Category Archives: Top 10

2nd Grade, Activities & Interests, Baseball, Blue House, Games, Indians, Lulu, Rosie, Swimming, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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Second grade — Part V — edition of the Top 10:

-Playing with Lulu & Rosie, of course.

-Drawing with chalk on the driveway after school with Cassady, Xavier, and TJ (who also lives on Iroquois).

-Bringing the green turtle stuffed animal into school whenever Blue House wins the weekly competition!  Alan says that Noah and Kennedy especially love seeing it and playing with it.

-“Free swim” at Saturday swimming lessons this spring, which usually involves breaking out the fins.

-Lexia sessions.  Alan officially finished all the levels on 5/6/19!  Alan, Gabriella, Madeleine, Alyson, and TJ were the first to get certificates of completion.

-Playing at the Highland Heights Park.  Alan convinced me to climb up to the slide on the 3rd level and slide down with him.  He loves seeing me in agony on the way down. 😉

-Summer baseball.  When we were practicing hitting at our favorite field (Dragga Field at the Mayfield Community Park), Alan told me he’s glad that outdoor sports season is back!

-Attempting to solve a Rubik’s cube.  After we bought one, Alan now knows it’s harder than it looks.

-Ice cream parties.  We bought an ice cream scooper, vanilla ice cream, and cones and we’re ready for ice cream and Indians games this summer.

-Marble run!

2nd Grade, Activities & Interests, Cousins, Creations, Games, Skiing, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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Second grade — Part IV — edition of the Top 10:

-Puzzles with Tata and Jill!  The one pictured was 300 pieces.

-Playing with a parachuting lion & tiger picked up at United Skates during De’Onta’s birthday party and a parachute picked up at the Cavs game back in November.  Tyler and Carleigh have enjoyed them too!

-Throwing [soft] balls down the long hallway at home.

-Skiing at Alpine on Sunday afternoons, even though lessons are over.  Alan’s lessons came with a pass for the whole season, and he often still sees his favorite instructor Jen!

-Making a fort at home.

-Making a fort at Grandma Debbie’s.

-Playing Cribbage — which Alan first learned on the plane to New Orleans in December, then perfected with help from Jill.  He plays on my phone regularly now and taught me how to play.  Below are the results of his first and largest wins.

-Friday nights and Sunday afternoons at the Wildcat Fitness Center.

-Drawing cars and other forms of transportation during indoor recess.  And at home too — especially when making birthday cards for family and friends!

-Learning on the Chromebook at school!

2nd Grade, Activities & Interests, Books, Browns, Christmas, Swimming, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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Second grade – Part III – edition of the Top 10:

-Reading Dog Man books!  After Alan was so excited to buy one of the books at the winter book fair, we ordered the other four books in the series.  They arrived tonight and Alan couldn’t wait to start reading them!  Some are being kept in his reading box at school, and others are being kept at home.

-Decorating the apartment for Christmas.

-Setting NFL match-ups with mini-helmets.  Similar to what Alan did with baseball bats, he’s now pairing up football helmets to reflect weekly match-ups.  He’s learned all the teams this year.

-Finding Elfie every morning.

-Drawing pictures of race cars.  Alan also recently bought “emoji” markers that he took to school to use with Brady to label race cars.  He loves them.  Both the Dog Man books and the new markers are a hit with his classmates!

-Browns games.  Alan has enjoyed following the Browns in addition to Ohio State this season.  The Browns played this past Saturday night against the Broncos in Denver for a special Saturday night game.  Alan followed on Gamecast as we drove from Luke’s house to Grandma Debbie’s.  After the game ended on a Jabrill Peppers 4th-and-10 sack, Alan called me to celebrate.  I loved getting that call from him!

-“Lexia” sessions.  Alan is up to Level 14 now.

-Swimming at the Wildcat Fitness Center.  I’ve been meeting Alan at the pool more frequently lately.

-Christmas crafts!

-Science experiments at school.  Gravity and motion have been two recent subjects.

2nd Grade, Activities & Interests, Baseball, Basketball, Games, Ice Skating, Library, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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Second grade – Part II – edition of the Top 10:

-Sunday visits to the Mayfield Library – for playing and checking out books.

-Collecting on a new weekly allowance of $1!  Alan’s actually gotten to put his NASA wallet to good use holding his dollar bills, library card, McDonald’s card, and photo ID (2018 summer baseball card).

-“Lexia” sessions (online learning for 2nd grade).

-Ice skating lessons at Gilmour.

-Playing basketball on our Ohio State mini-hoop!  Alan sets the phone alarm and we play 3-minute quarters.

-Playing the dreidel game on the computer!

-Building racetracks, airports, and cities on Grandma Debbie’s coffee table.

-Doing crossword puzzles for kids with Tata.

-Constructing & playing, “Mouse Trap.”

-Setting postseason mini bat matchups!

2nd Grade, Activities & Interests, Baseball, Indians, Legos, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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Second grade – Part I – edition of the Top 10:

-Attending Indians games at Progressive Field!

-Batting practice at the Mayfield Community Park and racing Daddy around the bases on every 5th hit.

-The Cleveland National Air Show!

-2nd grade birthday parties at Sky Zone (Noah is up next in October after Grady and Alan!)

-Making Lego and train cities.

-Playing with Tyler and Carleigh Saturday nights at Grandma Debbie’s!

-Following Indians games on Gamecast. 🙂

-Setting mini bat “matchups” of MLB teams every Monday and Friday nights during baseball season.

-Playing cards and “Sorry!”

-Playing badminton and tennis with our new rackets.

1st Grade, Activities & Interests, Basketball, Cavaliers, Playing, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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First grade – Part IV – edition of the Top 10:

-Visiting playgrounds and parks – especially now that the weather is warm!

-Doubling up on batting practice and playground time on Friday nights at the Mayfield Community Park.

-Tracking results of the NBA playoffs on a bracket print-out.  Alan watched some of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals from Grandma Debbie’s on Saturday, including when LeBron made a three to put the Cavs up by 20 on the Celtics.

-Championship races!

-Making forts with Tyler and Carleigh at Grandma Debbie’s!

-Learning baseball team logos using a set of mini batting helmets and the following map:

-Thinking about cars he’d like to buy when he’s older.  Alan currently wants to own a blue Subaru, a red Chevy, and a gray Kia.  He’d also like to buy Grandma Debbie a black Porsche.

-Playing badminton – Alan’s latest new sport

-ABC Countdown at school!  Alan’s really looked forward to each daily activity over the past month.

-Making race tracks on Grandma Debbie’s coffee table every weekend!

1st Grade, Activities & Interests, Alan's Photography, Baseball, Golden Gate Gardens, Little League, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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First grade – Part III – edition of the Top 10:

-Playing MBBL baseball! (Practice kicked off this past Saturday – photo above)

-Texting.  Yes, it’s true.  Particularly with Dad, Mom, Grandma Debbie, and Shane.  Alan loves sending emojis!

-Playing cards with Grandma Debbie, Tyler, and Carleigh

-Hiding rocks in the snow outside the Golden Gate Gardens apartment and creating a “treasure map” to document how to locate them

-Hanging out with friends – Josh, Noah, and Brady in the past few weekends alone

-Championship races on the Super Ultimate Garage racetrack! (still a huge favorite)

-Dancing to Kidz Bop music at school — and later watching the classroom videos that Mrs. Russo posts on Twitter

-Racing cars down our long hallway

-Ice Skating and Swimming

-Building train cities! (photo below)

1st Grade, Activities & Interests, Indians, Top 10, Tribe Fest

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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First grade – Part II – edition of the Top 10:

-Getting balloon animals at Tribe Fest!

-Playing LBJ league basketball

-Championship races on the Super Ultimate Garage racetrack!

-Reading Fenway & Hattie chapters nightly with different family members

-Making new creations with Tinker Toys!

-School parties (followed by Alan & Daddy hangouts at McDonald’s)

-Playing Chutes and Ladders

-Ice Skating and Swimming

-Playing Florida Speedway (Cars 3) with Tyler and Carleigh at Grandma Debbie’s

-Building (and re-building) “3-in-1” Lego sets

1st Grade, Activities & Interests, Creations, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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First grade edition of the Top 10:

-Anything and everything related to Cars 3!

-Saturday nights with Tyler and Carleigh

-The Haunted Hot Rod episode of Mickey and the Roadster Racers

-Swimming at the MHS pool

-Lulu & Rosie…and Lacey too!

-Learning to read

-Collecting Indians, Cavs, Browns, and Buckeyes cars & trucks

-Building with Legos

-Playing Memory Match Game & Go Fish

-Building with Tinker Toys!

Activities & Interests, Top 10, Video

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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New List:

-Rock climbing! (Picture above was taken at the Mayfield Unity Days festival)

-Hitting baseballs and circling a pretend field at the apartment

-Participating in the summer reading program at the library

-Building with Legos at the Lego Store at Beachwood Place

-Watching movies in the theater (he recently saw Finding Dory with Debbie, after they had previously watched Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip)

-Reading the train book we bought in Chicago

-Riding Escalators at Beachwood Place (by himself, with Daddy waiting on the first floor)

-Swimming!

-Celebrating the Cavaliers’ championship!

-Wearing his new PJ Masks green mask

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Bonus videos: Alan’s solar system and homemade tunnel!

Activities & Interests, Top 10, Video

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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New List:

-Typing the numbers 1 through 100 in Microsoft Word (and admiring his work)

-Playing with/kicking a football at the park (as Alan and I wait for baseball season to return)

-Playing PJ Masks at school with Ella and [new student] Joshua

-Building with Legos

–Bike-riding through the neighborhood (thanks to this mild winter!)

-Earning stickers at Chinese class

-Reading the Berenstain Bears Go to School

-Anything related to superheroes

-Weekly Sunday afternoon piano performances for Daddy

-Swimming!

Activities & Interests, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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Alan’s current list of favorite things to do:

-Playing catch with his Ohio State football

-Wearing his Braxton Miller #5 jersey (debuted during Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl!)

-Building with Legos

-Playing bingo with special cards that have pictures of transportation vehicles on them

-Collecting Paw Patrol figures of all sizes

-Reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (he can recite the entire story from memory)

-Babysitting Lulu Belle

-Creating secret handshakes with Daddy

-Playing the piano

-Swimming! (this may never leave this list)

Activities & Interests, Creations, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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Alan’s current list of favorite things to do:

-Sunday routine of hitting baseballs at the Oakville Park and going to McDonald’s

-Collecting buckeyes from a neighborhood buckeye tree

-Building with Tinker Toys

-Playing in his “hideout” (a card table covered by a sheet) in the living room

-Watching his favorite shows, which include PJ Masks, Miles from Tomorrowland, Blaze and the Monster Machines, and Team Umizoomi

-Reading stories before bed

-Going on “adventures” walking Rosie after dark with Grandma Debbie

-Swimming at the Mayfield Heights indoor pool – with a flotation device, but by himself!

-Spelling words with floating letters in the bathtub

-Learning at school and playing tag at recess!

It’s great to be 5.  🙂

Activities & Interests, Top 10

Alan’s Favorite Activities

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Current favorite things to do (in no particular order):

-Riding the escalators at Beachwood Place Mall

-Playing in tents at Dick’s Sporting Goods

-Watching the model train at Mitchell’s Ice Cream

-Playing ‘imaginary ship’ (on his bed)

-Playing ‘imaginary rocket ship’ (on my bed)

-Watching 7D on Disney Junior

-Asking what letters words starts with

-Show-and-tell at school

-Swimming at the Mayfield High School pool

-Hitting baseballs off the tee

It’s good to be 4.  🙂