Fundraiser Success!!

A few weeks back, I posted about the Fundraiser that Hannah's class was doing, selling candles. The candles were delivered to our house yesterday and today and here is what 175 candles look like! I had already boxed up three orders before I remembered to take my picture.Our Fundraiser was a huge success!! With only 17 students selling (that's half the class), we sold 200 candles!! That many candles qualified us for FREE shipping and half sales tax, which brought our PROFIT to $878.00!!!! The teacher was shocked when I told her what our profit was.

We are most definitely well on our way to cutting the cost of our field trip in April down!

Field Trip to the Local Mountains

Hannah's class went on a field trip today to our local mountains to study an ecosystem they've been learning about in Science.

Due to budget cuts, we had to pay for our bus service which ended up only being $15.00 a person, and then the hike and exploring we did was free. But it was one of the best field trips I think I've been on.

We left the school shortly after the morning bell rang. Boarded the bus and were given an assignment to do on our way the mountains. It was a fun assignment! Ms. Harris had printed out a page of landmarks (certain off ramps, the A&W stand, city signs, elevation signs, etc, etc) to look for and then we had to put the time in which we drove past it. The kids really enjoyed this project and it kept them busy on our hour long bus ride.

Our first stop was Ponderosa Nature Trail. We walked/hiked the trail for a good hour, stopping along the trail to listen and learn. This was Ms. Harris' 25th year doing this field trip, so she knows her stuff. And she pointed out trees and things that used to be much smaller or have become damaged or even hit by lightening through the years. One of our stops along the path, Ms. Harris had the class find a spot and lie down. And for five minutes you had to listen and smell and breath the fresh pine air. And then we studied the things right around us. Showing the kids the layers of pine needles, leaves, the decomposers, etc. It was all very interesting. Our next stop was back down the mountain a ways, to Thurman Flats picnic area. We ate lunch here and used the restrooms and enjoyed the beautiful day some more. After lunch and a brief rest, we lined up and crossed a few streams and then a creek, all along the way stopping to pick wild blackberries. The kids really had fun doing this and found quite a few! I was so proud of Hannah, she not only picked a blackberry, but she ate it too! And liked it!

She almost fell in here, and was hesitant to give it another try,
but she did! And made it across the big creek.We arrived back to school just minutes before the school day officially ended. It was a great field trip and I am so glad to have been able to have gone. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful Fall day, clear skies, and great weather.

Diorama of the California Desert

The first BIG project of the year came home a couple weeks ago and it was due yesterday. Hannah's class is currently learning about the different ecosystems, climates, etc. of California and she had to make a diorama and a brochure outlining the region she'd been given - The California desert.Hannah enjoyed doing the diorama and it was fun putting together the plants and animals of the region that Daddy grew up in!


Edited to Add: Hannah came home this afternoon with her project in hand and with the grade of an "A"!!!

Student of the Month

We've had a rough couple of weeks in the school department. The transitioning into 4th grade has been a big one and it's taking some getting used to. So it was with much excitement and relief when we received word that Hannah had been chosen for Student of the Month for September. It was as though she/we'd been rewarded for all her/our hard work. LOL.

Today was the Student of the Month assembly. Gramma was able to attend the assembly and it made it all the more special because Gramma knows how hard this last month has been.

I like what the principal started last school year, he has the teachers get up and talk about their reasons for choosing their students of the month. In regards to Hannah she said she was a hard worker and always gets her work done, she kinda put an emphasize on 'done'. Inside her folder were certificates for a free kid meal to a variety of local food establishments. It's the most we've ever seen be donated, a sure sign of the economy and not people going out to eat much these days. There were actually some in there we'd even use!As part of their reward, the Students of the Month are rewarded with a pizza lunch and special treat at their lunch. Hannah said the pizza was 'the bomb".

I wanted to make dinner a little more special for the occasion as well. I asked her what one of her favorite meals that I make at home was, and we'd had them all recently. It hit me to stop at The Old Spaghetti Factory and pick up some Mizithra cheese and make spaghetti and a salad and cheesy biscuits. And that's what I did. I set the table pretty, we had sparkling cider, and had a favorite meal of Hannah's. She was very suprised!

Movin' On Up

This evening was a belt ceremony for Hannah in Tae Kwon Do. She wasn't quite ready to move up to a Junior Black Belt this quarter, so the instructor made a special degree brown belt just for her and another brown belt. She now has two black stripes to her belt, stead of one.

Candle Fundraiser

Due to the budget cuts to education by the Governor of California, the classes at our school must raise their own funds if they wish to go on field trips this 2009-2010 school year.

Hannah's class is currently raising funds for their field trip in the Spring. It's an overnight adventure aboard a Tall Ship. The 32 kids will board the ship and for 16 hours will run the ship and act as a crew. The teacher has been doing this field trip for over 25 years. It's sure to be an adventure never forgotten. But, they must raise the funds, and that means they must raise close to $4000 to cover the cost of the ship and the cost of the school district buses that will transport them there.

Thanks to a good friend through our church, Hannah's class is selling candles through Celebrating Home. Her candles were always a huge hit!

Hannah is currently selling 10oz jar candles. One for $10.00 OR 2 for $19.00. The scents she is currently selling are perfect for the upcoming holidays:

*Baked Apple Pie *Hot Cinnamon Rolls *Holiday Home *Warm Cinnamon Pumpkin * Creme Brulee * Angel Wings * Blueberry Muffin * Citrus Spice * Caramel Coffee * Vanilla Creme * Baked Streusel * Crisp Linen * Mandarin Mulberry * Cinnamon Sticks *Iced Evergreen

The holidays are coming and candles make a great gift to teachers, sisters, aunts, grandmas, friends, coworkers.

If you are interested in perhaps purchasing a candle, or two, we would very much appreciate your support. You can either contact me via email or Facebook or the old fashioned way - via the telephone. I should have samples this week if your nose requires a test drive before purchasing!