Happy Halloween

We had a fun-filled Halloween day! Nate and I joined Ben at school in the afternoon to volunteer at his class party. We helped set up, helped the kids get into costume and just generally enjoyed some fun at his school. I did learn that when they say Bostic parents are involved, they mean it! My guess would be that 2/3 of the students had a parent present and some of them had a parent + grandparent + sibling + entire fan club! There were people everywhere. I will always do my best to attend anything I can so that he is never that child without a parent present. And we will include all the other kids that don't have a parent in our fun! Wow. I've never seen parental involvement like this!

His class.

 The parade.

Ben kept saying, "I wander if we get to march or if we just have to walk." They walked.

 Ben's table buddy was absent, so Nate happily filled in.

 And even got his own treat bag.

 Oh the joy!

Our tradition is to gather at the apartments on our campus and trick or treat all the residents there. Our group is growing!

 Family

  One of the apartment residents set up the golf cart (a kid favorite) as a trick or treat stop. It was fabulous.

 Girlfriends

We went to a local church's INDOOR fun. It was a super cool night. 

I never thought Nate would make it to the top.

 And once he did he sat there saying, "I'm not strong enough!"

He did slide eventually, with a face of sheer terror!

 Batman was not afraid!

 Loved it.

 Best buddies.

 This game made a childhood dream come true.

 Ready to take on the world, together. 

 He made one!

 The MKs. There is nothing like being a missionary kid. The bond they share is indescribable.

Playhouse: One Day Off at a Time

For Ben's birthday in March I really wanted to get the boys a playhouse. We searched Craig's List, looked at a ton of different options and nothing was quite right. We found one we loved, but we would have had to tear down part of our fence just to get it in the backyard. So, we set out to build our own!

One day off at a time, we began the project in May and finally officially completed it yesterday! We had cool weather, blazing hot weather, and rain, but we did it! The boys love it.

Leveling out a foundation.

 Helping measure.

 The construction foreman, Ryan.

 A dance floor.

 Walls going up.

 Side project.

 Taking shape.

 Another dance break.

 Roofing.

 Starting to look like a playhouse.

 Painting. 

Windows.

  

We weren't looking. They mud bombed the windows.

Custom made door.

 

Finished! 

 Complete with a light and fan.

 They even have an outlet for their music.

Here's to years of fun! And a nicer storage shed once they outgrow it.

Ben's school work

WARNING: The following is shameless pride in our Kindergartner. This could be interpreted as bragging. Feel free to stop here.

We have strongly encouraged Ben to get to know some kids in his class. He has latched on to a boy named Dez. His mom walks him and his two little siblings to school each morning so we usually meet up on the sidewalk and finish the walk to the front door together. Ben and Dez hold hands and hug like long lost friends as they greet each other. It's hysterical. His mom is quite nice as well and I have enjoyed chatting with her while we bake wait in the sun for the final bell each day. Ben did get two tally marks (discipline marks) for talking last week! He has been working hard this week to follow the rules and so far has no tally marks. He's so proud of himself. That might be the best part - seeing how proud he is of all that he is learning. 

Nate is picking up on quite a bit too! He can write his own name and Ben's name and is catching on to quite a few other things Ben is learning. Ben has promised to teach him to read! We will see how that goes. 

I wont keep all of Ben's papers from school, but I scanned in a few to remember.

Bostic teaches d'nealian handwriting because it prepares the students for cursive which is required in Kansas. Ben has brought home "name homework" every night with the goal of "retiring" his name and no longer having that for homework. A retired name only occurs when he performs his name for his teacher using all correct d'nealian form. He has really struggled with the 'e' but this came home today!

Sorry that the voice is off the video. I don't know what happened. But, his voice is still really sweet!

 He has also had to give two oral presentations in class for "show and share" day. He was quite pleased with his last presentation because he scored straight down the middle. On his first presentation he wasn't loud enough and didn't make good eye contact. He was so proud of his improvement. As were we!

 This is some of the work he does in class. This is his practice spelling test that he will complete for a grade tomorrow. I'm pretty sure the teacher writes the word on the board and they have to correctly write it themselves. Then, they have to recognize the words on their own. 

 They have also been learning the correct formation of numbers and the life cycle of a butterfly this week! Along with some cutting and gluing skills on this page. 

Report about the first day of Kindergarten

As expected, Ben was not super chatty about his first day, but I did get some information out of him. His answers to his most favorite and least favorite part of the day crack me up. For those of you that spend a lot of time with him, you will get it.

For those of you that don't know him as well, know this...he is the most terrible eater so the fact that lunch was his favorite was astounding. He also loves being outside. He plays outside constantly. And yet the playground time was far too long for his liking.

He did say that he wrote his name a couple of times, cut a straight line, colored a school bus and went to art (something he does once a week). And he had PE. Apparently the PE teacher informed them of what happens when you get in trouble, but Ben wasn't forthcoming with what that punishment is. Hum?

He was so excited about his homework that he insisted I see it in the car before we left the school. He was very disappointed when the only thing on the "homework" was that I read a note and sign it. He wasn't pleased!

All in all, successful day! And now he and his brother are playing in the living room floor, sound affects and all.

Kindergarten

When you first bring home that bundle of joy, you allow your mind to imagine the day he starts school, graduates from school, gets married, gives you a grandchild... But when it really happens, you are never ready!
Today we all got dressed and ready in record time. Ben's excitement was infectious. The whole family walked the long sidewalk to his school, waited with all the other excited kids in their cute uniforms and then found his teacher and class. On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 low, 10 high), he was maybe a 1 in nervousness and an 11 in excitement.
Benjamin, you have brought me so much joy in your first five and a half years. I am so privileged to be your mommy. I can't imagine God giving me a bigger blessing. You are always thinking of others first (unless it's your brother and he has the toy you want), you are an amazing helper around the house (unless it's time to clean up the disastrous playroom), you never miss anything (the piece of chocolate I snuck from the pantry or the fact that I moved a picture frame 6 inches) and I love trying to answer your endless questions.
You are so ready for Kindergarten and that makes me happy. I will miss you like crazy around the house, but I guess we both have to grow up a little today. I will always be your biggest supporter, cheering you on in whatever path your life takes.
I love you.
Mommy.

Supplies!

 Special first day breakfast. (No, all those sausages weren't for him.)

 Brothers and best friends.

 Ready!

 Enough pics already.

 The three amigos will be down to two.

 Big kid.

 Father and son.

 They will always be my babies.

 Lined up with class.

 Saying goodbye.

He had been in his class for about 10 minutes while another teacher talked to all the parents next door. So, I asked him if he had met the other boys at his table. With a sigh he replied, "Mom, it's just my first day!"

We are so very proud of you, Benjamin!