First Day Of Kindergarten

 

August 25, 2008

I remember this milestone like it was last week.   

He was so little going off to that big elementary school all day.  He was excited and ready.  And, he shined.

Fast forward six grades and this elementary school chapter is coming to an end.  Tomorrow evening we will go to an unfamiliar building for middle school orientation.  I haven't let myself think too much about it....but as we approach this  last month of school, it's getting harder to ignore.

Once again, Brady is excited and ready.  

I love how he looks ahead to new experiences with a positive outlook...never with worry or doubt.  I wish I could be more like that.

This last month of school is sure to be busy and will fly by much like the last seven years have.   Middle school is right around the corner....whether I'm ready or not!

Science Invention

In September, the sixth graders were given the assignment to "invent" something.  They were given almost two months to complete the final assignment with a different part of that assignment- invention interviews, invention name, sketch, hypothesis, slide show, etc.)  due each week.  I think Brady took two of those weeks brainstorming ideas.  I was worried he wouldn't be able to come up with something.  We encouraged him to invent something that was of interest to him.  

Of course, he chose something tennis related. :)

He wanted to create a barrier to prevent tennis balls from hitting the fence and rolling back onto the court.  He believed this would help prevent injuries and make cleaning up the balls quicker.

Lots of tennis balls were hit to see how many would stay behind the barrier, 

how far away from the fence should the barrier be placed and how much quicker would it be to clean up all the balls.  It worked.

Push ups are not part of the experiment...but sometimes you just feel the need to do some...

Get it?  Venus fly trap- {Venus is a famous tennis player}...Venus ball trap.... 

I showed Brady how to cut letters and use them as stencils.  He cut the stencils and painted them on.

A simple invention really...but what made it really stand out was his oral presentation.  He asked us to listen to him practice over and over and over.  He was so excited to do his first speech ever in front of his class.  Eric and I laugh because he did not get this public speaking excitement from us that's for sure!  He told us after that first group of presenters went that everyone talked fast, looked at the floor and did not seem excited at all about their project.  

The morning of his presentation Brady begged me to take him to the store to get some fresh breath spray. (We have never bought this before!)   He said when his teacher asked him if he was ready....he would hold up a finger to wait a second, freshen his mouth and then he would say, "now I'm ready!"  He wanted to get everyone's attention and get a laugh.  Oh, that boy of ours....

Brady got an A on his invention and oral presentation. 

Last Tuesday Brady was invited to participate in the Curriculum Fair at the high school.

He presented his invention to a handful of teachers and administrators and even the superintendent.

He answered questions and spoke with such confidence.  We're so proud of him....when you put your best effort into what you're doing....you will always be proud of yourself.

Great job Brady!

6th Grade Basketball

Happy New Year!  Just kidding!  I know tomorrow is Valentine's Day...but I'm a lot behind on my blog.  One of my goals this year is to keep up a little better over here...and so far I'm not off to a very good start.  I miss keeping track of our memories...and I know my family who lives far away does too.  I'm going to try and catch up on this past year...even though it's old news...so that I can start fresh.  I think being caught up will make me feel less overwhelmed...and that way I can document the the little things like I used to do.

Brady decided in November to try out for the 6th grade travel basketball team at his school.  He decided this about a week before tryouts.  We were a little surprised....and super excited.  Eric and I both played one sport in high school- basketball.  We were both very serious about it and played on top state teams.  Being a part of a team is fun...and something Brady hasn't gotten to experience much with tennis...at least not until he gets to play on the high school team.

Brady made the team which meant two practices and two games per week.  Mix that in with his tennis schedule and we were running a bit ragged.  I forgot how long the basketball season is!  We (the parents) survived and Brady enjoyed everything that comes along with being a part of a team.  I became kind of the team "driver" carting kids who needed rides to games and practices.  Pizza and donuts and sleepovers and attending the high school games with his teammates made the experience all the more FUN!

Brady's team won one game all season.  Thankfully they were in a Christmas tournament and won two games so it didn't seem so bad.  Brady improved his game quite a bit from that first practice to the last game.  I think he made the team because of his height...and he was best at getting rebounds.  He averaged about 2pts a game and had a high game of 6pts.   He started and played most of the game...and still only had two fouls the entire season!  It was kind of a joke among the parents in the stands whether Brady would foul or not.  We even bribed him one game by telling him that if he got a foul, he could stay up past his bedtime.  He didn't do it...being aggressive I guess is not his thing.  His excuse was that he didn't want to "foul out"....but I think he just didn't want to risk hurting anyone!  

I think basketball was a humbling experience for him.  I could tell he was nervous at times out on the court...not always knowing where he should be or what he should be doing.  Such a big contrast from the tennis court.   Lots of good life lessons to be learned for sure.  He reminded us a couple of times that he was playing basketball just for "fun."  And FUN it was for him and for us!

Apple Picking and A Corn Maze

Going to the orchard seems to have become a fall tradition for us.  It's one of those things we never really plan for and then we stumble upon a free Saturday morning.  You never know when your kids will want to stop doing a certain thing that you always look forward to doing with them.  And then, they remind you that they are waiting to go and you jump in the car as fast as you can before they change their mind! :)  

I have a lot more pictures but for some reason they are not wanting to upload...no time to waste so I'm moving on...

We also tried our first corn maze this fall.  Cherry Crest Farm is about 15 minutes from our house and everyone raves about it....but we had never been there before.  Definitely a neat place to go.  Everything from animals, pumpkins, games and food.  Oh, and the corn maze that was featured in USA Today as one of the top 10 corn mazes this year.  The maze is 5 acres with over 2.5 miles of paths.  There were three different levels/paths to choose from....Brady wanted to do the most challenging course (Eric and I did not!).  It took us two hours to find all of our clues and get out of there before it started to get dark.  I followed behind they guys eating my tub of kettle corn and letting them do all the work!

Tracy Austin

Brady was one of five players in our area invited to meet and work with Tracy Austin last Friday afternoon.  If you're a tennis fan, you will of course know who she is.  If you're not, she is a former world #1 player and the youngest person to ever win the U.S. Open.  She is also the youngest person ever to be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame.   She is now a tennis commentator and has her own show on the tennis channel where she coaches.  

Brady was so lucky to get this opportunity.  You can imagine how excited he was and you can see from the photo above that he soaked in every bit of advice that she gave to him. 

Tracy was amazing, and nice and so knowledgeable.  She worked intensely with the group for an hour and a half.  I know Brady will remember this forever.

As we were saying goodbye, Ms. Austin said, "I will look for your name in the lights Brady!"  

Very sweet.

This and That

Brady turned 11 1/2 a couple weeks ago.  We almost missed the big day...thankfully 

Eric remembered and I was able to pick up a brownie at Panera's after dinner with a friend.  I think it was close to 10pm when I got home...better late than never I guess!  Brady seemed somewhat embarrassed that we were making a fuss.  Oh well....at least he knows he's loved. :)

Brady went to a big Barn Bash at our church Friday night with hundreds of 5th and 6th graders.

He was the lucky winner of this ridiculously large inflatable swan.  He thinks it's perfect for t.v. watching.  I think we now need a swimming pool. :)

School pictures were this week.  It's the first time in 7 years that I didn't buy them.  We usually give  5 x 7's to the grandparents and then the rest of the pictures never see the light of day.  I did buy a class picture.  I feel somewhat guilty about not getting them....although the school pictures of Brady have never been spectacular.  I quick snapped this one on picture day before we left for school.  I'm no photographer but....this smile is more natural than any school picture we've ever purchased.

Speaking of photographers....we had our first family photo session (ever) scheduled one day last month in the park.  I just needed one good family picture for something we're working on.  I was pretty excited about it since we've never had one taken before.  I wanted something fun....not formal.

Anyway....we waited and waited at the park and the photographer never showed up.  As we were leaving a lady walked over and asked us if we wanted her to quick take a picture.  Her kindness (and my frustration) made me a little teary.  She said she had seen how long we were waiting and figured we had been stood up.  Yep, we were.  I never contacted the photographer and she never contacted us.  Weird.  And disappointing.

Even though this picture is blurry and exactly what I didn't want...it still makes me smile.

I am blessed.  Hopefully soon we can try this again...with a different photographer.