The 4th Grade Wax Museum

So...the 4th Graders do this "wax" museum every year
where they choose a famous person, research their life,
prepare a speech, assemble a costume and then
dress up and give their speeches "wax" museum
style to the 1st-3rd grades. Eli picked Col. Eli Lilly.

Wonder why? Geez, that's a tough one.

His speech was simply fantastic and his delivery...superb.
The costume, HOWEVER, I found out about the day before
it was due. THE DAY BEFORE IT WAS DUE!
"Hey, mom...I need a civil war era costume (union)
by tomorrow...I forgot."

Momma say, WHAT?

Thank you, God, for the not-so-small-to-me miracle
of ONE union soldier hat hidden beneath an Indiana Jones Hat
on the shelf with a blue-million Gilligan Hats (weirdness).
The rest of his attire is coulrtesy of Wal-Mart.
The BIG-cheesy grin, well, that's just plain old genetics.
The 'stash is a "holla" out to paw...even though
Col. Lilly's portrait had him with one too.

Purdue Math Bowl Competition

Eli had the honor to participate in Purdue's
Area Math Bowl Competition this year representing
his school, Oak Trace Elementary.

After trying-out for the team and making it,
followed by weeks of early morning practice sessions,
it was time for the team's big night.

They did well and when Eli was "up to bat",
his squad answered the
questions correctly! He was so relieved.

It was serious stuff. -Think area spelling bee only
with math. We were very proud...especially
his dad. Gosh...Matt was eating it up during
the competition trying to answer the questions
to beat the clock right along with the kids.

Gus and I were BORED but held on to support our Eli.

Good Job Bub!

See if you can pick him out in the pics below!
Kinda like Where's Waldo only it'd be EliDO. :)

Oak Trace Elementary School - Kidtown

Creative Cookies, Inc.
Kidtown 2008
"Sugary Fun for Everyone"

Before I begin this post, allow me this one off topic comment...
Leave it to MY son to happily be on a team of ALL girls
and somehow end up managing the money...he's JUST like his father :)

OTES, 3rd grade, has an annual tradition of a large,
thematic economic unit which leads up to the SUPERBOWL
of third grade, Kidtown, where the entire school comes and
shops the businesses generated by the 3rd grade. They spend
MONTHS on this unit preparing for this big event. They devise
business plans, obtain business licenses, develop a product or a
service, do breakdown analysis, comparison shop, actually shop,
have business meetings, solicit investors among a myriad of other
unbelievable things for 9 year-olds to do. Anyways...they must
pay back their investors with interest and they have to calculate
start-up costs as well as projected earnings and EVERYTHING.
It is a really cool experience.

They drug ALL of the parents in for
a mandatory meeting and spent 90 minutes telling us all about it
and mostly emphasizing that our role was specifically to keep
our traps shut and stay completely OUT of our kids' mini-business
venture. They would succeed or fail on their own.

SO...Eli is on this team with a cracker-jack group
of little women and they develop their idea for
personalized sugar cookies (Eli's idea, his teacher had to jump
in a bail him out because the girls were just about to
cast their votes toward a manicure service. ELI ABOUT DIED!)
where they'd provide a frosted cookie product and then
have the consumer choose from a variety of sugary toppings.
It was a hit.

As a whole, the 3rd grade made HUGE amounts of money.
I don't think that there was one business that did NOT
make back what they started with. I know we were
paid back our investment with interest and the rest of the
earnings went to two things:

(I'm so proud of this) a few thousand dollars went to
a school in Mexico to buy supplies and help with improvements
to the school building. And the rest took all "business owners"
and their investors out to lunch at Outback Steakhouse,
where the restaurant was opened just for Oak Trace and
included a tour of the kitchens.

HE LOVED IT! He's my little entrepreneur anyways
but now that tendency in him is on overdrive.

Oak Trace Elementary School Proudly Presents...

I can't tell you as parents how many
little programs that we have set through
all to watch our child sing a little bit
with his class. Many were good and their
production of Polar Express a few years
ago was excellent BUT
Seussical was truly FABULOUS!
Eli chose not to try out for a lead
due to other activities and I think
he regretted it later.
He FELL IN LOVE with the whole
thing and ALL the songs as they
prepared for their big night.
The Third Grade Really shined and
a marvelous time was had by all.
Here's a few highlights of Eli on the stage
that felt awfully close to Broadway last night!

Good Job Oak Trace!

The Chorus

On stage as a monkey with the Wickersham Bros.
THEY HAD A BIG DANCE NUMBER!
WOW!

My BABY...singin' his little heart out!


Hats off! Get ready to bow!

Eli's 3rd Grade Agenda

Okay...GOTTA tell you that even though it is not
my proudest moment as his mother...Eli tends to rush
when copying down his agenda notes at school...
I don't think I EVER laughed harder.

Our boy...our sweet, good, nine-year old boy...
MEANT to write down the instructions for dress
for last night's performance of Seussical The Musical.
What he actually wrote was a little different than,
"Wear a bright colored shirt and be there at 6:45pm."
I guess you could say that he got ALMOST all of the
critical components of the message...