Typical Week of a 1st Grader?

We sure are busy now that baseball season has started.  Besides going to school during the week and working on homework which consists of reading every day, working on spelling words for the test Friday, math practice and a book report, Collin is busy with after school activities. These have multiple purposes:

1.  Give Collin something to do after school so Dad or Mom does not have to provide the entertainment.  He still looks to us to play with him.  He has a playroom that he does not play in like other kids or like we thought he would.
2.  Learn or practice a new skill.
3.  Wear him out so he is ready for bed before 9pm.
4.  Meet new friends to play with.

Here is our typical week during this time of year:

Monday - Soccer skills clinic in the evening for 1 1/2  hours
Tuesday - Music class
Wednesday - Soccer skills clinic for an hour
Thursday - Baseball practice
Friday - Nothing scheduled....free day!
Saturday - Baseball practice in the afternoon
Sunday - Soccer game in the early afternoon

At least two times a week, we have a baseball game.  During the week, these can be at either 5:30pm or 7:15pm.  The games are at least 1 hour and 20 minutes long depending on the score of the game.  if it's close, the team keeps on playing.  If not, it's up to the coaches to keep playing or not but the additional runs do not count.  We have several 7:15pm games which means we are not getting home until close to 9pm.  So much for the before 9pm bedtime those nights because he is pumped from the game.  The Saturday games are usually at 9am which is nice because these do not cut into the middle of the day.  There are no games on Sunday which is fine because these will not conflict with the soccer game. 

Because of the busy week and trying to fit school work in, we figured out that it's best to work on the book report over the weekend so he is not tired or rushed during the week.  Rushed...wait.....there is no way to rush this kid through homework. If anything, he tests us by getting up from his desk, needing to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water or other excuses than to sit and finish the homework which will take him 10 minutes or less. 

Here is one of those reports from last week.  Look how much his handwriting and grammar has improved.  He does still need to be occasionally reminded about capitals at the beginning of the sentence and periods at the end.  This was also written after a 7:15pm Thursday night game so I was really impressed with his focus.

Time for Baseball!!!

It's baseball season!  Collin is playing on the Seminoles baseball team.  The uniforms are maroon shirts with white pants (here we go with the white pants again...and the dirt and mud).  He is #1 which he really likes.  "Hey look, I am #1!"  His team mates are in 1st or 2nd grade which puts him on the younger, and smaller side.  However, he is one of the consistent catchers and hitters on the team.  The coach has had him in the outfield during practice which I am not surprised by because the older boys do typically play infield because they are more experienced and better.

I asked Collin if he was excited about playing baseball again and he said, "No, I really like playing soccer".  We all know that.  I asked him what he did not like about baseball thinking of several reasons that he might give: not running enough, boring, doesn't want to play in the outfield.  He said, "I don't know where to throw".  Oh....we can fix that!  He went on to explain that he gets confused if he needs to throw the ball to 2nd base or the pitcher.  I can see that this would cause him concern so much that he would rather not play than to embarrass himself or let the team down if he threw the ball to the wrong place.  I told him that Dad or I would be standing off field and help to help him know where to throw the ball.  Each time he heads to the outfield, Dad will remind him where to throw.  He thought this was a good solution and was excited about the first game.

Collin's first game with the Seminoles was tonight.  They lost 0-16 but played well as a team for the first game. Collin was 3rd in the batting order and got on base with his first hit. He did not make it home because the next boys up to bat got out. The first time in the field, he played left field. The first batter hit the ball to him but he missed it because he was not paying attention. He did not realize the inning had even started. He did make up for it the next time he was in the outfield when he caught a pop fly into right field as he dove for it. That caught was the third out too. The team and coaches were all cheering for him which he REALLY liked.  After that, the coach had him play catcher the next two times.  Walking out the first time, he told Dad, "This is my 8th time to play catcher".  I had to laugh at that knowing that he did not really like to play catcher so much so that he has kept up the number of times he has ever played that position.  I am not sure that the count is correct but I did not argue with him.  :) 

Despite the loss, the boys were not upset and were excited about playing the next game. Collin was not ready to go and wanted to throw the ball more. We would have stayed but it was time to have dinner and get home.

We have another game tomorrow night.  Dad said that coach might have Collin play 2nd base.  Again, he was not interested only because he did not know how to play that position and where to throw the ball.  Let's see if he pushes back when coach wants to send him out to 2nd base. 

Boys Trip - Day 4

With everything the boys have done so far on their trip, I thought they would hang around their friend's house before and after meeting a friend for lunch or dinner.  Nope, not these guys.  I am at work and noticed that Chris had posted some pictures to Facebook.  I log on and see that Collin is flying the in iFly chamber.  What? I could not tell if he was having a good time or was concentrating on the rules he learned before it was his time to "fly".

Learning the rules and signals when he will be in the chamber

Getting suited up

Ready to fly!

 .....and here he is flying with his instructor!  He is so brave!!!  I have not talked to him yet to find out if he had fun or would want to do it again.

 

 



Facial marks from the goggles



After lunch with a friend, they went to see a 3D movie that they had seen before, Big Hero 6.  They said it was funny and a good one to see again.

Just talked to Dad.  They are getting up leisurely and coming home tomorrow.  Burke and I are so excited about seeing

Boys Trip - Day 3

The boys started the morning try to fish.  After not finding worms to buy and it starting to rain, they headed to the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant.  Dad toured the plant when he was younger as part of a Boy Scouts trip.  He has great memories of the tour and wanted Collin to have a similar experience.  He knew that they would not be able to tour the plant (now closed to tours) but they could at least see the museum part and teach Collin about how power and electricity are generated.

After spending time at the power plant, they left and went to visit friends about an hour away which is where they will be spending the night tonight and the day tomorrow.  They plan to see other friends and get some rest before heading back home Friday.

Tonight, Dad said that Collin is "a ball of energy".  He is hoping Justin, one of the kids where they are spending the night, can entertain Collin while Dad relaxes.

Boys Trip - Day 2

The boys had another great day today.  They spent most of the day in the wildlife park of Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.  For 2 hours, they drove around to look at the animals walking around freely.  They stopped for Collin to feed a giraffe and a ram.  Collin said feeding the giraffe was his favorite part until the giraffe licked his hands.  They have huge, purple tongues.

Next, they walked around and hiked the property for over 3 hours.  At one point, they sat on the edge of the rim of the hill.  The scene was really nice.

Check those horns out

Wonder how much food this guy ate

I think he wants to wash his hands now

Feeding the giraffe

Collin said they must be making a deal with each other

Great place to take in the view on the ridge

Collin had the camera for a bit and took 27 pictures of this guy.  Here are some of the better ones.  Maybe he will be a photographer one day.  I am sure he sees that I love taking pictures of our friends and family.

He did take a picture of underneath the animal.  I saved you that shoot you might not ever forget.  :)

They went back to the hotel to swim before getting dinner.  Collin got in the hot tub again. Because the kiddo was still full of energy and Dad was really tired, they stopped for ice cream before heading back to the hotel room to get ready for bed.  Last night, Collin went to bed at 11pm.  Dad is hoping he goes to bed much earlier than that.  I have a feeling that Dad will want to sleep most of the day when they get back. 

Boys Trip - Day 1

After I left for work this morning, Dad and Collin headed North for 4 hours to start their road trip for the week.  Collin did great in the car because he was set up with the iPad to watch movies.  His favorite are Johnny Test and Jessie.  He can watch these over and over again and not get tired of them.  He also played games on Dad's iPhone since he forgot his phone.

Before heading to the hotel, they stopped at Dinosaur World to check out the museum and outside exhibits.  Collin got to dig for dinosaur bones in a child-size excavation site.  Then, they walked around inside and outside checking out the exhibits.

Ready to go, Dad

Digging for bones

One of his favorite dinosaurs

Not sure what is going on here....pulling out the teeth?

Hi Mom!

Collin is having fun pretending he is a dinosaur hatching from an egg:

Dad was getting tired so they went back to the hotel.  After unpacking the car, they swam in the indoor pool for an hour.  Collin told me he really liked swimming in both the hot tub and swimming in a pool inside. 

They called me at at 8:30pm to say they had a great day and were getting ready for bed.  Sounds like they had a great first day of their trip.

Sweet Letters to Mom and Dad

There must have been an assignment in school to write letters to Dad and I.  No matter the reason, I really loved reading these letters Collin wrote when I got home from a 14 hour day at work...which was preceded by a 16 hour day and similar days all week. 

Here is the letter he wrote to me.  He does mention that Field Day was canceled.  It has been raining so much the last two weeks that the field was way too muddy to have a festival for the kids.

 

 

Here is Dad's letter:

 



Report Card Time

Collin continues to make progress in 1st grade.  He is doing better in Spelling and and Handwriting.  We have been working hard on these.  However, he did not do as well in reading.  That could be because I have been busy with the upcoming work deadline so I have not been reading with him as much.  Also, by the time he gets in bed, we are both really tired tired.  It's hard to encourage a tired kid to read so he ends up reading one book instead of three or more.  Dad said he would help more over the next few weeks while I am working on the April 15th tax deadline.

Rodeo Time!

Collin and I had a great time at our annual trip to the rodeo.  Mimi joined us this time so it was even more special. 

When we arrived, he wanted to go straight to the baby pigs.  He forgot this request when we walked into the building commenting how it smelled like poop.  Umm....there are animals everywhere.  Why wouldn't it smell like poop?  We head straight for the baby chicks display which has sections of eggs with baby chicks trying to hatch.  He then wanted to ride Tex the pony before the line got to long.  We then saw the rabbits and he got to pet one.  At this time, Mimi joined us..  We walked to the baby pig and lamb section.  Collin did not want to leave because he loved watching the baby pigs play with their siblings and drink milk from their mommy.  One of the pigs was so cute because he or she fell asleep while drinking milk.  It was the cutest thing!  I told Collin he did that when he was a little boy.  Mimi was surprised that Collin could read the names of the pigs. 

He then wanted to walk down the rows where all of the animals were kept in the pins.  He sat down by Sabrina the cow.  She was a beautiful white cow.  He like it when she moo'ed and wanted me to talk for her as if I was her.  This always makes him laugh.  He also like watching another cow get shaved and especially liked seeing the animals poop.  Oh yeah....

He was proud that he was brave to stand by the scorpions

Baby chicks!

More chickens

Riding Tex

Hey mom!

Cute baby pigs

Sabrina the cow

 

We went outside to see the petting zoo and rides.  He wanted to do the "Down on the Farm" exhibit which has him walk around the different sections pretending he is a farmer.  Along the way, he plants vegetables, milks cows, feeds chickens, pumps water, goes to the story with the money he has earned and then puts the rest of the money into savings.  Great lesson for the kids.  He always looks forward to doing this every year.  He was one of the older kids this times so this might have been our last year to do it.

 

He and Mimi then spent at least 20 minutes in the outdoor petting zoo.  He really liked feeding the animals with food in his hand.  He favorite was a large Llama and the kangaroo.  I was happy that he was getting to spend some time with her.....plus, the line was so long by the time they came out.  He does not get to see her as much because she does not come over once a week like she used to and is busy helping Aunt Lisa watch Tyson and the other kids. 

Walking around the "farm".  Here he is with his chicken feed,

Learning how to pump water

Milking the fake cow

Mimi in the petting zoo



Collin brushing one of the animals

I was glad Collin was not too excited to ride the carnival rides.  That is not my thing at all plus it was getting really hot outside.  I talked him down to riding only two.  One of them was the really tall slide using the burlap bag and the other one was walking through the house of mirrors.  He wanted to do that one again but the machine quick working so we could not go in. 

Collin coming down the tall slide

I was so hot from standing in the sun while they were in the petting zoo and walking around the carnival, so I suggested we eat and get a drink.  Collin and I shared pizza and Mimi got a yummy looking hamburger and a large fresh squeezed lemonade. 

We then went back inside to check on the progress of the baby chicks hatching before we found Collin a cowboy had and me some new boots.  I had not bought boots in over 15 years so I was excited to get a fashionable pair.  Collin likes wearing his cowboy hat we got him 3 years ago but it's too small now so he could use another one. 

No happy it's time to go home

How Does Your Garden Grow? - 1st Grade Play

The 1st Grade play, "How Does Your Garden Grow?" was this past week.  I could not wait to see Collin perform the songs he practiced at the house when he was bathing the last few weeks. 

Collin was a farmer and sang "Planting Seeds" on stage. He was so cute while on stage because he was concentrating hard to stand where he was supposed to, sing the song and not mess up.  I love that face and recognize so much of me in him. 

I was not sure if he could see me sitting on the second row watching him and smiling really big.  I saw him looking around for me but our eyes did not meet.  He knew Dad was there because he was to the side of the stage helping the kids on and off.

When he came off stage, he was happy to see him but really wound up from the play and hanging out with his friends.  It took a while to walk back to the classroom for him to change so we could have dinner.  No rush thought because he was having fun.

On the front row singing

 

Collin and Bradley

The cutest farmers I have ever seen