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June 2008 Journal
Summer is around
the bend! I can't wait for school to be done (however I will
miss seeing my friends) and summer fun to begin! Mom and me
have a lot planned. So, expect long-winded journal entries
with far more information about me and my family than one would ever
want or need! HA!
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Karate
Class #15
June 2 ,
2008 |
My first class
for the month and beginning of learning skills for my next belt
stripe! We will be working for a
YELLOW
stripe this time and it is for "excellence". I think I am
so funny because I say this like Mr. Burns from The Simpsons.
Daddy thinks it's funny.
Today, we practiced our Universals - getting them to be "excellent"
and perfect. I also learned how to do a proper Round Kick.
We first practiced by keeping our balance by holding onto the wall
and then moved to standing on our own. It was tough and I will
need to practice this lots. It's important for the leg to be
up and pointing in the right direction and keeping my leg straight,
kicking out fast and bringing back in before putting it down.
Balance is key here! We all did great for our first time
though! Sensei Justin was impressed!
Exciting announcement for me at the end of class! I got my
very first Black & Gold Star for my Gi pants! I was so excited
when my name was called! We also got our new newsletter for
this month - it is about COURAGE! I am going to work hard on
it and get it turned in for another star and then remember to take
my report card in for another star! I'll have 3 stars on my
pants by July! YAY!
As soon as Mom gets that star sewn on my pants - I'll have her take
my picture!
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Week #41 ~
Kindergarten News (Last One!)
June 6 ,
2008 |
My very first
school year is winding down, but we have still been very busy!
We have been reading and doing different activities that have to do
with summer. We talked and wrote about starfish and sea
turtles, roller coasters, fish, the beach, summer vacations, and
sand castles. Miss Neiswender wants us all to keep reading and
writing over the summer. I am SURE that my Mom will be doing
just that with me, no breaks here.
We finished our last chapter in our math book. It was on
spatial relationships and position. I really enjoyed Math and
am kind of sad to see it end.
Our centers were summer-themed. We did rhyming baseball game,
putting fish with digraphs on them in the correct bucket, sorting
real seashells, writing about summer vacation, making a sea creature
picture and writing sentences about it, and completing a dot to dot
paper.
We have done other fun things the last few weeks: We had a
special visit from the Lebanon County Dairy Princess. She
talked to us about milk and dairy products and gave us some neat
coloring books.
We had a "spring fling" with all 3 of the kindergarten classes.
Some of the games we played were: limbo, a dress relay race,
freeze dance, playing with a parachute, making pirate hats, and
playing a pirate game.
I only have a few days of school left! I am anxious to see my
report card and if I will graduate to First Grade!
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Picnic at
the Hartley's
June 7 ,
2008 |
We were invited
to the Hartley's for a picnic today! Mom made a special Weight
Watchers Cake - I helped too. It was easy. It was a
Blueberry/Pineapple Dump Cake!
Anyway - man was it HOT today! We spent most of our time there
in the house playing. We just had a nice time visiting with
everyone, we met the family that Ms. Jen works for, they are very
nice and their little boy is nice. Jen's Mom was there and
she's always nice. Darrin's parents came too...and they are
nice. What a nice bunch of people to be around...heehee!
Eventually, after we all ate dinner, we got outside to play/splash
around in Grey's pool! He isn't afraid of being splashed!
That boy is gonna be fun at the beach! Soon it was time that
everyone decided they were heading home...not us Proper's - we stick
around whether you want us to or not! HA, just kidding...we
had more plans...we packed up in the cars and headed over to the
park for fireworks! WOW...once the show finally got going...it
had to have been some of the BEST fireworks I had ever seen.
We were all wondering how little Grey would do, since this was his
first time and we were really very close to the "boom-booms".
He seemed a bit unsure at first, crawled up close to his mom but the
funny part was he would not look away from them....his Dad was
sitting behind, so he crawled up to him...still not wanting to turn
away....then he spied MY dad sitting in the chair, just a little bit
farther away, so he wanted up there...and there he sat, all snuggled
in with my dad and watched the fireworks! It was so funny!
He just wanted as far away as he could get but still wanted to see
them! Mom got a pic but it was hard with it being dark
outside.
Thanks for having us over Hartley's and we need to mark this date on
the calendar and have a yearly picnic on this day! Those
fireworks were awesome for a little township festival to have!
I want to go on the hayride they were having next year too.
This year it was just too hot to sit crammed next to people in a
pile of hay!
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FINAL
Report Card Period
June 10 ,
2008 |
School's out for
summer! I am a little excited about this but still a bit young
to really know just how excited I should be! HA! I was
very anxious to see my report card and to see how/if I had improved
on some of those check marks from last time. I was working
really hard to get them up to a plus sign. Again, this time
around I was evaluated in 41 areas of development and learning!
PLUS - I found out how good of a reader I am...you will have to read
my report card to see - I will reveal the answer at the end!
My final marks are in
RED
and I
have highlighted my improvements in
YELLOW!
I am also happy to say that I did not reverse any plus signs this
time around!
Check it - me out!
Social Development
and work habits:
Works well independently - +
-
check -
+ -
+
Follows classroom routines -
+
- check -
check -
+
Demonstrates self-control – check -
check -
check -
check
Organizes/cares for
personal property – check -
check - check -
check
Interacts cooperatively
with peers -
+
- + - + -
+
Completes work neatly –
check - check -
check -
+
Remains on task, completes work in a timely manner –
check -
check -
check
-
+
Pays attention in
multiple settings – check - check -
check -
check
Follows school rules,
well-mannered – check -
+ - + -
+
Proper pencil and
crayon grip -
+
-
+ - + -
+
Uses scissors correctly
-
+
-
+ - + -
+
Listening/Speaking:
Listens attentively –
check -
check - check -
check
Follows oral directions
– check -
check - check -
check
Waits turn to speak –
check -
+
- check -
check
Orally expresses ideas -
check -
+ -
+
Identifies rhyming words -
+ - + -
+
Produces rhyming words -
+ - +
Reading:
Identifies uppercase
letters in random order -
+
-
+ - + -
+
Identifies lowercase
letters in random order -
+
-
+ -
+ -
+
Knows sounds of consonant letters - check -
+ -
+
Makes
predictions - check -
+
Reads word wall words -
+ -
+
Reads using:
directionality - +
- +
one-to-one matching -
+ -
+
knowledge of sounds and letters -
+
- +
Retells important facts from a story - check -
+
Written Communication:
Prints name properly -
+ -
+ -
+
- +
Forms written letters neatly -
check -
+ -
+
Uses drawing with details to represent ideas -
+ - + -
+
Writes using:
left to right directionality -
+ - + - +
letters to represent sounds in words -
check - + -
+
a sense of sentence -
check - + -
+
Mathematics:
Identifies numeral in random order (0 thru 10) - + -
+ -
+ - +
Writes numerals neatly -
+ -
+ -
+
Understands math concepts -
+ - + -
+
Problem solving skills (not all math related issues) - check -
check -
+
Interprets charts and graphs -
+ - + - +
SCIENCE: Myself and
Others; Farm; Fabric
Understands basic
concepts - + -
+
Participates in active explorations -
+
- +
SOCIAL STUDIES:
Me In My World
Understands basic
concepts - + -
+
Participates in activities -
+ -
+
************************DRUM ROLL
PLEASE******************************
Reading
Level:
ABOVE
Benchmark!!!
Next
Years Grade Assignment:
1st
Grade!
Overall, we
would have to say that Cole's first year in school was a
success. Mark and I completely agree that holding him back
that extra year was not only the right choice for him but a very
smart one.
His teacher did not give us a "class rankings" list this time
around, but the one included with the third period report had
him pretty high on the list for most things. Considering
that most of his report marks are in the plus range, I would
assume, he is just as high. I can't say that I am not
curious to know about the reading levels and how he ranked
there, but from seeing the books that his class has "written"
and brought home...and considering that the majority of his
class are girls, well...I think she probably had a lot of great
readers in there! I am just excited for Cole that he did
so well....and he was very happy with himself when I told him
about his "grades" and reading level. He is writing all
the time now - I would have to say that he does enjoy writing
more than reading. However, when we are out and about, he
is forever asking me what things say.
We got Cole some First Grade workbooks that he can play around
with this summer, he is enjoying them already. We will
continue our nightly reading rituals and maybe add in a morning
one. Also, Cole and I will need to make a trip to the
library a few times, besides, I could use some summer reading
for myself!
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Another Fun Day at
Hershey Park!
June 10 ,
2008 |
So, my mom
picked me up at school today, we went home, ate lunch then went over
to our neighbors and friends house. Mrs. Richard and Devin
were getting ready to go pick up Alec and Jared from school.
They are in older grades than me, so they had a longer "half" day
than me! Anyway, we headed on over to Hershey just so we could
spend the day at the water park portion of the park - The Boardwalk.
It was nice. There is a Wave Pool and water slides of all
shapes and sizes. Mom wishes she could have taken the camera
but not getting it soaking wet would have been the trick.
There is also a huge jungle gym type of thing with waterslides mixed
in among all kind of water play/shooting/dumping things. You
would not enjoy this area if you do not like getting splashed.
I found some slides that were just my size and I went down those
quite a few times....even Mom joined me once. I had fun
splashing around with my friends and then it was time for snacks and
after a few hours, we were done. It sure was a very hot and
steamy day, so the park was not very busy at all. We rode a
few things on our way out/back to the car. Devin and I rode
something's together and Alec, Jared and I rode some things.
It was fun going with friends. I hope that we can do that
again this summer!
Mom and I are really enjoying the whole concept of the pass!
:) Plus, Mrs. Richard showed us how to get better
parking...heehee! |
Cougars
On The Prowl Update!
June 10 ,
2008 |
I had said last
month that I would give you an idea of how well our fundraiser did
for my school!
Today is that last day they were taking donations...so, as of this
date - the students collected over 18, 300 dollars in donations!
How great is that?! The fund raiser was such a success that
the PTO is already looking at how we can make it even better for
next year!
Thanks again to all who contributed! |
Karate
Class #19
June 11 ,
2008 |
I was excited to
go to karate tonight because I had my report card all ready to show
off. Sensei Anne checked it over real good and congratulated
me on all of my plus signs and movement into 1st grade! We
talked about how doing a good job in school is very important and
that for next year, we will look to see if I have any checks and
then we will focus on one that I think I could work really hard on
and improve to a plus. I thought that sounded like a good
idea. Then, I got my
RED STAR
for my Gi shirt, it goes along the band that crosses over on the
front. Mom still needs to get that attached for me. I
haven't been wearing my Gi shirt since we got our summer t-shirts,
it gets pretty hot in the Dojo!
Class was small today, just me and two other students. We
practiced our Front Kicks. Sensei Justin thinks I have an
excellent front kick, so I got to be the leader!
I also have learned some exciting news, not only do I test for my
yellow stripe
this month, I am able to acquire my next level BELT! Yes!
By this time next month I will be a
YELLOW-BLACK BELT!
woo-hoo! I can't wait.
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Summer at the
Movies ~ Kung Fu Panda
June 12 ,
2008 |
Mom and me are
going to try and stay busy this summer! Today, we went to see
Kung Fu Panda. Here's a little synopsis and what we thought:
"Kung Fu
Panda" is about Po the Panda, a lowly waiter in a noodle restaurant,
who is a kung fu fanatic but whose shape doesn't exactly lend itself
to kung fu fighting. In fact, Po's defining characteristic appears
to be that he is the laziest of all the animals in ancient China.
That's a problem because powerful enemies are at the gates, and all
hopes have been pinned on a prophesy naming Po as the "Chosen One"
to save the day. Can a group of martial arts masters, who are going
to need a black belt in patience, turn this slacker panda into a
kung fu fighter before it's too late.?
We really liked
it and thought it had some really funny parts. My
favorite was when Po (The Panda) sat on the one guys head with his
butt - this was before he learned the important Kung-Fu moves.
Mom's favorite part was when Po was receiving acupuncture and
well...his face went all floppy at "just the right" time! I
thought it was funny too! It was one of those movie moments
where the creators of the film didn't realize how long people would
laugh at that part!
*Mom and are going to try and go to quite a few movies this summer.
Around here the theaters have special days when they show a movie
for free! Also, Star Wars the animated movie is coming out!
I want to see Hancock - if it's "safe" for me. The new Pixar
film - WALL-E, is coming out soon too!
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Zorro and
other Adventures of the Day
June 13 ,
2008 |
My Dad took
today off of work and we had a fun family day together. Mom
had been wanting to take me to see a play for awhile now, so we went
to The Dutch Apple Dinner
Theater for their Children's Theater production of ZORRO.
I will have to say that I was not all that thrilled about
going....but once we got there and I saw all the tables and the big
stage, I was excited. First, we got to eat! I ordered a
special milkshake and then hit the buffet! Well, they must
have known I was coming because they had mini corn dogs AND cheese
pizza! I loaded up on those. After 45 minutes of eating
and Mom and I took a walk around the lobby to check out all the
pictures from past shows, it was time for the show to begin.
The show was not quite an hour long, which included a brief
intermission, and that was perfect for me. I thought it was
funny at times, and boring at times. Overall, I enjoyed it.
My favorite parts were the silly battles Zorro would get in with the
soldiers and the sword fights. After the show was over the
cast came out and answered some questions that kids had in the
audience, which was funny too! I didn't have any questions but
I thought the ones the kids asked were pretty good. Mom
thought that was a nice touch to the program. After the show,
we met the cast in the lobby for autographs. I was too shy to
speak but I did think it was funny that the man who played Zorro -
made a big "Z" on my paper! HA!
Next, we headed over to a new mini-golf place that we have been
wanting to check out. It is called
Professor
Hacker's Lost Treasure Golf. It was a very nice course,
but got a bit tricky for me. I had some break downs, lost my
ball once (oh the tears) because I refused to listen to my parents
and not hit it so hard, then it was recovered by a nice worker, I
managed to finish with a smile. We really liked the course, we
only did one of the two that are there...it was just so hot out
there. We think maybe because it is so new that there isn't
enough shade over it or the sun reflects off of the greens or
something...it was just too hot. So, we skipped the maze part
that they have there. We would like to try it again, maybe in
the Fall or some evening we find ourselves in Lancaster area again.
Well, my grouchiness didn't force my parents to drive me straight
home, they got me a drink and that helped. I was thirsty and
hot. As I was fine the rest of the day.
Next, we decided to check out the
National Toy Train Museum.
Mom and Dad are not sure how we missed visiting this place when I
was in the swing of my trains obsession, but oh well. This
place really needed more trains. HA! I've never seen so
many trains, too many to really even appreciate them all! Wow!
We did spend a nice time here. My favorite thing about the
place were all the models set up with buttons around so you can push
them and make things work. The fun part was reading the
button, pushing it and trying to find what you were making go.
If your kid likes trains, you need to visit Lancaster/Strausburg
area - they even have a motel there, that you spend the night in a
caboose for goodness sakes!
Oh, we were not done yet....we decided to visit
The Outhouse. What is
the outhouse? Well, quite the weird, silly, whimsical, fun
store! It contained the strangest things in it and actually
some really nice things too. We fell for all the silly pranks
that you would have to pay a quarter for to see. My favorite
was the "terrifying, gross, you won't believe your eyes - Man-eating
Chicken!" Aaaaah! Ask me all about it, I talked about it
all thru the store and on the way home.
So, it was a fun day spent. The weekend will be busy too -
Father's Day! Dad still needs to decide what we are going to
do!
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Happy Father's Day
Adventure
June 15 ,
2008 |
My Dad is
special. I love him because he plays video games with me!
I gave my Dad his Father's Day present. I made him a special
one-of-a-kind hat. I painted I "heart" my Dad on it, along
with my handprint and name on the back. He thought it was just
great - and wore it all day long! I picked out the best card
too! It had Homer on it and it said, "Dads are important
because a child's future is at stake....." and on the inside -
Homer is standing dreamy-eyed with a cloud above him with a picture
of a "steak" in it! Then it says, "Mmm....steak."
Heehee!
Today is all about celebrating him and doing what he wants to do.
He decided that we would do some waterfall exploring. So,
without further ado, I give you,
"The Adventures of The Father's Day Waterfall Tour of 2008":
First, we stopped at a park that had two small falls, Luke and
Buttermilk Falls. This was along a nice converted Rails to Trails
area so the walk was simple. I don't like to walk for long so
I had my moments. After here we stopped and got some drinks
and a little snack, "mmmm donuts", it was time for me to have a
snack and this seemed to do the trick with my "moods" - or so I
heard the parents saying!
The next stop was (another) Buttermilk Falls - this area was right
along the road but there was a nice old stone bridge built there so
we walked across. Mom thought it was probably a popular spot
for wedding photos.
Next on "The Tour" we found Twin Falls, we didn't get a pick of
these as they were kind of hard to see and surrounded by private
property so we could not get a real close look at them, but as you
would guess by the name - two falls side by side. Lots of
ducks by the water though, so that was nice. Now, do you
really think we would head out into all this nature without doing a
few geocaches? Seriously, not with my Dad along! We
found a park and a nice trail back into the woods to snag our first
find for the day. I got a cool toy snake out it - if you hold
it, it moves!
Next was Marshalls Falls, although on private property, you are
allowed to explore and view the waterfall area. There was a
nice trail and bridge built for viewing purposes. I liked how
the path was "cut" between two really big rocks and a log was over
the top, I tried to jump up and touch it but I was too short!
Next, we found a Boy Scout Camp and this is where you can see Resica
Falls - they were a very nice and wide falls. Just too bad
that the highway is right over the top of them. Daddy's
favorite kind. Scored another geocache while here.
Our next and main stop of the day....
Bushkill Falls!
Bushkill is near the Pocono
area and is more of a tourist attraction, meaning you have to pay to
get in and it's not "open" all year. That being said, it's
still a nice place and beautiful to see. Bushkill is known at
"The Niagara of Pennsylvania" and I can see why, there were a total
of 8 waterfalls in the park. There are 4 different trails
marked and we decided we wanted to see all of them, so we took the
"red trail" marked as being the longest and most difficult, but
seems we must be "serious hikers" as it didn't even bother us (yes,
including me!) at all! They were selling things in the gift
shop that said "I survived the Red Trail - over 1200 steps!"
heehee. We loved the shaded footpaths and wooden bridges that
criss-crossed all 8 of the Falls. Mom and me got a chance to
dip our toes in and around the Bridal Veil Falls too! I likes
seeing the rainbows that would form around the clouds of mist coming
from the falls. After our long hike, we hit the ice cream shop
for a nice refreshing snack! We hit the gift shop for
our magnet (our fridge is running out of space!) and then it was off
to the next adventure.....
Dad found an interesting virtual geocache for us to do....virtual
means, there is something to "see" there and not the traditional
hidden "treasure" ...anyway, we took a small hike back in the woods
and came upon Marie Zimmerman's old house and farm. It was
kind of funny to see it sitting back there....untouched for years.
I believe that historians are trying to preserve the home.
There was a sign saying they were to begin that in 2001,
well....it's been a few years and it's not finished. The house
looks great though, and those exploring the trails have proven to be
respectful, lets hope it stays that way. I rather enjoyed
looking around and in the windows....I tricked Mom and told her
there were spooky eyes looking at me! heehee, it was the sun
shinning in there the shutters on the other side of the house!
Mom did get a good pic of it! I'm such a joker. Anyway,
as we walked around tot he other side, we met a couple that were
resting on the porch from their hike, they were more familiar with
the area and gave us a little history lesson on Ms. Zimmerman and we
found this information about her online
(here). We explored farther down the trail and saw the
rest of the farm - Dad would have liked to have spent more time
here, but it was a long day and I was getting tired.
Justifiably so, we didn't get home until dark! It was a fun
and busy day!
Happy Father's Day to Daddy, Pap-Pap and Pa-Pa. I hope you all
had great days and are enjoying my homemade gifts!
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Zoo Camp
June 16 - 20 ,
2008 |
My mom signed me
up for Zoo Camp at
ZooAmerica this summer and it was time to go! I was
nervous all day about it, told Mom that I did not want to go.
She talked to me about it, that's it's okay to be nervous but I
should use my "courage" (this months at home theme for karate) and
go, check it out, and then make my decision about it.
Monday ~ Good Pets/Bad Pets: We
arrived early, I was the first one there. Mom talked with the
zoo counselor and then asked me if I wanted her to wait until more
kids showed up. I said, "no, you can go". I hope that
didn't make her sad, but she was smiling when I got my kiss and have
a fun day! :)
Okay, what did we do today? Well, first I was happy to see a
familiar face, one of the kids I know from the neighborhood was
there! First, we had to make name tag buttons. We talked
about what good pets are and what bad pets are. I got to see
some animals up close (snake, rabbit, iguana and alligator) and I
even held the Corn Snake! That was cool...he was smooth and
bumpy! Not slimy or scary to me! Mom still can't believe
that I did that! We went on a zoo walk and looked for animals
that make good pets vs. bad pets. I think a wolf would be a
bad pet. We had ice cream and juice for snack ( I did manage
to tell mom everyday what we had for snack!). We painted
picture frames today too. Pretty busy for a 3 hour day!
I was wound up when Mom came to get me, so she "knew" I had a
nice/fun time. I even said so and if you know me, you don't
get those kinds of comments very often. Oh, and they gave us a
nice aluminum ZooAmerica water bottle!
Tuesday ~ Frogs & Friends: Today was amphibian
day....we watched frogs and tadpoles, met a legless lizard, and a
chuckwalla. We fed the snakes mice and got to watch them eat
them! This was even cooler than holding the snake, he just
opened his little mouth up and chomped him whole! So exciting!
We went on another zoo walk today but this time comparing other
animals to a frog. It was interesting how an animal that seemed so
different had similar things to a frog, for example: the bat
and frogs ears are similar and a roadrunner and frogs legs.
Neat.
We made popsicles for the bears and otters to eat using chopped up
fish....yummy! For "our" snack we had cookies, gold fish
crackers and fruit punch. I am glad we didn't have to eat the
"fish pops"! For our craft we made "toad abodes"
using terra cotta pots that we painted. I need to put it
outside in a shady spot and put some dirt and dead leaves in it.
I can't wait to see if I get a toad. Today to bring home they
gave us a Tadpole to Toad poster that I can hang in my room!
**Bonus! Mom picked me up and we spent the rest of the
evening at Hershey Park!
Wednesday ~ Urban Wildlife: Today was fun
because I got to ride to camp with my friend, Colin. We talked
about animals that can be found in cities. We met a Peregrine
falcon, Madagascar hissing cockroach and an African millipede - that
pooped all over the zoo counselor - ewwww but oh so funny for us!
We went on another zoo walk and counted all the "wild" animal that
we can find in the zoo and tallied them on our worksheet. For
snack we had Rita's Italian Ice and pink lemonade! For today's
craft, we made necklaces using decoupage, magazines, straws, string,
and beads. Mom picked us up today and we got our camp
t-shirts. They are bright yellow with animal prints on them
that say ZooAmerica Zoo Camp 2008! They are very nice and
tomorrow we get to come to the zoo at night! Colin and I sang
silly stuff all the way home...drove mom nuts!
Thursday ~ Creatures of the Night: Dad and Mom
drove us boys to zoo camp tonight. We both wore our awesome
new shirts and we were excited to be at the zoo when everyone else
had to leave! First we were introduced to nocturnal animals
that means animals that sleep during the day and are up at night.
We met a barn owl, tarantula, and a "stunk" (skunk - I have trouble
with that word). I even got to pet the skunk, that was cool.
They are actually quite cute up close. I would never get this
close to a skunk in the wild though, this guy we met at the zoo was
special, his "stinker" didn't work anymore. I wonder if he was
truly happy about that though. Anyway, we also got to dissect
owl pellets - yes we looked at owl "poop" so to speak! It was
weird, like a ball of fur and bones in there. We
toured the buildings of the zoo that are dark just for the nocturnal
animals and watched the bats have a feeding frenzy on the fruit,
they were fun and crazy to watch. We had an especially fun
snack and my favorite of all things that are snacky....we had a
campfire and made S'MORES! I had two of them and a glass of
milk! Then we all were given flashlights and were able to go
on our zoo walk in the dark. The wolves were up and so were
the foxes! Soon it was time to come home...Colin's dad picked
us up and I was wound up when I got home. So, Mom let me get
ready for bed and play one computer game before it was time to hit
the sack! Oh, I am lovin' zoo camp!
Friday ~ ZooKeeper Day: Today we learned what it
is like to be a zookeeper and what our responsibilities would be.
We got to feed the bears and the otters the popsicles that we made.
We made our own trail mix for snack. I only put pretzels and
chocolate chips in mine. At the end of camp the counselors
gave us all of our crafter to take home, we got a book with Frog
Facts in it, and a portion of that book went to fund zoo education,
they also took money from our zoo camp fee and bought trees to be
planted in our name in the Amazon forest! How cool is that?!
They also gave us a canvas bag to use for our grocery shopping.
Zoo camp was fun and I was disappointed to hear that this was my
last day.
Thanks to
Mom and Dad for sending me! I am loving my summer vacation so
far!
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Karate Class #24
June 23,
2008 |
I had a really
nice karate class this morning, it was just me and 2 other students.
Today, was special, Sensei Bill taught our class! I haven't
had him since my very, very first day at the school!
He taught us a few new things. First, was a lunge punch.
Ha, I like that say that one! It was kind of tricky, and I
think Mom got a video of me learning it. You have to be aware
of your feet, where they are pointed and how they are spaced.
The lunge punch means you are punching with the same hand as your
lead foot. We also practiced the Reverse Punch, which means
you are punching with the opposite hand as your lead foot. Got
it? Good.
We also practiced and learned the Side Kick. We have been
learning a lot of kicks this month. The Round Kick and Side
Kick are kind of tricky and look very similar. I am getting
them down pretty good, but definitely need to practice.
Today, I completed my take home worksheet on "Courage". I had
to give 2 examples of using courage. 1.) When I let mom fix my
boo-boo. 2.) Riding a new ride at Hershey Park!
This will earn me another star for my Gi pants!
This is a big karate week, I have my yellow-stripe test for
Excellence and we have a Belt Graduation Ceremony on Saturday!
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Karate Class #25
Yellow Stripe
Testing (Excellence)
June 25,
2008 |
I enjoy going to
the "summer session" karate classes, they are always small!
Today it was just me, another girl and Sensei Justin! Today -
yellow stripe test!
This test for excellence was much, much more involved than my last
stripe test. I guess since I have been going longer and I know
more now, they want to see it!
I had to be able to: complete 5 strong push-ups, 10 sit-ups,
demonstrate an "excellent" Universal One routine, AND demonstrate an
"excellent" side block, head block, back fist punch, reverse punch,
front kick, side kick and round kick! I did a great job!
I must say that my yellow stripe looks pretty sharp on my white
belt!
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Karate Belt
Graduation Ceremony
June 28,
2008 |
I had my very
first belt ceremony today and I was excited and nervous. We
had to get there early to meet with Sensei Anne. She ran thru
a short practice with us before it was time for us to get ready.
My class was presented with our new belts first. They played
music and said our name, we had to run out and give a High Five -
then line up . We had to show off all of the moves we know.
We also did our "star block", which I love to do with my most
serious face. Then I got my new belt, Sensei Justin gave
me mine. We bowed, he handed me my new belt, took off my white
one and then put my new one on me and then we bowed again. It
was soo cool. I look great in my new belt!
In between the numerous classes graduating the Sensei's gave
different demonstrations using different techniques and weapons.
Each class gave their demonstrations too. One group showed off
how they can tighten their bodies while doing breathing techniques -
so tight that Sensei Dave was able to break boards ON them! I
thought that was soo cool. And Sensei Corry broke 2 cement
slabs with his foot! They also did a little comedy skit for
us, an "old lady" wondered in off of the street and sat down in the
middle of our show...then these "two punks" (Sensei Nate and Cory)
tried to make her leave, and she beat them up! All in slow
action motion - it was sooo funny. I liked when they tried to
punch her and she ducked and they hit each other in the face!
Sooo, funny. Who knew my karate school was hiding such good
actors.
It was a long morning for me and it was very hot in the gymnasium of
the school, but I really had a nice time. Mom and Dad were
very proud of me for performing in front of such a large crowd.
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