Arthur Ashe Stadium

J performed today at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the NY Liberty women's basketball game "Outdoor Classic". They say it's an historic event since it's the very first regular season outdoor pro basketball game ever. I worked an early shift (11-3), got home at 3:20 and got J's makeup and hair done. She had a 5pm call so we left at around 4:15 and picked up her friend (S) on the way. It's nice that the stadium is only 10 minutes away, lol. J met up with the dance group and they were escorted into something like a "green room" - a big area where they wait til it's their turn to go on. The rest of us got to wander around the stadium area where they were having this big "fan fest" with music, games, prizes, and lots of stuff for kids. W got in on this basketball shoot-off game. He was the youngest player out of 16 players - 8 lined up on each side taking turns shooting baskets. Out of 7 tries, W scored 4 baskets. He was high-fiving everyone as he finished his turn each time. His team won 3 in a row. His prize was getting to go over to David Lee of the NY Knicks and get a t-shirt signed. Then he went over to this big inflatable slide while S and I had a blast at the Radio Disney booth. We were answering a bunch of Disney Channel questions and walked away with some prizes.

We went in at 6:30 - right to our luxury box. Again, I highly recommend these. It was beautiful - air conditioned, packed with food and drinks (and beer!), and had it's own bathroom. It led to an outdoor balcony with tables and seats where we had a perfect view of all the action. J's group was finally introduced and they were great! All 4 of the studio dance teams performed. It was so awesome to watch them dance right on the court. (It's still awesome even though J's danced at many major venues - Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Izod Stadium for the NJ Nets, Six Flags, etc). At the peak of the Liberty game, there were 23,000 people in the stands. Probably around 7,000 were there to watch J's pre-game performance - pretty cool. After their performance, one of the Liberty staff members escorted each kid right to their seats! That cleared up any worry about trying to figure out where to meet her after her dance. I love that they did that.

So it turned out that 2 bands were performing there as well - V Factory and Menudo. The girls were so excited. Then as luck would have it, both bands happened to be 3 luxury boxes down from us. They were on their balcony, so I grabbed the girls and we all ran over to them! They were really happy we came over (I don't think anyone else saw them there, lol) and several members of V Factory were talking with the girls and we got some pictures with them. One of them (Nicky) told J he saw her dancing earlier and she was really good. J just about died right there. Nicky got a couple of band photos for the girls and had the rest of the guys sign them.

Right next to them, Menudo was just sitting there and of course the girls went over to them and were like, HI! They were all so nice and chatted with them a bit. I cannot tell you how excited the girls were with all this. S has posters of both V Factory and Menudo on her wall, so she's a huge fan. I actually thought Menudo broke up in the 80s and I've never heard of the other band til like 2 days ago, lol. After the Liberty game (they lost) the girls ran down to courtside. V Factory came out and sang another 2 songs, waving at the girls when they were done and walking off the court. Then Menudo came out and sang like 3 songs. As they walked off the court, the girls were yelling and waving and they waved back and shot them a peace-sign or 2. It was funny that most of the audience left early (I guess they were just there to see the game) so the girls got to get up real close.

As the crowd was shuffling out of the stadium, the girls were getting pictures with each member of V Factory. W was happy to be the cameraman as one by one each band member put his arms around the girls for a picture. Talk about pure preteen heaven! We left right after that and the girls giggled and talked about it the whole ride home. S couldn't wait to call her mom and tell her how amazing this night was. J has been hanging out with S a lot over the last 2 weeks - they've been great friends since they were 2 or 3 and go to CCD together, but haven't really hung out regularly like they do now. I love S and her family and I'm thrilled they're (we're) such good friends after so many years. I didn't want to put S's face in any blog pictures so I uploaded a set I made with her cropped out. But every pic is originally with both girls - that J will cherish forever. J and S are going to the Jonas Brothers concert together, too, next month. Now that band happens to be J's favorite in the world and I know she'll be talking about that one for a long time!

Camel Beach

We just got back from Camel Beach, PA - a cool waterpark we've never been to before. We left early Friday morning and got there in less than 2 hours. It was a perfect day. I'm not particularly a waterpark person, but the big slides were very fun. They had this one called the "Spin Cycle" where you go down this tube slide into this huge bowl and go around and around until you fall into another tube slide that leads out into water.It was like we were flushed down a toilet - so cool. The lazy river is B's favorite, lol. W loved the belly slides and the wave pool. The girls loved everything. One area is called the "Pharoah's Phortress" and it's a ginormous play structure with squirt guns, slides, and water pouring on you wherever you go. We stayed about 5 hours and drove back to our hotel.


After a quick dinner, the kids went in the hotel pool for another couple of hours. The hotel is the Woodlands Inn and Resort in Wilkes Barre and it's so beautiful. The girls had their own room adjoining ours. It was great! We left around 10 this morning and got home a little after noon. I had work at 2, K went to Adventureland with her friend, C, and my mom picked up J to take her out to her house so they can go to the beach tomorrow. J got gorgeous highlights in her hair the other day at the salon. She had her second earring hole done last month and had tips put on her nails a few weeks ago. K also had tips put on and had her blonde "low-lights" redone since the roots were starting to show. Now I think it's my turn to have "stuff done". I so need a mani-pedi.

J's July dance session starts Tuesday. She's having dance withdrawal and can't wait to get started again, lol. The instructor at the circus class called the other day to see if J would be interested in being a part of a show their doing. It was at THIS EVENT in East Hampton, Long Island (check out those ticket prices!!). Russell Simmons asked that a small group of kids from this place perform - and they selected J! Unfortunately, she can't do it, since she's already slotted to perform at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the dance company on the SAME FRIGGIN DAY. But she's happy enough to be performing anywhere, lol. I love how she's so incredibly humble about it all. She never brags and doesn't even really mention the stuff she does to her friends...
...I guess, then, it has to be my job! Blogs rock! :P

Honestly? Not much exciting is going on around here. W has his weekly (soon to be 3x/week) football practice and a birthday party coming up. J is doing camp in the evenings this week and spends the days with friends. K is also out with friends almost every day and went to a Mets game last night. I'm still getting this apartment organized - I'm down to the last bit of clutter and now I just have to make a big list of all the stuff to buy (mirrors, french doors, paint, stacking tables, etc). Work is going very well. I was one of 9 selected for this new initiative project. Sounds cool. And we're taking the kids to a water park this weekend.

I just received the last package of books for AO. Many of the books are free online, many of them I bought used, and a few I bought new. For both kids I spent a total of $147 on books. We went over the schedule and it all looks good. So, we're all ready to start. I'll have a sit-down with J and W and find out how they'd like to go about the whole thing. I'd like them to lead the way with it or the academics they enjoy will end up turning into a chore. We hit the Staples one-cent sale the other day too. 16 pencils ($.02), 10 folders ($.10), 2 small bottles of Purell ($.02), two 1" binders ($.50), and two 1/2" binders ($.50). Soon Target has it's back to school sale - which I LOVE and we can get tons of notebooks, crayons, glue, paper, pens, and other supplies. I'm hoping for a really interesting, fun, year.

J's Schedule

Would you believe that 2 days after we went to the Hall of Science, W asked to go again? I told him we'd go again next month.

J had her last dance class for the 1st summer session and has 2 weeks off until the 2nd summer session. She's been joined at the hip to her friend, A, and is never home. They were swimming yesterday in the pool and today will be at the beach. They're still doing well with their juice (water and cookie) stand, too.

Here's the AO Year 6 layout for J this year:

Science
Scheduled reading:
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
School of the Woods by William J. Long
The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson
Secrets of the Universe by Paul Fleischer
Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Cwiklik
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
Galileo and the Magic Numbers by Sidney Rosen

With a focus on crops, flowerless plants, fish, astronomy, amphibians, and reptiles. Will also include nature study, nature notebook, readalouds, sketching, painting, observations, collections, experiments, and projects.
Will also include field trips to various science museums, attractions, and events.

English
Literature:
Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Iliad by Homer
or Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff
or Tales of Troy
A Shakespeare Play
One Life from Plutarch
Poetry: Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Alfred Noyes

Additional reading:
The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth Speare
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott
The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
Call of the Wild by Jack London
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Penrod by Booth Tarkington
Little Brother of the Bear by William J. Long
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Blue Willow, by Doris Gates
Miracles on Maple Hill, by Virginia Sorensen
Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse
Jungle Pilot: The Life and Witness of Nate Saint, Martyred Missionary to Ecuador by Russel T. Hitt
The Von Trapp Family Singers by Maria Von Trapp
God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew
Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Will include copywork from various sources (Classic literature, Bible, Poetry), oral and written narrations, weekly dictation exercises, and foreign language: Spanish and Latin. Grammar work will include Spectrum and Bridge workbooks and various websites.

Mathematics
Will primarily use the Teaching Textbooks Math 7 and PreAlgebra programs.
Will also include consumer math, mental math, banking, budgeting, entrepreneurship, and hands-on calculations in context.

History and Geography
Will include:
The Story of Mankind by Hendrick Van Loon
The Story of the World Vol 4 by Susan Wise Bauer
What Everyone Should Know About the 20th Century by Charles Phillips
Augustus Caesar’s World by Genevieve Foster
Story of the Greeks by H.A. Guerber
Story of the Romans by H.A. Guerber
Missionary Travels by David Livingstone

Will also include the creation and continuous updating of a wall timeline and a Book of Centuries, projects, map work, and field trips to various ethnic and historic neighborhoods, history museums, attractions, and events.

Visual Arts
Will include: Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes

Plus various art tools including: watercolor, acrylic, and tempera paints, charcoals, colored pencils, sculpting clay, pencils, canvasses, crayons, felt, chalk, oil pastels.
Methods: still life, nature sketching, sculpting, painting, collages, holiday crafts, photography, and computer graphics.
Artist study will include Botticelli (bio. works, etc)
Will also include field trips to various art museums, attractions, and events.

Music
Will include wide exposure to all forms of music, with emphasis on traditional, folk, and classical music and composers. Will also include unstructured piano, recorder, and guitar practice.
Composer study will include Bach, Baroque

Physical Education
Will include participation in structured group dance classes (6-12 hrs/week Year-round), Weekly circus arts classes (Sep to May), and free indoor and outdoor play.

Health
Continued discussions, reading, websites, and projects.

Hall of Science again yesterday. Yeah, we can't get enough of that place. It was great because a lot of homeschool moms met up there and I got to meet a bunch of new people. Most of the kids were W's age, so he got to hang out and play with new and old friends. They had the new Magic exhibit which was really cool. Here's some pics (The Body-less Head, the Levitating Chair, and the regular exhibits like The Green Screen, How Fast is Your Baseball?, and The Rock Climbing Wall):

















Ok, so I finally received all the books for the new Ambleside year we're gonna have. It feels weird to actually follow a set schedule with set books, but I'm game for anything. I wrote everything out that we're planning. It's written out in a way I can keep track. This one is for W. Are you ready? Ok, take a look at this:

Science
Scheduled readings and research will include these books:

Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
The Burgess Seashore Book for Children b Thornton Burgess

And a focus on mammals, birds, and wildflowers. Will also include nature study, nature notebook, readalouds, sketching, painting, observations, collections, experiments, and projects.
The year will also include field trips to various science museums, attractions, and events.

Language Arts
Phonics work will include the Total Reading Grade 2 workbook
Poetry (readalouds, memorization, copywork) will be from:

A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne
When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne

Scheduled readalouds with oral narrations will be from:

The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb
Parables from Nature
The Blue Fairy Book
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Additional reading will include:

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
King of the Golden River by John Ruskin
Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Fairy Books by Andrew Lang

Also will include scheduled copywork from various sources (Classic lit, Bible, Poetry), weekly spelling tests, typing, handwriting, and foreign language: Spanish and Latin.

Mathematics
Will include the Total Math Grade 2 workbook.
Will also include consumer math, banking, budgeting, use of manipulatives, and hands-on calculations in context.

Social Studies
U.S. and World History will include Patriotism and these books:

Our Island Story
Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
Viking Tales

History Biography will include these books:

Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire
George Washington by Ingri D'Aulaire
Buffalo Bill by Ingri D'Aulaire

Geography will include these books:

Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
Tree in the Trail

The year will also include the creation and continuous updating of a wall timeline, projects, and field trips to various ethnic and historic neighborhoods, history museums, attractions, and events.

Visual Arts
Will include Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes

Plus various art tools including: watercolor, acrylic, and tempera paints, charcoals, colored pencils, sculpting clay, pencils, canvasses, crayons, felt, chalk, oil pastels.

Methods include: still life, nature sketching, sculpting, painting, collages, holiday crafts, photography, and computer graphics.

Handicrafts will include: sewing, knitting, soap carving, finger weaving, and various Cub Scout activities.

The year will also include several field trips to various art museums, attractions, and events.

Music
This year will include wide exposure to all forms of music, with emphasis on traditional, folk, and classical music and composers. Unstructured piano, recorder, and guitar practice.

Physical Education
Will include participation in weekly/semi-weekly youth tackle football (May to December), weekly basketball clinic (February to April), weekly circus arts classes (Sept to May), and free indoor and outdoor play.

Health
Continued discussions, reading, websites, and projects including: Personal cleanliness* Dental hygiene* Basic food groups * Communicable diseases* Preventive measures against disease* Neighborhood safety.

Am I out of my mind? Maybe. The kids are so ready. Me? Not so sure. I bought all the books used (1 cent, 3 cents, eighty cents, etc). It sure looks good on paper. J's is even more cool looking. I'll post hers next time. We'll be starting this very soon - maybe this week. Tomorrow B is taking the kids out to my mom's and I'll be home all by myself to finish moving furniture and getting this place back together after losing a living room and creating 2 more bedrooms. Once we're up and running again (and dh's dresser is out of the durn dining room, lol) we'll have the area to do tablework, an uncluttered couch for readalouds, and the kids can relax and read in privacy in their own bedrooms. I'm curious how this year will pan out. We'll see.

We had an easy relaxing week. I've been planning and replanning how we're going to rearrange this apartment into 4 bedrooms. I think I got it now and I'm actually starting the moving and cleaning today. There is still a bunch of things we need to buy (blinds, mirrors, doors, chairs, a bed, a couch, and paint) but we'll get those as we can - a couple of things a month maybe. I think we're all going to love how this turns out.

K completed 2 regents exams already. One more on Tuesday and she gets 2 months and 2 weeks outta there. It so unbelievable how school changes kids. Well, at least they get every summer to de-stress and find themselves again. I've always loved summer for that reason. I'm already planning lots of family stuff to do.

J has been hanging out with her friend A almost every day. They are still running their "snack shop" and making some good money. The other day they decided to take some of that money ($50) and get their second ear piercing and a few other things from Claire's. J's dance studio did a cancer "Relay for Life" fundraiser on Saturday. She did 2 group numbers and just hung out and picnic'd with friends the rest of the evening. The big, grassy park was the perfect place to get her back handsprings down pat.

W had a good time at the fundraiser. He has 4 regular 7/8 y/o friends from the dance studio - 1 is a dancer and 3 are other little brothers. They played tag and football and got their faces painted.

After football yesterday, B took W to the playground. J had slept over A's house so K and I had the house to ourselves. It was the perfect opportunity to clean and move furniture! I filled about 3 bags of garbage, took apart a breakfast nook bench, found clothes everywhere and made a huge pile, swept an mopped every exposed floor area, and rearranged a bunch of stuff. The dining room is now the dining-living room. It has a table and chairs, couch, TV, coat closet, pantry, china cabinet, and art center (which I'm transferring to the china cabinet today). K was a huge help. B and W got home around 3 and by 4pm B decided to take the kids to see Kung Fu Panda. I was very appreciative of that since I do my best rearranging with no one underfoot. It looks awsome, btw. The old living room is now 2 bedrooms - one for each girl. Large armoires (one facing each of them) are the room divider and the beds are in.

Today I need to transfer the girls clothes into the armoires, the art shelving into the china cabinet, the empty art shelving into the kitchen, the fish tank to K's room, the books to new bookcases, our homeschool books into the china cabinet, and 2 boxes of videotapes to the basement. Then the girls can decorate their rooms the ay they want to. The china cabinet is huge and I've always felt it was too big for the apartment. After 15 minutes of is being a display case (with storage underneath), it will now be used to house some of our homeschool and art supplies with the pretty display stuff (Hummels, crystal, chinaware, Precious Moments, and certain memories) right in the middle. I'm still thinking about how things should look.

All W

B, K, and I watched W at football practice on Sunday. We brought our fold-out chairs and relaxed with coffee and rolls on the grass. I loved every minute of it. The boys started with a lap around the park, jumping jacks, and running exercises. Then the 10-11 y/os went one way to practice and the 6-9 y/os went the other way. W's group started with the tackling dummies. The coach is a great instructor and I can see W has a lot of respect for him already. Listening and following directions are a must - and a lot of these kids are learning that the hard way. W got a lot of praise for his tackling - lots of high-5s and "YES!s". B was impressed with W's form, too. I'm sure B won't miss any of W's practices. In the above video, W is the kid in the middle with the white shirt - you can see the coach clapping for him at the end, lol. The last 1/2 hour was spent with the boys learning their first play. They put W as tight-end and they ran a few plays like that. I'm curious how the kids are going to do with equipment on. Of course my first thought was how cute W's going to look and wondering what kind of photo package I can get, lol. After practice we picked up J (who's singing solos with her friend A in the church choir) and headed out to my parent's house for Father's Day.

J spent the day yesterday at A's house, and W and I went to the Hall of Science. It's one of his favorite places in the world and he asks to go very often. Thank God we get in free (and live 5 minutes away) or we wouldn't go so much. He had a blast, as usual, making sure we hit every floor and every section. We only caught one demo (laser light) since we got there so late. But we do it on purpose to avoid the deluge of unruly school kids. We did run into a few kids who were just loud and obnoxious - W came right over to me and said, "See? This is why I choose not to go to school". I LOL'd and was thankful about that as well. Here are some pics:



W ended up getting 2 patches at the cub scout awards ceremony last week - one for the parade and one for fishing. He got a birthday party invitation from one of the kids and a bunch of them are already planning summer playdates. It's nice that one of his new friends lives right up the block from us. I might look into other summer activities for him if he's interested, too. The kids will be doing a lot of CM activites over the summer to ease gently into Ambleside's Years 1 and 6 come September. We've already got the whole thing planned and they're very eager to get to it. So the summer will have lots of readalouds, nature studies, a bit of copywork writing, listening to more classical music, visiting more museums, doing more art projects, and J will continue with her math program. I'm happy that they're happy with it. I'm still getting used to the heavier emphasis on academics - they still need to prod me into action most mornings, lol. But I'll get there. I do think we're in for a terrific summer.

Today was the last day of the kids' circus class for the season. They loved it so we're thinking about signing up again in the fall. The did a lot of cool things today. First, they walked in, crawled in, and glided along the outside of the huge hamster wheel. This looked like a lot of fun and I wanted to jump in there with them. Then they did tricks on the big circus ring. The instructor was inspired by the Circus of the Stars that was on last night and had them hang, swing, and spin on it. Finally it was trapeze time and they did some cool tricks on that and flipped off of it onto the mat. It was sad to see it end already. The instructor came up to me at the end of class and mentioned that she thinks J would be great in their kids company. I asked about it and she said the kids practice every Friday afternoon and get to perform often. She also said it's only for kids who are "selected". J just looked at me with her jaw on the floor. She couldn't believe she was actually selected for this team of kids. They know she has a heavy dance schedule but they want us to consider it anyway.

J was also excited to be a part of "ballet 2" and soon "acro 2" in the summer dance intensive. These are the highest levels and she really wanted to be in those. She's starting vocal training next week, too. She'll be trying out the new coach we found to see if they "connect" at all. She seems pretty set on the song she'll be competing with next season and we just need to copy what we downloaded onto a CD and have it cut to under 3 minutes. So next season, in addition to the 5 or 6 group numbers she'll be in, she'll have 2 dance solos (if we carry over one), a dance duet, and a vocal solo for competition.

W has football practice every Sunday morning during the summer. He's getting his uniform and equipment next week, too. The coach said they ease the kids into getting used to all the heavy gear. They start out with just helmets and move forward from there. I had a nice conversation with the coach today. I called to get the summer schedule and found out he played for this team himself starting at age 9 and continued throughout his teens. He played football in high school and college and went semi-pro. By that time he'd started a family and was still working full-time and after a few years he knew his family was more important and put football away for a while. I'm glad W's got him. He's awesome with the kids and really knows what he's doing. W gets a cub scout patch tomorrow at their awards meeting. That's it for scouting for the summer. It picks up again in September. And W is asking to take tap dance lessons over the summer. His friend is in the little dance company and W wants to learn to tap like him, lol. I'll see if we can swing that for him.

And my darling teenager is thrilled that her last day of school is Monday. Then it's just 3 Regents exams and she's out for the summer. She's been keeping busy at friends' houses, street fairs, movies, shopping, etc. Typical teen stuff. I'm not sure what she want to do during the summer - probably more of the same, lol. She did express interest in taking musical theater again in the fall at the dance studio. I'm glad. She is great at that kind of thing, but doesn't like to commit to anything long-term. She's the kind of kid who has tried everything (gymnastics, dance, aikido, violin, drama, cheerleading, cooking class), loses interest after a while, and wants to move on to the next fun thing. She's definitely a free spirit.

Camping and Recital

B and W went camping this weekend with the cub scouts. They left Friday night with duffles, sleeping bags, fishing poles, first aid kit, bug spray, sunscreen, and anxiety. This happened to be the first time camping for both of them. They ended up having an awesome time. W loved making up his "bed" with the sleeping bag. They fished all Saturday morning - W caught a 5" something or other and was really proud. They spent the afternoon learning to shoot a bow and arrow and playing dodge ball. That night after dinner, they found sticks and roasted marshmallows. B loved how they ran things. W got to run around all weekend with friends (B said it's funny how alike most 7- and 8-year-old boys are) and learned a lot about responsibility from the leaders. He was expected to pick up after himself, follow strict rules, and help clean up areas as a group. He did a fantastic job with no complaints. He actually likes when things are expected of him, having responsibilities, and knowing what's coming next. That could be one of the reasons why he likes having schedules at home (he's become a pro at knowing what day of the week it is and what is planned that day). I was a bit nervous at this whole cub scout thing. He missed the whole year - only showing up for 2 meetings, a parade, and a camping trip. But he has made friends, loves the leaders, and enjoys everything about it so far. B and I think the leaders are all great, everything is super-organized and well-run, and the group is really active. And this Friday he gets his very first patch.

The boys got home Sunday morning in time to shower and get to J's dance recital on time. I spent the weekend going over 12 costumes, a million accessories, 6 pairs of shoes, and summoning my dad to zip over to the dance shop for stirrup tights and a pair of foot-undeez. A full rac-n-roll trunk and 2 garment bags later, we were ready. The recital went beautifully. J had a few back-to-back costume changes (one had to be done in the wings of the stage!) but she was a true pro at it. I, on the other hand, am the one backstage with her, peeling things off and throwing things on her, constantly worrying about how much time we have. She loves it and takes it all in stride, though. She led Kindergarteners through 2 of their numbers while standing in "the pit". She was listed in the program as "Assistant Teacher" and that made me teary-eyed. 3 1/2 hours later (she had been in 10 numbers - each with a different look, from undergarments to earrings and hair) it was over. I packed everything up, J washed up, we met up with the whole family who came to see her, and then headed over to the after-recital party for a great dinner and lots of drinks.

All the kids went outside on the block to hang out, make up games, and run around with each other. They only came in to eat, grab a drink, and check in with the parents. The adults schmoozed, reminisced about the great year we had, and what the summer and fall have in store for us. It was a great party and a great ending to a fabulous weekend.

NYC Playground

A New York City playground is one of the best places in the world. And it's pure heaven for a 7-year-old boy. I love going to the one around the corner from us. You'll see the same 5 or 6 kids/parents there on a regular basis but there's always new kids to meet whenever you go. Today W and I stopped by on our way home from dropping J off at dance. He didn't recognize anyone right away and just walked around a bit, looking for a group of kids his age. That's what W does. He looks for and then joins in any group, making new friends all the time. So today, as soon as he starts looking around he hears "Hey Boy! Wanna play freeze-tag with us?" That led to a great game of tag that went on for over an hour. I really enjoyed watching them. The kids are ALL different colors and languages and none of them could care less. The playground is this exemplary microcosm of culture and tolerance and living in the moment. W learns so many good things. Last week at a different playground W was "it" during another game of tag. This game had more older, faster kids and W was having a hard time tagging anyone. After a few minutes, I happened to see one of the kids purposely let W tag him so W would have a chance to run away. I thought that was such a nice thing to do. Today, W saw that the kid who was "it" wasn't able to catch anyone. W walked right up to him and let himself get tagged. He told me later he knows it doesn't feel good to be the slow kid and he just wanted to help him out. Pay it forward, baby!

Football

W had his first football practice yesterday. He'll start in the 5-7 group this year where he'll learn all the basics of football and get used to the training. There were about 10 kids in his group - most of them 7 y/o. They started with jumping jacks and laps around the park. Then they learned proper "stances" and the coaches threw the ball around to them a bit. After that, they practiced ramming into tackling dummies. It was great to watch. W said that was his favorite thing - which I so knew would be, lol. They also did other drills, like knee-up running, relay races, obstacle running, and agility on the running ropes. The coaches are akin to drill sergeants - they are very no-nonsense yet really treat the kids with maturity and respect. W likes that and responds very well to it. It was rough, it was tough, it was disciplined, and best of all it was incredibly fun for him and he cannot wait to do it again!

We had such a nice week. Wednesday we went to our homeschool group's geography club. The country was South Africa and the kids did oral presentations on various subjects. J joined up with her friend ("A" - her co-entrepreneur with the juice stand) and did a presentation on native languages. W did his on typical food. We listened to some great ones, too. And the potluck South Africa-themed lunch was really fun. I decided it's safer that I don't cook, so we stopped on the way over and picked up some pineapple-coconut ice cream for everyone.

Thursday the kids had their weekly circus class. J has almost perfected back- and front flips. I can see W has gotten way more coordinated over the months as well. I'm sure what he has learned in this class will help him in football - which starts this Sunday! There are 2 more circus classes this season and then we'll see if we want to do it all again in September.

Today was an awesome homeschool group trip to the Covanta Energy-from-Waste facility in Long Island. It was for older kids so I dropped J (and A) off and took W to the nearby park. I gave J my camera and she took some cool pictures of the facility. The kids got a tour around the place and saw huge holding areas of garbage and learned about the whole process.



After that, I took all the kids for a bite to eat and dropped all of them off at the Improv class at the library. This was the last class and the parents got to sit in and watch. They played a bunch of games, learning about stage presence, direction, getting various scenes across using only pantomime, working off each other, and using tons of imagination. That was over at 5 and we drove W out to Cub Scouts for his 5:30 meeting. He had the best time. He has already made some friends and is really looking forward to the big Fishing Derby camping trip next weekend. B is excited to go, too, and has started making lists of what they should bring. Tonight's meeting was all about the trip - the boys made a paper plate fish craft and got a bunch of info sheets on identifying different fish. I left W there and dropped J off at dance (which is only a few blocks from Cub Scouts - yes, I planned it that way, lol). There's only one more week before the recital and then it's the Summer Intensive. B is in the recital parent number and will be there with J until about 9:30pm.

The kids want to continue with the scheduled academics over the summer. I spent a lot of time going over various websites and the final consensus was a loose combination of AmblesideOnline (years 6 and 1) and Mater Amabilis (years 3 and 1B). The book lists are fabulous and the lesson plans they have are great to use as a guide for the day. J is excited that yesterday we finally bought Tom Sawyer. She also picked out the next Summer Bridge book (7th-8th grade). She's always loved those from when we first started homeschooling. They're just a bright, colorful, hodge-podge of activities to do. W's just happy keeping busy with anything, lol. He likes writing and math a lot. I see a big difference in the kids when we spend at least an hour on academics. Their whole day is a lot more focused and they seem to get along better, too. It's interesting.

Parade

W marched in a local Memorial Day parade today! He was really excited to meet up with his new cub scout friends again. We met in front of the meeting hall at around noon and walked over to the parade area. The boys got lollipops, American flags, and lined up behind the older boy scouts with the big banner. I love parades. I was especially moved today watching all the veterans. They walked, they marched, they were in wheelchairs or on floats. The parade-goers all clapped and yelled out "Thank You" as they went by. They did this for the current military men and women, too. W's group walked with their heads high and showed their pride the whole quarter-mile down the avenue. One thing I notice about some of the towns in Queens is that they have a great sense of community and a real small-town feel to them. I love that. NY Senator Charles Schumer marched with us as well. He kept saying "Thanks for remembering!". That made me teary, too. I think US veterans should be put on a pedestal. To spend years of your life protecting and fighting for our country deserves so much respect and thanks. I'm grateful to all of them.

We bought a new computer today - I couldn't stand the HP we had. We bought a Dell and so far I'm loving it. I played around a lot today, getting the connections working, transferring files, and getting a feel for this Windows Vista. One thing I did was go over the kids' new schedules. They seem to have a lot on their plates. We'll be starting this week and will just have to tweak it as we go along. I know they're ambitious and determined, but we'll see how much actually gets checked off. I'll be posting about the academic stuff several times a week. It certainly makes it easy for me to write up the district paperwork that way. We'll be utilizing the libraries and bookstores a lot. The next book on J's list is Tom Sawyer. I'm pretty sure W will love that one, too.

In keeping with the kids' decision to have scheduled academics on weekday mornings, we sat together this week and pulled great stuff from a few different websites that focus mainly on Charlotte Mason. It's been working really well so far and they want to continue with the great readalouds, narrations, copywork, nature study, art, history timeline, dictation, and artist/composer studies. And they also want to keep doing their favorite workbooks, J's math program, science experiments, crafts, homeschool co-ops, field trips, and W's spelling tests (he loves those). I have also found some awesome booklists of classics I think they'll love. It's just so amazing to me how much fun they have with it all. J especially, can't get enough. She's like a sponge for learning new things. I'm so grateful that homeschooling brought that back to her.

Any schedule we make is really only guideline for us, and we don't always get everything done that's on our list. And that's totally okay. I love the days they spend being creative and engrossed in their own artwork or game they made up. It's fun and stress-free to follow their lead and see what the day holds. Even if we follwed the schedule to the letter, I don't think it would take more than 3 hours. The entire rest of the day is a free, unscheduled cornucopia of whatever they choose. Both kids got the painting bug again and are currently into acrylics on canvas and paper. Can life get any better?

Dance this week has been all about the recital coming up next month. J's in about 10 numbers (including her vocal solo) and they're still learning stuff like the finale and opening numbers. On Wednesday we went to a class at a nearby environmental center with the homeschool group. The topic for both groups was insects and there must have been about 40 kids total. I organized it and had 2 classes running at the same time - one for ages 6-9 (about 15 kids) and another for ages 10-13 (about 25 kids). It seemed everyone enjoyed it and even got to take home a butterfly larvae. We're putting ours in one of our old, small fishtanks where it'll hang from the top and hopefuly soon turn into a butterfly. Thursday was the circus class. They're still loving it and both want to continue with it next year. J is also begging for violin lessons, but she'll already have dance, circus, voice, and sewing (plus homeschool clubs, competitions and fundraisers for dance, and volunteering somewhere). Right now, the kids are at the comedy/improv workshop (next week is the last week, and it was free). It must be nice to have all this energy, lol.

W will be doing hip-hop dance, cub scouts, and football. Football starts next week and I think he's so ready for their "Peanut" league. This Sunday is a cub scout parade. Dance starts up again in September. Thankfully most of the kids' activities won't break the bank (yet). I'm all for letting them trying whatever piques their interest. I think it's great they have so much to choose from in this city.

W's first Cub Scout meeting was pretty cool. He liked it so we might do the last few activities for the season and then re-up in September. There were a lot of kids there who seem to be divided by age groups (or school grades). He was nervous not knowing anyone, but fit in the mix well and made a couple of friends already. They're having a year-end parade and party this coming Sunday and a weekend camping trip at the beginning of June. It looks fun and this group is really active, so we'll see how it goes.

J had her final competition of the season this weekend. She did her 3 solos and 1 group number on Saturday and 2 group numbers on Sunday. They didn't do all their groups, as this was an optional competition and there was a girl missing. Again she did so great and was happy to finish out the season on a really high note. There were about 15 studios there. Her scores were:

Jazz Solo: Extreme Gold, Special Award - "Fabulous Faces"
Musical Theater Solo (categorized as "Open" in other comps): Extreme Gold (2nd place overall out of a top 10 - our studio took the top 4 places)
Vocal Solo: Extreme Gold
Small Group, Jazz: Platinum (1st place overall - out of a top 10 - and highest scoring group number of the day, and the XCaliber Award $300, so each child gets $50)
Line, Tap: Platinum
Large Group, Jazz: Extreme Platinum and 1st Place overall

K was at her friend's house all day Saturday and joined us on Sunday morning to cheer J on at the competition's second day. After her 2 groups, I brought J back to the dance studio to have headshots taken. B took W and K to CCD where it was the last day of classes until September. They met us back at the studio at around 1 and we drove out to my sister's house for my nephew's First Communion party. It rained most of the day, but we all had a great time. We got home around 8pm and B and the kids transferred our goldfish and water frog into a larger tank. We had to take the bullfrog tadpole out the other day because he grew some front legs seemingly overnight and now he needs less water and a place to climb out on. The tadpole has been fascinating for the kids (and me). Every day it changes more. We can't wait to see how big of a frog it becomes. Pretty cool entertainment for less than 2 bucks, lol!

This week the kids have been busy at friend's houses, circus class, the playground, and running errands with me. J and her friend A are still running their juice stand - and still doing pretty well at it. W got a RipStik on Sunday from my mom. She bought it for him for Christmas, but we both thought it looked too big for him. A friend of his has one and W really liked it, so mom decided why not let him have it (she never did return it to the store, lol). So he's been practicing all week on it. J likes it a lot and picked it up quickly. It's kind of like an inline skateboard that can twist to propel you forward. It's weird, yet cool. It comes with a carrying case you sling over your back and W has been bringing it everywhere. He's also been helping me with the garden (he's a great weed-puller) and riding his bike.

Circus class is going very well. The kids are learning front and back handsprings, using the ring, the trapeze, the trampoline, and doing lots of tumbles and flips. It's a great workout and sometimes I just want to jump in there and do it too! There's still another month of classes.

W expressed interest in becoming a Cub Scout, so I called around and found a pack that meets on Fridays (when I'm off) and fit's in with our schedules. There's only 2 meetings left for the school year, but W was invited to join in now anyway. They have 4 Eagle Scouts this year. So if kids are sticking it out, it must be a good group. We'll see. It's after the acting class they have tomorrow, so I think we'll make it.

K's school year is winding down. Next week is "spirit week" and she's looking forward to it. Every day next week has some fun theme to it. On Memorial Day weekend she's going to a dance club for teens with all her friends and the school has some big trip planned for June. I'm just looking forward to her last day of the year.

J's last competition for the season is this weekend. Her solos are on Saturday afternoon with awards at 9pm and groups are on Sunday morning. She's doing all 3 of her solos (2 dance and 1 vocal). This one is close to home and she's so excited. Then the recital is June 8th and then the summer session starts. J is an assistant teacher to 5 y/os on Tuesdays. For the recital she will be in the pit in front of the stage directing the kids during their dance. The studio owner emailed me today saying things like: she did a terrific job, she was so impressed, she loved how the kids reacted to her, it made her smile, J is a teacher at heart, and she wanted to let us know it didn't go unnoticed. B and I both had tears in our eyes reading that. I had no idea J was doing all of that with the kids. I did notice how she was so mature and confident at the recital rehearsal last week and really knew what she was doing. I'm always proud of her no matter what, but it was extremely touching that she was recognized and appreciated for it. :)

Boy On a Bike

W is finally up and on a 2-wheeler like a pro. Last fall we knew he needed a new bike and let him practice on his sister's old one to get the hang of it. It was painfully small - and had a flat tire - but he rode it 50 feet. Then he fell over and decided he wasn't crazy about bike riding. We found a gorgeous bike for him on Craigslist for $40. It is big (more for like a 9-10 y/o) but I figured he'd do ok. But even with the seat down all the way, he still couldn't touch the ground with his feet, so we left the bike in the garage until the other day.

We went out in the backyard to play some basketball and I suggested he try sitting on his bike to see if he's grown taller. His toes reached the ground! He wanted to practice back and forth in the backyard and after an initial push-off, he did it! He wanted to try it at the park around the corner (which has a much bigger paved area) so off we went. He put on his helmet, swung his leg over, I gave him a push and he rode all over the park, turning, slowing down, speeding back up, using the hand brakes, and being brave enough to ride one-handed. Stopping without toppling over took a couple more tries, but he got it. He lets the bike tip to the side and lands flat on one foot now without missing a beat.

He is shocked that he got the hang of it the first time (I am too, actually). He loves the wind in his face and darting in and out of the skateboarders. He's now asking to ride every day. I love that the perfect riding spot is right around the corner - safe, big, and open. Yay W!

The kids and I went to the zoo,... um, Queens Wildlife Center today. We planned on hitting the Hall of Science, but afer we watched to 137th schoolbus file into their parking lot, we rethought that idea. It was such a nice day out and walking around outside was definitely more doable. We go there every year or so, but the kids seemed so excited about it today as if the were seeing everything for the first time. W loved the hidden code information circles (where you put your red card over it to read the info). The animals were all out and walking around. I guess morning is probably the best time to go. They really liked the aviary, where the birds flew right next to you. We saw South American parakeets (beautiful green), egrets, a turkey vulture, porcupine, and lots of others.

At the pond we saw 2 of these:



And that was very timely since we're still reading Trumpet of the Swan. And lots of other animals:






We then headed over to the petting zoo (now called the Children's Farm). I guess they're trying to make these sound more animal friendly or something. After that the kids took a ride on the carousel. It's a great park. I want to take the kids back there with their bikes soon.

Ok, so as if the kids aren't busy enough, J reminded me on Friday morning about the free improvisation-comedy-drama workshop (for ages 10-14) that was at 4pm that day. Sheesh. I did forget, actually. But she and her friend (A) signed up for it and both were dying to go. I drove her over there, she got settled in, we met the worman running the class (a "real" actress, so they say), and went off with W to the run some errands. W and I returned after like 10 minutes and hung around the place when one of the workers there said that there's some more room in the class and W is welcome to join them. What? "Um, he's only 7". "Oh, that's fine". And off he went, happy to get to do this too.

Now I knew J wouldn't be too keen on her little brother being in there with her, but it worked out well. When they came out she said he was hamming it up a bit and told weird jokes. W said he loved the class and only told jokes because the instructor asked him to (which she did). After a few minutes the instructor found us upstairs to return W's jacket and I mentioned that W might be to young for this class and I'm not sure if it's a good fit for him. She said (almost whispering) that W was "really good at it" and "was truly the best boy in the class" and "so adorable". Ok, so maybe this might be his thing. He wants to do the entire 4 weeks - fine with me (and you can't beat free). J promised to be a little more tolerant next time, lol. The instructor also told me that we should look into the kids theater group she runs in Manhattan for J. That was a nice offer I thought.

Today the kids performed in their circus show! It was originally scheduled for April 25, but we were busy that weekend and they were nice enough to reschedule it for us. They did really great! They did a 15 minute routine during the big 2-hour show. The place was packed! I didn't think there'd be such a turnout. The 6 homeschooled acrobats had the audience cheering and clapping and on their feet. It was so friggin cool. A (very) famous tennis player was sitting near us in the audience. That was cool too. :)

In other news, I found a place near us that gives private hour-long voice lessons for a great price. J didn't really connect with the girl from last year so we've been on the lookout for something else. She'll be doing a new vocal solo for next year's competition season and wants to start lessons at least by August. I think we hit paydirt. I need Tuesday early afternoons and they have that timeslot available. I prefer around the same hourly rate I was paying last year and they charge less. J prefers someone youngish - their teacher is young (mid-30s). J needs someone who knows Broadway - their teacher specializes in Broadway. I need something close by - this place is 1.97 miles and 6 minutes away (according to mapquest). Is this meant to be? We shall see.

On Sunday the kids had their CCD class. They've missed 3 weeks in a row due to us being at the circus and 2 competitions. It seems to be ok though. K taught the 6th grade class for the day. I know it was a big job (there are some rowdy ones in there), but K handled them well. In the afternoon we all went to a big party for our (hs) friend's 2 daughters - one made her Confirmation and one made her First Holy Communion. It was a lot of fun, with a big sit-down Italian dinner, a DJ, dance floor, and tons of kids.

On Monday we all pitched in and cleaned up the house. Tuesday the kids did a lot of table work from their schedules and I did a couple of readalouds. J had dance at 4, where they're putting the final touches into some recital numbers. They're also tightening up their company routines for the upcoming competition.

On Wednesday we met up with the new homschool group for a book quilting discussion.. The kids are going to eventually make a big quilt and every square will be of the kids' own creation based on their favorite book. The big kids (10 of them ages 8-11) went into a separate room to work on their ideas. The little kids (9 of them ages 3-8) discussed their favorite books, read us some books, and enjoyed some play time. After that, some of us went to get pizza and then returned to the library for an awesome class on making Andean pan flutes. This was a free class given by the library and we were invited to join in. The instructor was an amazing flute player and has been giving these classes for over 20 years. He got down to the basics and showed the kids how to cut the reeds to size, what kind of musical scale is generally used in these flutes, and how to put it all together. He even played us a few tunes. Everyone got a hacksaw (!) and sawed away at the reeds. Then sanded it down flat and got it ready for stringing. It was really cool and the kids loved it!






J went over a friend's house after that class. K met up with friends after school and just hung out all day. She gets out early on Wednesdays and has a few hours to herself. The kids meet up at a nearby juice bar or snack place usually. Ah, to be a teen again.

Thursday was the circus class. They rehearsed their routine mostly for their show on Sunday. The adult group is a profesional bunch of acrobats who do weekend shows every spring. All the kids classes get to show themselves off during one of the professional shows. J and W's class has theirs in 2 days. B, K, and I are going and my mom is driving in to see it as well. It looks so cool. After that I'm going to meet up with my homeschool mom friends for a Mom's Night Out. I'm really looking forward to that!

When we left the circus class we headed over to a pretty little park for a May Day celebration. One of the moms (S) made a really awesome may pole and the kids were so excited to ribbon the pole down to the bottom. We all brought picnic stuff and had a great lunch on the grass. It was a gorgeous day. The boys went off to play baseball while the girls made flower wreaths for their hair. S brought a few bouquets to cut the flowers off of and showed the girls how to string them into a crown. I was impressed at how they came out. When it was may pole time, the girls (and a boy or 2) grabbed a ribbon and interweaved themselves around each other in a alternating circles to create a braid of ribbon down the pole. It wasn't perfect, but they certainly tried really hard and I know they had a blast. They were at it for a while, trying new dances and attracting a bit of an audience, lol.