Lawn fun

Who needs roller coasters and other theme park rides when your next door neighbors enjoys giving free lawn mowing rides? :) Our neighbor loves having Jacob hop on up with him and go for a drive around the backyard. This time Evelyn asked if she could have a turn. He was more than willing to oblige. She had so much fun!



Check out Jacob being all good natured about letting his sister have a turn. He decides to be a big helper by sweeping up the grass on the drive way. :) Love my big guy!

More ring around the rosies...Marcus singing this time. :)

I thought this was just so cute--Marcus is actually singing the song in these videos! As always, you'll need to turn your volume up.

At the park video

At the park

The sun has finally come out and summer is under way (again--FINALLY). After Marcus woke up from his morning nap, I decided to take the two kiddos to the park for some sunshine and fun. Evelyn was eager to get on the swings while Marcus was still a bit bleary eyed. :) He lit up though when we got there and headed straight for the swings.









Since Marcus slept through lunch, I had packed one for him which he ate while on the swing (what a perfect high chair!!!!). After he finished his pb&j sandwich, he dug into his Bugles. I had to laugh and start clicking away when I noticed him imitating his older siblings by putting the bugles on his fingers (alas, I couldn't help myself and had taught that to Julia and Jacob just last week).



Yummy!


It was hot and a bit humid outside so after about an hour we called it quits and headed over to Andys. :):):):):) Nothing like a chocolate concrete swirled with M&Ms to cool you off! They also offer these great free sample ice cream cones which are the perfect size for kids.....so while Marcus and I enjoyed our concrete, Evelyn happily licked her chocolate cone. :) Talk about the perfect ending to our fun afternoon!

Last Day of School!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another school year gone by....hooray! Since the kids aren't coming back here I took some pix of them with their teachers and cousin.


Here's the duo that weren't allowed to be in the same class til this past year. They've played together ever since Julia was born (Ben is only about 4 months older) and they could be pretty rambuncious when they were younger. James thought it was best to separate them and have them branch out for the first couple of years. They were so excited to finally be together!



Julia with her teacher, Mrs. Roy.


Jacob with his teacher, Mrs. Minkler (who was Julia's kindergarten teacher also). He was in tears when he realized that he couldn't be in her class next year. She's an AWESOME teacher!

PYP Program Recognition

Many people have often asked me why on earth I send my kiddos all the way over to Boyd (on the other side of town) when the elementary school they are assigned to is practically in my backyard. Well, check out the link here and you'll find out why.

http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=21637


I also posted it here, but without the pictures. Though, do please take a look at the link--in the first picture, the girl in the pink shirt with a pink bow on her head is Julia. :) Anyway, I was reading through the article and chuckling to myself cause I've had these types of conversations all throughout the school year (and last year too) with Julia. The knowledge that comes spilling out of her mouth astounds me! Jason and Karen, you know what I'm talking about! You got a lovely taste of it when we came to visit! These kids are smart!!!!


Full Details
School Program's Benefits
Reported by: Angie Weidinger
Thursday, May 29, 2008 @10:18pm CST

A program intended to raise students' achievement is having some very positive side effects. And, not just on the school building where the Primary Years Program is housed, it's even extending outside Boyd Elementary School's walls.

When you ask these first and second graders what they learned this school year, don't expect a recitation of the primary colors.

"Which unit do you want? Heroes unit, insect unit, body unit?" asked Caleb Conaway, 2nd Grader at Boyd Elementary. "My favorite unit was matter and matter is something that takes up space."

"A solid takes its own shape, but a liquid takes the shape of its container," first grader Aaliyah Skillens chimed in.

"There are three states of matter: liquid, solid, gas," adds Cerron Davis, 1st grader at Boyd.

And if that doesn't impress you, they know many more facts about the human body.

"The brain stem controls your heartbeat, blinking and balancing," explained Davis, remembering a lesson they learned a couple of months ago.

They learned those lessons through a new inquiry-based program at the school that focuses on experiments and hands on projects. And, by now, they're used to people's impressed responses.

"They say, ''Wow! How did you learn all that stuff!'" explained Skillens.

The Boyd Elementary principal is in awe of these students, too.

"They're geniuses!" said James Grandon.

But, he's not just excited about their academic achievements.

"I've never seen this kind of interest and buy in and that's what we want," added Grandon.

Since the Primary Years Program started at Boyd in 2005, students' test scores have gone up, while discipline rates have gone down.

"We've seen they want to be in class. They don't want to misbehave. They don't want to miss out on special opportunities," said Grandon.

Mobility also plummeted from 190% in 2005 to 60% this school year.

"There isn't as much rollover of students any more," explained Grandon.

While people are very appreciative of what the program's doing at this school, that's only one piece of the puzzle. Sold signs are popping up more and more in the neighborhood around that school and realtors say it started about the same time that new kind of teaching began at Boyd.

"Houses are on the market shorter," said Stan Turner, Real Estate Consultant for Coldwell Banker Vanguard. "They used to average 100 days and now it's down to 44 days and prices are up 77% over last several years and people are taking more pride in their homes."

"We were really surprised by that," added Grandon. "We had a lot of parents coming to us looking for homes, wanting to buy, wanting to rent."

But with PYP, everyone is getting used to that kind of surprised reaction.

"They say, 'Wow, I never knew you could learn that much in first grade!'" said Skillens.

Boyd Elementary has a high percentage of children who qualify for free and reduced lunches, which the principal says makes this interest in the school even more unusual.

The same kind of program is also at Field Elementary and Pipkin Middle School where it's seeing the same kind of very positive results. It's so positive that the district currently has $60,000 in its budget for next school year to possibly establish a similar type of program at other schools.


******
I am really going to miss having my kiddos attend this school. They've had the absolute best teachers and this program has been amazing. It's been so fun watching the kids put what they've learned into action. When the kids were learning about the body unit (during winter--cold/flu season) Julia woke up one morning with a sore throat and a cough and proceeded to tell me that her lung hurt. Not her throat or chest...she used the word lung. She also wanted to know what causes headaches in the brain. She also has a new favorite insect--grasshoppers and her favorite animal is a mongoose.
Jacob--the boy who never talked, did speech therapy, ect--he now reads. He LOVES to read! His favorite books are Little Critter (he thinks they're funny) and I Spy. He also loves math. The boy amazes me every day and I will be forever grateful that he was able to attend this school and participate in the Primary Years Program.

Wii Time!

Marcus was cracking me up this afternoon while Jacob was playing the Wii. Check out these videos: