Dillon's Fifth Grade Camp

This year, Daddy got to go with Dillon to Fifth Grade Camp.  He got it easy because they did not have to do much but keep an eye on the kids.  In 2 days, they get to do a lot of fun activities.  They did knot tying, painting, a ropes course, dissecting owl pellets, and free time to play anything such as dodge ball in a pit, human foosball, basketball, football, and more.    

His favorite activity was when he was roped up.  He would run at the same time as his group who was pulling the rope in the opposite direction.  This would pull him up in the air about 20 feet.  

Unfortunately, camp was only one night.  When Dillon got home he went up to his room and refused to talk about it because he didn't want to leave.  He was having so much fun that he was unhappy to be home.

Carson's Pacific Science Center Field Trip

Daddy was able to go on Carson's field trip to the Pacific Science Center.  They all go to watch an IMAX movie on the white bear.  

His favorite part was a station where you build a "helicopter" then put it over a fan to see how high you can make it go. 

Unfortunately, it's a long drive so they don't get a lot of time there.

Dillon's Capitol Field Trip

Daddy Post:

Once again daddy got to go on a field trip to the state capital, this time with Dillon.  This time, the legislature was in session so they got to actually see a bill get passed by the House.  Unfortunately, it went through with only 1 no vote so no real argument.

Also in session was the Washington Supreme Court.  Unfortunately, that meant they did not get to go into the courtroom.  However, they still got to have a mock trial.  Dillon was chosen to be the Chief Justice. So, he led the trial, gathered the votes of the other justices, and read the ruling.  Although this court did not agree with his vote, it was split 5-4, Dillon's vote was actually the same as the real Supreme Court's ruling that this mock trial was based on. 

With all the activity going on, there was lots of activity from different groups coming and going throughout the day.  It was fun to see congress in action and to just get to hang out and walk around the State Capital together. 

Carson's Northwest Trek Fieldtrip

We FINALLY got to go on a fieldtrip with Carson's class.  He was very excited to go with his friends and to have me with him.

 Skyler, Carson, Royce and Michael.  These are some of his best buddies.

His whole class got to take a picture together, pretty good for a whole pile of first graders!

The boys were so energetic and excited that they raced through the park.  It's a good thing we weren't there for too long.  We had over an hour of downtime as it was.  Fortunately they have a good children's play area there now so they were easily entertained.

Kayda's fifth grade camp

Since this is Kayda's last year in elementary school, she got to go to fifth grade camp. I was able to go as one of the parent chaperones.  I was assigned to stations, none of which were at the time Kayda was there, but I had a few free times I was able to spend with her.  She ended up in a different cabin then her besties (Miracle and Adrienne).  She had four amazing counselors!  I heard multiple times about how great Kayda is.  Her cabin named themselves the "purple llama platypi".  They got to perform a skit, they chose the "invisible bench" routine.  Each kid comes out and "sits" on an imaginary bench. The last kid comes out and asks "What are you doing?". They reply "sitting on the invisible bench". The last kid says "I moved it yesterday" and all the kids fall down.  

We weren't supposed to take pictures, the principal was supposed to be taking, screening and sharing them.  There are multiple students that can't be photographed.  Those photos were never shared so this is all I've got. 

I could take this picture since none of the kids were visible.  

I asked her what her favorite part was and all she says is "everything".  In my opinion, her favorite part was dissecting the owl pellets.  She collected extra bones from other kids too in the hopes of making a complete skeleton at home.  Another hit was the was a paper airplane station.  She said she was disappointed with their nature hike. It was really just a walk in the woods, no information was shared beyond "watch out for stinging nettles" but they weren't pointed out clearly.  It was supposed to have a ropes course but unfortunately the facility cancelled that at the last minute.  Apparently the facility tried to cancel the whole camp the week before it was supposed to happen...but because a contract was signed they had to accommodate the school.  It was pretty disappointing in a lot of ways but she had fun despite all the let downs 

As parents we were allowed to choose jobs.  One we had all decided to do was night watch and morning wake ups.  Some of us moms decided it would be great fun to get sweatshirts.  We ended up not getting to do the jobs we thought but had fun anyway.  I think we had even more fun than the kids!  Kayda wasn't the only one that got to make new friends!  We did a skit of our own too.  As part of it we did the dance move "flossing". The kids thought it was hilarious.  Daddy "banned" it from our house because our kids were doing it constantly.  So when I did it Kayda was super excited.  She told her brothers so they were asking me to do it too.  

It was a fun time for sure, a lot of ways it could've been better but Kayda came home happy which is all that really matters.

Dillon's Fourth Grade Ropes Course

Dillon's class had its ropes course which is done for fourth graders to start teaching them about being leaders.  Daddy got to go along so I'll let him write about it. 

The first challenge of the day was to lock hands and make it across a 30 foot log.  If someone fell off then that person had to go back to the end and those that were in front had to come back and reconnect.  It took them a while to figure out how to communicate clearly and to help those that struggled with balance but they started to figure it out and actually started to use these skills in the later challenges.

They also did a challenge where they had to go through a 6x6 rope grid (sorry no picture).  It required always having to have one body part in a section otherwise the section closed out.  They were connected again and the first time were not able to complete it (there are some kids that struggle with listening!).  However, they did the second time with only about 7 sections being closed out (again, some kids going at their own pace)

Next they all had to get on a platform and balance.  Once it was balanced, they had to hold it long enough to sing "Row, row, row your boat."  The counselor was impressed that they were able to do this rather quickly.  They were done in about 15 minutes when she has had classes unable to get it at all.

Since they completed the balance so quickly, she added a challenge that not all classes had the opportunity to do.  Basically, they held a round rope, then leaning back, they all had to sit down at the same time then stand up.  If one person was off it would not work.  They were able to get it on the first try.  The second time they had to go down and up 2 times before releasing.  This took them 2 tries, which the counselor was impressed again.

It was a blast getting to hang out with Dillon.  He is such a good kid, always listening and on task while having fun.  Definitely worth the day to get to hang out with him (except I'm jealous because I didn't get to do any of the challenges).

Fort Nisqually field trip

Dillon's class had a field trip to Fort Nisqually.  It was my turn for a field trip since Daddy goes on the next one.  It was an old trading fort, there were never any battles because it was place of business.  On occasion they would have some soldiers there but only for a few weeks or a month.  They had a really diverse population (British, Native American, Hawaiian, Canadian etc) and worked 160,000 acres.  They had a couple of the original buildings that had been moved to the current location.  The kids were shocked to find out that most kids were "invisible" they didn't get chairs or beds.  The only exception was the "boss's" family. 

The laborers' dwelling and one of the bastions.

Dillon was asked to model a real beaver felt hat.

They had a LOT of old equipment, dishes, clothes, etc.  They have so many details about life because all the records were kept meticulously.  It was a place of business so they recorded names and what was traded for what, on each day.  They also recorded the tasks done each day and the weather.

They had a blacksmith there who actually does all the metal work needed for the fort (latches, hinges, door handles, toy puzzles they sell in the gift shop).  Dillon's favorite part was the black smith.  There was a really cool old bellows, it was HUGE, as big around as an exercise trampoline and about counter height.  He showed them how the metal glows and how it's shaped.

The kids were put to "work" watering the crops. A few of the kids actually used yokes to carry water buckets.

Kayda's state capitol field trip

Kayda's class got to go on a field trip to the state capitol.  

The class got to do a "mock trial" in the supreme court.  Kayda was an attorney arguing that a lawnmower is a vehicle and stealing one is equal to stealing a vehicle.  This was an actual case in Washington.  She won her first argument even though the actual case did not agree.

The class happened to be at the right place, at the right time, and were able to meet Governor Inslee.  It happens pretty rarely but the kids asked good questions.  Mrs. O says "love him or hate him, he's still our Governor, and it's still pretty cool to meet him."

Daddy got to go on this trip with Kayda.  He has been wanting to go there for quite some time so he was pretty excited.

Kayda's science center field trip

Kayda had two field trips this year. One was the ropes course, which I went on with her, the second was the Pacific Science Center, which Daddy was able to attend.  I'll let him write the rest.

I was excited to go with Kayda on her field trip but not excited about going to the Pacific Science Center, which I am not a fan of.  However, I became more excited when I learned, on the way, that they would be seeing the "Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor" exhibit. 

The Terracotta Warriors are the life size statues of the army of the First Emperor, who literally made China what it is today, by conquering all the surrounding areas.  While alive, he crafted his multi layered tomb, partly based on the belief he would return.  It was to hold his treasures.  When he died, around 210-209 BC, his tomb was enclosed and covered, looking like a hill. 

In 1974, some farmers were readying land when they accidentally dug into a pit, not knowing it was there.  Excavation has exposed 4 pits, but the actual tomb has not been exposed for fear of preservation (when the pits were exposed the air caused the paint to curl and flake within four minutes of exposure, destroying the bright colors on the statues).  Pit one holds 6,000 soldiers which is believed to be there to protect the tomb, pit two contained cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots and is thought to represent a military guard, pit three had a command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot, and pit four was empty and believed to be unfinished.

Kayda and her friend Adrienne

Picture of the largest excavation pit

Kayda and I had a fun day together, even getting over to the butterfly exhibit (which is pretty good).  I was glad I was able to spend the day with my sweet little girl (that is growing up to fast).

Dillon's zoo field trip

Dillon's third grade class got to go to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium for their field trip.  It was nice getting to sit with Dillon.  We had a good time hanging out on the bus!  The kids actually moved a little more slowly from place to place so we could actually read about the animals.  They got to watch some of the trainers work with the animals for their summer theater performance.
Dillon's favorite animals were the penguins, though they were all just laying around.  They were definitely not very active that day.

I'm so glad to be able to stay home with the kids.  There are a lot of times I end up pretty bored but I love being able to work in their classes, go on their field trips and let them stay home when they just aren't feeling their best.

Kayda's "Ropes" Course

Each year the fourth and fifth graders get to go do a "ropes course" as a field trip.  It is one class at a time.  I was able to go as a chaperone for Kayda's class.  It's basically several "team building" activities that the kids have to figure out.

In this challenge the kids had to be connected to two people (except the very first and very last person) in order to move forward on the log.  If someone fell they had to go to the end of the line.  It took them a while to figure out that they had to squish together before someone stepped off the log at the end otherwise they made someone fall off.  It was a great warm up to try to get them talking to each other.

In this challenge there was a 6x7 grid of ropes.  They has to be connected and if someone stepped in a square without someone else having stepped in it the square is closed.  Each person HAD to step into 6 squares or they would have to restart. It took them three tries to figure out they really needed to do just one long line to keep too many squares from closing.

This was a balance game.  It had one fulcrum so it could shift in any direction.  They had to keep all sides off the ground long enough to sing "row row row your boat gently down the stream.  Merrily merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream".They were finally able to do it by sitting down, leaning their bodies with one person standing in the middle to help.

We all were thoroughly soaked by the end!  The kids had a great time though.

Kayda has had a really hard time with her class.  There are a lot of really rowdy kids in there and it stresses her out.  Apparently the class has been dong a lot better behaviorally since doing the course.

Point Defiance Zoo Field Trip - Kayda

Last month Carson and I were able to join Kayda's class on their field trip to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.  Kayda was so excited that we were going to be able to make it.  I had originally told her no due to Carson's school schedule but since I took him out for Dillon's field trip I decided to do it for this one as well. 

 Kayda and Carson were both ecstatic to see the peacock!

 Unfortunately, unlike Dillon's field trip, we had to stay with Kayda's group.  They had a very short attention span so we didn't get to take our time at the different animals like we normally would've.  Kayda and Carson both still had a great time though!  This tank has sea horses, if you can see them.

There was still about 45 minutes left of the field trip when it started raining.  Since Carson and I drove separate we decided to was time to go.  I ran him over to the carousel (Kayda couldn't do it due to her classmates).  Afterward we ran to the car.  We got in the car just in time for it to start coming down in sheets!