Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Candy Night

For the past two years, we have gone to a local carnival-style event run by the community center.  This year, our church held its first candy carnival, so of course we went there instead.  No scary costumes allowed!
F wearing my clown costume
I had the kids pick out two costumes.  The first set was worn to the park for Costume Kickball with the homeschoolers.  But no ball showed up, so we just played.  IJ wore army camo, S wore a dragon costume, E was a snow leopard, F was the clown, and D was a giraffe.

For candy carnival, we had a ninja, a sorcerer, a witch, a princess and a spider.   The big joke was F wears different princess costumes on normal days, so it was hard to tell she was even dressed up.  The other issue was that two of our kids were dressing up as characters that aren't always welcomed in a church setting.
IJ had a backup plan.  If a sorcerer wasn't allowed, he was going to be Simon.  I tell you, this kid knows his Bible.  Someone called him Moses on the way out, and that would have been good too.
Someone slept through dinner
The carnival was so much fun.  The kids played games for candy and hung out with their church friends.  M came along with me and got to chat with another Scout leader.  It was one of those nights where one feels all warm and cozy about being part of a community of people with similar values and morals and you don't have to worry about scary people being around your kids.

This morning, I made them weigh and count their candy.  When I get some peace and quiet, I'll show IJ how to make a pie chart with fractions and percentages.  They brought home 14.25 pounds of candy.

One of the first things they did was count how many chocolate bars they had compared to the fruity candy.  They also had to count the toys.  The best part about doing a detailed count like this is knowing whose bowl to raid.

After math, we moved on to language arts.
"I Like Candy"
 S wrote, "I like candy. I like Gobstoppers because they are sweet.  Junior Mints have lots of minty flavor.  Almond Joy are crunchy and chocolatey.  It makes me feel good and fuzzy when I eat it."

IJ wrote, "The Candy Carnival was fun because there was lots of candy and games.  I also got to see my friends and someone who recognized me.  I was good at games and everything was great."

Don't forget to brush!
Now it is time to start thinking about the next big holiday... our 10th Anniversary, coming up tomorrow!