Monthly Archives: April 2014

Piñatas, Persistence And A Whole Lotta Glue

Last Friday I got to spend the day at school with Batman.  This was a special day, since while I spend most of every Monday helping Annabelle’s two first grade teachers, I rarely get the opportunity to spend time in Zach’s classroom.

The first occasion of the day was assisting in helping thirty kindergarteners each assemble a hand-made piñata.  This was accomplished by blowing up a balloon for each child, then basically watching helplessly as they coated the balloon, the table, the coats on the back of their chairs, and each other with a mixture of flour and water, also known as piñata glue.

It was a sight to see.

This picture was taken of the afternoon class making their piñatas. While overseeing the morning class in their construction efforts,  I’d come up with the idea of covering the next round of munchkins in garbage bags as a sort of smock, to prevent them from being covered in the very sticky white glue substance.  The morning class, who were mostly in their formal navy blue polo shirts, was covered in glue from top to bottom by the time they were finished.  And white glue shows up nicely on navy blue. That rhymes. How clever.  Or lucky.

Glue Everywhere

Anyway, I must admit that my interest was mostly selfish.

You see, Batman is in the afternoon class.

Paper Mache

And I wanted him clean.

Because he was receiving an award that afternoon.

Yes, that’s right. I was so proud of my baby boy.  Each month the school gives an award to a couple of kids from each class who best exhibit the monthly “Core Characteristic,” and for the month of April Batman was chosen for his mastery of the characteristic “Persistence.”

He didn’t know that he was receiving the award, but it was well deserved.

You see, Kindergarten started out as a bit of a challenge for him.  He is an active boy, not accustomed to sitting still for long periods of time, though his attention to detail and focus are commendable on any project that he chooses.  He has had to work hard to get used to the structure and seven-hour days that kindergarten entails at our school, and he’s made great strides.

I was so happy for him.

And look how clean!

Zachs Award

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Categories: Cast of Characters, Kids Are Funny Creatures, Life in the Country | 1 Comment

Batman Has A Birthday

My baby boy turns six this week, and last weekend we celebrated with what has somehow become our traditional kids birthday party.  I must admit that I lobbied pretty hard for a “destination” type party this time – maybe Chuck E Cheese, Wahooz, the Zoo – somewhere with a defined location and parameters, and someone else to clean up after.  I’m not proud of it, but that’s the truth.

Batman persisted though, and in the end I was glad he did.  It is fun to share the amenities that we enjoy with other kids (and adults too).

So, we cleared the garage (more or less) and set up some tables and chairs, mowed the lawn, and rented a bouncy house complete with a slide.  A few kids from school were invited, along with family and friends, and the party was on.

Grumpy and Reno went above and beyond the call of duty by giving non-stop pony rides from 1:00 to about 5:30.  They were good sports.

Pony Rides

Reno was in big demand for those who hadn’t been on a horse much before.

More Pony Rides

The kids also rode bikes.

Bike Rides

And four-wheelers.

Four Wheeler

Played on the bounce house slide.

035

Posed for pictures on the bounce house slide…..

Girlson Slide

and played hide and seek.

Hide n Seek

The lively crowd whacked the heck out of a Spiderman piñata.

Spider Man Pinata

Batman tried his best, but in the end it was friend Shawny who set the candy free.

Shawny Pinata

Which resulted in a feeding frenzy of totally expected proportions.

Candy Grab

Toward the end of the party there was a cake.  A “Frozen” Movie cake.  With princesses on it. 

Cake Closup

But Batman didn’t care that it was a somewhat, er, feminine theme.  He loves “Frozen”. 

And it did have blue icing.

Frozen Cake

After the children’s festivities wound down Grandma Kay and Grandpa Vernon came by to visit and have dinner with us.  Baby Rex (and his momma)  stayed too. 

G Vernon and Baby Rex

We just celebrated Grandma Kay’s birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I think she looks younger every year.

Kay and Milo

Friends Kari and Tom came to see us as well, and we were all treated to an impromptu beauty pageant.

Grandpa Vernon had the tiebreaker vote, and he pronounced blond Kampbell the winner, since she had the most teeth out of the three contestants.

Beauty Pageant

After dinner wound down, we had three extra kids for the night. 

Annabelle and her two friends, Kampbell and Jelissa, spent the night in her room, watching movies and doing each other’s hair and makeup.  Cliché I know, but true.  At the age of seven.  Wow.

Batman and Kade played in his room, watching “Frozen” over and over again and playing with the cool new toys he got for his birthday.

Early the next morning all three girls were awake early.  They wanted to ride. 

So ride they did.  Until a torrential downpour arrived to send them all scurrying back inside.  I’m pretty sure that Grumpy and Reno were happy to see that rain!

Three Girls

The party finally wound down with the departure of our final guest at about noon on Sunday. 

It was a full twenty-four hours of fun.  I can’t wait until next time.

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