First Steps to World Domination

Happy Wednesday everyone!

We had snow today, so Troy decided to close the schools, which made for one unhappy Phoebe. Honestly, there wasn't enough to warrant cancellation, but we've had so few snow day the past couple of winters, I think they are jumping at the chance. Now, of course, we will be pounded with some huge storm!

Anyway, Phoebe has received some school recognition lately I thought I would pass along. Last fall, she participated in an after school club that learned about the Stock Market. The club was also part of a larger competition/game where students and teachers competed. Taylor School kids took the top three spots for this region, and Phoebe was #3.

The winners of the Stock Market game!

A couple of weeks ago, the Taylor School held their school level round of the Scripp's Spelling Bee. Phoebe and her friend and classmate Eesha were the final two competitors, beating out all the 5th and 6th graders. We were told they went back and forth for about 30 minutes before Eesha won out. But coming in second is pretty impressive! Phoebe also won the Best Sportsmanship award.

Spelling Bee-ers!

After winter break, the Stock Market club was replaced by One Hen, which is a microfinance site for kids similar to Kiva, I think. Yesterday, she told us that she donated a bead, the form of currency the site uses, to a woman in Ghana, so she could grow grass for her community. That led to a conversation about why that was important to her and her people--at first she thought growing grass was an odd business.

Even with all this going on, we are still reading! And since she has a big book project for school, that will be more front and center, I imagine. Phoebe finished The Phantom Tollbooth, the fourth Sisters Grimm book, Once Upon a Crime, The Castle Corona, a fairy tale-like book, and The Grimm Legacy, which is unrelated to the Sisters Grimm series, and also a stand alone book as far as I can tell. Modern day spins on fairy tales seem to be hot right now--I just wish she was old enough to watch Once Upon a Time and Grimm with me!

Right now she is reading The Black Stallion Returns. We didn't make it too far into Inkheart before she gave up--just couldn't get into it--so now we are reading The Lost Hero, the first book in a different series by Rick Riordan, but many of the characters from the Percy Jackson series are making guest appearances.