Stella gets the Pink Wristband!

 Swimming wristband triumph!
At the YMCA your lil ones have to take a test to get a wristband to determine what they can do in the pool. If they don't have a wristband, you have to be within arms reach at all times. To get a blue wristband, which allows the kids to not be within an arms reach of a parent, your kid must do a 10 second front float and then flip over to do a 10 second back float. Both L&S got the blues in 2015. However, they still cannot be by themselves in water above their armpits.
Its been a long arduous process to get up to the next level. The pink wristband. This color pretty much allows your kid to go in any pool, any depth, on the water slides etc.
This test entails jumping into the "deep end" treading water for 30 seconds, then going into a front float for 10 seconds, and then back to treading water for 10. And while not technically part of the test, the LF still made her swim a half length of the pool. It may not seem like much but let me tell ya, trying to get a 6 year comfortable with treading water when they can't touch can be daunting. My girls can pretty much do anything as long as they know they can drop those toes and hit the bottom.

With that being said, it was pretty fantastic when, at their last swimming lesson for the winter term, Stella just kicked it out. She was like.... I need to get down that water slide, I can pass this test!! And she did. Great motivation for her twin to get moving too:) Good job Stella!

Lucy gets a Virtue Shout Out!

Lucy got a virtue shout out at her school for Fortitude (which is a pretty cool deal for the kids)!

Lucy and Stella are in first grade this year. Their school uses the classical model of education. Part of this model includes the kids learning about (and hopefully displaying) some core virtues. The virtues they focus on in K-5 include:

• Justice (respect, friendship, kindness, generosity, fairness)
  Justice means treating others with respect and taking responsibility for their well-being; fairness.
• Temperance (order, courtesy, self-control, patience, obedience)
  Temperance is about mastering ourselves for the sake of the happiness of those around us. It is about acting the right way at the right time.
• Prudence (honesty, wisdom, integrity, gratitude, humility, care)
  Prudence is about having sound judgment and making sound choices. It is about being thoughtful.
• Fortitude (courage, optimism, perseverance, good citizenship, loyalty)
  Fortitude means having the courage to face challenges and obstacles; persevering when things get tough.

A teacher or staff member that notices a student (or scholar as they are affectionately called in-house) will give them a "virtue shout-out". Their name goes on a list in the School of Grammar (lower school, elementary) hallway and they are recognized in a monthly virtue assembly. Out of 500ish kids in the their school maybe 20-25 will get a shout out each month.

In addition the virtue assembly is hosted by a grade every month- and this month, it was first grade. So both the girls sang with their classes songs about temperance. Stella's class sang about some sloppy goops who don't have table manners and Lucy's class sang about some mischievous kittens. Lucy is quite the socialite and entertainer (during class time), so we were proud of her when she received this acknowledgement of some virtuous behavior in a challenging situation! She had her named called and was asked to stand in front of the entire lower school along with all us parent people. Good job Luciana!