I had a list of things I wanted to write about before the kids got out of school for the summer and ran out of time.  This is a common theme for me right now.  Never enough hours in the day!  I can’t let this one slip through because it’s about the 50 states parade!  This is the infamous project for 4th graders at Manchester Park.  They spend their school year learning all about the U.S. states and the culmination is a research project and parade.  The state is randomly assigned to each student and Drew got Alaska!  I thought this was awesome, but he apparently was not thrilled with his draw.  I assured him that it was better than North Dakota (this was Jake’s unlucky draw in 4th grade – Sorry North Dakotan’s!)

This project always falls at the beginning of May – right smack in the middle of teacher appreciation week, Reece’s birthday, graduations, end of year banquets, and Mother’s day.  No doubt, many moms end up helping their kids with this project on Mother’s Day with a fake smile on their face.

Drew did all the research on Alaska and typed it into the computer all by himself but at the end of the day, most parents help with the final product – a float, created on a wagon, for the parade through the school.  Great job Drew!

Despite the fact that May is crazy and all of us are totally frazzled, I love this parade!  It’s exciting for the entire school, parents, grandparents, etc.  They come into the gym wearing red, white, and blue, singing patriotic songs and showing off their state.  It’s adorable!  Take a look at Drew’s shining moment in this YouTube clip.  He’s supposed to be wearing a beanie hat that had an Alaska patch on the front  but he said he “forgot it on his desk.”  This is totally on purpose, I’m sure of it!  It was only a hat! One girl dressed up head to toe in a prairie outfit pulling a covered wagon!  Now that’s what I call dressing the part!

I’ve heard rumblings that the 50 States Parade is changing going forward because too many of the floats look like they were done solely by adults and not enough work on the part of the students.  Maybe it’s because this guy decided to show off at the end with his Seattle space needle….clearly this was done by his parents!!  Check out the YouTube clip…

I know, it’s super cool and creative but this may have ruined it for the kiddos moving up to 4th grade in the future.  I hope they keep the parade!

Way to go Drew Boo!!  P.S. you would’ve looked adorable in the hat that mysteriously got left on your desk 😉XOXO, Mom