5th Annual Graduation Luau

Officially summer vacation has begun! Every year the start of summer is marked by our Annual Graduation Luau. I think out of all the things I do with my extended family, this has to be my favorite. It's a time to dress up, eat some good food, watch some entertainment, and give honor to our children. The weather always cooperates and is beautiful. It makes for an unforgettable night spending quality time as a family!

We are very proud of our graduates this year! We have one going into kindergarten, and one starting high school! Where does the time go?








This year we started our evening with the ceremony. We wanted to make sure all the kids remained cleaned and polished for photos; a must for mom. We grilled Hawaiian Chicken for our after party. It was delicious!


Ariel and Gabriel led us in the elementary school song and pledge. You can see from the photo that it's been a little too long for Ariel.

Everyone's favorite part of the evening is the talent portion. All of the kids get the opportunity to share with us something special they learned from the past year.

 Zechariah started off by impressing us all with his Bible memory verses. Each time he does Bible study with Grandma; his homework is to work on a specific verse that goes along with the lesson. He excels at this!

  

He quoted for us:

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11

Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.
Luke 2:52

When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, then I will remember my promise with you and all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life.
Genesis 9:14-15

My son, keep the teaching of your father, and don’t turn away from the teaching of your mother. Always hold it in your heart.
Proverbs 6:20-21

Gabriel tried to explain to us a new math concept he learned this year. Lattice Multiplication. He showed us a very large number, and gave us the answer after explaining how he got there. For most of us, this was over our heads. We smiled and applauded his words of wisdom, trusting he knew what he was talking about.

You can tell Gabriel really enjoys being in the limelight. He took as much time as we would let him. Towards the end of the school year, his class studied crayfish. We were all fortunate to hear his extended report on the inner workings of the crayfish.

Ariel played us a few short songs on her oboe. She has improved greatly over the last year, and promises that she will stick with this instrument next year too.


This year at school, Mikaela learned several different dances. She was kind enough to give us a couple dance lessons. We learned the Electric Slide and the Tush Push.

Once the talent part of the evening was complete, we did something new. I love new ideas! We all filled out a worksheet to put inside our school time capsule. We didn't share our answers out loud; we simply folded the paper up, and put our name on the outside. In the next few years we will be able to read our answers, and fill out new worksheets. It should be interesting to see how our lives progress and our knowledge expands.

The questions we answered:

What did you learn this year as a ... Student, Dad, or Mom?

What did you like best about your teacher?

What was the best thing your teacher taught you?

Most interesting project you did this school year?

What did you learn about yourself?

What miracle did God do for you this year?

How have you grown physically, spiritually, and mentally?

The last part of the ceremony is the presenting of certificates and diplomas. Each child receives a certificate for their participation of doing Bible study with Grandma. The diplomas focus on their completion of the grade they were in, and their special abilities.

Let it be known that Zechariah did an awesome job learning addition and subtraction, calculator skills, and excelling at winning games!

This certificate is presented to Gabriel for excellence in completion of the third grade with special interest in planetary science, for hitting 8000 in his number book, and winning 3rd place in the KidZone essay contest!

This award is presented to Ariel for outstanding achievement in completion of the sixth grade with gifted classes and the arts including drama, drawing, and oboe.

I present to you the Class of 2013!

4th Annual Graduation Luau

Officially summer vacation has begun! Every year the start of summer is marked by our Annual Graduation Luau. I think out of all the things I do with my extended family, this has to be my favorite. Christmas and Thanksgiving are wonderful, but I LOVE this party. It's a time to dress up, eat some good food, watch some entertainment, and give honor to our children. The weather always cooperates and is beautiful. It makes for an unforgettable night spending quality time as a family!

Every year I like to shop at the dollar store and add new luau decorations to the stock pile. We're starting to get quite a collection! This time of year the dollar store seems to specialize in Luau. Summer is the best time for a party! We found a pack of a dozen or so different luau pictures. Because they were double-sided I couldn't see taping them to a wall. I punched a hole and hung them throughout the trees with yarn. I love how they pop up in various pictures at the party!

Normally we liked to BBQ for this party, but I wanted to go for something different this year. Since our theme was Hawaiian, we went for our family favorite, Waikiki Meatballs. They were delicious! My mom completed the meal by making some fried rice.

Our dessert was adorable graduation caps! I saw the idea on the Family Fun website. They went perfect with punch and were very easy to put together.

Ingredients
Miniature peanut butter cups
Frosting or peanut butter
Chocolate-covered graham crackers
Fruit chews

Instructions
Place a miniature peanut butter cup, bottom up, on a plate. Top with a small dot of frosting or peanut butter, then press on a chocolate-covered graham cracker.

For a tassel, cut fringe on one end and attach the other end to the center of the graham cracker with another dab of frosting or peanut butter.

(My mom made these and added a chocolate chip on top of the fruit chew. I think it added something to the treat!)

Our ceremony always begins with the pledge of allegiance. This time all of our children couldn't even remember the words to it. It's a good thing we had a refresher for them!

Ariel led us in the elementary school song and Gabriel led us in the pledge. We included both things in our program so all the adults could follow along.

Our next portion of the evening is always my favorite, TALENTS. Each year the kids get to choose something they have learned to share with us. We've had some pretty fun things in the past. I can remember one year my niece playing the recorder with her nose! Talk about talent.

Gabriel started us off. He had two different things to share with us. His first thing was an optical illusion. If you look closely at the picture below, you will see it is a young girl and also at the same time an old woman. Gabriel shared the secret with us.

The second trick that Gabe shared was something he called "Math Magic". He first asked for a volunteer from the audience. (We all got a turn in the end.) The volunteer must think of a number between 1 and 63 without saying it out loud. Gabe had six different cards full of numbers. He would hold each one up and ask if your number was on that card. After you answered for all six cards, he could tell you the number you were thinking of. Gabriel loved to dazzle us with this trick!

I found a website that has the trick on it if you'd like to try it for yourself.

Our next performance was done by Ariel. She also had two things to share with us. The first was a science experiment called "Elephant's Toothpaste" and for the second part she gave us an oral report on Hawaii, something she had studied at length this past quarter.

Elephant's Toothpaste
The experiment is to be done in the kitchen sink with proper eye protection. We chose to use the grass in the backyard!

1.) Pour 1/2 cup of 6% hydrogen peroxide (found in a beauty supply store) into a clean 2-liter plastic pop bottle. (You can use 3%, but it doesn't work as well.)
2.) Add 1 to 2 squirts of dish detergent
3.) Add food coloring if desired
4.) In a separate container mix 1 package of yeast in 1 cup of warm water
5.) Pour the yeast solution into the pop bottle and watch the bubbles rise
6.) Remember this is an exothermic chemical change, so the pop bottle will be warm

This is an experiment Ariel learned at her gifted classes. Towards the end of the year they did many chemistry experiments!

Mikaela read us a report she wrote on her hero. It was so good! I was very proud of her, and I asked for my own special copy of it for my keepsake box. Her first hero she told about was Tim Tebow, and she concluded with her hero who by far surpasses him, Jesus Christ. For the fun part, she read the report with a British/ Australian accent.

You can't have a graduation ceremony without some diplomas. We always like to give out awards for the special things they have done through the year.

Zechariah was awarded for "doing an awesome job learning A-B-C-D, being Mom's special leader and for entering a new level of obedience!"

We always try to give out a spiritual growth award too. This area is just as important as feeding the mind.

"This honor was bestowed upon Zechariah for excellent participation with Grandma in Bible Study and nurturing your spirit through daily prayer journaling with Mom."

Gabriel got the High Achiever Award for "the successful completion of 2nd grade and for having 3 books published with a 4th awaiting final publisher's approval!!" His spiritual growth award read the same as Zechariah's.

Ariel received an All Star Student for ACADEMICS award in recognition of "your completion of elementary school and the gifted program with exemplary excellence."

Grandma read a note written about Ariel from the overseer of the gifted education program. "Ariel is an all-around great student! She has very good academic skills in all subject areas. Her strengths include both language arts and math. Ariel demonstrates good control of the English language; she is able to speak and write extremely well. In reading, Ariel displays good comprehension and she reads all types of books. Ariel is a good thinker and problem solver. If there is something she does not know, she will find a way to figure it out. She sets her goals high and is a hard worker. Ariel has outstanding leadership qualities; she has many friends and she is kind and respectful to everyone. Ariel is fair, kind, understanding, and makes good decisions. Ariel is a wonderful young lady!" What high praise for her!

Ariel's spiritual growth award was a little different than the boys. 5th grade marks the end of many things, but also the beginning. "This honor is bestowed upon Ariel for excellent participation with Grandma in Bible study and nurturing your spirit through daily Prayer Journaling with Mom. You are now leaving behind E.K.A.P Club (elementary age prayer club at our church) and before school prayer and are entering into a new level of prayer- personal prayer journaling!"

Since kindergarten I have been doing prayer journaling with my daughter every day before school starts. Middle school begins minutes after my boys are just waking up. We will no longer be able to have our prayer time at 8am as a family. Ariel will be on her own, learning to put into practice all that she has learned! New beginnings!

Congratulations, Graduates, for a job well done!!

I thought this picture was hilarious! When Gabe threw his hat up, it got stuck in the luau sign. After that he kept jumping to see if he could fit his head into it. It looks like he's being hung by the hat!

I believe we will be doing this graduation ceremony until all my kids graduate from high school. I was contemplating this year if my kids would ever outgrow it, but I believe even if they feel they have, it will still be a necessity. Humility is always good for a person. We may not always make paper hats. We may change the style a little. But we will always celebrate all that they have accomplished. I love giving them a night where we the parents and grandparents take time to honor all their hard work. They have earned it!

3rd Annual Graduation Luau

Summer vacation is here! I can't believe how fast this school year has gone. It feels like it was just a few weeks ago we were mourning the loss of summer, and yet here it is again.

The kids have been out of school for almost a week now, and we have kept very busy. We've been cleaning, doing yard work, and just watching movies and playing around. I love having this special time with my children. The only downside to having my kids out and staying so busy; I have very little time to blog. I have lots I could blog about, but practically no time to get it written.

With school getting out, and summer vacation arriving, that means, Graduation Luau! The kids really enjoy this event we put together. It recognizes all the hard work they put into the past year, and also celebrates the joy of being a family. We all love this party!


This year, we were the only ones who remembered to dress "luau". I can't resist getting that fun family picture with everyone sporting their colorful attire.


Gabriel was graduating from the 1st Grade! He learned so much this year, and has become an excellent reader.


Ariel was graduating from the 4th grade! She made many friends, and learned a lot with her teacher, Mrs. Booth. It's hard to believe that now Ariel only has one more year at her elementary school and then she's on to middle school!



We started off our ceremony with Gabriel leading us in the pledge of allegiance.


The kids learned several patriotic songs this year. We chose to sing, "Home on the Range" a favorite of Ariel's.


We had each kid share a special talent with us. Gabriel started us off by reading his story he wrote titled, "Charlie and the Math Factory." You can probably guess what it's based on.


Ariel read us a poem, "Garden Happiness" that she wrote in her gifted class, and then we quizzed her on states and capitols.

Mikaela shared with us about her science project she did trying to hatch baby chicks.

Zechariah just needed to join in on the fun, and stole Mikaela's cap she made at school.


Each of the kids received a special award of excellence for the grade they completed, and they also were given a certificate for having excellent participation in Bible study with Grandma.


Ariel and Gabe shared with us 1 Timothy 4:12, the verse for Kid's Prayer on Sunday's at church.


We are all very proud of our graduates!


After the graduation ceremony was complete, it was time to party! We all put together some chicken and sausage shish kabobs, a requested favorite of the kids. I must say they were delicious!


At Ariel's request, we all had fruit smoothies with our BBQ.


As we all finished eating, and spent time hanging out, everyone was welcome to check out the kids work they did during the school year. We saved many papers, but in reality a very small fraction of what they worked on this year. They did a great job!


Valentine is with the newest member of the family, Autobahn.



After all the food was put away, we played a couple games the kids learned in school. Ariel taught us how to play "Sparkle". You stand in a circle, and someone will shout out a word, while the rest of the players spell it. The first person says one letter, and then the next person says the next letter, and so on. When the word is completed, the next two people try to race to say, "Sparkle!" Whoever doesn't say it first is out. Then another word is spelled until you are only left with one person. It was fun!

Gabriel taught us to play "Heads Up 7-up!" I remember playing this when I in grade school.


We ended our party with some very delicious cheesecake.


So-papilla Cheesecake
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar mixture

Using a 9 x 13 baking pan, unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and extract, and spread over the crescent rolls. Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture. Pour one stick of melted butter or margarine over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. It's guaranteed to be a hit at any party!

It is at events like these that I feel so blessed to be a part of this family. We always have so much fun together. If you missed it, here is last year's Graduation Luau!