Soccer Camp

This past week McKenzie participated in the British Challenger Soccer camp out in Sand Springs. Although none of her teammates were at the camp with her, she had a lot of fun. Both of the coaches that were running the camp were amazing with the kids! I picked up on a few ideas to use with my students from them in the two days I went with Kenz!!! Their teaching method totally reinforced to me that my philosophy of learning through play is a good idea! Kenzie was super excited about all the "cool soccer tricks" she learned each day and was ready to go back the next day, despite the heat and her apparent likeness to me with heat stroke readiness...

Here's a picture of Kenzie on Friday after she started to have a heat stroke during camp. She felt terrible, but she didn't want to leave. She really wanted to be out with her group playing!!! I just liked how I was actually able to capture all the feelings she was displaying in the picture!!!

Here is Kenzie with her coach Nick on Friday. I think she has a crush on him. She told me several times that she would like for him to move to Oklahoma to coach her team... as if he doesn't have a job in London or his own soccer team that he plays on there!

Each day the coaches had homework assignments for the kids. Everything from creating a juice drink, to looking up information about UK online, to bringing dress up items to put on the coaches... Nick took off part of his attire for the World Cup competition before camp ended, but here he is with Kenzie looking all sorts of silly.

The entire camp. The photographer from the Sand Springs paper came out and took their picture for the paper... if anyone happened to see if it made it in the Sunday paper let me know!!!!

Kenzie is super excited about starting her fall soccer season and learning more soccer skills. I am thrilled that she is pumped about the sport!

Mid-Month Review...

April Showers Bring May Flowers... so they say... I have decided that I really need to invest in a cute pair of golashes so that when the ark (or rescue boat) floats up to my door I won't ruin my shoes wading out to get in! It has been raining cats and dogs out at my parents house and it seems like it is never going to end!

Other updates for this month... bowling was great fun! I managed to bowl in the three digits the first game... I think my score the first game was straight up 100... the second game however... yeah... well... the whole purpose of the bowling event was to raise money for an awesome group AND to have fun... so that is exactly what I did! I granny bowled the entire game... and managed to end up with a final score of like 80??

Spring Soccer season is in full swing for McKenzie. Yesterday was her second game of the season (she's had one game cancelled and then had a few by weeks due to tournaments) and my lil' girl played soooo well!!! Oh my goodness, she is goin to be good when she gets older if she gets the proper training and skill drill. She was stopping the ball, getting in the middle of the group and fighting for the ball, and just being aggressive!!! I will have to post a video from her game. I was so proud of my girl, so proud that I texted E to brag about her skills!!!!

State testing... a wonderful time of the year... I "enjoyed" state testing while working in Texas. It was great... I used the card of "I'm not a certified teacher... can't monitor OR administer the test..." But here in Oklahoma, you don't have to have a teacher's cert to monitor the test... Apparently you don't have to have a state certificate to be a classroom teacher to administer the test... as long as you have a state cert from OSDE... so I get the PRIVELAGE (trying to remain optimistic) of administering the test to one of my students. A student that I enjoy working with, on short timeframes... like thirty minutes at a time with at least one day in between sessions! I have requested hazard pay and/or extra mental health days as compensation for this endeavor. I have been told that I can't either, but I do get a soda AND a candy bar... WOOHOO!!!

However, I am looking forward to going to Colorado the week after state testing. I don't think that Ian and I could have planned the timing of this trip any better! I am going to be 100% ready for a relaxing weekend!!!