School Year Wrap

The last week of school seems to get crazier and crazier each year and this round was no exception.

Between class parties, swim wrap-ups, scouting gatherings, performances, field days, game days and graduations, we felt swallowed up by that entire last week.

Thankfully, along with the chaos came a lot of fun. Nash officially graduated from kindergarten.

We celebrated with a little ceremony. 

After partying with multiple kindergarten classes at the waterpark, we had about an hour to regroup for Blake's 2nd grade American Heroes performance. The students dressed up as the heroes they gave oral presentations on earlier in the school year. Blake performed as Orville Wright of the Wright Brothers.

Nash and Crew jumped into the scene and I just love how this moment captures some of their dominant personality traits. The worrier, the goof-off and the charmer.

Sandwiched in to the nonstop events was our annual family awards ceremony and talent show. This was our third year running (previous years are here and here) and the boys built up the anticipation for weeks. I mean, who doesn't want to be recognized for accomplishments and growth?

Blake was the recipient of the Math Facts Master Award, Swims Four Strokes Award, Pumps Alone Award and Master Lunch Maker Award.

Finn joined the scene with the One Nap a Day Award, Faces Forward in the Car Award (we made this switch recently and every time I buckle him in, he oohs and ahhs over the scenery and exclaims, "I fast!"), Talking All Day Award and Finally Has a Crib Award (yes, he slept in a portable crib much longer than we planned).

Nash received the No More Thumb Award, Lost First Tooth Award, Fantastic Reader Award and No Training Wheels Award.

Crew rounded out the ceremony with the Riding a Balance Bike Award, Nursery Champ Award, Enthusiasm Off the Charts Award and Saying "You're My Girl" Award. I may have taught him to respond to the phrase "You're my boy" with "You're my girl," but he says it on cue and it makes me melt every time. Especially because it sounds more like, "You're my guh-wool."

We managed to survive the last week of school just in time to hit the road for our first trip of the summer.

End of School Awards

Our end of the school year family awards night was such a success last year that we knew we had to keep the tradition going. 

We are always pushing our boys to work harder and do better, but we think it is equally important to recognize their accomplishments.

We gathered outside for family night and I read each award's description. The boys beamed as they figured out who was the recipient of each award.

Blake earned the No Training Wheels Award, Biggest Roller Coster Award, Reading Chapter Books Award and Two Schools in One Year Award.

Nash's awards included the Swim With No Floaties Award, Learning to Read Award, Great Roommate Award and Can Count to 100 Award.

Crew was the recipient of the Learning to Talk Award, Loves to Dance With His Brothers Award, Ditched the Binkies Award and Uses "Awkward" in the Right Context Award. That last one was a stretch but it really is impressive how quickly he picks up on funny, awkward moments.

Finn mostly tried to eat his awards but we couldn't leave him out. He earned the Crawls on All Fours Award, Loves Baby Food Award, Sleeps Through the Night Award and Rolls Over Like a Champ Award.

Last year, we had a family talent show in addition to the awards presentation. We attempted to keep the tradition but it ended up being a mashup of showing off dance tricks and making skid marks with bike brakes. Some neighbors ended up in the mix and any sort of structure was immediately lost. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. 

What was most important was that the boys were recognized for ways they had stretched and grown during the school year. 

Traditions like these are always worth the effort.

Family Night in Black and White

When it was announced that Blake's Kindergarten class was putting on a talent show on their last day of school, he had a hard time narrowing down which talent to perform. He was a little too nervous to demonstrate the cup game in front of his whole class, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to display one of his masterpiece mazes for a classmate to solve. He settled on building and operating a circuit set.

But he also came up with the idea to have our own family talent show so the rest of his skills could be featured. He talked about it for weeks and consistently asked each family member which talent he or she was going to perform.

Blake made a list of each participator in the first annual Tanner Family Talent Show. Next to each name, he wrote a yes or a no depending on whether or not that person had a talent to perform. Everyone had a 'yes' by their name except dad and Crew, who had 'no's'. I laughed pretty hard when I saw his list. He explained himself by saying, "Well, you know, dad has crutches..."

I ensured him that his dad still had talents even though he was on crutches. It actually became the running joke in our family. We pointed out each and every one of Troy's talents in front of the boys for a few weeks. We didn't want them to think their dad was completely useless. And after some consideration, Blake came to the conclusion that Crew could be included too.

We settled on a date and scheduled the Tanner Family Talent Show for family night.

Blake demonstrated the cup game to perfection as well a clever magic trick.

Nash entertained us with his dancing and singing skills.

Troy impressed the boys with his book spinning.

I brushed the dust off my violin and Crew showed off his head shaking and clapping skills.

It may have only lasted a half hour, and the talents may not have been that significant, but the boys were beaming the entire time. 

I also figured it was a good opportunity to give out end of school awards to recognize the boys' accomplishments over the last year. Some of my friends have held similar events in the past and I am always game for starting traditions that praise and uplift our children.

Blake's awards included the Learning to Read Award, Master Maze Drawer Award, Scoring Soccer Award and Making New Friends Award.

Nash earned the Big Boy Bed Award, Potty Training Award, Counting to 100 Award and Singing Sweetly Award.

And Crew was the recipient of the Climbing up the Slide Award, Waving Hands Award, Going Down the Stairs Award and Making us all Smile Award.

The awards ceremony was a hit. The boys were on their toes each time I proclaimed, "This next award goes to someone who..." They squealed with delight as the certificates piled up in their hands. Their eyes sparkled each time they realized that I was recognizing one of their accomplishments. They both mentioned the "awards show" in their prayers that night.

In a world of so much pushing and so little praising, I always want to make it a priority to recognize our boys' talents and accomplishments. We will definitely be repeating this tradition.