School Activities, “Snow White & The Prince,” and Roller Skating!
Our girls at Falls ParkThese last few weeks have been a whirlwind of fun with Jake & I going on our anniversary cruise, the girls school activities, fun adventures, work, and more! 🙂 Here’s a little snip-it of some of the school and fun activities Brina & Karlie have been up to lately -“Snow White & The Prince” Play at the Peace Center, a School Roller Skating Fundraiser, Beta Club Induction Ceremony just to name a couple. Very proud of both girls for their hard work at school. They were both accepted into Chorus, STEM Club, National Beta Club (for maintaining an A or A-B grades for their past year in school), Library Assistants, Safety Patrol as well as a number of other school related extra-curricular activities. I had no idea how busy 5th grade could be! Thankful for their hard work, positive attitudes, and their love of learning!
Hanging out with the family!
Skating with Daddy!
Beta Club inductions!
Snow White & The Prince at the Peace Center3D Printed: STEM Rockets & Planets
3D Printed STEM Club Rockets
We used our 3D printer to print STEM Rockets and Planets for the kids STEM Club. They used them at the state competition as trading goodies with other teams. The rockets turned out better than the planets, but both were good for trading. The girls had fun sharing them with their friends and other teams.
Their STEM Club did very well this year and brought home trophies both from district and state. Thankful for the opportunity to watch the girls learn and grow with their STEM Club. They enjoyed participating in the planning, robotics, competition, and a multitude of other activities. Glad Jake was able to make these fun 3D printed items for them to share!
STEM Rockets & Planets
Red and Blue STEM Rockets!
School: Family STEM Activity Night
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STEM Club team members getting ready to speak to family, friends, and school faculty.
On Family STEM Activity Night all students and families were invited to participate in dinner, activities, and a STEM Club presentation. Both of our girls spoke in front of all the school faculty, family, and friends that were at the event. So proud of their courage and willingness to speak in front of so many people. They did fantastic at the robotic competitions and speaking at the event.
 Karlie speaking. Brina spoke too, but we didn’t get a clear picture of her.
Our little super heroes!
Karlie getting ready to test her balloon rocket.
Mrs. Williams (Brina’s 4th grade homeroom teacher) helping Brina put her balloon on the string so she can race it.
Mr. Moore (one of the STEM Club coaches) timing Brina’s balloon as it zips down the string to the target.
 Brina making her container for her egg drop. You got 1 containers and could use 2 items. She picked bubble wrap and yellow feathers!
Karlie picked cotton balls and sponges for her egg drop container!
There goes Karlie’s!
Brina getting ready to watch her egg drop. The girls were the first ones to not have their eggs break on the concrete (almost 40 people went in front of them)!
Jake met us at the school. He was great at building the tower out of spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. They were given a specific amount of dry spaghetti noodles and marshmallows to see how high of tower they could build. They had one of the highest towers when we left the room.
Measuring the tower! It was leaning a little, but could stand on it’s own without assistance!
 Our spaghetti noodle and marshmallow tower design!
 At the end of the night the school held a drawing for all the people that came. We had the grand prize ticket – an Amazon Kindle! The kindle has already been proven valuable on our last couple of road trips. Instead of bringing extra books they can read a lot of books that we downloaded on the Kindle. It’s been a nice item to have for the kids. They are very lucky girls!
School: STEM Club & First Lego League (FLL)
An awesome and delicious brownie cookie made by one of the Mom’s!
As the school year comes to an end I want to share with you a few highlights over the last couple of months. I was going through my pictures recently and realized I hadn’t posted on some of the kids big activities for the school year. We have been so busy trying to wrap up everything that needs to be done with the end of school some things just got away from me.
It is hard to believe that my babies will be finishing up 4th grade in just a couple of days. Although they put in a lot of work, time, and energy this school year we managed to learn a lot and have some fun along the way too. I am thankful for the teachers and administration who helped our girls throughout the school year.
The girls had a blast in STEM Club this year! It was a great year of learning, working together with other students, competing, and many other wonderful activities. It was a big time investment especially at the beginning of the year when they were meeting twice a week after school, but it paid off and they won a trophy and the golden ticket to state competition (a picture below)!  Very proud of their hard work!
First Lego League: Robotics STEM Competition – Solar SySTEM!
Party celebrating their achievements at district level!
They went on to compete at State and did very well. This was their first time at state (the club started last year). They competed not against a lot of other elementary schools, but also against middle schools as well. It was neat seeing all the kids work so well together. The coaches did an amazing job encouraging the kids. Grateful for this opportunity to our kids to learn and compete!
They won the judges award at State Competition! First Lego League (FLL): State STEM Lego Robotics Competition
Cute treat made by one of their coaches for their Congratulations Celebration! STEM Club & Lego Robotics
Thankful that the girls had the opportunity to participate in STEM Club and First Lego League competitions this year. It was a lot of fun yet big learning experience. They couldn’t have done it without the assistance of all their coaches who invested a lot of time into the kids. It has sparked the girls interest in robotics and technology as well as developed more team building, life skills, and so much more!
First Lego League: Robotics STEM Competition – Solar SySTEM!
Very excited! Their team won a 1st place Trophy and a Gold Ticket to the SC State Robotics Competition!
The girls Solar SySTEM Lego Robotics STEM Club team went to the regional competitions this past weekend! It was a long and busy Saturday day. We left the house before sun up so we could be in Seneca by 7:20 am and didn’t get home until after 6 pm that night. The girls team had several rounds at the competition. They were scored in multiple areas and did well!
Three rounds of their robot completing tasks on the map which they scored pretty high on. Another part of the competition was their core values which is their team spirit and how they interact with the other teams. They have to give a presentation on this piece as well in front of the judges. Another piece of the competition was their research, project, and presentation which the kids presented in front of the judges on their own. They won the first place trophy in this category (on their research, project, and presentation).
The work is done by the students from the logo design, research, development, presentations, and so much more! The team worked so well together and put in a lot of hours working on their research, development, robotics, and project. They do the majority of their work in front of the judges with no coaches or parents in the room (we can’t even watch, but thankfully they had it video taped). The only piece the parents and coaches can watch is the one when they do their robotic map missions otherwise they are on their own once in the room and in front of the judges.
The team pick a solar system theme. They named their team the Solar SySTEM and the catch phrase is “Stay in Orbit”! The research project they decided to do was to build a computer game that would help kids learn more about the solar system. They named their robot, SpaceBot!
It was a super busy and long day for the kids, but they were awesome. There were 21 teams competing that day so it was a real honor to win a trophy and get the opportunity to move forward. Their hard work really paid off with the trophy and qualifying for the SC Competition! WooHoo! Very proud of the girls and their team!
Playing a hangman game before competition starts!
Karlie all smiles after the first robotic map round when they scored all 100 points!
Their robot going through the tasks on the map!
Brina hanging up their spirit posters.
Their team going through the tasks on the robot map!
Watching carefully to make sure the robot goes through all its tasks!
Gathering some of the props for their presentation!
Karlie ready to go speak!
Coming back after their presentation! They rocked it and got the 1st place trophy!!!
Getting their trophy!
Karlie with Mrs. Johnson one of their coaches who also teaches STEM Lab and her GT class!
Solar SySTEM team and coaches! They did AWESOME!!!
STEM Robotics Club Co-Opertition Event
The kids robot performing its first tasks!
Recently the kids STEM Robotics team had their Co-Opertition Event to test their robot. They had two practice rounds to see how their robot performed on the new map for the upcoming competition. The first tasks went smoothly, but they had a hang-up on one of the targets towards the end. It was a good trial run to see what areas they need to work on for their robot. The team did really well and had a good turn out. They have learned a lot through their STEM Club.
In between sessions the leaders of the group brought a bunch of cool activities for the kids to do to pass the time (crossword puzzles, photos to cut out, poster boards to make, coloring books, puzzles, crafts, blocks, and more fun stuff). The kids had a blast and the time between sessions flew by quickly with them doing the various fun activities! Good Job Teachers for thinking ahead! The teachers also brought fresh fruit, nuts, and bottled water as a snack for the kids.
Thankful for the teachers and volunteers who invest so much time and energy into the kids and STEM Club. They really are outstanding and foster a true love of learning. STEM Club has been a truly amazing learning, team building, and educational experience for both of our kids. The first thing the leaders said when joining the team is “It will be the hardest fun you will ever have!” They expect all the team members to work hard, but they have fun learning together!
STEM Club & Lego Robotics
Adorable Robot snack for the STEM Club Celebration!
The girls applied for the STEM Club and were accepted! Congratulations GIRLS!!!  They took a lot of time filling out their applications and waited patiently to hear the news. Their hard work paid off. They are so EXCITED! We have started another year of STEM Club and Lego Robotics.
Mrs. Johnson, one of the teachers that helps with STEM Club made super cute robot snacks for all the kids to enjoy during the STEM Club Celebration. The robot was a juice box with four starbursts on the bottom for feet, two airheads for arms, two nuggets for head, and googly eyes. The kids thought they were awesome. So thoughtful and creative!
They are already working hard at STEM Club. There is a lot work ahead of them before the robotics competition in January, but they are off to a good start. Thankful for this opportunity for them to learn. In order for them to remain in STEM Club they had to sign a “contract” saying they would attend meetings (if they miss more than three they will be asked to leave), keep up their grades, and more.
WooHoo! They got into STEM Club! Here is part of their acceptance letters!
Karlie enjoying her robot snack!
Brina having fun at the STEM Club Celebration!
