Yesterday morning began bright and early (for us) as we headed for McDonald Elementary and the annual 6th Grade balloon launch. The tradition began years ago when one of the sixth grade teachers decided to do one in conjunction with the novel Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois. The students are divided into teams and each team makes a balloon.
As we walked onto the school grounds, the excitement level was high. The first balloon, Cameron's team's, was being filled (Cameron is in the Seahawks' jersey with the number 12):
High in the sky:
Theirs landed in a block of neighboring houses, and below they are shown bringing it back for another lift:
In total, each team got to send theirs up three times. It's such a fun event to watch! Here are Papa Dan, Ann, and Daniel (also known as Banana Man):
After a trip back home and a quick lunch, we were off again to meet up with Ann and Daniel to walk over to the track at the junior high for the annual All Schools Fifth and Sixth Grade Track Meet. As he did last year, Cameron ran in two relay races. He ran the third leg in the first race and they took second place. In the last race, he ran clean-up and they placed first.
The morning had started out cool and cloudy. By the time the track meet ended, the day was sunny and hot! We left feeling rather crispy and exhausted (what is it about heat that saps all one's energy?), but a great time was had by all! (And I must truthfully report and Papa, Grammy, and Daniel all went home to naps.) :-)
Wow! The excitement was just too much for all of you, huh? Did you say the balloon was made of paper? Good activities for kids and families.
ReplyDeleteNellie and I notice that the heat really saps our energy. Nellie never has tolerated the heat well. She needs lots of water when she hunts in early fall. We prefer to get our exercise early in the day if it's going to be hot.
Yes, the balloons are made of tissue paper, held together by Elmer's School Glue. The teams do all the work at school. It's a big event for them and they love it.
DeleteI've never done well in heat; seventy is pushing it for me. I agree, if you have to be outside, early in the day is best. Too bad I like to sleep in! And I love my air conditioning on really hot days; I'm so very thankful for it!