The End of 1st Grade

Last Day of 1st Grade Pool Party

Anna is officially a "rising 2nd grader."  She was quite excited to celebrate her last day of 1st grade on June 14.

She learned a lot this year, including great strides on reading, addition, subtraction, and writing. Anna kept a writing journal during the school year.  Below are some excerpts:

If I had a pet I would choose a dog.  I would feed him, walk him, play with him, and a dog would keep me company.  PS, i atcally want one these are the things i would do

One day while I was driveing on the road a deer was in the way.  My dad honked the horn.

 self-control is keping your self in control. 

Peace is when you are quiet. 

I can respect others by bringing over plates afer diner.   

The last week of school included a field trip to Frying Pan Park, a working farm in Fairfax County.  Anna, upon recounting the details of her trip, stated that they learned how to do farm chores from the 1980s.  When her mother suggested that she probably meant the 1880s, Anna exclaimed, "NO MOM - the 1980s.  I learned how to use the washboard."  Ah yes.....the 1980s washboard.  Later that week, her class had an ice cream sundae party (the got to go back for a second helping according to Anna).  There was also an awards ceremony in which Anna received the book lover award for reading efforts.

Bridging to Brownies ceremony

The last month of school was a whirlwind of activity.  The Thunderbolt Blue Divas ended their soccer season on June 1 with one last game.  The team party followed on June 8 with a pool party at Molly's house.  A big kudos to Molly's family who are the ultimate soccer parents.  They hosted the Divas from 1 - 4 followed by the older daughter's team party from 5:30  - 8:30!  Anna received the volunteer award for her willingness to always help out, including playing for the other team in a couple of games when they didn't have enough players.  Anna's Mom was excited for the season to end only because she was tired of sewing/ironing on two patches every week the Anna got for attending practice, attending a game, or putting forth extra effort in the game (if only Grandma lived closer to take care of this arduous task).

Anna's Daisy troop had their end of year party on June 2 with a trip to see a musical version of James and the Giant Peach.  On June 9, she attended the Girl Scout bridging ceremony in which she officially moved up to become a brownie.  This required more ironing of patches to get the brownie vest ready (the iron saw more action in a week than the previous 10 years combined).

Cookie & Water sales

In other news, Anna had her first solo-sales experience when she sold cookies and water at the neighborhood garage sale on May 18.  Mom originally made cookies to sell; however, the did not turn out so well.  In a last minute effort, Anna sold small packets of girl scout cookies for 50 cents.  Due to the rainy weather, the water did not sell, but Anna sold out of girl scout cookies.  Unfortunately, Mom did not do the math on the cookies sales and realized after the fact that cookies were not priced high enough to break even.  Anna was excited as she believed she made a profit.  Dad will work with her next year on profit margins.

Memorial Day weekend brought the annual Viva Vienna festival.  The highlight for Anna was the bungee jumping, in which she was harnessed in for some extreme trampoline jumping.  Thanks to the neighbor's trampoline, she's had some practice.  She is already planning on expanding her tricks for next year.

It was a great year for Anna.   A big thanks to her teachers - Miss Dawson and Mrs. Baker.  Anna is looking forward to a fun summer with lots of time at the pool.

Bungee Jumping at Viva Vienna Festival