The Frericks Family (of Nashville...): May 2021

Well we did it....we survived the weirdest, hardest, longest school year EVER!

We spent all but 3 weeks of Fall Semester at home doing Virtual school and then we stayed home until Mid-February...but thankfully were able to finish out the year back in person!

It was a hard year with lots of tears, struggles, and a few smiles but we did it and the kids rocked it! Almost all A's for the big kids and the twins did great also!

May also brought us the end to Sullivan's first ever lacrosse season which she loved. We have wrapped up with soccer for the most part and also saw our baseball season come to an end! Now...the big girls just have one tournament in Dallas in June and Thomas has one baseball tournament in town left!!

Quick update on each kid before you enjoy the pictures:

Hudson: School was really hard for her this year. The 4th grade teachers poured on the work and asked the kids to do a lot on their own on top of their regular assignments. During virtual school, Hudson would sit at the table from 9am until 6pm some days. But super proud of her...she was able to tough it out, learn how to ask for help and pulled off straight As when we all thought she may come in strong with all Cs for a little while! She was named to the All-A Honor Roll and won the Presidential Academic Gold Award. She was also named "Most Athletic" by her classmates! Her soccer season ended strongly also. Her team advanced to the State Cup Semi-Finals and lost a tough game 1-2 against a talented team from Memphis. The first time we played them, we lost 1-5 so the improvement was amazing! She also went through her first real Try-Out this year at soccer and was super excited to make the Showcase White Team (2nd team in her age group). This means she gets to make the jump to 11v11 a year early! She has grown a lot in soccer this year and I can't wait to see what next year brings!

Sullivan: Sullivan didn't seem to phased by the virtual school thing. She got a great teacher who understood how difficult virtual school was and really worked with the kids to make it fun, feasible and worthwhile. She also pulled off straight As and had a great year! She played lacrosse for the first time ever and really loved it. She was disappointed that in girls lacrosse you aren't allowed to stick or body check people, but she figured it out and by the end of the season she was able to catch and throw (a feat that didn't come easy when the season first started). Her soccer team had a great season also. They continued to play up a year against boys and finished the league with just 1 loss. They played a great tournament in Atlanta, playing a year up in the top bracket against some BIG physical teams. They got beat up but battled to the end and were able to beat a dirty, physical team in the finals that they had tied the day before!

Thomas: I will start off by saying Virtual kindergarten is not something I would wish upon anyone! Poor Thomas...his first year of real school and he spent almost all of it on a computer in our dining room! That being said...he was a champ! His teachers were all amazing and did everything they could to keep these kids engaged and excited about sitting on a computer for hours a day! He did well at school, all things considered, and finished the year smarter than when he started. He really excelled in Math and is getting better with his reading! His baseball team rocked it this season going undefeated in the regular season and winning the post season tournament! They are so fun to watch and he is really improving every game! May also brings us Thomas' birthday! He is officially SIX years old! I can't believe it! We celebrated with a pool party with neighborhood friends and he had a blast!

Tinsley: Thankfully the twins' school was open in person all year! I don't know what we would have done if they were stuck at home with us all year! Needless to say, Tinsley had a great year! She loved school and all her buddies and teachers. This month she was a trooper, getting dragged to soccer fields and baseball fields or getting stuck at home with a babysitter but she did it all full of sass and hilarious attitude. She is so pumped the pool is open and is already swimming like a fish! She can finally stand in the shallow end and insists on swimming without her float (in the shallow end) and has perfected her front flip into the water!

Conner: Conner also loved school and made so many new friends. So many in fact, that both of the twins have asked to be in different classes next year for the first time!!! He was also such a trooper being dragged around from field to field but in true Conner fashion, was just happy to be included and content to sit with a stick, a race car and a snack! He is loving the pool as well and is becoming a good little swimmer himself!

That is about all for May. Here are some pics of our adventures during the last month of school!