Sixth Street in Ashland has been notoriously bad. It seems as though there is more pothole than road in some sections. Two years ago they did the west side of town and now it is the east side of town's turn. We live one block up from Sixth Street, so checking out the construction site has been part of our life since the start of May.
Part of the new construction has left us with a big colorful wall. A well-earned grant has provided all sorts of cool Career and Technical Education/STEM equipment for the school. A teacher volunteered to use the large vinyl cutter to put a quote on my wall. After much deliberation and chatting with students and getting their input, we decided on: Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are. Then he added some nice graphics on the side of the quote. Sorry the flash kind of ruined the photo . . .
Another trip to the construction site, this time via wheeled vehicles.
Bedtime snack in the backyard! Now that it is May and the snow is melted, the girls (and us) are spending as much time as we can outside. Although it is still rather chilly much of the time.
Much like hanging out in the backyard, we've added making trips to the parks as part of our routine.
Remember an earlier post, how the girls keep their helmets on well after riding their bikes? Here is more photographic evidence:
They are also into "smell my breath".
Mother's Day happens in May. Here is Greta's little poem:
My favorite is I know my mom loves me because she reads me a book.
Again, checking out the construction site, this time a bit more exciting - diggers!
In February it was Dads and Donuts. No photos from that event, but it was super cute and fun. Nick had a colleague cover his class so he could go play games and eat donuts with Lilly at school. For moms, it was Moms and Muffins. I pretended to make a big stink about how dads get donuts but moms get muffins and suggested Moms and Milkshakes instead, but Mrs. Gierczic said I would need to bring some high school volunteers over if I wanted milkshakes.
I took a personal day and got ready for a trip to Eau Claire for the weekend. Then in the afternoon headed over for Moms and Muffins, where we played games, read stories, and enjoyed a muffin.
My brother, his wife, and their adorable little Finn came over to my parents' house and we spent some quality time with them. Matt explained the Hawaiian volcano situation to Lilly.
Of course we had to go play Pooh Sticks!
We made our first trip of 2018 to Dairy Queen (our DQ closes for the winter). It was still pretty cold!
Lilly discovered the series Babymouse. They are the first books she has really sat down and picked up to actually read the words on her own. Most of the time she either wants us to read it first, or she'll reread books we've read to her. (This makes it seem like she isn't a reader, she is such a reader, but picking up a book and reading it cold wasn't her usual MO. She was more of a look intently at all the pictures, maybe check out a few words, but wait to be read to kind of reader for any books at or above her reading level). Babymouse books though she devours and reads over and over again. One night she even asked to leave the table so she could keep reading!
We also started making hopscotch a regular part of our life. Most of them were well over 1-10.
Yes, more construction.
We made a hopscotch that went to 100. Because why not? It twisted and turned throughout the driveway. Of course I had to give it a try and Nick had to document it.
Nick was coming home from paddling and saw the Coast Guard boat out in the Bay. He is a very big fan of boats and has made the girls super interested in them as well. I still smile and nod, but he now has two other people to look at boats with. They hopped in the van and checked it out down by the Ashland Marina.
Memorial Day weekend in May is when we put in the garden. My parents come up to help while Nick is at graduation. This year they had to leave early, but my dad did help us get it started. This year Lilly planted over 80% of our seedlings.
We also picked up the tomatoes from my cousin Abby up the road in Washburn at her alpaca farm when my parents were in town. We hung out for a bit, checked out the animals, and brought our many tomato plants back to Ashland (and then some to Eau Claire and Menomonie).
Not only does the high school have access to vinyl cutters, students can also use one of a handful of 3D printers. Some students are so into it, they created a livestream of the printer, so they can watch it print from home, since many projects take half a day or so to print.
I did a project with my connections class in coordination with the fourth grade. My students, who studied the process of taking literature and making it into a film, practiced it on their own in small groups. They made stop motion movies of fairy tales, which we then sent to the fourth grade. They watched the movies, voted for their favorite. The winning group received this 3D printed Oscar
The girls got necklaces from their friend Alma, this is the photo we took to show Alma how much they love them!
I believe I mentioned the reading contest we had started second semester this year, reading to the moon. Students and staff kept track of pages they read, submitted via a Google Form, and we tracked our pages. The goal - read 238,900 pages. We made it just at the end of the school year! That meant I had to buy enough Bomb Pops for the school (with the principal's money of course :) ).
Part of the new construction has left us with a big colorful wall. A well-earned grant has provided all sorts of cool Career and Technical Education/STEM equipment for the school. A teacher volunteered to use the large vinyl cutter to put a quote on my wall. After much deliberation and chatting with students and getting their input, we decided on: Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are. Then he added some nice graphics on the side of the quote. Sorry the flash kind of ruined the photo . . .
Another trip to the construction site, this time via wheeled vehicles.
Bedtime snack in the backyard! Now that it is May and the snow is melted, the girls (and us) are spending as much time as we can outside. Although it is still rather chilly much of the time.
Kindergarten has just been amazing for Lilly. She has grown so much as a reader, writer, friend, and leader. We have also learned some interesting facts and factoids that she shares with us.
 |
| Elephants can give themselves showers. Elephants are mammals. |
 |
| Zebras can run fast. Zebras are herbivores. Zebras eat grass. No zebras in the whole wide world is alike. |
 |
| Lions can run fast. Lions are cats. Lions can sleep a lot. Lions can eat meat. |
 |
| Giraffes can kick hard. Giraffes can sleep with one eye open. |
Nick continued paddling in May, even though much of the Bay still had ice. The ice lasted until mid-May but that didn't keep Nick from heading out with friends exploring the lake.
Our girls go to an amazing childcare center. The environment is so fun and enriching and the girls seem to have a great time. One of the cool things they did was get these rain suits, so now the kids can go outside even when it is raining! Theresa, the preschool teacher and owner of the daycare, sent me these adorable photos of Greta and her good friend. Apparently it took 5 tries to connect on the high five!
Remember an earlier post, how the girls keep their helmets on well after riding their bikes? Here is more photographic evidence:
They are also into "smell my breath".
Mother's Day happens in May. Here is Greta's little poem:
My favorite is I know my mom loves me because she reads me a book.
Again, checking out the construction site, this time a bit more exciting - diggers!
In February it was Dads and Donuts. No photos from that event, but it was super cute and fun. Nick had a colleague cover his class so he could go play games and eat donuts with Lilly at school. For moms, it was Moms and Muffins. I pretended to make a big stink about how dads get donuts but moms get muffins and suggested Moms and Milkshakes instead, but Mrs. Gierczic said I would need to bring some high school volunteers over if I wanted milkshakes.
I took a personal day and got ready for a trip to Eau Claire for the weekend. Then in the afternoon headed over for Moms and Muffins, where we played games, read stories, and enjoyed a muffin.
Lilly practicing what is an insect and what isn't an insect.
After Moms and Muffins, we picked up Greta, met Nick at home, and then headed to Eau Claire for the weekend. Nick had to run samples at UWEC, so we spent time hanging out at my parents' house while he worked. Every time we go, the girls discover something buried somewhere in the house. This time it was hair curlers.
 |
| Construction here too! |
Of course we had to go play Pooh Sticks!
Again, keeping the helmet on!
 |
Lilly discovered the series Babymouse. They are the first books she has really sat down and picked up to actually read the words on her own. Most of the time she either wants us to read it first, or she'll reread books we've read to her. (This makes it seem like she isn't a reader, she is such a reader, but picking up a book and reading it cold wasn't her usual MO. She was more of a look intently at all the pictures, maybe check out a few words, but wait to be read to kind of reader for any books at or above her reading level). Babymouse books though she devours and reads over and over again. One night she even asked to leave the table so she could keep reading!
We also started making hopscotch a regular part of our life. Most of them were well over 1-10.
So that Babymouse took over her life the last month of the school year . . .
One of the tasks at school that we were given frequent updates on was her number scroll. Just writing the numbers. She made it to over 1,000 (her goal for the year). As I type this, I remember we talked about seeing how long a number scroll she could make this summer. We still have until September 11th, maybe we can still try! They also got adorable haircuts in May!
Yes, more construction.
We made a hopscotch that went to 100. Because why not? It twisted and turned throughout the driveway. Of course I had to give it a try and Nick had to document it.
Nick was coming home from paddling and saw the Coast Guard boat out in the Bay. He is a very big fan of boats and has made the girls super interested in them as well. I still smile and nod, but he now has two other people to look at boats with. They hopped in the van and checked it out down by the Ashland Marina.
Memorial Day weekend in May is when we put in the garden. My parents come up to help while Nick is at graduation. This year they had to leave early, but my dad did help us get it started. This year Lilly planted over 80% of our seedlings.
We also picked up the tomatoes from my cousin Abby up the road in Washburn at her alpaca farm when my parents were in town. We hung out for a bit, checked out the animals, and brought our many tomato plants back to Ashland (and then some to Eau Claire and Menomonie).
Not only does the high school have access to vinyl cutters, students can also use one of a handful of 3D printers. Some students are so into it, they created a livestream of the printer, so they can watch it print from home, since many projects take half a day or so to print.
I did a project with my connections class in coordination with the fourth grade. My students, who studied the process of taking literature and making it into a film, practiced it on their own in small groups. They made stop motion movies of fairy tales, which we then sent to the fourth grade. They watched the movies, voted for their favorite. The winning group received this 3D printed Oscar
The girls got necklaces from their friend Alma, this is the photo we took to show Alma how much they love them!
Much of Lilly's writing this year has been of the nonfiction variety. However, Babymouse also transformed her writing.
 |
| Super Girl Saves the Planet |
 |
| Oh no! I have to save them! I am going to save you! Help Help help! |
 |
| Here I come! Aaaaaah! |
 |
| Crash! |
 |
| Gaaa! Help! Ow! Pow! |
 |
| I have saved the planet! |
The aid in our library is an amazing woman and with the help of a few high school students, put together this awesome display for tracking pages.
Comments
Post a Comment