Good morning all! Have I told you lately how loved and appreciated you are? Last night we had our small group meeting where we continued to work through our "Live Like You Were Dying" series. The topic for discussion this week was/is "Speak Sweeter". We were reminded of the power of words-how they can really make or break somebody's day. So, tell someone you love them, let someone know you are thinking about them and rooting them on, make sure the people around you know how special they are to you.
In other news, I had a lot of fun this weekend. On Friday we were invited to have dinner with a few couples from church and on Saturday I was invited to join the volleyball team at their tournament. A note about the volleyball program at our school: we don't have a lot of middle school girls. So, to create a 7th and 8th grade team using just our 7th and 8th graders is, well, impossible! We have seven 8th graders and two 7th graders-hardly enough for a team if everyone that could play actually played (which they don't). So, we allow others to join our team so that we have a chance at competing against the other schools. With the help of a couple of local charter school students, a couple of home-schoolers, and a couple of 6th and 5th graders we have a great group of volleyball players. It is really funny to compare the size of our girls against the size of the girls on the opposing team. The 6th and 5th graders are so tiny! But, they give it their all and definitely hold their own. It is definitely a "growing" year for the "seventh" grade team. The eighth grade team though has been playing together for awhile and have proven to be one of the best in the district. This weekend they participated in a double elimination tournament. After playing at 8am, noon, 2pm, 4pm, 5pm, and 6pm they were finally eliminated from the tournament but happy to have finished in 2nd place. It was so much fun watching the game from the bench and feeling the excitement as they all connected for a series of really great plays. I'm sad that the after-school program prevents me from having a bigger role in the volleyball program but am excited for the opportunities I do have to go to games and cheer the girls on.
Hmmm, what else? Monday and Tuesday were mile run days again. I am continually amazed by the athleticism of some of the kids. Yesterday it was the 1st and 2nd graders turn to run the outdoor course. I have been slowly building this group up to a full mile. 5 laps equal 1 mile on our parking lot course so we started at 2 laps, then 3, and yesterday I asked them to do 4 laps. Imagine my surprise when a couple of kids asked if they could run another lap to finish the mile then another 1 or 2 just for the fun of it. By the time we finally went inside, I had a 1st grade girl that had run a mile and a half in less time then the older kids ran the 1 mile! I couldn't believe it. She was like the energizer bunny-she just kept going and going and going!
Today should prove to be a somewhat relaxing day. I have to go shopping at some point because somehow we ran out of snacks for the afterschool program already! You would think that 5 boxes of Capri Sun would last more than a week and a half but somehow they are gone already. Apparently, the afterschool program has grown exponentially in recent weeks. We have gone from having 2-4 on any given day at the beginning to 8 and 12 on Friday and Monday. It is kind of funny to think about the fact that I have more people in my afterschool group then some grades have students in their class! I absolutely love the afterschool kids! The preschoolers are cute, the 1st and 2nd graders have wild imaginations, and the 3rd and 4th graders bring math and social studies homework each day which is kind of fun to help out with.
Thanks to my mom, I will also be making playdough today for the afterschoolers. The little ones really love the stuff and I have to admit that I think it is pretty cool too. I think they will really enjoy playing with something they helped make so we are off to the kitchen to mix up some Kool-aid playdough. Hooray! I love working with kids!
Well, I think that's all for now! Official Michigan weekend countdown=1 week! See you soon!!! Love you lots!!
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