Spring Soccer '15

Soccer is in full swing, and the kids are doing great. Bean Dip had games Friday night and Saturday morning. This year, his age bracket is now on a bigger field, and they have referees for the games. It is really fun to watch them play, because not only is his team really good, they actually play positions, pass and have good runs at the goal. BD has found his spot as a defender. It's a natural position for him, and he loves it. And because he always wants to be a defender, he has played 100% of all the games so far. He has also decided he loves soccer and is already talking about playing next season. A big change from last fall, when he didn't want to play at all.

Saturday's game was our day to bring the snacks. I was so proud of Lem. After all his teammates got a snack, he actually went around and found the younger siblings of his teammates and offered them a snack as well. It was so sweet. And after his other games, he always asks if he can grab an extra snack for his sister. And on Friday, as we were walking back to the car after his game, he realized he had forgotten to thank the mom who had brought the snack. They happened to be parked next to us, and he walked right up and said, "Thank you for bringing the snack." 

(I would totally recommend bringing extra snacks along, if you can, to share with the siblings. Even the older ones always want a snack, too.)

G is doing great as well. She loves practices, games not as much. With the exception of last week, she gets out there and sometimes actually attempts to kick the ball. I think she is just not aggressive enough for the games, but that is totally fine. She got a throw-in ball right to the face on Saturday. It smashed her nose pretty good. But after I helped her calm down, she perked back up and even when back out to play. She even got to do a throw-in. I don't know if soccer will be her sport, but she is happy playing and that is all that matters.

Spring Field Trips

Both kids had field trips this week. I wasn't allowed to tag along on Lem's, because they went to see a show at the Cybersphere (I think it is an Omnimax theater near Nashville), and there was limited seating. He said it was "not good at all," which is a disappointment. He said they watched Zula Patrol, a PBS cartoon. I am sure it was educational in some way, but why wouldn't they show the kids something more amazing? Like pictures from Hubble? Or a Planet Earth episode?

I did go to Gwyn's. They went to the Nashville Zoo. She really wanted to ride in the car with me, not the bus, so she did. It worked out great because we were able to stay at the zoo a little be longer. It was a good field trip, but totally chaotic and stressful keeping track of 19 kids that continually scattered like rabbits. Luckily, there were plenty of parents along to help Mrs. McKinney keep track.

Mrs. McKinney had red shirts for all the kids to wear, and she had them bring their backpacks with a change of clothes and their lunch. I thought that was a great idea. We had lunch first, a picnic on the green in the center of the zoo. Then we just wandered around, seeing the meerkats, the birds, elephants, giraffes, and the reptile house. The kids loved the reptile house, but it was dark and crowded and hard to keep track of all the kids. But they were so interested in seeing all the exhibits that it was worth it.

After that, the class headed for the bus. All Gwyn wanted to see were the flamingos, so after a quick break of cotton candy to revive both of us, we went to see them, She was so happy. We watched them for a while. They were pretty entertaining because clearly there was a squabble going on, and they were really loud. When Gwyn was done watching them, we headed home. She was asleep before we were out of Nashville.

Earth Day

A little horticulture therapy on Earth Day.