Adventures of Seamus' Hat: Fair Day

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Fair Day

Dear Josef Hatch - Izabel may need some pointers. No scratch that this is as far as she will go in this sport unless they make it a horseless event or something she can do on her Barbi scooter.

Izabel participated in the Douglas County Fair on Saturday with the 4-H Cloverbud Primary Fair. They had all sorts of activities relating to cowboy history for the kids. Seamus, his hat, and camelback checked out the mini-horse show, the 4-H/FFA horse competitions especially the ones that involved the cattle, and checked out the horse barn. He was a bit disappointed that the barn was full of horses and not cattle.
Then came the waiting. Waiting for Izabel to finish her activities, waiting for the Cloverbud interviews to begin, waiting for Izabel's interview to start, waiting for Izabel's interview to finish. It was crazy. It was crazy to watch the parents frantically trying to finish their kid's (and I mean teenager) photography projects and record books; it was crazy to hear the other parents talking about how late they had been up the night before to finish projects, and crazy to try to figure out where we needed to be and when. Izabel was scheduled for one of the last time slots I think because she is literally the oldest Cloverbud as she graduates next week on her birthday.
The interview went well and they asked her to leave her project so they could keep it on display for the fair. She did entomolgy including making a kill jar, pinning block and net (from a pillowcase). She made a insect collection and we had all sorts of problems finding enough insects for the project. This included Matt chasing swallowtails (the yellow and black butterflies) and dragonflies all week.
As she went to bed she declared that she wants to do cake decorating next year - the one project we would rather skip. These fairs are always on the hottest day of the year which is not good for cakes and their decorations, plus it must be last minute so it is fresh for the judges. Why can't she pick pocket pets, we already have a ferret, or something that will not run to the wire?

Seamus checks out the cattle waiting for their time in the spotlight

Izabel learns about brands - yes she wore her camelback all day too

Creating a brand

Making a horse hat

Matt had the camera

Panning for gold

They decorated cloverleaf cookies

The two of them always with the camelbacks starts to look weird - like they are tapping into the borg collective or, f that was too dorky for you, that they have some kind of mobile IV device (especially when Seamus insist that I carry the pack while he drinks).

Izabel looking in on the girls getting ready to compete

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Virtual Academy???

Izabel is 8 now and attends Colorado Virtual Academy (COVA). It is her 4th year there. She is in 3rd grade but will be in 4th sometime this winter.
What is a virtual academy? It is a charter school (part of the Adams 12 district) that is part of the public school system. We receive all her materials, some of them physically and others on the online school (OLS). As her parents we are her learning coaches and she has a teachers she works with online. She must attend 180 days of school and 968 hours in the year just like all public school children in Colorado, but she can do that at her pace and timing. That means we may cut a day short if it just is not working or we have an activity and make it up later even on the weekends. Because of Izabel's unique situation - ADHD and her abilities in science, math, and art but need for support in language arts and the support with pacing and staying on task (that is as her learning coaches we can be sure she is getting at least what other kids in Colorado are) this form of school is the best option for her right now. Click here to link to COVA.

My Hat

Seamus is on his third hat now. this one is stolen from his mother; it was her hiking hat. Everywhere he goes we now hear, "Where did you get that hat? He looks like an adventurer. No really, where did you get that hat?" The answer is that we have had it so long we cannot remember.

Seamus outgrew his zoo hat but he had 2 of them. My first hat went on hikes - was lost and found by another hiker, then lost and found hanging on a tree on the way back to the trail-head, went to museums, and all over the high plains of Colorado.

Every time I wear my zoo hat someone asks, "Have you been to the zoo today? Your hat says that." No matter what time of day, what I am doing , someone ALWAYS says that exact statement.

Why does the hat go everywhere? Seamus is sensitive to light - part of his Sensory Processing Disorder and cannot stand having the sunlight in his eyes. Reason 2 - Seamus has short hair and doesn't want a sunburn especially at altitude we get a lot of UV - check out the EPA UV index to see if you need a hat (link below). Reason 3 - it is a cool hat that is comfortable.

Adventures of Seamus' Hat

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Fair Day

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Seamus's Reading List

Izabel's Reading List