Scary Baby Needs a Blog
(not a dance)

Since I revealed the BIG news yesterday about life at the Humpfreeze house, I can move on to other events happening on *normal* days. Not to be upstaged by those twin sisters of hers, Scary Baby had an honor bestowed upon her last week at school.

In spite of or because of being in our family – we’re still not sure – she is a voracious reader and also loves to write. Language Arts a.k.a. English is her favorite subject. She’s been writing stories for as long as we can remember.

This year, in 4th grade, she submitted her story for the Young Georgia Authors Competition and…

She won at her school!

Her submission now goes on to the county competition.

It dawns on me as I write this, that maybe I should set her up with a blog. It might just keep her busy and cut down on the whining. Hmm…I’ll think about that one.

I have her permission to reprint her story here. Such a generous artist she is.

Always There

Once upon a time, near a small town in Arizona, a girl, no more than nine, walked on the sandy, barren ground. The sun was beating down on her face, sweat dripped from her forehead like rain. it looked as though the terrible desert would never come to an end. Somehow, by her facial expressions, it looked as though she was enjoying herself. She was tired and hungry and had walked for miles. Eventually she saw something in the distance, she did not have the energy to run so she walked toward it. As she walked, she felt a bit uneasy, for she did not know what this mysterious thing was, yet she kept going. It turned out to be nothing but a coffee shop. She opened the door, as a bell rang, she slowly slid herself inside. She quickly found herself a table, wondering if she was supposed to be there.

An old man walked up and said, “May I help you?” The girl said she needed to find her parents. The old man said he could most likely track them down. He asked for the girl’s name, she did not know how to answer. Finally she said that she did not have one. The man was astonished. Nobody knew who she was or how she became, she was just there. She walked out of the shop, a little confused herself.

It actually turned out that she didn’t have parents, she was literally a nobody. Some people like to think of her as a ghost, other people say she was always there.

Hard to believe this lovely child has so much creativity in her, isn’t it?

She’s all dressed up for the Wacky Tacky dance in 4th grade.

Remind me, please…

How many of you had dances in the 4th grade?

This was the final dance of the school year. In an elementary school housing over 1,000 children in grades kindergarten through 5th grade.

Do we seriously need dances at this age?

I’m an *old* parent of a 4th grader but when I was a *younger* parent with the first three lovelies, I’m glad to say I didn’t even have to worry about the elementary school dances…they were in a private Christian school…

with no dancing allowed.

We’ve been at both ends of the educational spectrum.

I must say I prefer the very conservative end of that spectrum.

Who knew I would some day be glad to say I am old-fashioned?

Don’t even get me started on the over-the-top homecomings and proms in high school. With gowns, limos, fancy dinners, photographers, etc., I wonder what they’ll do for their wedding. Okay, I’ll stop for now.

Leave a comment and tell me about your opinion on dances in the school years.

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Categories: Finding the Funny, Tweens

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7 Comments »

6 Responses to “Scary Baby Needs a Blog
(not a dance)”

Congratulations Scary Baby! I won this same award when I was your age but you show much more promise and imagination. I hope to see you on the best sellers list in the future.

Congratulations and Good Luck at County!

I remember going to my first after school dance in 7th grade. I did not know what to do and I didn’t know why we would be interested in dancing. Sorry, but I think 4th grade is too young, even though kids grow up faster these days.

Kudos Sc.By. My oldest child actually won her county writing contest in 4th grade, but we were only in tiny Jackson Co. vs gargantuan Gwinnett, so your competition is much stiffer than hers was. Plus there are those who question how many folks can actually read and write in Jackson Co., but we won’t go there. I also had one of my seventh grade English students win third place in the Hall Co. “What Trees Mean to America” contest. I wish I could say that I built that talent into her, but she basically came into my classroom as a gifted writer and I was able to not ruin her natural abilities. I say this to let you know that I’m here for you in any type of editorial or advisory capacity, Kiddo. I think you’ve got what it takes. “Nobody knew who she was or how she became, she was just there,” is a classic line if ever I’ve heard one. You MUST finish this story. I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep tonight if you don’t send me the next installment.
As to the issue of elementary school dances: we actually had them at our Christian school in IL; however, they were family dances. They revolved around a theme (the 50’s ones were always the most fun) and the whole family came out for music, dancing, snacks, and games. Those were great times. Even public schools could benefit from this type of format.

**photos courtesy of cmac

Yeah for Scary Baby!!!! Yippee!! Yee Haw!!!

There are a couple of dances throughout the year at my middle school. There is the fall dance for 7th/8th graders, the Valentine’s dance, and the end of year ‘graduation’ dance just for exiting 8th graders. The dances provide opportunities for appropriate social interactions as there are plenty of teacher chaperones! The dances are held at school and are hosted by the Student Council. All is good with me regarding these dances except for the Valentine’s dance. One of the Student Council teacher leaders insists on continuing the tradition of a Valentine ‘royalty court’ complete with voting and titles like King and Queen and crowns. I HATE THAT!!! I think it is way beyond the emotional well being of our 8th grade students. Talk about high drama leading up to that dance…..argh!

Our 5th/6th graders have their own dances which include a lot more group, fun songs like the Chicken Dance and Cotton Eye Joe. Since one of my fellow teachers serves as the dee jay, song selections are always appropriate and the students are well supervised.

@cmac: How could I forget to give you proper attribution for your photo skills at the dance? THANK YOU ;)

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