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.

Back to School Fancy Dinner

We started the tradition of having a fancy dinner to commemorate the first day of school last year. It was such a success that I knew we had to incorporate it again.

It takes an extra amount of effort to plan and implement "extras" like this, but it is always worth it in the end. The boys kept asking if we were having company over for dinner when they saw me gathering supplies. They beamed when I revealed that all of the extra fuss was just for them. By setting the bar of excellence high, we are trying to teach them that they are valued and important to us and we have high expectations from them in return.

Last year's family theme of "Respect" was posted by our back door all year and we often referenced the concept. We settled on "Be Grateful" as this year's theme; something we can all work on.

We introduced the theme during dinner and had a great discussion about incorporating more gratitude into many aspects of our lives.

The boys picked most of the menu which included homemade macaroni and cheese, garlic rolls and fresh green beans. They were most excited about the cloth napkins and sparkling cider which justified the use of our "fancy" glasses. We topped off the meal with the chocolate chip cookies that Nash and I baked during Blake's first full day of school.

Just like last year, we plan on spending one day a month, either during a meal or for family night, focusing on our theme of being grateful and reminding our boys what we're working on as a family.

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.

First Day of School Fancy Dinner

I've seen lots of back-to-school ideas and I knew I wanted to start a tradition in our family with the launch of the new school year.

We had a fancy first day of school dinner party to commemorate the big event.

As I sat the table in the dining room instead of our normal kitchen table, the boys asked who we were having over for dinner. When I answered that it was a special back-to-school dinner, they got all sorts of excited.

Blake exclaimed, "We're having a party just for us?!"

The boys squealed with delight when we revealed fancy glasses (theirs were plastic) and showed them how to put cloth napkins in their laps. They kept saying that it was just like a restaurant.

I thought the chalkboard napkin rings that my friend gave me were appropriate for the first day of school.

The purpose of the special dinner wasn't just about fancier-than-normal food and surroundings, but also to present our family school year theme.

We settled on "Respect". Our boys are still young, but we thought this was something they could grasp and improve on.

I was shocked at the riveting discussion we ended up having.

Not only did the boys stay in their chairs the whole time (a rarity at our house) and actually eat the dinner I made, but they actively participated in our conversation about showing respect. We talked about all sorts of scenarios where they could show more respect; school, church, friends' houses, stores, and with their parents and each other.

Blake caught on and asked Nash, "How could you respect your teacher at school?"

Nash responded, in the sweetest voice ever, "I'm not really sure, Blake. That's a good question."

What? Did that polite response really come from my child? Troy and I looked at each other, dumbfounded. We were pleasantly surprised that by creating an atmosphere that was special and different, our boys acted differently; more mature and ready to participate in the discussion we had.

Now, implementing the value of respect will be a whole different ballgame. We're obviously focusing on it because there has been a real lack of respect lately. We're hoping to dedicate one family night a month to focus on this theme and remind the boys what we're working on as a family.

The sign I made is now hanging by our back door so we all can continually be reminded. (And since the word "respect" is phonetic, Blake can actually read it.)

I think I'd call our little candlelight dinner a success.

After dinner, Blake asked, "Can we eat dinner in here every night?"

O is for Offense

When I had my first child, I was clueless about how important an organized offense would be in successful mothering. I thought that it would be easy for family dinners to fall into place, that I'd want to spend every waking moment on the floor playing Little People with my children, that we'd always have a weekly academic theme complete with developmentally appropriate activities, and that we'd never struggle with squeezing in scripture study and family prayer. I had high expectations for our family. Then reality set in. All of those things took time and serious organization to plan. And to my surprise, I didn't always have the desire or energy to put into preparations.

My expectations have definitely lowered in some regards, but I'm trying my best to focus on the important things. Our children are still so young, but with so much negative in the world, I have realized more and more how necessary it is to have an offense at home to build them up. Before serious defense becomes necessary.

We have a few offenses that are standard.

1. Family Dinners

Life is crazy and sometimes forcing a moment to sit down together can be pretty tough. Sometimes we have to wait a long time for Troy to get home from work and the hunger really sets in. It seems like the baby always needs to be fed or held the second we sit down at the table. But, we do our very best to make family dinnertime a priority. We talk about our "happies" and "sads" from the day. Blake's happies are usually whichever outing we went on or errand we ran, and his sads are inevitably that he lost his m&m or band-aid. Most of the time this ritual leads to good discussions and helps us to share what really happened during the day instead of just saying it was "good" or "fine." Family dinners have become automatic and they are a great offense.

2. Making Meaningful Memories

Another offense we have is making meaningful memories. If I don't push to make memories, our life becomes the same every day; the boys play and take naps, Troy goes to work, and I keep up the house and do projects. This weekend included a "first" for our family. We took the boys to their first movie on the big screen. I have to admit, I had low expectations for a two and a half year old and a baby at the theater, but I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I only had to stand up once to bounce the baby to sleep and Blake stayed seated the entire time (only occasionally shouting, "Buzz!" "Woody!" at the Toy Story 3 screen). I don't know what it was, but we felt like such a family after this activity. I love that it was a "first" among memories.

3. Weekly Family Night

Family meetings are a huge family offense for us. We try to set aside time every Monday night for a family home evening meeting. We avoid making other plans because Monday nights are family nights. Sometimes we go out and do activities together, but most of the time we just talk about our upcoming schedules and arrangements that need to be made, sing songs, share a brief message that works for a toddler attention span, have an activity, and eat a treat.

I've tried to be better lately about preparing ahead of time for family night. That doesn't mean I'm great at having every detail planned out. Sometimes Most of the time I'm scrambling at the last minute to find a message to share. And even though we are consistent at holding family night, it doesn't mean that Blake isn't begging to go outside or whining for m&m's while we're trying to share a message with him. Hopefully though, some of what we are trying to achieve is sinking in.

This week, we talked about the important truths in the song "I am a Child of God." We taught the boys that they really are children of God. That Heavenly Father sent them to a home on earth with parents to help them. That when they do what is right, they can one day return to live with God. We talked about how every child of God is different. We showed Blake pictures of himself and Nash and pointed out differences in their physical traits and in their inner talents. We told Blake how special he was.

I tucked Blake onto my lap and told him some things he was good at. Troy and I wrote the first letter of some of his talents on each of his fingertips. "F" for being funny, "P" for being polite and always using the phrase "May I have some (fill in the blank) please," "B" for being a kind and sharing big brother, "M" for having an amazing memory, and "C" for being cautious and calm.

Blake beamed. Delight poured out of him for the next hour. He walked over to Nash numerous times to show him the "B" that stood for being a wonderful brother.

It made him feel happy.

It made him feel secure.

When the letters washed off, he begged to do it again.

What could possibly be a better offense than making your child believe that he can succeed? The point of all of the offenses that we are trying to establish is to build up our children and each other. They create a forum for random as well as important things to be talked about. Even at young ages, the habits that we have started make our boys feel like important parts of our family "whole." So, maybe I don't have perfectly planned out curriculum every day like I thought I would, maybe our family dinnertime sometimes consists of take-out meals, and maybe I don't spend every waking moment on the floor with my children, but the bottom line is that consistent time together makes families stronger. That is an offense worth fighting for.

Picnic

For Family Home Evening, we went to the park and brought a picnic dinner. A picnic is something we have been meaning to do all summer. I am loving that it is slowly cooling down a little bit. I love being able to finally whip out sweatshirts. Usually I am bitter towards any taste of cold air that leads to winter, but this year, I say bring it on. My growing belly is ready to be done with hot, hot, and more hot weather. Blake thought it was especially fun to eat on the blanket and play on the playground.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

We went to a minor league baseball game for Family Home Evening. It made us all miss the Red Sox a little bit, but it was still fun.

Blake especially enjoyed himself.

He "danced" by stomping his feet on my legs every time they played music.

He played the "take off mommy's sunglasses" game.

There was a lot of clapping, which Blake thoroughly enjoyed and eagerly copied every time the team made a great play.

He shared ice cream with dad and Aunt Tricia. What a life.