Arrr...You ready to party!

We sure arrrre, Matey!

First Grade Friend, Lily's 7th Birthday Party

How to Bake a Cake (by Magnolia)

How to Bake a Cake

by Magnolia

First you take the batter and stir it around.

Swish, Swish

Get a pan.

Clang,

Pour the batter into the pan.

Splish, splash.

And bake it in the oven.

Cook. Cook.

Tick, tock,

Goes the clock.

The cake is all ready.

The Divers by Kaleia

Recently, Kaleia's class had a publishing party. They have been working on authoring and illustrating stories of their own for some time. We've heard Kaleia share enthusiastically about these works in-progress and how she longed to bring them home to share. Normally noncompetitive, she surprised us with, "Today, we got to read out books with a partner at the publishing party. (My reading partner) only had one book to read and I had FOUR!" She is very proud of her work. We hope you enjoy the author reading below. Watch for more books by Kaleia in the near future. 

Click below to view close-up pictures of Kaleia's book.

Myself (by Magnolia)

Myself

                               by Magnolia

Magic making friendship powers,

Afraid of the scary black dark,

Good at having great fun times

Not enough of fun play time,

Orange is always so wonderful,

Loves a great organizations,

I love good playtime,

Always loves a game of freeze tag.

Student-Led Conferences and the Return of Rushcapades!

"Hello, Mama and Papa. I want to thank you for coming to my conference."

Her first student-led conference, and not surprisingly, Magnolia works through her checklist articulately, sharing her self-assessment, friendship reflection, and samples of her written work and handwriting. She directs us to recognize her growth, asks us for specific support to assist her in further learning, and shares her goal for the remainder of the year. Is this girl really seven?! My mama-eyes swell with pride at her confidence and growth.

At the end of the conference, Magnolia asks if we have a goal for her--we had been instructed to bring one.

We do. But a little background first.

Always an avid reader, Magnolia entered first grade hesitant to write, inhibited by spelling. This year, though, she has blossomed into a passionate writer, empowered by best gess sownd speling. She loves poetry, punctuation, capitalization, onomatopoeia, and especially the writing process.  From memory, she can explain the importance of each stage: prewrite - draft - revise - edit - publish. She loves to find and fix mistakes--like her Papa--and she loves to "add juicy details."

However, for whatever reason, she does NOT like publishing. Maybe rewriting in her neatest handwriting is boring? Maybe staple binding loose leaf paper is frustrating? Or maybe her passion for editing creates a feeling of the work never quite being done?

Whatever the case, to support Magnolia's passion for writing and encourage her to overcome her resistance to publishing, one of our goals is for Magnolia to share a piece of writing on our blog each week.

She loves the idea!

Selfishly, it is kind of a goal for me too -- along with some motivation and accountability!

Blogging is good for my soul, but it has been hard to find time the last few years. Currently, I have over 100 blog drafts in limbo. (Hmm, maybe I do know where she gets her resistance to publishing...) I may never get around to posting them all, but I'm hoping to at least start capturing some of our Rushcapades again.

Please support us by commenting and giving friendly nudges if we fall behind. And forgive any mistakes as we try to let go of worrying about being perfect in order to be published. As Brian likes to say, "Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the good."

Chess match: Maggie vs. Huxley

Friday, I arrive at Maggie's after-school care to be greeted by the usual disappointed "Aww (it's time to go already?)." This time she is in the middle of a chess game. We aren't in a hurry so I pull up a tiny chair to watch the future grandmasters.

It's clear that Huxley is much more experienced, reciting the finer points of pawn movement and promotion. The game draws several "experts." They spout out "one move to check!" and speak of fair trades and how many points they each had. Chess has points?!?

After a while I have flashbacks of the last time I played chess, as Huxley picks off Maggie's pieces with ease.

It was our honeymoon in Fiji. Brian was really, really into chess, but to coerce make it fair for his new bride, he would play without a rook or bishop and knight, or sometimes even his queen. In that fateful last game, I was ahead and felt like I had a shot at winning for the first time ever. Then, slowly, my pieces began to disappear and I was unable to help them. After the game, I marched to the bathroom and screamed at the top of my lungs. The soap in the shower was not spared my high-velocity wrath. Brian, my dear, sweet husband (except for his chess brutalities), fresh from our fairytale wedding, was mortified. We decided not to play chess any more.  

Seeing that same fate (okay, maybe not quite as bad) awaiting my daughter, I decide to step in and "help." I advise her to move her bishop to a spot. She trusts my advice and I say "Check." Both kids look at me strangely, incredulously. "That's not check." Still confident, I try to show them how it was indeed check. "You can only check the *king*." The piece I advised my daughter to "check" was his queen. Oops. Maggie's bishop is gone and I decide to keep my mouth shut.

Pretty soon, Huxley's dad arrives. Thankfully, he is willing to indulge their game and able to give knowledgable advice to both kids.

Maggie manages to survive and whittles Huxley down to his king and a few pawns. The two six-year-olds play a game of chase around the board. Huxley manages to take Maggie's last pawn in the process. At that point, Huxley's Dad informs them that once a player is down to one piece, the other player has 15 moves to checkmate or the game ends in a stalemate. Is that even a thing or is he just trying to end the game? 

Stalemate it is. As we walk to the car, Maggie is bashful. She wishes she could have won, has admiration for how good Huxley is, but proud of how many pieces she captured--a much better response to her game than her Mom's soap throwing.

Let It Go!

I'm sure this is not a unique scene right now. But, I can't help but share a Kaleia version.

Dolphin Carpool

October 21

October 21st I get a call no one ever wants to receive. My sister tells me my Dad is gone.

Since October 21st, I keep coming back to this picture. It is my last one with him.

July 12th, my dad, responding to my recent comment that my parents always seem so busy when I visit, took my mom and me to one of his favorite places, a waterfall not far from their new dream home. Dad was so at peace there, said it felt heavenly. We talked about what a perfect camping initiation spot it could be for the girls, close enough to the house to come back if needed, but far enough away from it all. We wondered how many other places like it were waiting to be discovered nearby and how we might find them.

But we ran out of time. You left so quickly and so soon.

There are so many places left to explore together.

Recipes to cook.

Books to share.

Discussions to have.

Questions to ask.

Memories to create.


I miss you, Dad.

Go, Canada, Go!

Happy Canada Day 2013!

Want to see how much the girls have grown? Check our Canada Day posts from years past!

2012 2010 2009 2008 

*2011 is missing because that month was insane!