Month: November 2019

The school has a new initiative to celebrate academic and behavioral success to spur more positive behavior.  It was no surprise to me that Jack won an academic award for his classwork.  I was on the invitation list to see my child be honored.

Atta boy!

This year the PTA organized a Readathon for the fall fundraiser.  Jack is an avid reader, and Sam is quickly catching up to him, so it was no surprise to me that they would do well with a contest based on reading.  They were dedicated to their goals.

But then they both won the Top Reader spot in their respective grades, for the most minutes read over the 10 day contest.  Betty and Rick were in town and able to attend the assembly where the winners were revealed. (Picture of Sam below)

They both won a limo ride to a local pizzeria for lunch with friends.

But beyond that, Jack won Top Reader for the WHOLE school!  I was so impressed!  He actually won a great prize for it too – a family zoo pass!

So this past Saturday we celebrated their wins with a trip downtown.

We can go to the zoo for free anytime for a year now.  I loved this fundraiser, and not just because my kids killed it.  I hate when they have the kids “sell” something and the school has to kick back a ton to the corporations that run them.  Apparently we were not the only parents who felt this way, because it was a rousing success.   The fundraiser promoted academic growth, the school got 100% of the profits, and they said they earned so much for it, they won’t need to do any other fundraising this year!

Ben shared this conversation that he had with Sam on the way to his ninja gymnastics class.

Sam made a funny face, Jack made a hydra, and I made versions of their costumes.

It was so cold this morning that they had their parade inside.

I’m the room parent for Jack’s class.  I was busy passing out snacks and hosting a pictionary game that I didn’t get many pictures or get to visit Sam’s class.  Everyone had a good time though.

After school we snuggled and watched Nightmare Before Christmas.

I’ve always stayed home to be warm and greet the trick-or-treaters.  This year it was so cold, I followed them in the van.  The kids were able to hop inside and warm up occasionally, and we explored a bit farther than usual.

This house had a big set-up in the garage to welcome guests.

We call this house near ours “The Spider House” and look forward to seeing it every year.

In the past we’ve seen this house in another neighborhood do the whole Halloweentown in their yard.  We went to get photos with the kids in appropriate costumes.  No Halloweentown this year, but a spooky graveyard they had to walk through.  The scarecrow crouched by the tree turned out to be a real person!  He stood and growled when the kids arrived, giving them both a good, happy scare.

At home with the spoils and curious cats.

Happy Halloween!

We had a traditional Halloween and it was as fun as could be.  I’ll put up pictures later, for now enjoy Jack being Jack Skellington on the keys: