Friday, March 17, 2017

School Days *round 2*: Gr 2


age: 7 (8 in the new year)
year in school: 4
grade: 2
class: 2s only

ok, i'm finally writing this in March 2017...
um, 
in case you missed it, 
the school year actually began in September 2016.
i'm a little behind.


oh well.
my little one.
my girl.
so full of life and love.
She could not have been happier when she found out her teacher.
unless she had the chance to stay with her gr. 1 teacher of course 

She had the same teacher that her brother had when he was in grade 2.
she is still at the age that it is exciting to follow your brother through the teachers.
*i remember grade 4 being so exciting to have a teacher that didn't already know my brother*


She has enjoyed this school year.
a class full of friends.
a crazy, excited class, full of energy.
for a girl who is full of energy that is perfect for her.

she loves reading, writing, art, music, drama and math.
she likes gym.
she loves to learn new things.
she loves that her teacher is an avid birdwatcher.
she loves to see birds and be able to tell him what she saw.

side note:
a chicadee landed on her finger recently and all she could talk about was how she would get to tell her teacher all about it.   
then she laughed ,as she went on and on about the bird,  and said, "i'm just like Mr. G, talking about birds all the time!"

My little one enjoys going to school in the mornings.
but she also love the weekends.
She always comes home with stories about her friends, the teachers, different activities they did.
she loves to share what she's learned.

she has had a few struggles in the friendship department.
girls.
gah!
girls and their girl-ness.
friends one moment...
not anymore...
not unless you...
ok, we can be friends again...
why are you playing with her and not me...
i'll give you this if you,,,

we have walked this road with her this year.
she has come home upset, mad, thinking it's silly.

we pray about it.
we discuss what can be done.
we make choices with our girl to walk this road called life together.
she is strong.
she wants to be friends with who she wants to.
she doesn't want the drama that some people bring to life.
but, she also wants people to like her.
she doesn't like to be manipulated...
but she kinda wants that thing they're offering.

she has been growing a lot this year on the social side of life.

her school work is great.
she is still learning a lot from her teacher, and the other teachers who do classes with her.
she loves social studies.
i seriously think it's a favourite this year.

my girl.
you are on March Break.
you will be 8 tomorrow, 
and i'm excited to see how strong you finish off your grade 2 year.

keep being you, 
with your contagious personality, 
with your unique sense of style,
with your love for God and others.


Tuesday, March 7, 2017

XC Ski

i have a boy.
last winter we obtained xc skis, poles and boots for him.
his daddy took him out and taught him basics of xc skiing.
we had an excited boy.

fast forward to this winter.
he could not wait to do some xc skiing when the snow came.
his daddy and he went skiing a few times, and this year he began to improve on his classic skiing and also began to learn how to skate ski.
so excited.
he was loving it.
then the opportunity came for him to sign up for an elementary school XC ski race.
at the end of january he raced in a classic race with other grades 3/4 boys.



he finished 33rd out of 68 boys.
he did his 2km loop in 16:35.
he had so much fun.
he didn't care if he came in first, or even in the top ten.
he loved being out on the trail, doing something he has grown to love.

and the weather was spectacular as well.
beautiful sunshine.

last friday he had the opportunity to do his second race.
chilly day.
cloudy, and that wind...
brrrrr.
we forgot his ski boots.
the rental ones didn't fit comfortably...
we live 5 minutes away and we had time so i headed home and got his boots   
-sitting right where his skis had been-

when i made it back he still had plenty of time to play around before the 1/2 boys and girls raced.
then it was his time.
this race was classic and skate.
he said he would just classic, 
but then as he watched the 1/2s race he said he may do a little skate, 
since that's a lot of fun.



i waited for him at the finish line.
there were kids coming in that i thought he could have been in before, 
so i wondered how he was doing.
was he too tired?
did he fall?
was he  having a rough time?

finally i saw my little man skiing along.

he finished 57th out of 64 grade 3/4 boys.
finishing his 2km in 23:13

did he have a rough time?  
nope.

he was so happy when he finished.
he was tired, but i got to hear his adventure.

he told me that the basket on the end of his pole fell off.
when he noticed he was about half way.  
he turned around and went back to look for it.
he said it was back where the 1/2s turn off and head to the finish.
then he put the basket back on. 
and continued on his way.

what a kid.
he didn't want to lose the basket.
*he didn't know that his dad had an extra pole at the house, or that his teacher would have gone out to look for it after the races*

he skied a lot further than his race distance, 
and still had fun.
and then still went and played around with all the other kids.

i am so proud of this kid.
he enjoyed the races.
i loved watching him.

he loved finding out how fast he did it in.
he loves figuring out what position he came in.
he would like to one day win, but he wants to have fun.
he wants to enjoy the races.
he knows some kids will be fast.
he knows some kids will do the sport a lot and train a lot.

after one of his friends raced, he had to go find him to tell him good job.

way to go kid.