I was in the middle of December Daily when I realized there were a lot of important events in November that I want to remember! It was an especially big month for Serenity, so I want to start there.
Serenity got chosen to be the Student of the Week! When I picked her up from school that day, her teacher warned me that she was just a little bit excited. She bounced all the way up the stairs with her face lit up in joy. It was finally her time for Star Student! And it was "Thanks to all those red lights!" Evidently three people got chosen before her but they couldn't have their turn because they were on red, which means they hadn't been following the rules that day. Serenity was extremely grateful to them for breaking the rules, she kept gushing her thanks all the way home, lol =) The star student gets to be the line leader for a whole week, and they get to pass out scissors and supplies, and Serenity was absolutely thrilled each day. On Friday she got to present the poster she'd made all about her. She wanted to color it as a family, so we all got in on the fun. And we jazzed it up even more with glitter. =)
Family is invited to come watch the star student presentation on Friday. She filled the bag with five special items. Her Disney autograph scrapbook, her walking pony, the apron that she embroidered herself, the unicorn canvas she painted at her unicorn birthday party, and her Angry Birds Playground Animal book. She read a page about walruses from that book. I was so proud! She read with such expression! Her teacher came over to tell me that she just loves to listen to her read, she does such a great job! I videoed the whole thing so Eric could see, because he'd already taken three mornings off from work to come to Serenity's school that week!
The same week Serenity got chosen Star Student, Eric volunteered to come in to teach the class! His parents used to do this when he was young and he always wanted to do it for his children. His mom is a chemist and his dad is an electrical engineer, so they have lots of interesting knowledge to share. Since this is kindergarten, Eric decided to teach some lessons on maps. Serenity was SO excited that her Daddy was going to teach her class! The first day, he made a city out of legos, with buildings and streets, and then gave the kids a map of the city to follow with a lego person. This was a big hit, as you might imagine. The second day he covered the walls with maps, and he discussed map keys. The kids got to pick a map, and using the map key from their map they drew their own maps. The last day I got to come as well, and so did Lillyan's dad Matt. We each got a group of students and gave them a map of the school. They were supposed to follow the maps on a scavenger hunt for popsicle sticks we'd hidden around school. It was really fun, although some kids found the sticks without the map. My first group was Wren and Serenity and they were bouncing up and down to be in the same group. So cute.
What else happened this month... I got to make the art auction project with Serenity's class. We made a wind chime out of beads and used up a lot of my random craft stash. I had metal chimes, prisms, beads, shells, and we wired them all to some twisty branches. It was fun and my favorite part was that it was completely finished before I left the school!
Serenity sewed her first embroidery project! The kit was actually a birthday gift that we rediscovered when I cleaned out the craft cabinet. I was so proud that she actually sat and did the entire thing! I had to thread a lot of needles but so worth it. It turned out really cute and she's been asking to cook more so she can use her fancy apron.
Serenity was the narrator in her class play, "Johnny Appleseed." She did a wonderful job! She reads so expressively =) And I think she memorized a lot of it. It was really fun to watch, the whole class was adorable. She wore a pilgrim costume she inherited from Raegan, so she would look old fashioned. It was very suitable, since I'd been hearing a lot about Pilgrim Manners all week. =)
We packed shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child with the Richards family =)
We had several Thankgiving meals, including one at school that featured samosas, one at our house so I had an excuse to make orange rolls, and one at Jen's house that was amazingly delicious, of course. =)
Serenity's friend Elizabeth came for a sleepover. The girls and Donovan played so well together I hardly heard them. We did build a crazy fort together, and they spent a lot of time outside digging in the dirt and filling up wiffle balls with mud. So fun! And they slept a little too. =)
