MaeLyn's Musings

A couple weeks ago, I received a phone call that John was going to receive a reward at the 8th grade awards ceremony. I attended the ceremony, and watched as teachers passed out certificates to students who had shown outstanding work in each area, math, science, leadership, creativity, etc. The ceremonies were nearing the end, and John had yet to receive anything. I started to wonder if they had changed their minds or if there had been a mistake. And then John's name was called. He received an award they called, "The Sir Isaac Newton Award for Scholarship". He had earned the highest over all GPA over the three years of middle school of all the 200 or so students in the 8th grade at his school. Wow! I am very proud of him and all his hard work.

I was going to blog about something else today, but something happened this morning that got me on a different train of thought. The other blog will have to wait. What happened? Peter didn't want to go to school this morning. This is becoming a more and more common occurrence. This morning, he was complaining that his stomach ached, and I'm pretty sure it was because one of the other students mentioned yesterday that there might be a fire drill today. Peter has always hated drills; I think it has something to do with him being sensitive to loud noises. So there we were, standing at the top of the stairs that go down to the courtyard where the kids gather before going inside the school, and he was hugging me and crying and telling me he didn't want to stay at school, or he wanted me to come stay at school with him, and I really didn't know what to do. 1. I don't think that staying at school with him would be a very good idea. In years past, I was a volunteer in...

Yesterday was parent teacher conferences at the boys' school. We started off with the 6th grade teachers: "Josh is wonderful, such a joy to have in class. He participates, he works well in groups. He is doing great!" "Josh is doing very well, His test grades are high, and he does good quality work. He needs to work on organization... If he turned in these missing assignments, it would help his grades." "He is doing great. He makes connections, and participates in class. He does wonderfully when he works on his own, but when he works in a group, he needs to listen to the other group members, and not tell them they are wrong." Then we talked to Peter's teacher. We discussed how he hasn't wanted to go to school recently, and figured it might be because he really doesn't like the drills. his teacher suggested he could be the "emergency preparedness specialist" so when there is a fire drill, he gets the emergency notebook, and ...

This morning was a challenge. It's hard for both kids and parents to adjust to having routines and schedules again after a relaxing summer, and today was evidence of that. I have one child who needs more sleep than any of my others. He usually goes to sleep earlier than any one else, and he still has trouble getting up in the morning. Seminary started yesterday, and luckily he isn't old enough for seminary yet, because he comes to family scripture reading at 5:30, with his pillow and blankets, and only lifts his head from the pillow when it is his turn to read. As soon as we finish, before Steven leaves to take Hannah to seminary, he is the first to return to his bed. I wake the kids up again at 7am. This is sufficient time for the kids to get dressed and get ready for school... or it should be. Two of my boys were dressed with lunches packed and shoes on and ready to go at 7:45, which is the time we aim to leave. The other one had stayed in bed until 7:30, and spent the n...

Every August, when the kids return to school, I seem to have the same thoughts. While I am a bit overwhelmed at the idea of returning to rigid schedules, getting up early so Hannah can get to seminary, and all the back to school activities, I also look forward to a chance to clean the house (and have it stay clean for some length of time) and have some time to pursue other interests. This year was no different. Last week we shopped for all the back to school clothes and equipment the boys would need for school. While we didn't have an equipment list for Hannah yet, I did take her clothes shopping. On Tuesday of last week, we went to the high school so she could turn in forms, get her schedule, have her picture taken, and get her ID. On Saturday I took Joshua to get the immunization that he needed for 6th grade. He did very well with it; I think the anticipation was worse than the actual event. Monday of this week, John and Joshua had their Back to School night for middle scho...

Where's my uniform? Lunches and backpacks ready. Three, two, one, School time! Crickets sing with joy. I marvel I can hear them! Peace and quiet reign.

School starts next week, and I've been doing a lot of shopping to get all the supplies and clothing that the kids will need for school. To celebrate finally having most of that done, I've made a logic problem for you! See if you can figure out what store I went to on what day, how much I spent, and one thing I bought there. (Please note that logic problems are not indicative of true facts.) I spent more at Office Depot than I did at the store where I bought the pants, but less than I spent at the store I visited on Monday. Of Old Navy and the store I visited on Tuesday, one was where I spent $10, and the other was where I spent $18. Wednesday was neither the day I went to Dollar Tree, nor the day I spent $35. On Thursday, I bought pens at Sam's Club. I spent more on Friday than I did at Sam's Club. Saturday was neither the day I bought pencils, nor the day I spent $20. I bought the graphing composition book the day before the day I spent $8. The six days wer...

It is the last day of school! No more seminary. No more homework. No more uniforms. No more tests. No more concerts.  At least for a few months, anyway. Joshua and Mrs. Overton Yesterday morning as we were preparing to leave for school, Josh told me, "Oh yeah, the awards celebration is this morning at 8:00! I was supposed to make you an invitation, but I was doing MAPS testing and forgot." Luckily, I didn't have anywhere else to be that morning, so I got to attend Joshua's Celebration for 5th grade. The celebration was held in an engineering lab that had been decorated with streamers and balloons. They started off the program by showing a slideshow of pictures taken through the school year. Then they had some student presentations followed by the handing out of awards. What I liked best about this celebration were the many different cheers that the two fifth grade teachers had the parents and students do for the students being recognized. They had a different ...

There was a shooting at Arapahoe High School today. From what I gather from the news sites, a student at the school, dressed in army fatigues, entered the school with a shotgun, searching for a specific teacher. He shot two other students - one of which is in critical condition, another was injured, and then the gunman shot himself and died. The targeted teacher left the school as soon as he knew what was going on. Law enforcement was on the site within minutes of the event, but didn't fire a shot; the gunman was already dead. Other students at that high school and others nearby were placed on lock down. Security was increased at the schools in my children's schools as well. What is it about schools that draws these kind of events? Is it frustration? Is it a plea to be noticed? to be recognized as a person of importance? Are schools places where people feel suppressed, so people go there to vent their frustrations? I don't understand. I hope the student who did this f...

Today I got to accompany Peter's class on a field trip to the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum . We arrived after a standard (noisy and bumpy) school bus ride, left our coats in a small room and then enjoyed a pizza lunch. After lunch, we got to explore the museum, which is inside a giant hangar. I shepherded my four assigned boys around, first to look at the many airplanes, and play with a couple flight simulators, and then we got to explore the math midway exhibit, which had a lot of fun activities, that didn't really seem much like math to the kids. Eventually the teachers gathered us all together again to find our coats and load the buses for the return back to the school. It was a lot of fun! Peter and the other kids had a chance to see how Orvil and Wilbur Wright's plane was steered, by leaning one way or the other and pulling up or pushing up on a bar. The progress of the plane was shown on a screen in front, and I observed one boy steer the plane dire...

School has been in session for over a week now, and we are settling into the routines for the school year. Here is an update on each of us:  Peter just started third grade. He loves playing with LEGOs, and this morning, he showed me a town he had drawn, with all the LEGO characters inhabiting it. Peter's LEGO world Peter has had difficulty adjusting to an earlier wake-up time, and has frequently needed to take naps in the afternoons after school. He is enjoying being a cub scout, and he was awarded his Bobcat patch at our pack meeting on Tuesday. He found a leaf bug in his room yesterday, and caught it and put it in a jar. The leaf bug Joshua began 5th grade. He loves the erector set he received for his birthday, and spends a lot of time playing with it. He is also into Ninjas these days. This has meant practice fighting, as well as using his erector set pieces to build Ninja tools. Josh being a ninja this morning John is in 7th grade. His classes include ...

It's the first day of school. I have one child still at home who doesn't have to be at school until noon, but the other three are all at school, and the house is relatively quiet. It's the first day of school. I woke up at 5:00 this morning to "practice." Hannah starts seminary tomorrow and we plan to get all the kids up at 5:30am for family scripture reading before she has to leave. I went to bed early last night, and the night before, and the night before that, but spent all three nights lying awake for hours before I could get to sleep. I hope my body figures out the new schedule soon. It's the first day of school. I walked Josh and Peter to school this morning, and enjoyed being out in the morning sun. I handed them off to their teachers in the courtyard outside, waited until the classes began filing inside the building, and then took off for home. I hope they have fun today. It's the first day of school. Hannah went back to bed after scripture r...

Yesterday morning, Hannah and I walked to the high school for a mandatory freshman orientation meeting, and then filed through long lines to turn in papers, get her schedule, have her picture taken, have her vision and hearing checked and get her ID card. The entire process took about an hour and thirty eight minutes. Then we walked home again. Last night the boys had their back-to school night, as well, and once again, I got to walk to the school, sit through an orientation meeting, find out schedules and teachers, visit those teachers and fill out paperwork, and finally walk home again. The orientation meetings covered exciting topics like pick-up and drop-off procedures, dress codes, tardy policies, and school staff, most of which information was included in packets that were mailed to us a couple weeks ago. I am looking forward to school starting again. I think that my kids will appreciate having regular schedules. I think having a reason to get dressed in the morning will be...

Friday was the boys' last day of school. Peter's class had a family picnic scheduled at noon, so Hannah (who's last day was Thursday) came with me to attend the picnic. Shortly after we arrived and checked in at the office, the school came under "lockout", so parents who arrived a little late were unable to enter the building. Instead of having an outdoor picnic, we ate our lunch in the cafeteria, then went upstairs to the library to watch a movie, "Matilda". The lockout (due to a suspected weapon sighting at a nearby high school ) ended shortly before 2pm, so parents who wanted to attend the 6th grade awards ceremony at 2pm were permitted to attend. I snuck out of the movie in the library to go down to the gym to watch. John received 6 awards: Perfect attendance 1st semester, Perfect attendance 2nd semester, Honor Roll 1st semester, Honor Roll 2nd Semester, Outstanding Academic Performance for Language Arts, and Outstanding Academic Performance for Ar...

Sometimes the kids take pictures of things that I probably wouldn't have taken pictures of... But every once in a while I can do something interesting with them. Today is the last day of school for the boys. Hannah's last day was yesterday. (Next time she goes to school, it will be to high school!!!)

Today Josh and Peter had field day at school. They played lots of games and had lots of fun. The weather was nice and warm (Josh says it was hot.) Peter's favorite part was jumping the hurdles. He did really well at that, too.  Josh's favorite part was the tug of war. At one point he let go of the rope and went flying! While I didn't play any of the games (except helping with the tug of war once), I am exhausted from walking to the school and back four times today. (Once to take the kids to school, once to watch Peter, once to watch Josh, and once to pick up the kids at the end of the day - about 4 miles total!)

The end of the school year means the kids start bringing home projects that they have made at school. Here is a picture/collage John made in his art class.

Hannah is in 8th grade this year. She has been taking a physics class, and for a final project, her class has been assigned to build roller coaster rides. This is an individual project, but Hannah is blessed to have a dad who is creative and has been able to help her with this project. They have been working on this project for a month, and it was due today. We were working on it last night, putting on some finishing touches. It looked really cool! Steven and Hannah went over to a friend's house (who has a woodworking shop in his garage) to cut out the pieces. We dug out some old toys for the animals, and holes were drilled in the middles and dowels were stuck through the middle. The round wheel was attached to a copper pipe. Our home teacher brought over a welding torch and let Hannah weld a cap on the end of the pipe. This would rest on a wooden dowel going up the middle and create the pivot on which the whole thing turns. The wheel is turned by a LEGO crank/gear. Hann...

Did you go to college or have vocational training - where or when? The only college I ever attended was Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. It might have been the only college I applied to. I went the fall after graduating from high school, in 1993. On the drive out there for the first time, our car overheated in the Arizona desert. Dad and I stayed the night at some distant cousin's home in the Las Vegas area I think, and the next day I found myself on a bus, headed to Provo by myself. That was a long drive. I was very, very grateful to arrive at the bus depot in Provo and see my sister Lindy and her husband there. What would I have done if they hadn't been there? They took me back to their home to rest, and they were the ones who helped me find my dorm in Heritage Halls, took me shopping, and helped me to get settled in. I remember visiting with them several times during my years at BYU, and babysitting my niece, Jessica (who is now attending BYU herself!) While my ...

Steven has been working at a contract job for Richmond Homes, helping with their year end audit and various reports. It was supposed to be just for the month of January, but he has been given a few extra things to work on, so the job has lasted an extra week and he didn't finish what he was working on Friday, so he returned to work today. Last Wednesday he interviewed for another contract job with a company called GHX (... It stands for Global Health Exchange or something like that...). They called him back that same afternoon to offer him the job. This one starts next Monday (the 19th), and is supposed to last three or four months while someone is on maternity leave. While we would prefer a permanent job with benefits, the contract jobs are a great help. Steven interviewed for a permanent job with Ball Corporation last month, and he thought the interview went really well, but he hasn't heard back from them since. Since we only have the one car and Steven takes it to work, I...