Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Recent Henryisms

When I was visiting him in his classroom and tried to kiss his cheek: "Mom, you can't do that! You're humiliating me!"

When deciding which necklace to put on his Astros Bobblehead Doll: "Yes, this one. You look much more attractive that way."

When having a light saber fight with Aunt Leslie: "I am very disappointed in your Jedi skills."

I think he must be reading the dictionary after he goes to bed at night!


Monday, May 24, 2010

Field Day!

Henry recently had Field Day at school.  There was much anticipation, and in the end, a good time was had by all.  I appreciated that the kids all had fun, and the events weren't overly competitive.  They were much more focused on participating and having fun than on winning anything.  There was lots of water activities, and while the kids at first shirked the thought of getting wet, in the end, they loved it.  Here is our photo recap:

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First, they had free play on the basketball court.

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Next was the first water activity.  It involved wringing a wet sponge on the person in line behind you.  The second round included the chance to dump a glass of water on the person in line behind you.  The goal was to be the wettest team in the end.

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Next was the classic game of "tug of war".  First, it was Henry's class against another class.  Henry's class got womped.  So Henry's teacher and I jumped in for the next round and helped their team to win.  Next, they switched up in boys against the girls.  Again, girls womped the boys.  So again, teacher and I jumped on and saved some face for the boys.  (Can I just say that my arms were sore all weekend because of this!)

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Next was a game of chase with the waist flags.  Last man standing with his flags in-tact, won.  Henry tied in one round for first.

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Next up, another water activity.  This one involved passing a full bucket with holes in the bottom over the heads of the team until it reached the end of the line and the remaining water was dumped into a bucket.  In theory, the first team to fill their bucket won.  In Henry's case, he ended up at the end of the line with some of his buddies.  Very little of the water left in the holey bucket ended up getting poured in the team bucket.  

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This was some kind of obstacle course.  There was really no goal and no winners.  The kids just took turns rolling a tire back and forth, and running a styrofoam cylinder across while jumping hurdles.  It did burn off a lot of energy.

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On to the Bounce Houses.  There were about 5 bounce houses and inflatable slides set up.  Even Henry's teacher got in on the action.

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Next, it was scooter racing in the cafeteria.  This looked like so much fun I wanted to try (but I didn't).

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This was followed by a few games of dodge ball in the school gym.

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SNOW CONES!

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The kids got to jump rope or play with hula hoops.  Henry's jump roping skills are on fire!

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The final event was another that involved water.  The kids had to wrap a towel around their back, run to the pool, dip the towel in, and wrap it around their back again.  They then ran to the next kid who repeated those steps.  In the end, the kids were all a giggling, sopping mess.

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From there, they went to the side of the school and had a picnic lunch.

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All in all, a great time was had by all.  Even Nana and Papa stopped by to watch some of the activities.



Thursday, May 20, 2010

Multi-Cultural Day

Today was multi-cultural day at Henry's school. The kids were encouraged to dress in clothing of their "native" country. The kids who "dressed" then got to walk in a parade in front of the parents and the kids that didn't "dress".

Henry marched proudly (if a bit shyly)in his Russian shirt.

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Unfortunately, my camera battery died so these were the only 2 shots I got. I also feel funny about posting pictures of other people's kids, hence the green splotches on their faces.

But the parade was amazing. Henry's school is very diverse and some of the kids wore wonderful and beautiful cultural costumes. We were constantly pointing to different ones that caught our eyes.

Of course, the "American" kids dressed as cowboys and baseball players. It was a fun event to participate in. There were also some programs for the kids that I didn't get to stay and watch. I'm anxious to hear Henry's description of them.