Tag: Watch D.O.G.S.

Bling and Bingo

Last week my daughter cheered for the last basketball game of the season. She truly enjoyed learning the cheers, shaking the pom poms, and yelling in her cheerleader cone. They had said that the teams would be getting medals at the end of the night, but we had no idea that the cheerleaders would too.

The above medal is what was presented to the girls. It’s pretty heavy duty bling. It is no cheap medal. It weighs about 3 pounds. She was so proud to show us when the game was over.

She made many friends through cheer and she cannot wait to do it again next year!

On Monday, I was back at her school to volunteer as a “Watch Dog” again. Just like before, I got to be with her class first. I got to help the kids plant their seeds for a science project and then I got to play Bingo with them. They’d send three kids at a time over to where I was and we played.

It wasn’t like normal bingo with the letters BINGO and numbers. These were small cards with pictures on them. I had a bag of tiles with all the pictures on them and I would pull from it to tell them what to look for. A – for apple. L – for Lion and such. The teacher gave us a bag of stale marshmallows to use as bingo chips. We played until everyone got a Bingo and the switch to the next three students.

I then went to the third grade room and played a St. Patty’s Day word game with the next group of students. They had to tell me each sight word they landed on. This was followed by lunch, which I got to eat with my daughter.

She didn’t want what was for hot lunch, so I made us both peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I brought yogurt, some goldfish crackers and drinks. She likes to mix chocolate chips in with her yogurt, so I made sure to bring some of those. I always get a chuckle out of the small tables they sit at. Somehow I always get in and out, with some effort.

After lunch, I went out for recess. It was crazy windy out and the playground was a bit wet. The kids had to stay on the blacktop, which was really no fun. I swear the winds were gusting 40-50 miles an hour. I couldn’t believe they had the kids outside. I was standing out there and that wind hit me from behind and it was all I could do to not fall over. I was happy to come back inside.

I then got to spend time with the other kindergarten class, They were in gym first, and we played a St. Patrick’s Day game where you had to run and find the gold coins for your team. Once back to their room, I played a counting game with the class. My final class of the day was the fourth graders. They were in music class during my time.

I didn’t really do much, but I enjoyed listening to them playing songs on the recorder, sight reading a song they’d never seen or played before, and finally, watching kids play solos in order to get their “belt.” The awards were colored like karate belts. White belt was the easiest song to play, yellow was the next step up, then orange and so forth. It took me back to the days when we had music class in elementary.

I enjoyed a short chat with the music teacher before the end of the day, and then went to grab my daughter to go home. I signed up to do this once a month and I truly enjoy being there and doing this. It is special for my daughter and I, and also special for some of the kids. One girl asked if I would hold her hand as we walked back to the classroom. There were kids who had to give me a hug before I left my session. I’m not sure what it meant to them, but it sure made me feel good.

I’m already looking forward to next month.

Life’s Little Moments

At my daughter’s school, they have a group called the Watch D.O.G.S. (Dad’s of Great Students). Dads, uncles, big brothers, grandpas and other male role models can volunteer for an entire day. You start your day with your child, then you move to another class room. Sometimes you are working as a hall monitor or out on the playground at recess. The idea is to have a male role model there for the kids.

They had a little pizza party for all the volunteers. We got a brief overview of the program and got information on how to get our T-Shirts. While we were there, I was amazed at how many people (kids and adults) knew Ella. Kids from all grades were coming up and saying hello. The dad who sat at our table said, “Oh, we hear all about Pamela every day after school.” She’s a social butterfly.

It was a nice night out with her and Sam’s dad.

My son’s preschool class (and some other classes, too) were collecting items at the beginning of the month for a local food pantry. I think they collected over 350 pounds of food for the pantry. Last week, they put all of the items in wagons and had a little parade over to the pantry to deliver the food.

We brought our wagon for his class, so he got to lead his class. The local news station was there and did a piece about it, but his class wasn’t shown on TV.

The biggest surprise of the week was a matter of debate. It’s a situation we’ve been in before and I was honestly against it. Sam was pretty set on her feelings about it and I caved.

Her Facebook post: “When the naughty little Elf on the Shelf surprises not only the kids, but also Keith with a puppy for Christmas.” That post included this picture:

Very cute – yes. I told her that I am not going through getting close to a dog for it to run away or go away again. I get attached to them. I told her that I didn’t want to be the only one out with the pooper scooper.

The pup has yet to arrive at the house, but it should be this week. She is a Bernardadoodle. A Poodle/St. Bernard mix. So I’m guessing this thing will be as big as me. I asked Sam, “Why can’t you bring home a normal size dog?” She refused to answer me.

I’m saying a prayer for patience and understanding about this ….