Friends

The competition was fun this weekend. J's 3 numbers scored well, but this comp was only an "optional" and mainly for more practice. J had a blast with all her friends. Nothing beats a hotel night or 2 with 10 of your best friends in the whole world. They stick together like glue, these kids, and watch out for each other. B and I got to relax, and K and W loved being with their dance friends there. The pool was great both days, the food was really good, and the venue in the grand ballroom on the hotel's main level was perfect (no travelling!). So, a couple of thumbs up for our first away-competition of the season!

Museum of the City of New York

We went to the Museum of the City of New York today. The homeschool group did an early tour, but it was way too early for us. I met up with a few friends around noon and the kids met some new friends who explored the museum with us. It's a nice place with come cool stuff. The kids loved the 1930s toy display. Wooden hoops, metal roller skates, and homemade go-carts were things I remember playing with in the 1970s, actually, lol. The Broadway costume section was cool. They had outfits from Rent, Beauty and the Beast, and Seussical. J just had to get a picture with the finale hat from A Chorus Line. Some rooms had huge interactive flat computer screens on the wall where the kids could use the "Activepen" to move the cursor. Yeah, I want one of those at home. We also saw a fantastic movie about the history of NYC from 1609 to now. What a history the city has: the Dutch, the English, the immigrants, Ellis Island, the skyscrapers, the finance, the shopping, the fashion, the rich, the poor, the boroughs, the diversity, the place where so much began. We all loved it.

After that, J was dying to wander around Times Square again. She wanted to see the 2009 ball that dropped on New Year's Eve. It was sorta, kinda on the way home, so we went. The kids took a spontaneous picture with Elmo out on the sidewalk and J did something hysterically funny behind a man who was being interviewed for some TV station. We decided to head into the big Toys R Us again for a little while. They played with some electronics, some moon sand, went in the big Barbie Dreamhouse, checked out some of the new Lego creations, watched the animatronic life-sized T-Rex, and got a Super Elastic Bubble Plastic balloon/ball to take home. This toxic goop from the 70s and 80s you stick on the end of a straw and blow to inflate has been revamped. No more lead and acetone, they say. Great. No wonder my generation is missing more brain cells than others.


At the train station in Times Square, J's turnstile locked, causing her to lose her last ride allowed on her metrocard for the day. W and I both had 1 ride left we needed for ourselves and there was no token booth. She asked me what the heck just happened and I was wondering myself, when out of nowhere a woman who was coming out told us not to worry and swiped her card for J to go through. I don't care what anybody says, NYC is the most wonderful place in the world.

We're off to another dance competition tomorrow! This is a nice, easy one - only 3 numbers going out. I like the huge hotel (same one we did last year) and the kids love the pool. We already have the bags and costume trunk packed, and daiquiris ready to blend .

Into the Groove

Now that it's February, I can say we've got our academic mornings in a nice groove. Their schedule each day looks like this:

1. Independent reading
2. Copywork (Poetry)
3. Math (workbook or program)
4. 2 language arts workbooks (3-4 pgs total)
5. 2 or 3 AO readings with narrations (oral and/or written)
6. 1 project (timeline, science, art, etc)
7. 1 weekly subject (composer, artist, nature, Latin, dictation, spelling)

This all takes no more than 2 hours to complete. We also fit in the AO "free readings", trips, homeschool group events, and other activities when we feel like it. W is loving the free Life Science download we found last week. He reads the chapter to me (his idea) and he gets to answer questions, learn new words, and do a project every week. Next to math, that has become his favorite thing to do. And J just got a new penpal - a 12y/o from Texas who is also an avid dancer.

J went to the movies with her friend, S, the other night and I spent that hour-and-a-half in the nearby bookstore. I got whatever AO books we were missing - I figured I might as well since it seems this curriculum is a keeper, plus a few more fun-looking workbooks. With my discount I spent a total of $72. K came with me and we had fun walking around together after that. On Saturday we all got to relax a bit. B put up a couple of our new window blinds and put together our new dining room table. I went to work in the afternoon. Today B took the kids out to my mom's house and I stayed home to get some more cleaning done. I'm still trying to get things organized from the renovation. We're just about done with that, btw. K still needs her new ceiling fan put up, and we need still need handles put on our kitchen cabinets, and a big mirror and pot rack hung.

J's next dance competition is next weekend. It's our first hotel-stay this year and the kids can't wait. The venue is IN our hotel, so that makes things way easy. This is an optional competition, so only 3 of her numbers are going out: her new dance solo and 2 of her new group numbers (tap and contemporary). All the kids will most likely spend much of the time in the pool. I love competition season.

Dance Kid

We just got back from a full day of J's first dance competition of the season. She did 5 numbers: contemporary group, tap group, open group, musical theater solo, and vocal solo. The rankings were high bronze, silver, high silver, gold, and high gold. Her musical theater dance solo scored a gold. Her vocal solo scored a high gold and ranked 3rd solo overall in her level (which included all "middle-level" junior dance and vocal solos - levels are based on years of experience). All her group numbers won high gold (highest ranking given) and one won for best costume. It was an amazing day. I finally saw all the new numbers and was floored by just about all of them.

W hung out with 3 or 4 of his friends (all boys 6-9 years old) and we hardly knew he was there. K sat with her best dance friends and after the junior awards went over another friend's house til about 10pm. My mom drove in from Long Island to watch J's new solos and groups and was crying with me during the singing and while hearing the awards. J's vocal coach has done an amazing job with her. Everyone couldn't belive how much she's grown vocally. She's also grown physically - there's a 4" difference in her from this time last year, putting her at about 5'2" now. It's scary when your kid almost catches up to you in height! K and I are almost even now.

J's set and awards were done by 6:30pm. B went out and got us some dinner and we stayed and watched the older kids compete til about 11pm. J spent the evening with about 10 of her best friends. I love how she's so close with them all. Boys, girls, she considers them all equal best friends (since they were 7). These kids are so wonderful, so supportive, so encouraging, and such real friends, that I'm proud to know them and their families.

J's also been hinting more and more that she would like to go to a performing arts high school. There are a bunch here in NYC, but she knows which 2 she prefers. She'll audition next year and then we'll just see what happens. She realizes she may need to step up the academics to be considered and she's prepared to do that. I'll go along with whatever she chooses. I'm torn on the whole idea, but it's not really up to me. I'll do what I need to to get her where she wants to go. She has one year before the decision has to be made. It's so hard to let go.

Trusting the Process

Last night W was talking about making cinnamon rolls with B and said the following: "We'll probably make 20 at once, in 2 batches, so that's 40 cinnamon rolls. See? I just added the 2s together and the zeros, so I know it's 40. Speaking of math, can we do math now? I'm in the mood for it." So we ended up doing a few math pages in his workbook together. The one thing I love about Charlotte Mason and the AmblesideOnline curriculum is how well it goes hand-in-hand with unschooling. It's such a gentle schedule with fun and interesting readings and activities. They love it so much. I enjoy it with them. And seeing how it really fosters their love of learning is amazing to me. I'll keep at it as long as they keep asking for it.

I so believe that when kids get to choose their educational path (and overall life paths) they are just happier, love learning, and love life. Whether they choose no curriculum, some curriculum, a full curriculum, or a brick and mortar school building, it's the choice, the trust, and the respect that make all the difference in the world. Learning is everywhere and kids take in what they need at that time. If they need more, they seek it (which in turn produces a purer, deeper understanding and overall outcome).

J is choosing to read more on her own now and loves classic literature and poetry. She's making web shows, puts 110% into her dancing, and has more (real) friends and social life than anyone else her age that I know. I don't think she needs scheduled academics in her life, but she prefers to. She's the type who likes to surpass (or at the very least, keep up with) her grade level. Even K, who goes to public school, does well because she chooses to be there and enjoys the game that is school. When she's out with her friends, she knows I trust her to make good decisions - and she hasn't let me down. And then you have W, who wants to know about everything in the world and takes his time with all of it. At almost 8 he's finally decided that reading will actually get him places and so he now reads every day. All subjects fascinate him, but I purposely try not to separate his learning into individual "subjects". It is difficult since this separate-ness tends to be almost everywhere. Thankfully, the AO schedule we printed out is just a list of the readings and we're free to say it's all one big subject if we so choose, lol (although technically it can be broken down if I need to for reporting purposes).

So, yeah. Even though we may not look like an unschooling family from the outside, I will always be an unschooling parent in my heart and in my beliefs - following the philosophy, having the trust and respect, and being the facilitator and provider of what my children choose to have in their lives. All this with no need for coercion, demands, expectations, punishments, or bribes. We live an amazing life.

Now I just need to find others like us, lol...

Yesterday, W went to his monthly book club. The book was "Peppe the Lamplighter", which is about an Italian immigrant family living in downtown NYC. It's a beautiful story with beautiful pictures. The book club had about 5-6 kids and they talked about the book - plot, setting, characters, etc. Then they made a cool project - a big street map of Little Italy. W cut out Peppe's streetlamps and wrote up the map legend. It came out really nice and W had fun with it. I have to give kudos to the mom running it. She's so full of great ideas and knows how to get the kids involved and excited about reading.

Today we went to the Children's Museum of the Arts in Soho. It's a cute little hole-in-the-wall place with so much going on inside! The main floor has different sections set up where kids can just sit and do an art project. J started out at the "still life" area, drawing some fruit that was on the table. W played with a tub of "flubber" and tried doing a self-portrait (a table set up with paper, oil pastels, and tabletop mirrors). Downstairs was set up for "Homeschooler Fridays".
Homeschoolers get a 20% discount on Fridays and have their own classes. Admission is $8 per person or you can get a full year membership for $200 and go anytime. Today they had the first of the weekly claymation classes. About 5 or 6 kids were there, each got their own slab of clay and got to try both the animation and the computer program which takes the pictures and plays the film. I found it fascinating and the instructor taught us a lot. In another room on the lower level there was a drumming class.
The kids bounced back and forth between the 2 rooms. The class was being led by 2 guys who were teaching techniques for bongo-type drums and others, including upside-down milk cartons played with drumsticks. Good music was coming out of there after a while, lol. After more than 2 hours we had to get the train back to Queens for J to make it to dance. It's so great to know that there's a place just for homeschoolers to learn and have fun.

The AO schedule is still working out great for the kids. I have to say, I'm pretty surprised that we've been with it so long. I truly thought the kids would have gotten uninterested in it by now. W is doing so well, that we're just soaring through everything. He learns new concepts and retains so much history and science that it blows my mind. Math is his favorite and he will do 4-5 pages a day in the workbook without prompting. J enjoys the history and literature readings, loves the poetry and dictation exercises, and tolerates math. She seems to prefer the math workbooks rather than the Teaching Textbooks program at the moment. She always did like workbooks - from like 2 years old. No matter what we use we always end up back to the workbooks, lol.

J's first competition is in 9 days! She'll be debuting her brand new dance and vocal solos. She's also in about 6 group numbers - 3 are going out at this comp. B and I are in a costume and rhinestoning frenzy. It's definitely fun, though. The costumes are stunningly beautiful this year, as usual. The first competition of the season is probably my favorite. It's the first time we get to see all the numbers, on stage, in full costume - and I always tend to get all teary-eyed (and not just at my own kid, lol). Dance has been great for her this year. She takes ballet, tap, musical theater, acro, jazz technique, and contemporary. Her voice lessons are once a week and she assistant teaches beginner ballet and tap for 7 year-olds. She loves being so busy. She's even going to check out what volunteer work she can in the area.

B's band is playing on Saturday night in the East Village. I'm trying to see who can watch the kids so I can go. I haven't been to one of his shows in ages. I think the last time was when I was pregnant with J. UGH.

Tenement Museum

Today we went on a fabulous homeschool group trip to the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. 97 Orchard Street is a tenement apartment building built in 1863 and was home to about 7000 families until 1935. These were immigrant families that had come to America through Ellis Island. They came from Russia, Poland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, etc. Our tour today was the 3-room apartment once lived in by the Confino family. An actress portraying Victoria Confino showed us around the apartment, told us all about how life was then, and answered our many questions. She was a Sephardic Jew from Turkey (then it was still the Ottoman Empire) and there were 10 people in her family all living in those 3 rooms. It was so fascinating to see the brilliant use of space and to hear how there was still so much joy even though it was harsh times. The rooms are kept just as they were almost 100 years ago - with many of the same pieces of furniture, cooking utensils, and wallpaper. It was like going back in time. The museum has other tours based on some of the other real families who lived in the building.

We learned how much of the food they ate was bought from the street pushcarts. The Kosher food was bought in the grocery stores. The girls in Victoria's family didn't go to school after 6th ot 7th grade and a husband was chosen for them around the age of 16. Fun was had at the dance halls where Victoria had recently learned the foxtrot and she even played us a record on her victrolla.

I had been meaning to get to the Tenement Museum for years. It was as great as I thought. I think the kids really had fun and I'm sure they learned a lot. W got a book today called "Peppe the Lamplighter" which is about an Italian family who lives in a tenement in Little Italy. It's for his book club next week. I'm so loving this topic because my grandmother was one of 13 kids living in Manhattan around the time of the Depression. Now I have to find out where and how they lived.

Our first day back at the schedule went really really well. J seems happier with her new books. She was much more "into" these readings and gave great narrations. She started the morning with some grammar and math review then we did a few readings together. W is still going strong. He starts with phonics and math and then we do a few readings after that. We started a bit late this morning, so we didn't get to to the timeline stuff we planned. We'll try that tomorrow.

New Year on the Horizon

Christmas was so nice this year. The kids made out like bandits, as usual, and my little sister got engaged! I'm so thrilled about that - now I have to seriously lose some weight. We spent Wednesday and Thursday at my mom's. Wednesday was an hours-long wrap fest. I gotta start getting the presents wrapped much earlier. Wrapping totally sucks. Well, I suck at it. The kids were very happy, though. K's gifts included a beautiful wooden jewelry box, lots of clothes, and a new dresser for her bedroom. J's included CDs, clothes, and a vanity table/bench for her bedroom. W's included some board games, a red Nintendo DS, and a floor chair that his video games plug into and sound comes out of it. The together gift was the Wii. We've never been a family to have a big gaming system (I think the last one we had was the outdated Gamecube and before that the Nintendo NES and Sega Genesis - bought real cheap). But I caved in. It's fun and it gets them up and moving. B and I got a new camcorder - woohoo. I haven't taken any video of my kids in 4 years.

We were planning on staying home for New Year's Eve, but this friggin apartment STILL isn't completely finished. The stove isn't hooked up, no ceiling fans up yet, no where to put sheets, towels, and blankets, no curtains, bare walls, bare light bulbs, no table and chairs. It's beautifully painted, rewired, re-ceilinged, and rewalled, but too bare and cold looking. Maybe we'll go to my mom's again.

J has been losing interest in the AO Yr6 schedule, so we talked about it and she decided to try a lower year to see if that works better for her. She loves the whole curriculum, but Yr6 is a heavy reading load for someone who isn't into reading and isn't used to a schedule like that. We're going to do Yr4 instead, yet still keep the 7/8th-grade level math and grammar/writing. She's definitely a free spirit and spends most of her time doing her own thing - creating, writing, dancing, researching, etc. I often ask her if she'd just rather not have a schedule (I'm still the unschooler at heart), but she insists she wants to keep at it. So I just bought all the Yr4 books she'll need. After looking through some of them, she seems much happier and excited to begin. Fine with me. W, is still enjoying his Yr1 schedule - so much so that he gets everything out that we need before I remind him. He's reading very well now, writes in gorgeous cursive, retains just about all of every story we read, and has so much pride in his work. I'm amazed at the difference in him from just 4 months ago.

W got teased by his cousin on Christmas about his homeschooling. Then he looked at me and said, "WHEN is W going to start going to SCHOOOOOOOOL???". Before I could answer, my mom jumped in with, "W DOES schoolwork, is learning more than what he'd learn in school, AND he gets to SLEEP LATE". Hahahahaha. Go Ma!

Movin' Back In

Merry Christmas everyone!! I am happy to announce that our apartment had it's final coat of paint put on the other day and we can now move back in. After the plastering, taping, and sanding, a new set of guys came to do the paint primer, and 2 coats of paint in 5 rooms. We chose beige for the whole place (I just wasn't in the mood to have a multicolored home again) - satin for 4 rooms and semigloss for the kitchen. We went with "Pecan Sandie" Behr paint, White for all the trim, doors, baseboards, and moldings, and Ultra Pure White for the ceilings. The plasterers didn't cover the floors for some reason so I noticed I have a whole days' work scrubbing splattered plaster and dust off my wood floors. At least the painters were a little more careful. We need to uncover all the furniture, scrub everything down, and bring all the bedlinens to the laundromat. We've gotten rid of a TON of stuff and will probably get rid of a ton more.

We tolerated the week at MIL's. Never felt more unwelcome anywhere, but we survived. The kids got a lot of scheduled academics done and we did a good amount of shopping. We went to my mom's on Dec 23rd after work - so we got there at like midnight. I couldn't do another night at MIL's. Christmas night, we're stopping by MIL's again for a couple of hours, then we're going right home. I can't wait.

After 2 months, the apartment is ready for patching, sheet rock, and plastering. We spent the weekend bringing anything that could be picked up to the basement. The table, chairs, tvs, and computer go down today. The guys will be here first thing tomorrow morning. So, no, we haven't been able to do any Christmas decorating at all. But we did throw out 2 huge leaf bags of stuff. It feels good to get rid of things. I just have to keep looking ahead, and not focus on the taped up holes, dust, and bare light bulbs. We're probably staying with MIL for a few days until it's finished - that should be, um, fun.

The kids seem to be screaming for the structured schedule again. We've been taking it real easy during December, but I think we're ready to hit the books again hard. There's such a weird "antsy-ness" around here when the days don't seem productive - more boredom, more bickering, more impatience (and the kids act up a bit, too! LOL). J's CCD teacher thinks the world of her. Yesterday, she came out and said, "J just told me she is homeschooled. No wonder she's so wonderful! You guys are amazing". That's the second time this week I've been praised for homeschooling. The other day at Costco, a friend's mom I haven't seen in about 15 years told me B and I were "aces" when I mentioned we homeschool. I find it so interesting that over the 4 years I've been at this, the reactions have significantly changed. I used to get mainly stiff smiles, nods, and "huh?"s. Now I get pretty much all raving compliments.

We made beautiful ornaments this weekend. The kids blew up a small balloon and wrapped gluey string around it. After it hung up to dry for a day, they popped the balloon, pulled it out carefully, brushed on another layer of watered-down glue, and sprinkled glitter on it. J made one for her Kris Kringle at dance. W and B decorated a quilt square for cub scouts and the kids made a gingerbread house together. It was our first one and I think they did a really good job.

December reminds me of summertime in a way. We tend to have a lull in the scheduled seatwork and pick it up again with a vengeance the first week of January - just like the first week of September. This week we've just been hanging out, watching Christmas shows, making cookies, and doing a minimal bit of the scheduled academic work. W is still reading lots, learning parts of speech, spelling, doing arithmetic in his head and on the computer, learning to cook, and going to dance, cub scouts, and the Home Depot kids workshop. Today he made a football goalpost, an art easel, and a leaf press. B said it was great and W loved it. They plan on going every month. I'm also thinking of taking the kids back to the art museum every week for the art workshops. I spent some time today revisiting all the free or cheap stuff to do around town and I can't believe how much there is. I take advantage of the fact that we live here and will get to it one day. I guess that's why I didn't visit the Statue of Liberty til I was an adult, lol.

J is reading for her book club, doing lots of computer stuff, going to dance and voice classes, and spending lots of time with her best friends. She does lots of sleepovers and hopefully soon, when this apartment is finally finished, we can reciprocate. So even though we take breaks from the written schedule, they're still learning so much. Actually, I've been noticing lately how many connections they make to everything around them. It's fascinating to witness. W adds and subtracts rapidly in his head, understands hurricanes, reptiles, and loves talking about the history stories we've read. We drove past "Albion Street" one day and he quickly pointed out that Albion was the ruler of ancient Britain. K has been working very hard in school, challenging herself to get nothing less than a B come spring. She's become pretty determined and has high aspirations for herself - lol, and still sleeps til noon on the weekends. Today she went to Manhattan with one of her best friends to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and do lots of window shopping.

It's December 1st. I am excited about this month. 75% of our Christmas shopping is done. I'm doing the Christmas cards this week. B is decorating the outside of the house this weekend. And we have a DVR this year to record all the Holiday shows!!

Thanksgiving was really nice. After work on that Wednesday we all drove out to my mom's. My sister and her bf invited us out to karaoke, so B and I met them there at around 10:30pm. B and I sang about 2 songs each. I used to love karaoke -- 15 years ago. I had fun, but I think I'm past my heyday with it, lol. We got home at around 1:30am. B got up early Thursday to put on the turkey (he had it brining overnight). He also made homemade stuffing, fresh cranberries, and corn casserole. B can cook...really well. Mom made the potatoes, carrots, and green bean casserole (yeah we just had to make that). We ate, had great pies for dessert, and we all crashed early to bed.

Friday, we took the kids ice skating. My other sister (G) and her kids met us there. They are 6 and 8 and W loves when they're there. W was a true pro on the ice, which I think amazed even him since we hadn't gone skating since last year. The girls also had a good time skating. That evening, we all ate the tons of Thanksgiving leftovers.
Mom took the girls to the mall (what a shock, lol), and B took W to see Bolt in 3D. I hung out with my sister (M) and her bf (M) at mom's house - I'll call them M&M from now on. A nice fire was made in the backyard in one of those fire pit things. We all sat around it and drank wine and talked until 2am. The girls came home somewhere around 10 or 11pm, sat with us for a little while, and went to bed. Mom hung out til 2, lol. B and W also got home somewhere in there, came out to say hi, and also hit the hay.

On Saturday we came home, I went to work, and relaxed all evening. The weekend wore me out, lol. On Sunday, B took 6 huge garbage bags full of laundry to the laundromat with W. Our washer/dryer is in the basement and we have no power down there. Yes, we still have one worker here trying to figure out the electrical stuff and in my opinion, is not all that he's cracked up to be. We're in our second MONTH of getting our wiring done and I have no light in my kitchen or power in my basement. Not to mention the 6 or 7 2'x2' holes in every room that have yet to be patched, sheet rocked, and painted. I want to scream.

Also, a week ago, K turned 15. I still have a hard time saying that I have 15-year-old. I was just 15...and it wasn't pretty. She's awesome, though. I see way more responsibility, maturity, and good decision-making than I ever had at that age. We got her Ed Hardy boots (chocolate-colored), my mom got her a new North Face short jacket, and my sister got her the Twilight CD. I was impressed that K's boyfriend got her a Tiffany bracelet (lol, one of K's best friends stated that he has now raised the bar for all boyfriends).

Look at our African Dwarf frog. It was less than 1/3 the size when we got it. It makes me sort of cringe a bit when he extends like this. He's huge and he almost looks like a person.

Book Clubbin'

J and I are now part of a bi-weekly mother-daughter book club. This was an awesome idea created by J's friend, 'A. 4 girls (ages 11-13) and 4 moms are in the group so far. Yesterday was the first meeting and we got folders, the current book, a printout about the author, and cookies! We discussed our new club and the girls each took turns reading parts of the book's prologue and first chapter aloud. The book is The Wish, by the author of Ella Enchanted. J is very excited about this. I am too, since J has had an aversion to reading since 1st grade (she had been an eager, precocious chapter book reader from age 3-6, but after first grade, the interest was gone completely). But since 'A reads voraciously, J has recently warmed up to trying some of the books 'A recommends. J is also now reading Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants and is looking forward to not only discussing the book with 'A, but reading the second book in that series together.

Today, W decided he'd like to be a part of the homeschool group's book club for early readers. W has made an enormous leap forward in his reading. He sat on the couch yesterday with a stack of books (usually around 20 pgs each) and silently read about 4 of them. J was next to him reading her book! This was certainly a picture and I wish I thought of getting my camera. W's book club discussion today was on Hello Harvest Moon, by Ralph Fletcher. W and a few other kids were led by one of the homeschool moms on so many great aspects of that book - lots of who, what, where, when, and why. It lasted about an hour and W said he really liked it and wants to do the next one too. There is also a chess club for homeschoolers there and one of the other moms I was talking to offered piano lessons from her home - 2 of her boys are W's age. I'll see if he would like to do either of those things.

Adding More

After giving the base schedule a good 2 months, we're now ready to start adding in more of the extras on a regular basis. W schedule so far has been daily reading silently, copywork, phonics, math, a sight word workbook, and the AO readings (literature, history, science). Throughout the weeks there has been a smattering of Spanish, nature study, art, artist study, and science experiments. There, of course, has also been a nice amount of trips and homeschool group classes to jazz things up. But he's ready for some more. So we started slowly today by adding some art and written narration. We read an Aesop's fable and after he recited back all he remembered, he drew a picture of and wrote one sentence about his favorite part. We have that notepad with the blank part on top and the handwriting lines on the bottom. He really enjoyed that and would like to do that with all the fables we read. We'll also get more into the life and works of Sandro Botticelli and Johann Sebastian Bach this week. We'll stick with just those for a few weeks and see how it goes.

We also are trying something new this week: spelling word cards. It seems that W prefers to read silently rather than aloud. He says he concentrates better. I can tell he is reading by his adorable intense look and a couple of times in every paragraph he stops and asks me "what does this spell?". So, I started writing down all those words with marker on index cards and taped them to the wall. Now he gets to see them all the time and will read them to me as he passes by them. Then at the end of the week we'll play a fun "spelling test" game. He's up for anything and it's so fun doing this curriculum with him.

Urban rangers at Central Park was great again. This month's topic was "Insects" and the kids learned all about entomology, invertebrates, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches. The park was gorgeous in all the fall colors, too. We followed lots of different trails this time - jumping over small streams and climbing slippery rocks. W found some worms and was the first to want to touch anything gross. Bugs were found under logs and rocks and on trees and leaves. It was a rainy-ish day, but I think that just made it more fun. Interesting things can be found in puddles! I took lots of pictures.





After the class, W decided he felt like going to the American Museum of Natural History. Another mom and her kids joined us and we had a blast. We hit the Hall of Biodiversity, the Hall of Ocean Life (I laid down on the floor under the big blue whale and took a picture, lol), the hall of Planet Earth, the Cosmic Pathway, and a couple of other rooms. W and his friend C loved the computer info screens and running to each amazing exhibit. I think the ocean room was the favorite this time.

Earlier in the week we got together with the homeschool group for the first of a series of activities all about the American Indian. This will be the focus for the next few months. The kids made an "Apache pouch" and listened to info and stories about Native American culture. W enjoyed it. J is getting more selective about the programs she'd like to attend with the homeschool group. She's at the age where she's done many of these things already or is beyond the age range for it. I think I just might start planning some activities for the 11+ age range.

Miquon and Mommy Pride

Ok, so I bit the bullet and bought the Miquon math books for W. He's starting with the blue one. I'm actually very impressed at how it covers math in a different way than we'd always done. He's already jumped from single-digit addition to 4-digits + 4-digits with carrying in only a few days. I like the simplicity of the book's layout and the different colored ink on each page. It just gives it that little bit of flavor to keep things interesting. He's also learned about even and odd numbers. After only a few Miquon pages, he knows so much more than he did before. This week I plan on getting him some manipulatives (Cuisinaire rods, maybe) that are supposed to go well with this program.

J worked on her new dance solo on Friday and it's coming along well. Then she had group tap while I took W to cub scouts. I used the free hour I had to clean out the car since K volunteered B to pick up 4 of her friends the following morning to take them all horseback riding. He didn't mind at all and even dropped the girls home afterwards. Then he drove K to a birthday party at around 12pm. J was already there, having slept over the girl's house the night before. They both said it was really fun. J, her friend (A), and 2 boys put together a band and performed their original song in front of everyone. I called K at just the right time and I got to hear them! It was pretty amazing for a bunch of 11 and 12 y/os. K and J sang a song together too, later on.

Meanwhile, B took W to see Madagascar 2. Everything worked out really well that day. I stayed home and vegged and everyone else was out of the house, getting out of the workers' way. Yeah, they're still here. They're taking their time with the re-wiring. But that part should only take another couple of days. Then the plaster guy comes and fixes all 50-something holes we have in the walls and ceilings. Ugh it looks so bad. There's dust everywhere and ugly garbage bags framed with painters tape over every hole. Eeeww. It's stressful. The apartment is already "cozy" enough without 3 extra men and all our stuff piled into corners. But I know it's going to be all worth it in the end.

B took the kids out to my mom's for the day today. It's better when the men work without us all walking around. But they ended up cancelling today. So, I got to spend the day by myself, cleaning and catching up on a huge pile of laundry. During the week (while the guys are here), the kids and I go downstairs to B's aunt's apartment to get their academics done. That's been a great idea so far. They are both still loving the AmblesideOnline schedule and are eager to get to it most days. It's been fun for me as well.

Oh, remember how W was getting anxious about CCD class because he wasn't confident about reading? Well the teacher told B today that now W is the first to raise his hand to read aloud. I can't believe it. Once again he faced his fear head-on and overcame it. He decided he wanted a lot of extra reading practice all week to get ready. He's amazing. And J came out of her class with a 112% on the huge test they had today. She spent the last 2 days reading and writing out answers to questions, coming to B and me for help, and researching lots of stuff online. She prepared very well for this test on her own without any nagging or threats. She's certainly come a helluva long way since she was in school. She teems with confidence, self-discipline, and so much determination in everything she does. All 3 kids have sent my mommy pride level through the roof lately. :)

K at 30 Rock

K was one of 3 children chosen to represent her school at NBC Studios last night to comment on the election as it unfolded. She arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (yes, the same "30 Rock") around 7pm and she said she was treated like a movie star. They were greeted by the reporters, editors, and producers of the show and brought into a large room full of food. In a different room, the 3 kids were seated on couches and asked questions about their favorite candidates. K said it was like being on a talk show. Afterwards the kids were brought outside into the screaming and cheering crowd and got their pictures taken (lots of people in the crowd wanted their picture too). K said it was amazing and such an awesome experience. Thankfully my mom went with her as I had work and B had to stay with W. Mom had a great time, too. At the end, everyone got a car home - even my mom to Long Island! K got home about 11pm. You can see the show HERE. It's the video dated November 5th. K is the one from her school who speaks in 2 quick shots in the first third of the video. The first shot of her is at about 8:10 on the video counter (she's the girl all the way on the right) and again at 7:34 (outside in the crowd where she says, "It's history in the making"). The first photo is the view outside the window of NBC Studios - the ice skating rink had a huge USA on it and flags all around the plaza. The lower photo is inside at NBC Studios.

Meanwhile, J enjoyed watching the election on tv with me. She even grabbed a looseleaf binder and was writing out the results in a chart. She researched how electoral votes work and was just so excited about the whole thing. J is definintely a note-taker. She does it with books she reads, too.

During the day, the kids and I went to go vote. We were in and out of there in about 5 minutes. No long lines in my neighborhood. The people who signed us in were loving the fact that my kids were being involved in the process. I just can't believe how antiquated the machines are, though. But I don't think NY ever had a problem with them. Then I dropped J off at her friend's house and K, W, and I went shopping for an outfit for K for the show that night. K spent the next hour or so brushing up on her presidential knowledge and W and I went to the playground to play handball for an hour. It was a fun day.

Halloween '08

It was such a gorgeous end of the week. On Halloween it was about 60 degrees outside and the kids really enjoyed trick-or-treating. B took W, J, and J's friend around for a little while. In less than an hour everyone's bags were overflowing with candy. W was an evil jester and J was Frankenstein's daughter. J prefers to make her own costumes now, with a couple of bought accessories. W had a cub scouts party early that evening and all of us had another H party to attend that night. We're thinking about going to the big Halloween parade in Greenwich Village next year.

On Saturday, J had dance and spent the rest of the day at a friend's house, K went to a friend's, and W had a birthday party. I worked, B had his 25th high school reunion, and my evening involved collecting all the kids around town from their various activities. I did get to relax a bit at W's party, hanging out there for a couple of hours and having something to eat.

Sunday was B's birthday and we all headed out to my mom's house to celebrate. The workers are still here all day, every day, so getting out of their way was probably very much appreciated. Both my sisters and the kids' cousins were there, we had a great dinner, cake, and just hung out and had fun. We got home after 9pm to see our whole kitchen (dropped) ceiling ripped out - woohoo! They've so far done all the hole-cutting - 3 in every ceiling, more in each wall - and they've been running the cables all week. The kitchen is the last room. Then the "patchers" come. They are going to patch up every wall and ceiling. It's slow-going, but it will be wonderful when it's done.