Kids

End of the School Year Interview

Posted on May 20, 2020May 19, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

I can’t believe the kids only have one week left of the 4th grade. I also can’t believe how the school year is ending! I thought I’d ask the kids a few questions about how they felt about the 4th grade, and share some of my thoughts too!

I found these questions online, and loved how they were organized to allow for both kid and mom responses!

Hayden’s Thoughts:

What was the best part of this year? Recess (#realtalk)
What was your favorite thing about your teacher? She pushes us to do our best.
What was your favorite thing to learn about this year? I learned more difficult math like how to divide fractions.
Who was your best friend? Graham
What did you like to do at recess? Play football with my friends
What is something hard you did? Playing the recorder in music class
What do you want to be when you grow up? Basketball player
What was something that made you laugh this year? When my teacher would mess up, she’d say, “Oh man!”
What was your favorite specials class this year and why? Art because I like to draw.
What was your favorite school activity or field trip this year? Science Fair

Mom’s Thoughts:

I’m proud of you because…you push yourself out of your comfort zone when necessary.
One of my favorite memories of you this year was: watching you grow as a runner on the cross country team.
It has been fun to watch you: become more confident as a learner.
Three things I love about you: your inquisitive nature, your loyalty, and your perseverance
An area you grew in was: your speaking skills.
You strengthened our family by: your smile and your affection (You give the best hugs!)

Hadley’s Thoughts:

What was the best part of this year? Being accepted into the Gifted and Talented Program for dance
What was your favorite thing about your teacher? She worked hard for us and had special activities for holidays and other parties.
What was your favorite thing to learn about this year? National Parks
Who was your best friend? Stella and Maggie
What did you like to do at recess? Run on the track
What is something hard you did? Math (#shegetsitfromhermama)
What do you want to be when you grow up? Elementary teacher
What was something that made you laugh this year? My teacher’s jokes and sometimes my teacher would call me Hayden (Hayden had the same teacher for 2nd grade.)
What was your favorite specials class this year and why? Music because we learned how to play the recorder.
What was your favorite school activity or field trip this year? Winter “Snow Biz” Chorus Performance

Mom’s Thoughts:

I’m proud of you because: you are enthusiastic about all that you do!
One of my favorite memories of you this year was: watching you sing and dance in your chorus performance.
It has been fun to watch you: continue to blossom into a confident young lady.
Three things I love about you: you are kind, inclusive, and fearless
An area you grew in was: dance performance and math.
You strengthened our family by: your intuitiveness (You know when I need extra help or a cup of coffee!)

I’d say that 4th grade was one of the best years for both kids. They are fairly independent with their school work, they have tried new activities, they continue to work on their confidence in areas of growth, and thankfully—THEY STILL NEED ME!!!

Cheers and high fives to a great school year!….even if it ended in quarantine!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Take care,

Friday Favorites, Kids

Friday Favorites {#22}: Kids Q&A Edition

Posted on April 10, 2020August 20, 2021 by jgalvinwhite

Shew! We made it to Friday. As with every Friday Favorites, I’m linking up with Narci, Erika, and Andrea, so check out their posts too!

Honestly, this week was a huge adjustment as it was our first week of virtual learning along with me working from home. First and foremost, HIGH FIVE to all the educators out there busting it to make school as easy, seamless, and meaningful for their students (and the students’ parents!) as it has been. I have been BLOWN AWAY with all that my kids’ teachers have done. The best thing is the daily 10:00 Google Meet class meeting. I know my kids love seeing their teachers and their classmates.

Also, HIGH FIVE to all the parents out there working AND helping their kids with their school work. I’m a teacher, and this has been a MAJOR learning curve for myself as a high school educator as well as now a teacher to two 4th graders! We will get through this, but I’m certainly looking forward to a nap later today followed by a glass of wine! 😉

For this edition of Friday Favorites, I decided to ask the kids some of their favorites. The age of 10 has been a fun one. They still need me but are also pretty independent. Needless to say, we’ve had lots of time together recently, and I thought this would be a great time (and a great age) to take note of some of their Favorite Things…

Hayden’s Favorites

Favorite color: blue
Favorite book: The Hatchet
Favorite TV show: Garfield
Favorite food: bacon
Favorite game: Madden 20
Favorite animal: dog (specifically the Homster!)
Favorite outfit: shorts and a t-shirt
Favorite subject at school: Social Studies
Favorite sport: basketball
Favorite breakfast food: Oatmeal and Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Favorite holiday: Easter
Favorite vacation: Grand Canyon and Dodgers game in LA

Other Questions and Answers:

What do you want to be when you grow up? basketball player
What’s one thing you’ve learned at school this year? measurements in math
Name one thing you do really well. Sports and reading
Describe your best day ever. Saturdays because I can chill.
If I could choose a different name, I would choose…Cooper (Fun Fact: He was almost named Cooper)
When I’m with my family, I like to…watch TV shows and laugh with them.
What’s one thing you like about your sister…She’s fast.

Hadley’s Favorites:

Favorite color: teal
Favorite book: Mother Daughter Book Club Series
Favorite TV show: Alexa and Katie series
Favorite food: tacos
Favorite game: Diary of Wimpy Kid 10 Second Challenge
Favorite animal: monkey
Favorite outfit: athletic shorts and tank top
Favorite subject at school: Spelling
Favorite sport: Dance and Cross Country
Favorite breakfast food: Waffle with Nutella
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite vacation: Los Angeles

Other Questions and Answers:

What do you want to be when you grow up? An elementary school teacher
What’s one thing you’ve learned at school this year? How to do long division
Name one thing you do really well. Being sassy
Describe your best day ever. Going to Disney World
If I could choose a different name, I would choose…Mackenzie or Addison (Fun fact: She was almost named Addison)
When I’m with my family, I like to…go on bike rides or have a game night
What’s one thing you like about your brother…nothing really, but he can be sweet when he’s not awkward.

Even if they fight too much and some days drive me crazy, I know I’m blessed beyond measure with these TWO! And, Happy National Sibling Day to them as well.

Thanks for letting me share some favorites of my two favorites.

Have a great weekend and a wonderful Easter.

Three things

Three Things

Posted on January 21, 2020May 16, 2020 by jgalvinwhite

While I tend to write about what’s going on in our family in some of my regular posts, I thought I’d write a Three Things post to dive a bit deeper into what’s been going on in our family.

Red plate tradition – great report card & completion of Science Fair project

Hayden’s sport right now is basketball. I guess we are halfway through the season. While this appears to be a “growing year” for his team, I enjoy watching him play 🙂 Believe it or not, baseball season is right around the corner.
Hayden’s still basking in the glow of Honorable Mention on his Science Fair Project. I think he’s secretly patting himself on the back—he did enough to get the special certificate and medal, but he doesn’t have to go through the interview process again at the district level…He’ll let Hadley do that. haha
Hayden loves to read. He just finished the book Hatchet, and he loved it. He finished it Monday night…and was probably up a little too late for a school night, but the kid loves to read and couldn’t wait to tell us all about the book.

Red plate tradition- for great report card, dance tryout, & completion of Science Fair project

As mentioned in previous post, Hadley’s science project earned her a spot in the district’s Science Fair next month. She also just started Academic Team at her school. Hadley loves the social aspect of any team, activity, or hobby. Girlfriend loves to talk and make new friends.
Hadley tried out for dance in the Gifted and Talented program at her school, and she made the cut. I’m still not sure what all it entails, but she was excited to try out, I was nervous for her (I’d never tell her that!), but, of course, we’re proud of her for pushing herself to try out!
Hadley’s become quite the baker. On Monday, we were making a brownie/cookie mix from a box. She got all the ingredients out, and then said, “Mom, we are working on fractions in math. Let me see if I can do this on my own!” I gave her minimal guidance, and we all enjoyed a delicious dessert!

The horse business continues to keep Travis busy. Also, he’s one of the asst. coaches on Hayden’s basketball team. I do think Hadley misses him coaching her team…maybe next year?
Just when I was back in the swing of things at school, I got sick. I’m getting back in the groove again this week. Also, I’ve made it a priority to get back on track with my intermittent fasting and meal tracking… I’m taking it slow getting back to working out, but will do so next week.
Homer—is a full. time. job! haha. I always say, “Thank goodness he’s cute!” He finds any muddy spot we have in the yard, continues to chew the tv remote, destroys homework, and even pulled the toilet paper roll down the hall recently!!

That’s a little recap on what we’ve been up to lately. The month of January has definitely felt slower compared to November and December. We’ve watched movies as a family, been able to sleep in a bit, and I’ve kept up with my reading. I’ll take it while it lasts!

I hope you are having a great week.

Take care,

Jen

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