My Little Big Shots

Each year, St. George's hosts a Talent Show for its students. Kids in first through fifth grade can participate.

Evan has played drums the past two years. You might remember, the past two he encountered technical difficulties. We made sure that wasn't going to happen again! Mrs. Betchick asked him to 'hit those drums one time' in his introduction. I finally let go of the breath I was holding when I heard the drums come out of the sound system!

Evan played a 21 Pilots song and rocked it! He's been playing this song for a couple years as 21 Pilots is his favorite band.

This was Luke's first year to be able to participate. Now Luke doesn't always like being in the spotlight. He's a ham and insanely crazy when you get to know him, but he has always been pretty introverted. I didn't think he was going to be up for it.

But you know what they say...kids always surprise ya.

Some amazing moms organized a group of 1st grade boys to do a dance. Yes...7 year old boys....dancing to Twisted Sister, MC Hammer, Kriss Kross, Van Halen, and more.

THEY STOLE THE SHOW!!!

Luke was half of Kriss Kross. He got to share this role with his bud since birth Cullen. The weeks leading up to the Talent Show, there was little Luke could talk about. He and Cullen had decided who was Kriss and who was Kross. We had to look up pictures of what they looked like so Luke could 'get into character'. He even went as far to ask for extra rehearsals with Mrs. Hayden. He would randomly show up in her room and ask if he could go over his part with her.

On the drive to the Talent Show he kept saying, "I can't believe I really get to be in the Talent Show." If he said it once, he said it 9 times.

I had to work the with the GPAC sound guys during the show. I knew the order of the acts and their music, so I had to be in the booth making sure everything was being played when it should be. So John sat with the boys making sure they got backstage when they were supposed to. 

Evan played early in the show. When he returned to his seat and a nice lady behind them complimented him on his playing. She said, "You did awesome!"  Luke promptly turns around and says to her, "I'm going to do awesome too." I think the whole row giggled at that. 

But he was true to his word. They did AWESOME.

Neil's Music Room

This season of School of Rock Evan's band got to perform at Neil's music room! Evan started playing only a year and a half ago with School of Rock. We have been nothing short of extremely impressed. Not only is he progressing with his drum skills at an amazing rate, he is learning about great music.

At 9 he played Jimi Hendrix in front of an audience of about 100. There really isn't anywhere else he would get that opportunity.

This season was his first time to play in an authentic music room (aka...a bar). He's performed at an outdoor festival and several times at a music shop, but to him, this felt real.

We were lucky to have a great friend join us for the concert!

He played his little heart out! I am so proud of not only the work he puts in at practice but the work he puts in at home. Keep following your heart baby and you'll never be disappointed.

Pinewood Derby

I hate the Pinewood Derby.

Let me explain. I have been an educator for 18 years. I am one of the biggest advocates for child completed work. My own children's projects have rarely looked like their peers. If they have a project to complete at home, THEY are the ones that complete it at home. This has always worked in our favor because these projects are graded and evaluated by teachers who get it. They see the student’s work compared to student assisted work.

Now, let me say this before I offend the legends of parents out there. I GET IT. We all want our children to do well. We want them to be successful. We want them to get that A. I just want my boys to earn those things. And trust me...it drives my control freak, Type A personality INSANE.

jumps off soapbox

Now, as I said, our student complete project philosophy has worked in our favor until the Pinewood Derby. Instead of being graded, this was a competition…which brought out the best in a lot of parents. And by best, I mean, the parent’s best work.

All of the sudden, my child’s work wasn’t compared to his own best effort. It was compared to the best effort of someone’s parent. Yes, we explained there will always be someone faster, someone better, someone smarter than him. We explained not everyone is a winner. There has to be a last place. We can only worry about trying our best.

But inside I had a growing dislike for all things Pinewood Derby.

John had taken the lead in this project the past three years. This year, I decided instead of disliking the Pinewood Derby, I was going to embrace it. It was going to be 100% kid done and we were going to be proud of their creation.

My kids had to:

Research

Plan

Recruit experts

Pick supplies

Build and customize

Prep

As all kids do, the boys started on YouTube. We watched a great video about the physics of a good Pinewood Derby car. The boys took notes and decided which attributes they wanted to include in their car. We read the rules together and made sure the modifications to their cars met all the requirements.

The boys then planned what they wanted their cars to look like. We called on a wood-working expert friend, Mr. Climie to help us cut the wood. The boys drew their lines and Mr. Climie showed them which tools he uses to cut and sand the cars.

We then took off the Hobby Lobby to buy some supplies we learned about through our research.  The most important part of a fast car was the weight placement. So, we bought weights that would fit exactly where they plan placed them. The boys learned that the nail holding the wheel was also a very important piece. We bought some sanding tools and lubricant for that. We also spent waaaaay too much time (and money) picking out paint.

Before they started our modifications, the boys designed their car. We sketched, revised, drew on the car and then painted. Trust me….my momma hands were DYING to get in there.

While the cars were drying, the boys spent some quality time with the drill and sanding papers. Each boy decided how long to sand and how smooth each axle should be. They then enlisted the help of their daddy to connect the wheels to the car.

Then came the weight placement. They picked exactly where their weights should go (again, all based on their research). The boys glued the weights in place and voila! Cars were complete.

Pinewood Derby morning I was still nervous the boys were going to get there and compare their cars to the others, but they DIDN'T!! What I saw was a group of boys getting together to not only celebrate hard work but each other. I was so impressed with how these guys congratulated each other when their cars won or spent a great deal of time admiring someone else's paint job. And not only that, each kid was proud of their own creation! 

The boys ending up coming in first in their troop, but I wouldn't have cared if they came in last. They learned what preparation, hard work, and a great attitude can do for you. Way to go boys!!

MLK Day ON

We participated in MLK Day on again this year. While we do get a day OFF school, we choose to treat it like a day ON and complete service projects. St. George's is amazing to offer a wide and diverse range of service activities for our families.

This year we made fleece tie blankets for homeless shelters. This was a great project that any group of people can do together. All you need is a little fleece and some nimble fingers.

After measuring and cutting two pieces of fleece, you stack the material, cut 2-inch slits all the way around the perimeter of the blanket, twist, and tie! 

More importantly, I hope these boys saw that spending a day off of school can change how we see the world. While sleeping in late and watching TV all day under a blanket is nice every now and then, MLK day needs to be something bigger. Living his mission by helping people less fortunate than us is a great way to honor him and his legacy.