself.

And, I encouraged Silas to pick this nice smaller orange and green pumpkin.  He thought it was cute and was excited to pick it and to hold it.

Our last activity that each of our kids tried with Popee's help was the Potato Gun type shooters.  They each got two shots for a dollar.

It was a beautiful Fall day.  We missed having Eric with us, but had a lot of fun and picked some great pumpkins.

To find out more about Papa's Pumpkin Patch click this link - papaspumpkinpatchks.com

or find them on facebook - PAPA'S PUMPKIN PATCH - Newton, Kansas