What a crazy few month of having school at home. 2020 will be one year to always remember. It threw the whole world off orbit of being normal. COVID-19 made it so all schools were shut down and almost everything else. It was very different having the kids home everyday and all day. The coolest thing and the biggest blessing was that we were prepared for it. Tiffany had huge feeling that she needed to be a stay at home Mom years ago so she could be there for the kids. It was a fun few months for all of us. There was some adjustment time for all of us and as soon as we found a groove we were moving. The kids did some really cool activities for their school work. The teachers got really creative in their work to keep the kids motivated.
Tiffany also did some cool activities with each of the kids. We made some great memories and it was good being with them and seeing them grow and helping them. Sometimes I think I did more harm than good. After a while I found out while the kids did their homework, it was best if I found some projects outside. All four of them were good sports through the whole thing. The two biggest things they missed about school was their teachers, and playing with friends.
Every Friday was School Spirit Day. We took a picture of us in our school swag and sent it to the principal for a chance at a prize. On the last Friday, we jumped for joy because school was going to be done! The trampoline was the best way to show us jumping for joy and showing our excitement. Everyone passed their school work and now they were ready to go and play around and get ready for summer time.
Emily worked extra hard these last few months on her Great American challenge. She had to memorize the presidents, the states and capitals, the Gettysburg Address, Preamble to the Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the National Anthem. This was a big goal for her to accomplish and she worked so hard and got them all done. When we were memorizing the presidents, it was fun for all of us because we found a song to help Emily remember them. We all had the presidents memorized by the time Emily was ready to pass it off. Charlotte was the funniest to hear sing the presidents songs. She probably memorized 3/4 of them.
All of the kids work was done over Zoom or Google Classroom. Emily even had to give her state report presentation over Zoom. We are definitely learning a lot about technology. Emily did her state report on Oregon. She chose this state because Russell went on his mission there and we have visited that state on a trip. She did a great job.
When Emily went to her class, Mrs Lockhart had a store with a lot of cool prizes, toys and goodies to buy with the class cash. Throughout the year the kids earned money for how well they on their school work. Of course Emily had a lot of money and she made a killing in the store.
I also think it gave the kids some closure for the end of the year to say goodbye to their teachers and see them one more time until next year. Because it was such a crazy year, the teachers missed their students just as much. Because of this, they put together a teacher parade and drove around all of the neighborhoods in the school boundaries. The kids loved it and it was a lot of fun for them.
We followed the whole parade all over the neighborhood and then jumped into the van and went to different places to see the teachers. Many of the teachers were laughing at us because we were so fast to get to each spot and see them. At the end we met at the church parking lot and got to take pictures and talk to their teachers.
This year Canyon Elementary lost one of the best teachers around. Mrs. Neilson retired this year and they did a cool retirement celebration for her at the end of the parade. They honored her and gave her some really cool gifts and wished her the best.
One day, Russell was in charge of "P.E." for the school. This is what he had them do:
Sumo wrestling on the trampoline! They loved it so much. It was so funny to watch.
Emily's teacher, Mrs. Lockhart was awarded the "Hat's Off" award from the district for being an awesome teacher. She has been a great teacher and totally deserved this. When they presented her this award, all of the students in her class secretly gathered to celebrate with her.
It was so fun to cheer for our teacher. Mrs. Lockhart was so surprised to see everyone and receive this award. She had no idea she was getting it.
Of course we had to defy the social distancing rules and get a picture of everyone. Mrs. Lockhart also gave everyone a hug. We sure loved having her as a teacher. She has been awesome and so encouraging to all of her students.
On the last day of school, Mrs. Lockhart and the principal, Mrs. Williamson, came to our house to present Emily with some awards. Emily had no idea so she was really surprised to see them.
They awarded Emily her Great American Award and another prestigious award called the Hope of America award. This award was from the Kiwanis Club and is only given to two students in the fifth grade. She was awarded this for being an awesome student with good morals, hardworking skills, and problem solving skills. This was really cool to receive.
Along with these two awards, Emily also received the Presidential Award for scoring high on all of her tests. This award was actually signed by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and it came with a letter from his office as well. Way to Go Emily!
Logan's teacher also visited him and gave him the "Sunshine Award" because he always happy and excited for school. He was the sunshine in the classroom.
The last day of school is always Super Kids Day where all of the kids in the school play water games and have water fights. Since we were not in school, the kids decided to have their own Super Kids Day at home.
They got out all of the water squirters, and water guns. Then they invited a few neighborhood kids over for a water fight. They had a great time.
Finally, school was out for the Summer!!
As a Primary Presidency, we celebrated the end of school for our Primary kids by having a Ice Cream Party. Since we could not meet, we did an ice cream truck instead and drove to the kids.
We decorated our van like an ice cream truck and had a big speaker blasting music. As we drove by, the kids ran out to get their ice cream. It was really fun to see all of the kids and it was a fun activity to get people out of their houses even for a couple minutes. This might become a new tradition.
We are so excited for summer!
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