Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Dallin participates in the Gifted & Talented program in the school district. He has ALWAYS enjoyed it. In previous grades it was just an afternoon a week, but now that he is in 6th grade it is an actual class that he gets to get on a bus, ride to a different school to a special classroom/lab. He finds this really cool.

Recently they had been learning about water displacement, Archimedes principle, density. . . things like that. The project that did to help them utilize this new knowledge required them to build a boat. To make the project even MORE exciting, he was only allowed to use a cardboard box and 1 roll of Duct Tape.

Today was the launching; I went to go watch armed with my camera. (Not that you would expect anything less, right?) I must add that we had two BEAUTIFUL days before today; the weather was clear and it was between 70 & 75 degrees. TODAY, it was 48 degrees, cloudy, windy, rainy and the water in the OUTDOOR pool was only 65 degrees. BRRRRRRRR!


This is Dallin and his partner Paytin. I told him he was lucky she was a tiny girl; he could have ended up with one of the heavy football players from his team! That is their boat; number 83. I should remind you that 83 is his football number; it was also his Dad's football number.

Yea! It floats! There were some different constructions, but box-shaped seemed to be a common theme.

They look VERY pleased that it is floating.

HA! It took FOREVER, but I got the video to upload AND embed! Woot! Woot! Enjoy! (Yes, you do hear Tacey yelling. I got her out of class to come watch. Should have probably gotten Mac too. Oh Well. . . . . . )



Dallin got his boat to the other side of the pool; he got extra credit for making his own paddles. When he got to the other side his partner joined him in the boat.

Unfortunately, by then the paddles were almost gone. They really didn't have much of a chance once they could no longer move across the water.

Like the Titanic, the cold water was the un-doing of the boat. Here he is about to abandon ship.

He couldn't jump fast enough.

That's a pretty big hole on the bottom.

He then joined a bunch of kids (5, ALMOST 6!) in another boat. They were seeing how many people they could put in the boat and still have it float!

At first it seemed to go well.

But again, slow sinking proved to be a powerful thing.

In the end, there were kids with hypothermia symptoms, so we pulled them out of the pool as fast as possible. They were having fun, so it wasn't as easy as it sounds! No one died; all boats were eventually in soggy pieces, and the Mom's all had a great laugh! It was a good day!

Danielle

Football; McCade

McCade has played more football this year than Dallin, merely because his coach took them to the Jamboree. The Jamboree allows each team to opportunities to 'get out the jitters' and try their newly acquired skills on another team. They get 15 minutes at Defense, and 15 minutes at offense no matter the outcome.

McCade is number 50. He, like his brother, plays defensive end. He also plays on the Offensive Line and is on Kickoff return. Here he is in action.

Okay, I have to explain this picture. The rules of Grid Kid football give weight limits for each grade. For 5th Grade, up have to be 125 lbs. or below to play; if you weigh between 125 and 135 lbs. you can only play offense. IF you weigh MORE than that, you have to play up a grade. This kid that is blocking McCade is actually a 4th grader that didn't make weight and had to play on the 5th grade team. IN FACT, my friend did the official weigh in that day, and this 4th grader tipped the scale at 254lbs. Seriously, I have no idea how that kid passed his physical. Anyway, to have McCade trying to block a kid that is 3 times his weight; THAT was really funny.

I'd explain what is going on in all these pictures; if I knew. But, I just take them; I don't claim to understand the intricacies of football. SO, if you can figure them out; GOOD JOB!

HAHA!

Danielle

Football; Dallin

Dallin LOVES football. I mean, he REALLY LOVES football.
I have tried to figure out why he loves it so; he has a large team. He doesn't start, so he doesn't see as much playing time as some of the other team members. These things don't matter; he simply loves it.
I have thought long and hard about this, and I think it is several things. First, he really enjoys the technical side of Football. His little (actually, really BIG) brain really understands the game. At any given time he can tell you who did what, why they did it and what they could have done to make the play more successful. Unfortunately, his body does not move as quickly as his mind; yet. ( I am VERY hopeful). He also enjoys the feeling of being part of the team. And, then there is the added bonus of getting to hit people for no reason in particular. But, I think that may be a 'boy thing'.

In any case, he is a handsome football player and looks really good in his gear. Here are several pictures of him in action. He is number 83; his Dad's old number.

That's him in the front of the huddle.

He works so hard at Football. I have great hopes that he will continue to improve and play for as long as he wants to!

Danielle

Court of Honor

Dallin had the advantage of going to Scout camp this summer because his Dad went. Usually Boyscout Camp is reserved for those Scouts 12 and older. Today we had a Court of Honor; he has been a Scout for almost a year now as his birthday is in October. He has worked really hard and today was the payoff. This was the first of many Courts of Honor I am sure he will participate in.

That is his Scoutmaster presenting him with his 4 Merit Badges he earned at camp; Wilderness Survival, Emergency Preparedness, First Aid and Leatherworking. First Aid and Emergency Preparedness are required for his Eagle. Has 11 required Merit Badges, but must earn a total of 21 for his Eagle. Really, as long as he is active in the Troop he will attain everything he needs to and have completed his Eagle Project before he is 14. We are very excited!

He also completed the ranks of Tenderfoot, First Class and Second Class. These are super-cool since I get pins to wear to show his accomplishments as well.

We are VERY proud of him.

Danielle

First Day Of School 2010-11

Thursday, August 20, 2010. The dreaded day; the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

I have to say that I was no more exited about it than the kids were. Yes, it did mean I also had to go back to work, but I really do enjoy the adventures we have when we are home and this particular summer break felt extremely short.

Tacey is now a Freshman in High School. She started the day dressed in her signature color: pink. We had some issues with friends this summer; not big ones, but enough to help her realize who was a real friend and who wasn't. She has started the year with a positive attitude and has quickly made new friends in the Sophomore, Junior and Senior classes. I anticipate her having an amazing year.

McCade is in 5th grade, and after A LOT of hoop-jumping within the system, I had him placed in the appropriate math class. He isn't the most dedicated of students sometimes (even though he is amazingly smart), so his 4th grade teacher had NOT recommend him for Advanced Math. I would normally take a teacher at their word, but his test scores were so high, and he did so well EVEN THOUGH he didn't pay attention in class we really felt he needed to be in a situation where the VERY BEST was expected of him. So far, so good. I wondered at first how he would do, now that they have changed the 5th Grade format and he would have 7 different classes from 6 different teachers. But after some thought, and watching the way he excelled at Music Camp, I think this might be a good thing. I think the opportunity to wiggle and move and completely change environments to go to a new class will help him focus.

Dallin is in 6th grade, in all advanced classes and has been re-approved for the Gifted & Talented Program. He opted for Drama & Art as his electives; there wasn't a lot of choice. I think he is also going to have great year. He also has 7 different classes from 6 different teachers. He even gets to ride the Bus to a different school for his Gifted & Talented class; it takes the place of his Science class. His current project is to build a boat from only cardboard and duct tape. Good thing he can swim!

As for me, I finally have classrooms, and the school district has lost all the sheet music I ordered last fall. I have two new principals to work with; and it already looks like one of them is going to drive me nuts.

Here we go!
Danielle