Graduation Ceremony Highlights

I am finally learning how to do this on a machine that isn't a Mac! Yay! These are a few highlights from Amelia's kindergarten graduation. It's really more on Greg Whitfield, her teacher, than on her, because: one, I didn't have a ton of footage that didn't have a bunch of other kids from her class, thus making me skittish about posting it, and two, Greg is quite a character and the best teacher ever according to my daughter.
The T-shirt was a gift from the kids to Mr. Whitfield. The Homeroom Mom, who presented him with the shirt, worked with the kids to make it, and each one signed the back. The song that they sang together was one of a great number of songs, but that one in particular could be heard nearly daily as the class entered the cafeteria for lunch. Greg recorded a CD of children's songs called Alphasongs, and his more adult music can be found on gregwhitfield.net. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind the plug.
Enjoy!

Soccer Week

Welcome to week one of the "Summer Sampler Platter," the set of nine weeks when Luke and Amelia get to try loads of new things a dab at a time to see what they like. This week, the sport of choice is soccer (although Amelia is also getting a sneak peek at gymnastics, but more on that another time).

They are enrolled in soccer camp through Challenger Sports, an organization that imports Brits for the week to impart their wisdom of the craft to our American youths. The coaches stay with host families and teach soccer to various age groups throughout the day. Older kids and teens have the option of half day or full day camps, and the younger kids have shorter lessons. Amelia spends 90 minutes during each of the five days with 4- and 5-year-olds, and Luke gets 60 minutes each day with other 3-year-olds.

Coach Rob and Coach Jenny have been teaching the five and under crowd. Luke's group works on fun games designed to introduce ball control and dribbling. I was surprised to see that this is apparently a tough concept - my own child continued to pick up the ball and run with it the first day. He also falls down a lot (check out those knees!). They do a variation of "Mother, May I?" where the Big Bad Wolf allows the Piggies to take a number of steps (kicking the ball forward and then stepping on it), and then chases them for dinner. They have introduced a number of games such as this, that clearly teach a skill and yet engages the kids. I have been truly impressed with the variety of activities and VERY patient nature of the coaching staff.

Amelia's team plays some of the same games as the younger team, with additional activities that have more difficult and involved criteria. They also tack on a thirty minute scrimmage at the end of practice. Amelia told me after the first day that she didn't think that it would be as much fun as it is. That's a good thing, I think.

The Graduate

Amelia graduated from Kindergarten! After a ceremony in their classroom, the entire grade paraded through the school while the kids in the older grades cheered and clapped - it's an annual tradition at our school. She is quite excited to officially be a first grader.

The Riverwalk

We all trucked down to San Antonio this weekend to meet up with some old friends from Georgia. It was HOT, but temperatures were a bit cooler down at the Riverwalk. We hopped on and took a river cruise before having dinner at Casa Rio. Luke was very excited to be on the boat, but of course his favorite part of the cruise was looking at the duckies. Amelia absorbed every bit of trivia that the guide dished out, and Evelyn enjoyed the goldfish. This would not be the fish in the river, but rather the Pepperidge Farm variety. She also threw back some beans and rice at dinner, but I think she felt the ambiance was rather useless. *Sigh.*

School's Out!

Ah, Alice Cooper. Every year, I sing your anthem.