author's nite

the end of the school year is here and with that brought "author's nite" at hayden's school. all year, the first graders at macgowan elementary have been working on their reading and writing skills. they had several "author celebrations" throughout the year where they would get dressed up and read one of their stories to their classmates.
tonite, to celebrate all of the young author's, the parents were invited to come and see their accomplishments. we started off in the gym where we watched a slide show filled with pictures of the first graders reading. then we moved to their classroom where the each student got a turn sitting in the "author's chair" while the teacher read one of their stories.
hayden chose his story "i just got started" a story that he wrote on 12/15/09. and here it is:

I just got started playing Wii. "Mom, NO SCHOOL," I said. "I know you don't want to go to school, but you have to go to school today." "okay, I will." I got home. "Can I play Wii?" "No. Every time you come in you always want to play Wii." I listened to my mom. "I'll play the Wii later." I want to play Wii ooooooohhhhhhhh mannnnnnnnn wii wii wiiiiiii.

his about the author page read like this:
My name is Hayden. I live in Redford. I have 1 brother and 1 sister. My favorite foods are macaroni and cheese and cheese pizza. In my spare time I like to play soccer. I like learning about animals. If I could have one wish I would ask for lots and lots of ice cream.
I hope you enjoy reading my stories.

we were also able to walk around the class and look at every one's stories and "about the author" page.
hayden has told me several times throughout this year that when he grows up he wants to be an author and an illustrator. he has come home several times and just wanted to sit at the table and write a story and illustrate the pages.
when all of the kids had their stories read, we were all given something to drink (juice boxes for the kids and water for the adults) and a brownie. we then all stood and toasted the author's.
we had a really nice evening and are so proud of all of the hard work hayden has done this year!!


hayden reading his "about the author" page:


one of hayden's illustrations:
mrs. taurence reading hayden's story:




hayden and some friends waiting for the toast:

5 school zone celebration!

hayden's school behavior chart starts out with each kid in the "school zone." if they misbehave during the day it will change to a green, then a yellow and then a red. while hayden hasn't had too many red's this year, school zones can be quite difficult for him to get.
we've always told him that if he gets a school zone every day one week, he will be rewarded handsomely. while he's come close before, he has never gotten a week of school zones until this week!!!
we were SO proud of hayden today when he came home and excitedly told us he had gotten his fifth school zone of the week. dave was home early from work today, so he was also able to hear the news right away.
we asked hayden what he might want for dinner, knowing he'd probably want logan's. he told us he wasn't sure and when we asked if he wanted to go to a restaurant he excitedly said "yeah! how about logan's?!" he loves that place mostly for the peanuts that he gets to eat before his food comes and that he gets to put the shells on the floor.
so the family headed out to logan's and after that we went to 7-11 where hayden (and talan) got a "frozen drink." we made it home just it time before a big storm hit and dave and hayden played mario kart for awhile.
hayden was so proud of himself and was so excited to call grandma and grandpa to share the great news with them as well!
he's now on a mission to get 5 more school zones next week!

hayden loves logan's!:


"frozen drink" time!:
hayden really wanted me to take his picture with iron man: