Jungle Zone

Laine got to go on another field trip, this time to Jungle Zone.  Jungle Zone is a playground full of inflatable slides and bounce houses.  Her class had a great time and she was worn out.  This was on a soccer day too so she slept very well that night.  Wednesday is her last day of PK4.  The time has really flown by.  Kindergarten here we come.

Another Field Trip for Laine

Laine's PK4 class went on a trip to the Eustis Police Department.  They had a great time checking it all out.  In Florida our police drive in golf carts around large outdoor events and after hurricanes to get to areas where vehicles can't.  The kids thought that was so cool.  Laine and her friend Haley are looking in the SWAT vehicle.  They all said it smelled bad and I would think so after putting a bunch of officers in the back of a big truck all geared up in the Florida heat.  YUCK!  The kids had fun and got to take home a bunch a stuff (books and coloring pages) in an evidence bag.  They were very well behaved and the officers were impressed.  Hopefully that is the last time the kids will see the inside of the Eustis police station.

Garrett's 4th Grade trip to Silver Springs

Garrett's 4th grade class went on field trip this week to Silver Springs. We were a bit worried about the trip because the weather has been very rainy. Prior to Thursday we had 16 inches of rain in 4 days and they were thinking Thursday would be no different but it was. It was overcast but we only had a sprinkle. We had a great time and Garrett picked great kids to be in our group. I had Garrett, his friend Miguel and a girl named Casey. Casey talked my ear off but Garrett and Miguel had a great time together. It was a fun day. We have taken our boat up the Silver River(where the monkeys are) to Silver Springs but have never gone into the park so it was a new adventure for both of us.

Laine's PK4 Wild West Show

Laine's PK4 class did a Wild West Show for the end of the year.  They sang songs, rode stick horses, ran an obstacle course and put on a great show.  What a cowgirl!

Safety Patrol

Garrett has been invited to be a member of the "Eustis Elementary Safety Patrol" for 5th grade. Not many students are given such an honor and we are very proud of him.

Now for the dilemma? We were hoping to move him to the school where Walker has been for the past 2 years so he can participate in the "Gifted and Talented" program too. He has showed signs of boredom and complacency in 4th grade while maintaining a 100% in Language Arts. His teacher is wonderful but he has to teach to such a wide range of children that Garrett ends up hearing lessons over and over when he is ready to move on to the next lesson. In the "Gifted and Talented" program he will be given the freedom to move on, excel, be more creative and be better prepared for middle school. He was almost convinced to change schools for 5th grade until "Safety Patrol" Guess we have some great discussions ahead of us.

Swim Team

Garrett has joined the Mt. Dora Swim Team.  He is having a great time learning the strokes.  He started with a basic understanding of each stroke and now is working on perfecting them.  He is hoping to compete some day when he is ready.  He can swim 4 days a week for 1.5 hours each.  He swims laps the entire time!  Some days he goes straight from swimming to 1.5 hours of soccer! The great thing is you can swim 4 days a week or just one, what ever works into your schedule which is great for the busy Fords.  He is not too thrilled with the required swim suit but he is adjusting.  We just told him it would make him swim faster!

Kindergarten Round-Up

We registered our big girl for kindergarten last week.  I can not believe it is that time already.  Where did my baby go??  She is very excited to go to school with "the big kids"  We are hoping to get her in a dual language class that she will stay in through 5th grade.  She will be learning Spanish along with English which in today's world  will really help.  They say their brains are like sponges at this age so hopefully she can learn both easily.  I know she is more than ready for kindergarten but is Eustis Elementary ready for our Laine??  

She can't wait for August 24th (1st day of school)

Soccer Mama

Since Laine had decided not to participate in theater until she is 6 :) and Garrett goes to soccer anyway why not let Laine give soccer a try. So we enrolled her in a 4 and 5 year old class. She works on soccer skills and is on the same field as Garrett. She thought soccer was pretty cool and apparently the cleats and shin guards make her look big like Garrett.