I wasn’t sure where to begin with
creating a costume, and it always makes me laugh when someone says, “It’s so
easy to make! You could make one
yourself.” Ummm, no. I have not inherited the same skill of sewing
that my mother has. I did what most mom’s
in my situation would do…I posted it on facebook. Luckily one of my friends from the great
state of Wyoming offered to make Ella a Betsy Ross hat and she had an apron
that she threw in for good measure.
Perfect! Now all we needed was a
flag with 13 stars in a circle.
As fate would have it, we went up
to Philadelphia, PA for Joe’s nephew’s birthday, and while we were there I
mentioned this school project to 2 of Ella’s aunts. They both piped up that Betsy Ross’ house was
just 30 minutes away and it might be a fun stop to make on our way home. Joe was immediately on board and Ella thought
it was a great idea, so before heading home we made our way to downtown Philly
to visit Betsy Ross.
The tour was great! We got to look around the house, pick up a
flag and even meet Betsy Ross (at least an actress playing her). The thing I found most interesting was that
apparently George Washington wanted the stars to be 6 pointed stars. Betsy convinced him that it was easier to
make a 5 pointed star. When he was in
doubt, she asked to show him. She took a
square piece of fabric and folded it up, made one snip with her scissors and
voila…a perfect 5 pointed star.
The day of the event arrived and I
knew Ella was ready. She had recited her
lines for me, she had the perfect outfit, and she had her flag. One of the greatest parts of being a SAHM is
that I get to help with classroom activities, so I arrived at her class 2 hours
early for the program so that I could help set up. It’s times like these when I realize just how
lucky we are to be at Polk Elementary and to have the awesome teacher that we
do!
When I arrived there were 19 chairs
lined up near the front of the room, and at the front of the class was a little
desk. Who was sitting at that desk, you
ask? None other than Joella Gale Murray! Yes, Ella was perched right at the front of
the class because she was the Mistress of Ceremonies for the entire
program! Why does my child leave out
critical details like this when talking about her school programs? Ella introduced the program and laid out the
instructions for the competition the parents would participate in (we had to guess
each of the characters the kids portrayed…I’m embarrassed at how many I didn’t
know), then she would introduce each child before they came to the front to
tell about their person. She did a
fabulous job and I was so proud of her!
She read every word perfectly and spoke clearly. She was confident and poised and didn’t
hesitate one bit!
After the program we had a little
reception with snacks, and by the time we were finished school was over and it
was time to come home. Since daddy wasn’t
able to be there, Metti also came to see the program. She’s so impressed with how far Ella has come
with her confidence. Ella seems to have
gotten the performance gene from her Paw Paw and speaking gene from her
GiGi. Who knows where these 2 gifts will
take her.
I have kept all of Ella’s Betsy
Ross items and will file them away in hopes that some day she can do a more
in-depth project on her.
Yes, I do have pictures to share but I'm in a time crunch right now so those will have to wait. Sorry about that.
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