Andrew's 2nd grade program was the end of April. It was charming and adorable, and the kids did a great job. All of the songs they sang were set to the melodies of modern pop songs with a 2nd grade twist to them. They sang "Happy" (Pharell), "Just Dance" (Justin Timberlake) and "Roar" (Katy Perry). The words that they added to the songs were so cute! My favorite was "I've got the brains of a scholar, A winner, Learning with desire, Cause we're Lakeview Lions, and You're gonna hear us roar!"
Then this week was Andrew's 2nd grade Portuguese Program. It was impressive! The kids learned songs in Portuguese and dances that they performed, and some also had speaking parts. I got a little video of Andrew speaking Portuguese. He is so shy about speaking at home, so we don't get to hear it much, but his teachers assure us that he is top-notch. His translated part is "The Northeast culture is very rich and receives lots of influences from Africa, like frevo (a style of music)."
Christian has been a busy, busy boy. The fifth graders in Utah County have the opportunity to participate in a patriotic celebration called "Hope of America." Originally, Christian didn't really want to do it because he isn't much into singing. His teacher convinced him that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and he should think about it. Eventually, he decided to try it, and I am so glad that he did. It was really a spectacular event. The children all learned the songs in their individual classrooms throughout the year and then came together in the Marriott Center. The songs were amazing and so full of hope for our country. They also wore special colored shirts so that they created a flag across one whole side of the Marriott Center. It was a very neat experience. After it was over, Christian was energized and beaming. I'm glad he got to feel proud of himself and his performance.
Christian is in a yellow shirt on the top row of the right side.
That same week Christian's school put on an International Night for all the families. Each grade chose a country. They spent time at school learning about the culture, food, language, etc. of their chosen country. Christian's class learned about Angola. In art, they created African masks and learned a tribal dance complete with painted faces and costumes. They presented their dance on the stage that night. It was such a fun family event. I was impressed with all the preparations that went into the night. Our favorite part (other than Christian's dance) was the food tasting they had at every booth. They had samples of tortellini and gelato (Italy), danishes (Denmark), tamales and arroz con leche (Mexico), nutella and bread (Spain), candy sushi and red bean pancakes (Japan), and beef stew (Angola). It was fun trying all the different flavors and seeing the art projects the kids created.
And finally, this week was Christian's 5th Grade Wax Museum. Each student had to choose an American hero that they wanted to research. They then had to write a report, create a poster, and dress up like the person to give a short speech about their life. It was a lot of work... for him and me! Christian chose Ulysses S. Grant, the great Union General during the Civil War and later U.S. President. He did a good job on the research, and then I helped him put together a poster. The last piece of the project was the costume. I really struggled with it. He wanted a military uniform to wear, but I was completely unsure how to go about making one. We didn't really have any clothes that would work, and I kept putting it off hoping to come up with a good idea. With one day left, I finally got my rear in gear and just jumped into the project.
After a little Internet research, I found a Union soldier hat available at a local costume shop for cheap, so I picked it up. I figured that if the rest of the costume failed completely, at least he would have the hat and be recognizable. Next, I decided I would have to head to D.I. and make something work. We found a navy blue women's blazer and pair of pants that we thought might be useful. When I got home, I had to significantly hem the pants and the sleeves of the blazer so that they fit him better. Then I opened up the lapel to make it look more military and less feminine. After I secured the lapel with velcro, I stitched down the collar, sewed on some big gold buttons, added stars to the shoulders, sewed a strip of yellow down the side seam of the pants, and finally, made a yellow sash.
By the time I was done, I was so thrilled with the finished costume. It was one of those happy moments where you accomplish something really daunting and feel such pride for sticking with it. Christian seemed pretty pleased with it too. The next day, I dressed him up, added a beard with an eyeliner pencil, and sent him to do his wax museum. It turned out fantastic. He gave a great speech, and the rest of his class were impressive as well.
Some of the other wax figures from his class included: Jared as Vasco de Balboa, Lia as Sojourner Truth, and Noah as Orville Wright. The whole class really looked fantastic, and even though it caused us a bit of stress, it was a really neat project.
So here we are with one week left in the school year. Christian is still trying to complete his 40 book challenge and is getting excited for the Tri-Wizard Tournament in his class, and Andrew is anxiously awaiting Field Day. It finally feels like we are on the downhill stretch, and maybe this marathon will end in success. What a year it's been!
No comments:
Post a Comment