Grace Wraps Up Second Grade

Let's start with daughter #1.  Grace.  This girl has either learned or inherited a tad of her mommy's tendency to recognize the good in too many things and get involved in too much at once.  She has always been interested in such a variety of life, since she was a tiny baby.  There's no telling which direction she could end up heading.  This month, on top of her regular karate classes, guitar lessons, activity days at church, and school, she auditioned for and made the cut for the school talent show, went on 3 field trips (including a long grueling hike along the Bosque), and signed up for the school track and field meet.  All, requiring multiple extra long days at school, performances, extra chaperone duty from me, and a personal secretary to keep it all straight.

Here's her May photo gallery:
(For 8 years old, she's a pretty decent photographer.  She took these pictures during her Bosque field trip - a small sample of at least 100.  She was so tired afterward, she came back to school, put her head on her desk, and cried and was still crying when she came home!)

Track and Field:  Grace thinks she is the fastest runner.  Ever.  It may not be quite true, but who would want to convince her otherwise?  She was sure she would win the 50 meter dash last year in first grade.  She came in last in the heat (6th place.)  Still, it did not deter her.  She signed up again this year and practiced every single morning at the bus stop for weeks.  First, she started racing the bus down the street by herself, and now she has a huge flock of kids doing it with her.  They wait until the bus gets to the corner and then run down the sidewalk to the bus stop where their backpacks keep their places in line.
When the big day came to face the dash again, she was so bogged down in allergies she could barely breathe - not exactly in the best shape to run.  She also signed up for the soft-ball throw and the long jump.  When she started out the 50 meters, she was in last place.  My heart sunk - she was going to lose again.  But, in the last few meters, she kicked whatever she had left into high gear and came in 5th.  I think if she hadn't had the allergies, she would have done even better, but I was just so proud of her for even trying, for giving it 100% and being totally happy with the experience, and for just liking to do different things all the time.  She was still on cloud 9 about being a "runner" and is so proud of the ribbons.

All the kids from Grace's school (they compete against all the west-side schools):

 

And, then, the school talent show.  I was kind of surprised to find that you actually had to audition and that they only chose the best acts.  I thought we lived in this new homogeneous world where kids are never separated or tagged as being better than anyone else so that everyone can feel "above average" and no one has to admit that they might need to work on something.  I have to admit, it was kind of refreshing to think that you actually had to at least attempt to have a talent to be chosen and you had to be prepared and ready and not make too many mistakes - even if it meant Grace might not be chosen (thankfully, she was.)

It was kind of nerve-wracking actually.  They auditioned on Thursday and were given letters on Friday letting them know if they had made the cut.  Grace was SO happy when she got off the bus with that letter!  The other thing I'm totally impressed with - is that the school allowed our neighbor girl into the talent show with intentions to sing a very religious/spiritual song.   She's the daughter of a Baptist minister and sang a very lovely arrangement of a song about God.  I am all for freedom OF religion, but I get tired of turning that into freedom FROM religion and trying to pretend it doesn't exist.  I thought it was so cool that they allowed her to share her religion with her peers and she was very well received.  To me, it is no different than allowing kids to refuse to participate in school activities for religious reasons.  I feel like this school really supports the individuality of each kid as best they can.

Grace chose to play an R.E.M. song - The One I Love, on her guitar.  It was pretty awesome to watch her come out, get in a groove, and play the whole thing from memory.  I don't think her guitar teacher has plans for a recital, so I'm glad she got this chance to play and show what she's learned this year.  It was her first time playing on a stage and in front of so many people.  I can't believe how much she's learned since she started private lessons in November and how confident she is.  

What else... Grace has one more day of second grade.  Due to "snow" days used this year, the kids have one more half day of school next week.  I told her she didn't have to go.  True to Gracie form, she wants to go anyway.  We've definitely ended second grade on much better ground than we started and I can't wait for next year to see what she does with third grade!