And the winner of this quarter's Character Counts award for 2nd Grade is... (insert drum roll) ANNA CATE!!  OK, so in actuality, it may not have been that dramatic. But it did contain a few "Yay, Anna Cate" and "Woo-hoo" from her classmates as well as a beaming-like-crazy Mom.

Each quarter at AC's school they focus on a character trait. It is discussed in class and various activities are completed in the classroom that highlight the characteristic. This quarter they completed a lion that was "Roaring with Responsibility" and Responsibility Shields where they drew examples of how they can be responsible with friends, at home, in the lunchroom and in PE. The children also had several journal topics concerning how they can behave responsibly. The last week of the quarter the school had Jungle Jill come visit with over 20 animals and talk about the responsibility it takes to care for the animals and a separate assembly where members of the ASU Women's Basketball Team performed skits for the children concerning responsible behavior.  The finale was the award ceremony and a school-wide pizza party.

When the teacher emailed me to tell me she had chosen AC for this quarter's award, I was so very excited for her. I love going to see her at gymnastics or watching music recitals, but those are talents she has been blessed with. This award signified something more important to me, this was more about who she IS.

She said when she was sitting there, she was thinking, "Oh, I wish it could be me." and then when they called her name she felt surprised and REALLY happy.