Lately: Scouts, a Museum and Many School Projects

January is racing by and it has been a busy month for our household!  Here are some highlights of the past few weeks.

Henry earned his Tiger badge along with the rest of his den. The boys worked so hard to finish all the achievements and we are so proud of them! They were awarded their badges at the January pack meeting.

We went to a members' event at the Health Museum to see their new exhibit, "Beyond the X-Ray." The boys were mostly interested in the giant chess set!

For the past couple of months, Will has worked really hard on his third-grade heritage project. He chose to research Portugal, wrote a research paper, made a flag and heritage paper doll, and created a tri-board to present to his class. Last Tuesday, the kids came to school in costume (Will is wearing Pop's carapuco, which Portuguese fishermen would have traditionally worn.) They paraded through the cafeteria, waving their country's flag. 

And then they sat by their tri-boards and told the parent guests all about their country!

The morning concluded with a huge international feast! Each family contributed something, so the kids sampled everything from Indian samosas and Irish soda bread to German stollen and Vietnamese steamed layered cake.

Gene made Portuguese codfish cakes for our family's contribution.

Salt cod can be an acquired taste but most of the kids really enjoyed the codfish cakes; several had seconds (til we ran out!) and a couple asked for the recipe!

The parade, festival and feast were so much fun for all the third graders.  

On Thursday, the whole school celebrated our annual International Festival, featuring food, country facts and performances. The International Festival is always a good time!

Finally, on Friday, our school, along with schools across the state, voted for the Texas Bluebonnet Award. Each year, twenty books are selected as nominees. Students in grades 3-6 in Texas who read at least five of the books are eligible to vote for their favorite. The book with the most votes statewide earns the title of Bluebonnet Book of the year.  

2014-2015 Bluebonnet Nominees

The official winner has not been announced yet, but our school voted for The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke. Will's favorite was The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man's Canyon by S.S. Taylor.

After voting, the kids were treated to blueberry muffins for the Bluebonnet Breakfast.

It's been a full couple of weeks around here!