Peace Center – “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory”
Play at the Peace Center – “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory”
The girls went to a play at the Peace Center with their class called “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory”. I was able to go along with them as a chaperone with Brina’s class. The play was about various songs and activities from both the North and South during the time of the Civil War. The girls are currently studying about the Civil War so this was good timing. The kids enjoyed hearing the stories behind the songs as well. Thankful for an opportunity to go with the girls on this trip and see this play.
Brina was my school bus buddy! I went with her class as a chaperone, but her class was on the bus with Karlie’s class too so I got to see both kiddos.
Karlie having fun chatting on the bus ride to the Peace Center
STEM Robotics Competition
The “Crosswell Flares” logo and design the kids came up with for this year.
The girls STEM Robotics Team – The Crosswell Flares – did a great job this weekend! It was their first year in the competition and a long day (left the house at 7 am and wasn’t back home until around 7 pm that night), but all their hard work paid off they got 2 Trophies!!! The girls had a blast, learned a lot, and met a lot of people from various schools in the area!
The tagline they came up with was “Keep your flame in the game” which was on the back of their shirts along with the list of team members.
With so many people around the robot table during the competition this was the best picture we could get that day. This is their robot going through the course. They were able to accomplish all their missions that they had programmed and practiced.
The team getting ready to start the competition!
Brina very excited about her “swag bag”! As part of the competition each team made swag bags for their team members then they would have the opportunities to trade items with other teams. It stimulated a lot of interaction among the various teams. They were actually judged on this piece of the competition as well.
Karlie showing off her swag bag! Their team actually won a trophy for this part of the competition which included their sportsmanship and values.
They won 2 trophies! It was a long day and a lot of work, but they did fantastic! The kids were troopers! This was the teams first year competing against 17 teams (most of which have been competing for several years). Proud of all the kids and coaches for all the hard work. Good Job!!!
Loom Bracelet Craze
The girls have a loom bracelet set and over the past few weeks there has been loom bracelets popping up everywhere in our house, car, backpacks and random places. In one day they went from making no loom bracelets to do several in a day. Not to mention, the little individual bands have been sprinkled like confetti around the house.
The girls are learning that these are not only fun making they are a blast trading with friends, giving them away to friends, or teaching their friends how to make them. They go to school with a certain amount of bracelets and come home with a different amount and a variety of other colors. They’ll even make custom-colored and various size bracelets for friends too. Yes, they even made one for Mom and Dad (we were recipients of the first couple they made)!
It’s neat to see them making these and sharing them with others. The nice part about them being easy to weave together is they can make several in one day. Since starting making the loom bands they have discovered a number of different patterns, shapes, sizes, and neat designs. So even though they learned how to make them one way they have adapted to learn a variety of ways to make the bracelets.
A pile of bracelets put on their bar stool the night before so they could put them on before school at breakfast time.
A common sight laying around our house the past few months!
Brina ready for school with a stack of bracelets on her arm.
The bracelets Brina made
Karlie ready to go to school with an armful of bracelets
Karlie’s bracelets she made in one night.
Lunch Box Notes
Brina and Karlie lunch containers with a note
Every once in awhile I write to a note and stick it in the girls school lunch boxes. They always like finding their notes and over the months I notice they keep a stash of notes inside one of the pockets of their lunch boxes. The fun part is coming up with something different to do for each note. For this note I wrote their names in bold marker colors and attached them with Disney princess tape to the outside of their lunch containers.
Brina’s Note
Most time the notes are the same or similar with only slight variants. The notes for this particular day both read: “Have a great day at school! Learn a lot and have fun! I look forward to seeing you soon! Love, Mom XOXO”
Karlie’s Note
What are some creative ways you leave notes for your kids or spouse to brighten up their day?
Lunch Box Surprises: A Banana with a Name
Karlie & Brina’s bananas for lunch
When I make school lunches for the girls I try to put in something fun or interesting into their lunch boxes. Usually they don’t see what surprise I have added until they open their lunch box at school. I use a variety of different notes, treats, and special items for their lunches. One of the treats I have been doing this year is tattooing their bananas before sticking them into their lunches. They have gotten a real kick out of seeing tattooed bananas appear in their lunch boxes!
I love discovering new and easy ways to add a little spark to their meal! Both girls enjoy bananas and will take them in their lunches plus we typically have a variety of tattoos from random places around to put to use. These tattoos were from the girls last visit to the eye doctor.
One day as I was tattooing their bananas Jake suggested adding their names to the bananas too. I took a butter knife and lightly scratched their names into the bananas and drew a heart around their tattoos. As the scratched parts became exposed to the air the lettering began to darken and this is what it looked like a short while later. Our family usually packs lunches the night before so these went in the lunch boxes and fridge at night; the next morning when I added the ice packs the bananas looked the same as pictured above. The girls thought these were awesome!
Native American Homes – Extra Credit School Project
Now that the girls are in third grade is seems like they have more “hands-on” projects coming up these past few weeks. They had the opportunity to earn extra credit for Social Studies by building a replica of a South Carolina Native American home. They spent a lot of time building their houses, writing out their facts, and presenting their project to the class. Thank goodness for a yard full of saplings, vines, monkey grass, and for Jake who is creative and patient when helping the girls.
The girls really LOVED the arrow heads (even though they did not come from SC). The arrow heads are actually ones that Jake and his Grandpa Hayes collected when he was a boy. Both girls did well and got a 100% on their extra credit projects. Even though they worked hours on this project they told us it was one of the most fun homework projects they had ever done and would love to do more! Glad they enjoyed it because it was a great way to learn even more about the Native Americans from South Carolina.
Brina building the structure out of saplings for her Longhouse
Brina’s House:
- Longhouse
- Cherokee Native American’s lived in Longhouses in the summer months
- The Cherokee’s live in the Blue Ridge Mountain Region of South Carolina
Karlie weaving vines to make the structure for her Wattle & Daub
Karlie’s House:
- Wattle & Daub House
- Cherokee’s from the Blue Ridge Mountain Region lived in a Wattle & Daub house during the winter
- Yemassee’s from the Coastal Zone Region also lived in a Wattle & Daub house during the winter
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
It was great having some extra time this past weekend with the family over Memorial Day. Only a couple more weeks of packing school lunches and then we’ll be into Summer Break! I am really excited about having the girls home for the summer and we have a lot of super fun activities planned.
Lunch Box Meal
- Ham Sandwiches
- Fresh Carrots
- Pickles
- Animal Crackers or Granola Bar
- Chips
- Fresh Apple
- Vanilla Yogurt
- Juice Bag
The girls are getting really good at packing their lunches, but I know they will enjoy having a little break once summer hits. Thankful they are still excited about bringing their lunch to school. Every once in a while we’ll have them eat at school as a special treat and even then sometimes they prefer to take their own lunch.
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
The girls always love taking school lunches. It is hard to believe that before long the girls will be done with school and summer break will be started. We are looking forward to a lot of fun activities over the summer together.
Lunch Box Meal
- PB&J Sandwich for Karlie & Soy & Jelly Sandwich for Brina
- Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce
- Yellow Pear Tomatoes
- Apple Slices
- Strawberry Yogurt
- Chips
- Water Bottle
Thankful the girls enjoy taking lunch to school. It is nice knowing exactly what the girls are eating for lunch. Over the next few weeks we’ll have a few field trips and other activities over lunch so not too many more days and they’ll have a break from packing their lunch boxes everyday. We’ll have to make sure to go on a few picnics this Summer to keep up the fun.
A Common Sight On the Way to School
Usually we are stopped by a train going by at least a couple times a week going to and from school. Some trains are long & slow and others are short & fast. It typically isn’t a problem when the train stops us on the way home but there have been a few times throughout the year the train will stop a whole line of cars going to school, thankfully not often, but occasionally a large group of kids could be late to school because of a train taking too long (especially if it is a really slow one).
These pictures are taken at a different intersection a little further down the same tracks. The girls always love watching the trains go by even if it means we have to pause for a few minutes. They repaired the tracks earlier this year and for a few weeks they were extremely rough, but thankfully they got them fixed and the road smoothed out. It’s neat to see the trains and they have become a familiar sight on our weekly track to and from school.
A Little Bug In the Lunchbag
What is in their lunches today?
The other day after the girls had made their lunches and after they were in bed I put in a little “bug” note for them to read at lunch. I cannot remember where I picked up this bug note pack (maybe Hallmark?), but the bundle of notes has lasted me a long time. The girls always enjoy getting the bug notes in their lunch box.
Whenever I go through their lunch bags (usually to make sure they packed everything & sometimes to double clean the bags) it is pretty common for me to find a stack of these and other lunch bag notes in their lunch bag. The notes don’t take much time to add to the lunches, but they sure mean a lot to the kids getting them at school the next day. The bug notes are cute, unique, and have neat sayings on them.
Each “bug” note is different
Bug notes for the girls lunches
