The last week of school was really special for her. She was in a small play an she got to showcase her writing to two of her grandmas.
I made her a binder with all of her 1st grade writings. She had some neat stores and pictures that I wanted to hang on to. I've tried to stash all of her artwork and writing in it that she did throughout the whole year and I put it in plastic sheets to protect it. I will include her class pictures in it too. She also has one from Kindergarten that her teacher put together.
I think we will have a fun summer and an productive summer too. I'm hoping to go through her 2nd grade workbook and keep her math skills up to date. I am also teaching her to write in cursive this Summer. I wasn't going to but because she has so much trouble with her writing I have decided to give it a try. I am also helping her change her pencil grip. I also wasn't going to do that but I have wondered if that's why her handwriting is so bad and also I read that when she's writing papers in high school, it can cause her hand to get really tired. I figured if I can teach a 3 year old to properly hold a violin bow (not so easy) I can teach a 7 year old to hold a pencil properly. We ordered some rubber "tripod" grip helpers for her pencil. They have indentations where her fingers go so that she places them right, they are supposed to be good and so far she really likes them and they seem to be really helping.
I ordered her three cursive writing books and so far that is going OK. We are just learning how to form letters and I was explaining to her that all the letters connect together and they have fancy curves, she thought the difference was funny.
Lastly, we are learning our multiplication tables, she has caught on to that pretty well so far. We have only done the really simple single digit ones so far.
I am actually glad that we didn't do swim team for Sara and that I scaled back our Summer lessons and activities. We are having a "light" summer. Mostly just doing local family activities and staying at home doing extra piano, extra school work, yard work, crafts, and house organization.
We have done some fun family activities that Sara has really enjoyed. We have gone to the Splash pads in town, to several parks, and we have done some fun family hikes after Dan gets off of work. Sara really likes riding the river trail in Spanish Fork. They finally finished the trail and now there are 7 miles of uninterrupted paved trail. The first night we rode almost the whole thing. Dan and I were amazed that the kid rode 11 miles. We only took one short break. Sara is a wiz on her bike. She shifts gears like a pro and pedals non-stop without complaining. The next week we did 8 miles on the trail. We've really praised her for what a good bike rider she is.
She also likes having lots of treats in the Summer, one of her favorite things to do is go out for shave ice. We have a neat Hawaiian Shave ice booth just down the street that has some interesting flavors that Sara has tried, it is one of her favorite things.
Sara is working hard on her piano this Summer. She is taking lesson on her own. Usually I go in with her but because there is only 1 other kid, she can go in by herself. Brennan and I just wait in the car. I'm impressed with the progress she's made so far, she is a smart kid and knows an amazing amount about music. She knows over 300 flash cards with music notes, chords, and music theory.
Sara is the best and I hope she has a good Summer before 2nd grade starts and we get back to our busy life!
