End of the School Year

The first week of July marked the end of the school year for my kids. Going to year-round school starts to feel really long when they don't get out of school until July. I've learned you have to let the bedtime rules slide a little bit during the summer so the kids feel like they have time to enjoy the summer months. The three oldest kids all had great school years. Heather was really sad to end her year, she said she would miss her teacher sooooooooooo much! Lindsey is going to miss her friends. Her teacher got sick half way through the year and took a quarter off and then had a substitute about half of the days during the last quarter so it became difficult to figure out what the expectations were for various assignments when there was so little consistency but we made it through. Luke's teacher was a lot of fun. She focused on the sciences which Luke loves. They did many science experiments in class. As much as they enjoyed their classes, however, I don't think any of them miss the homework and they're happy for a little break.

Luke hosted his annual end-of-the-year party. He has been doing it for about three years now. When I went to his class to give out treats for his birthday in September, class members asked me about the end-of-year party. It was then that I realized how much his class looks forward to it. He invites his whole class and a few extra good friends that weren't in his class. We barbecue burgers and hot dogs while the kids play tennis, dodge ball, video games, volleyball and whatever else they can find. A new dimension to to the party was added this year-- a dance contest. The kids decided they wanted to have a dance-off which consisted of each participant dancing to some music then the others voting. The winners made it to the next round and so forth, until there was a winner. It was fun to watch, some of them really got into it. I was surprised they would be interested in such an activity, I didn't think they were old enough to be interested in dancing but I guess I was wrong.

Of course, some of the favorite songs were those sung by Michael Jackson. With his recent death, he has become quite the hot topic among the kids. As I listened in on conversations, I had to laugh (to myself of course). These youngsters were all of a sudden experts on the life of Michael Jackson. Apparently it was far too much discussed on television. I finally had to tell my kids that he was a man who did a lot of great things but also had a lot of trials, I'm sure he is happy now and finally at peace and we don't have to keep talking about him.
The evening ended as a great success. Luke's teacher dropped by, which the kids were excited about. A dance champion was chosen, and everyone went home full. As people were leaving, it started to rain with lightening and thunder. We couldn't have asked for better timing or a better time.