We just got back from a trip to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Camel Beach was definitely rained out (never saw so much rain!), but we had a good time anyway. We met up with one of B's sales reps and he took us on a tour of his TV station. We got to see the control room and meet the owner and president of the station.


We checked into our hotel and the kids spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. It was really beautiful. Then D, the sales rep took us all out for dinner. The kids went in the pool again afterward. Our hotel room had a sliding door that led out into a gorgeous wooded area and after the kids were dried off and dressed for bed I sat outside reading. It was so relaxing.


In the morning we went to the hotel restaurant for our free buffet breakfast. Gotta love free. And of course the kids went in the pool again after that. The drive home was quick (2 hours) and now we're all tired, lol. I'm trying to rest until I go to work later. W has a private dance lesson later on, too.

Speaking of W, this was so cool. Out of the blue, in the car, he said "HEY! I know what 2+2 is! Look! (he held up 4 fingers and separated them in half) And I know that 4+4 is 8. LOOK! LOOK! See?? 4 and 4! Wow!". He spend the next 10 minutes studying his fingers and coming up with other sums and feeling so good that he was figuring something out on his own. It was like something just clicked for him and he was starting to understand how addition works and what it means. I love that B was there to see that. He looked over at me in amazement. I just nodded and smiled.

I finally sent out W's LOI and J's IHIP. I sent them in the same envelope so I hope the sup't knows to look at both and not just shove them together into J's file. Sigh. You know, it's funny, I have been telling more and more people that we're homeschooling and no one even bats an eye. It's almost as if it's actually NORMAL now, lol. My aunt, who I see very rarely and saw at the reunion last week, was very very supportive and bragged about it to her boyfriend. She is a real free spirit - modeled a lot, is an artist, is moving to St. Martin - and I knew she'd be great about it. The rest of my family is supportive, but seems to be keeping an eye on what we're doing. They don't understand the concept of homeschooling so maybe it's just curiosity. Who knows.

So W has been doing different workbooks with me almost every day. He prefers the 1st grade ones, but will being over a preschool or Kindy one every now and then. His reading ability has pretty much stayed the same for months. I know he likes phonics, so I bought him some word cards to play with. It shows short and long vowels, consonants, and beginning and ending blends. I hate calling them "flashcards" because that brings to mind coercive parents drilling facts into their kid's head. W plays games with them, and treats them like any other game.

J has been writing out the times tables as per her grandmother's request. She feels like she forgot a lot of it so she writes them out in a triangle, then the 2 ways of multiplying and 2 ways of dividing. She got another magazine today and has been reading some of the articles and stories. She still prefers that I read to her rather than actually reading it herself, which is fine, but I do wish she enjoyed reading on her own. Will that ever come back?

I took the girls to the mall today. I got K tons of school clothes. I gave in and got some Abercrombie, Hollister, and American Eagle Outfitters stuff. But, I did draw the line at the $92 Juicy Couture hoody and $138 Coach bag. She's kidding me, right? The rest of her clothes/shoes came from Delia's, Macy's, and Kids Foot Locker. J got a couple of Abercrombie tees, an outfit from The Children's Place, and some shirts from Limited Too. And of course I got W a few shirts, too.

Tomorrow I'm going to get this apartment organized (I say that a lot, huh?), and Tuesday-Wednesday we're headed to the Poconos to Camel Beach water park! It's supposed to be cold and rainy, but we'll make the best of it. K starts school Sept. 5th. I can't believe summer's over already.

Yay I can finally post pictures again! I added some to the 3 previous posts.

Today was a great day spent at the NY Hall of Science. We hit every room and almost every exhibit today. And of course my kids' favorite things were anything with mirrors or bubbles. I think I might invest in a monster bubble maker thing for the backyard. We went to the outside playground and they did everything. The favorite there was the spider web and water area. Even K loved it and ran around and climbed and played forgetting that she's usually "too cool" to indulge in such juvenility, lol. The new exhibit there is called "CSI - Crime Scene Insects" and it was awesome! It was a great look into forensic entymology. The kids got a little skeeved out at times, but I think they liked it. The sports area was a hit as usual. The girls were virtually-arm-wrestling kids in other states and we saw a demonstration on center of gravity and another one on lasers. W went up to the demonstrator after it was over and asked so many questions. She let him try out the equipment and everything. J and W made a craft in the Magic Schoolbus center - W made a "magic box" and was so proud of it, he showed it to everyone he saw. I love the workers there. They're so great with the kids. At one point W said, "You know what, Mom? We could come here every day!" I had such a great time with them. I think we spent over 4 hours there today. Here are some pictures!

A big family reunion was held at my mom's this Saturday. When we got there I thought I was going to cry seeing family I haven't seen in years. About 8 or 9 extended family members used to have beach houses (bungalows) in the same community in Long Island and were always together - at the beach all day, having big barbecues, and sitting under the lantern lights having drinks while us kids would play in the dark - catching lightning bugs, hide-and-seek, flashlight tag, etc. My family summered there every year since 1959. Families would "open up" their bungalows in April or early May. They'd go out there every weekend til school was out and then all the moms would be there from June straight through to September. And the dads worked so they came out on the weekends.

Days were spent on the beach, at the natural clay mountain, at the state park, and at the tons of parties always held somewhere. Then one by one in September each family would "close up" for the fall and winter - turning off the water, boarding up the windows, etc. It was always a sad time for me. I never wanted the summers to end. And then over the years as the first generation of our family aged, bungalows were sold, their children moved away, and the best summers in the world now seemed a distant memory.

Seeing so much of my extended family on Saturday was wonderful. We sat and ate and drank and gabbed for hours while the new generation of kids ran around having a great time. It was a fantastic day.

We stayed over and mom, sis, B, and the kids went to the beach all day Sunday. I stayed back, spending more time with my aunt and uncle who flew in from Montana, and another 2nd or 3rd cousin and her husband who came over that day. I was told the tide was low at the beach and they could walk all the way out to a wooden raft that was anchored out a bit. The kids found horseshoe crabs, small pink crabs, mussels, clam shells, and small pretty spiral shells. They swam in the warm water and ate french fries and ice cream from the concession stand. So fun.

We just got back from a 2-day trip to Pennsylvania! Tuesday we spent the whole day at Hershey Park. J and W each grew to the next size requirement and got to go on more rides this year. W got to ride the Comet and J got to ride the Great Bear! My kids can't get enough of those aggressive thrill rides. I love them too and I'm so happy to have them to go with me (B hates them).

We met a sales rep of B's who lives in PA and who provided us with the tickets. We met him in 1995 and have met up with him and his family for the past 4 years for 2 days in PA. His kids are 12, 8, and 6 and my kids had a blast with them. We left the park at around 9:30pm and went for dinner at Applebee's together. I finally got to meet his wife and when she asked about school and I mentioned homeschooling, she said she looked into it as well and even knew all about unschooling! It was great talking with her all day.

After dinner we drove to Lancaster and settled into our hotel room. By this time it was almost midnight and everyone was out cold in about 15 minutes. In the morning we went across the street to Dutch Wonderland for a few hours. They went on a few rides and went in the water area for a little while and we left about 12:30 pm. We left early because I had to be at work at 6, W had his first solo lesson with Ms. S (the studio owner), and the town was closing most of Rte 30 (right outside the amusement park) at 3 because Pres. Bush was going to be 2 doors away speaking at some function. So I'm glad we left when we did.

B dropped me off at work and took the kids to W's first solo lesson. Ms. S is starting him out with 20 minutes at a time and going to try to work up to an hour. She told B that W already picked up what she taught him yesterday and is scheduled again for the same time next week. The girls saw some other kids there and they got to hang out together for a while. Regular dance classes will begin in September. We got a big list of all the new rules and prices and it seem as though things have tripled since last year. Sigh. After breaking everything down into categories (tuition, costumes, private lessons, shoes, tights, accessories, extra choreography, Team Rave, hotels, gas, and fundraising) I'm figuring we'll spend about $10K for K, J, and W this season on dance. Thank goodness I'm working now.

Right now J and W are watercolor painting together on the dining room floor and K is cleaning her room and watching the Movie-Trailer-On-Demand Channel. We're heading out to the supermarket today and maybe a shady spot in the park.

Mom took the girls again this weekend. I think she thinks they're bored here or something. They enjoy going there so I don't mind. Mom's throwing a huge family reunion next Saturday and she's starting the cooking this weekend. The girls helped a lot. They swam in the pool, did lots of food shopping, and just bonded with Mom, Dad, and my sister Ampy (when K was 18 mos, this is how she pronounced my sister's name. It kinda stuck, much to sis's dismay, lol). I'll meet them at the train in the morning where Mom will drop them off on her way to work.

B and I took W to the playground today. This one is about 12 blocks from my house and it's hands down my favorite. I used to take the girls there all the time when they were little. They have the best sprinklers and almost all the park benches are in the shade - there are so many trees. There was a farmers market right along the block, too. We just browsed, though. As usual, W asked lots of great questions about the vegetables.

He made some friends and played tag, water guns, fort, running through the spinklers, filling water balloons, etc. He walks up to anyone - boys and girls from 4 to 12 - he doesn't care, as long as it's someone who's willing to play! He is so outgoing and confident. Many of the other kids start out aloof or even mean and won't let him play. But he doesn't lose faith and knows they'll come around - and they usually do.

We stayed for 3 hours and went and had pizza. He's a perfect gentleman at a restaurant now. He even wanted to wear a collared shirt! He ate 2 slices and was exhausted on the ride home. I spent the evening clearing out J and W's room, and B finally put an air conditioner in there. I am doing some organizing every day so come September they will be able to find anything and everything. I worry about W missing school (even though he really wants to homeschool) so I want to make our home as creatively-friendly as I can (does that make sense? LOL!). Tomorrow I'll try to get to all the books and toys. Today was the clutter and the clothes. Next I'll work on the dining room. I want to make that room really inviting as it's the hub of the house.

Man, this summer's going by fast.

K has been doing her TACHS workbook in dribs and drabs. We do the math part together - she says I explain things in a way she understands. The only thing she needs help with in the English part is punctuation and capitalization. Those questions are very tricky and even I have to look at them twice sometimes.

J's 10th birthday was yesterday. She did pretty well, I must say. We got her an Ipod Nano, my mom got her the Razor cell phone (with 2 snap on covers, a case, and a dangly thing), and MIL gave her pink Heely's and $50. And she's still got more gifts coming. We went out for Japanese food and to see Monster House. P, J's solo coach, emailed to say she's working on song selection for this year and that we're going to get started right after Labor Day. She put a note in saying how proud she was of all J's accomplishments at each competition and that she exceeded most first soloists with the awards she rec'd. She is looking forward to a bigger better year and thanked B and me for our trust in her. I thought it was such a nice thing to say. J can't wait to get started this year - she has major dance withdrawal, LOL.

W is telling me how proud he is to be a homeschooler now. He is so excited about it. I'm planning so much for the kids this year. Without the time conflict of preschool, so much more is open to us. He's been busy this week doing lots of drawing and writing and playing. He is really looking forward to our trip to Hershey Park next week. He's been so helpful to me this week - he put together a new Swiffer stick, opened up a new tablecloth and put it on the table for me, and sprayed and washed the bathroom mirror. He's so cute because he's confident he can really do anything and he gets all manly and cool and asks what else I need done. LOL!

Work has been good. The extra money is so helpful, but seems to just disappear as fast as I get it. I've decided to put 1/2 to 3/4 of my whole paycheck into savings every week. Once September comes, the expenses will start building up again. I figure my paychecks can go to things like dance, K's school, outings, and "field trips". I have to send J's IHIP and W's Letter of Intent soon, too. That's all for W this year though, til he's 6. I have the forms all typed up and ready to go, so I'll mail them next week. Then I won't have to think about paperwork til November's quarterly report.

Life is good.

Yay! The heat wave is finally over. I read a comment in my newspaper from a guy in Arizona shaking his head at us NY'ers for saying several days of 100 degrees was a heat wave. He said that's nothing compared to Arizona heat and he'll send us some cocoa and warm mittens, chuckle chuckle. Well, what the western half of the country doesn't understand is that the humidity in the air is what makes it feel like hell here. No dry air at all. It wreaks havoc on the lungs of asthmatics and can rise one's body temp to over 108 degrees. 10 people died in Queens from the heat. Not a laughing matter.

Anyhoo, all is wonderful on the NY front. The kids have been so busy, I'm starting to really make good money at work, my home has been pretty kept up, and I started eating raw again. Two years ago I went 100% raw vegan for 8 months. I ate only fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds (in hundreds of combinations). It was great. I felt great, I looked great, and I lost weight. Now I'm trying it again. I'm on day 5 already. I'm about 75% raw now. My cooked food is what I normally eat. I'll admit I'm not going raw vegan for any righteous reasons - just so I will look and feel better. I still eat meat and crap sometimes. I plan on easing into as high raw as I can get without going crazy, lol.

W has been reading and reading. He still bring me his workbooks to do with him almost every day, too. J is loving her pre-algebra workbook. She brought it with her to my mom's house last week! I went to Target yesterday and bought out almost the entire back to school section. 24 Crayola crayons = $.20, Elmers Glue = $.20, notebooks, colored pencils, tape, folders, etc etc etc all less than a dollar for a bunch. I saw a cute protractor for J (she always prints one out online) and she loved it - it was bendy and purple. K started doing her TACHS workbook (for the Catholic High School Exam in October). She hasn't touched it all summer until today. A part of me thinks she's just trying to get me to change my mind about her going over a friend's house tomorrow. She knows I don't like this girl, and why she's drawn to her, I'll never know (long story).

Speaking of the girls, they went to mom's work on Friday and slept over. On Saturday, guess where mom took them??? Yup, SHOPPING again. She bought them both a Razor cell phone (with phone plan), new curtains and bedspread for K, and stuff I haven't even seen yet for J. She says it's for J's birthday (Tuesday) and K's confirmation (October). Yeah, whatever. My mom is out of her mind. But, the girls love their phones and have been texting and calling and taking pics of people all day.

Tonight we had a barbecue in the backyard. MIL came over and dh's aunt joined us. I haven't really seen MIL in a while and I was waiting for the disapproving homeschool discussion to begin, but she didn't say a word about it.
The neighbors were out having a bbq too and the kids had a ball playing with their Golden Retreiver, Nana. It was nice. B cooked and made steak fajitas, corn on the cob, and kielbasa, and we had pasta salad, cauliflower salad, mozz and tomato salad, and cupcakes! We have to have more barbecues.

It is 101 degrees outside. It is hazy, hot, and humid with a heat index of 115 degrees. WTF?!?!?

I drove out to my mom's yesterday with the kids. We ate lunch at Friendly's - I used to think that place was great, but the prices went way up and it seems trashier than it used to. The kids played in mom's pool all day. My sister and her kids came over, too. We grilled veggies and pork chops on the barbecue and made some pasta for dinner. Today, mom took the girls to work with her and W and I hung out in the pool. He swims like a pro now - he dives under the water and surfaces 10 feet away, and can dog paddle the whole length of the pool. He can also do a backflip under the water. And he's only had his floaties off for 3 days!

I was also noticing yesterday and today how so well-behaved W is lately. I mean he'll still fight with his sisters and give me lip every now and again, but there's been such a difference since June. He's amazing with other kids - he doesn't whine or act up, he shares great, and he's so considerate. I really do believe that being away from the chaos of school has calmed him and allowed his real self to shine through. He's so awesome. The owner of the dance studio emailed us today saying she's so excited to work with W. She said they'll start with his solo around the 2nd week of August. He can't wait. This is going to be a very cool year!

Not much to blog about. I worked all day Saturday. B took the kids with him to get the car transmission flushed and then to a cast party hosted by our old friends. It was a big barbecue celebrating the last day of their play's run. The kids played horseshoes and got wet with waterguns and a sprinkler. I was going to meet them after work, but it was pretty much over by 6.

B drove out to my mom's today with the kids. I stayed home to get this apartment in shape. I get way more done when no one is around. Mom took them to the beach all day and then they all went in her pool. W was thrilled to learn that he can finally stand with his head above the water - so he didn't need floaties at all today. B had to call and tell me. They got home around 8 and everyone was a gorgeous reddish tan (except B who was really red, lol). Thank goodness the kids got some olive-toned skin from me!

I cleaned the hell out of 3 rooms. I would like to have another 2 days alone, but I'm lucky I got one! I'll do the bathroom tomorrow and the kids and I can work on their bedrooms during the week. I can tell you right now, we're not going anywhere this week with it being above 95 every day. ICK! I think I'll stop at Michael's Craft and pick up a bunch of artsy craftsy stuff to do with them this week.

We took a ride out to a shopping area and spent considerable time in Barnes and Noble book store. All the kids picked out a magazine. W wanted a Captain Underpants book, and since J likes those books, too, I suggested they choose one together and J can read it to W. They both thought that was a great idea (I figured they can both enjoy it together that way). I found cheap workbooks - thick 1st and 6th grade ones. W wants to "do workbook" almost every day, so I think he deserves a fresh new one, lol. J found a "pre-algebra" workbook (that was only $2.75!). K was browsing the teen section, but ultimately just wanted the magazine and nothing else. She's in the middle of 2 books now anyway. I used my B&N educator's discount card and saved about $12! Woohoo!

J started reading the Captain Underpants book to W in the restaurant where we had lunch and then some more in the car. They all read their magazines at home (J-14, Bop, and Nickelodeon, respectively. I get these for them once every 6 months or so. I'm not crazy about them, but they do tend to read many of the stories and keep the posters).

When I got home from work, J brought over the pre-algebra book and asked me to do some with her. She ended up doing 3 pages/over 30 problems on "powers and exponents", "order of operatons", and "evaluating algebraic expressions". I like the way the book is set up. It makes it easy to transfer what J does in the learning log I keep for her. I always have a hard time breaking her activities down into subjects. There's so much overlap. I don't really have to keep the log, but NY is so weird sometimes with the regulations. I send them no detail at all throughout the year - just a course-of-study in the IHIP. But I know other districts expect more. I worry if one of those strict superintendents gets transferred to my district and gives us a hard time. You never know. I also like having the log for my own personal reflection on our year. I love that feeling of amazement looking back at all the things J accomplished all year through unschooling. And it helps having something to show curious (or negative) family and friends.

K joined us in the pre-algebra book, excited to show us the way she learned it in school. I can honestly say that this little sit-down pre-algebra activity was a blast. The kids treat what I consider the schooly educational academic stuff the same as an arts and crafts project, or a board game, or digging in the garden. If its interesting and fun we want to spend lots of time on it! What an awesome way to live.

Now that we're home, I'm finding it so hard to get myself moving. I came down with a terrible head cold and cough and all I see is how much cleaning I need to do. I worked Monday, was off yesterday and worked tonight. I just want to empty out every room, scour it all, and put 1/4 of the things back (with 3/4 of everything thrown out!). I did some today, but it feels so overwhelming.

I was reading someone's blog today and they mentioned MathUSee, which I had looked into some months back. I went to the website and checked out the sample pages. W happened to walk by at that time and said, "can I do that math?", "can you print that out for me to do?", "I want to do that page with you". So I lifted him into my lap and we played around with counting by tens and doing simple addition. Earlier we had done about a dozen pages in his first grade workbook - ending sounds, missing vowels, silent e, and matching games. This was J's old book and he just loves it. He treats it like any other game he has. Today he also had me go over the US president flash cards and play a 1st grade LeapFrog game with him (Madagascar). He played with Play Doh, learned how maps work (along with north, south, east, and west), played games on Disney.com, read "I Like Bugs" and "Caps for Sale" with me, painted a bunch of pictures with watercolors, played waterguns in the bathroom, and started a soap carving. His days are unbelievably productive, aren't they?

J and K also kept pretty busy today. They are much more mellow and relax a lot more than W, but I don't blame them after the long week and long drive we had. K read a lot today and plans on writing to her penpal in Spain tomorrow. J played on the computer, practiced some acrobatics, and watched tapes of when she was little. We all watched a few movies today, all together in my bed. I love the snuggly time. Tomorrow we'll go run some errands (food shopping, Mary Kay delivery, etc), maybe I'll get some cleaning done, and I'll go to work at 6. I'd like to get to Hershey Park in the next few weeks, to the Museum of Natural History (W's been asking to see the dinosaurs again), and to a few library shows. Summer will be over before I know it and soon K will be going back to hell, um, I mean middle school. I want to make the most of the weeks we have left. ;)

Here are some pictures from J's solo.





The week was wonderful. The semi-finalist number was beautiful. Although J didn't win, she said she had such a great time and made so many new friends. One of the boys on her team won Junior Mr. XXXXX 2006, and a girl from the 12 y/o team came in 3rd for Miss XXXXX 2006. That team also was chosen to be televised. J's team won Platinum for their tap number and Gold for their 2 jazz numbers. J was a little disappointed in her solo score. She's excited for next year, though, with new numbers and new competitions.



The kids played together every night and day at the hotel or while rehearsing. One night we has a big rehearsal/pizza party. The pool and hot tub was fun, until it started looking skanky by the last day, lol. We parents enjoyed our time too, having cocktails and gabfests every night til 11pm. My parents took K into town one day and B went to a ball game with a few of the other dads. I'm happy to be home and am looking forward to a relaxing August.

We're leaving first thing in the morning! I think we're all set. I'm so nervous, but I'm sure it's going to be great!

See you all in a week!

The countdown to Nationals has begun. We leave in 4 days. I bought some cute luggage today for us - better than the crappy decade-old duffles we always use. I got 2 big rolling suitcases, 3 smaller ones, 3 totes, and 3 accessory bags all for $100. I'm happy. I think we're all set for the trip. I still need to pick up some snacks and drinks at Costco for the ride and the hotel. J has everything she needs for the semifinalist part: an outfit for the interview, leotard and tights for the audition, and her production costume, accessories, and shoes are all ready. Her 5 studio costumes and shoes are good to go and we have plenty of safety pins, bobby pins, hair elastics, hair spray, extra tights, and sewing stuff. Of course as I type this I'm remembering about a dozen more things I need to buy before Tuesday. Sigh. But the good thing is that this year we'll have the car with us all week (we flew to Orlando last year and didn't have a car) and we can pick up last minute things up there if we need to.

I came across some chemistry sites this morning, printed out a periodic table of elements, and watched short videos on chemistry experiments. This brought J and W right over to watch too. J grabbed the periodic table and started asking what all the letters and numbers mean. I gave a brief explanation about metals, gases, mass, and how they're grouped. The video we watched mentioned several elements and she proceeded to find them in the table. We talked about sodium and others abbreviated using their Latin name and we discussed how they could be used together to form things she recognizes (H2O is water, NaCl is table salt, etc). W was fascinated by the whole thing and listened and asked questions.

W is still loving the readalouds. This week's favorite is "Tikki Tikki Tembo". That's another one I loved as a child. I think I read that to him 3 times today. After work I stopped at Target for some detergent when I saw a big Dylan and Cole Sprouse life story magazine. I knew J would love it and I was right. She started reading it right away. The articles are long and there's lots of them. This is exactly what I was hoping to find for her. It's something I know she will keep a long time and read over and over again.

It was way too hot to go out much today. J was practicing cartwheels, roundoffs, and back-walkovers in the living room a lot. She's trying to master something called "aerials", which is a no-handed cartwheel. I told her to wait til after Nationals please - we don't need any broken limbs or other body parts right now. W joined in for a "dance-off" with J. I jumped in with my own awesome dance skills - which of course blow everyone away thankyouverymuch. As long as I don't dance in front of anyone, J will tolerate it for about 2 minutes. hee hee.

Not that I mean to over-value the academic-type stuff over anything else that takes place in real life, but I can't help being amazed and happy when my kids veer in that direction - which is pretty often. I don't want to treat the math and reading "better" than the Play-Doh house or the game of tag, but I do take joy in seeing learning happening. I don't think I will ever be a true "radical unschooler" unless I can see all of life as having equal value when it comes to learning. Well, I don't know how to do that. I mean, I think everything has value, but things like reading, writing, math, etc. that my kids ask about, find interesting, or take upon themselves to indulge in, just make me giddy.

Like for example, this afternoon, W read me a whole book for the first time. He couldn't believe it and hugged me and felt so proud to really do it. You better believe that beats the pants off this morning's Tom and Jerry cartoon. And this evening, J started talking about angles and before I knew it she was printing out a paper protractor, measuring and identifying angles, and did a series of splits on the floor showing me all types of angles. Before she went to bed, she said she'd like to continue with angles in the morning. WOW! How the hell did THAT happen?

The key is not letting *them* think any interest is more important than another. Putting a value on something can create a fake feeling about it. Too high a value and it can become stressful; too low a value and it can feel pointless. You can crush any spark that could have formed. I just feel that real, lasting learning always stems from something that's fun and interesting and challenging. The most visible example of that for me is the academic stuff. But I am slowly realizing that things I normally think of as being time-wasters are actually incredible learning tools. I mean, this is where a lot of creativity, patience, social ettiquette, and life laws are learned and practiced, and a million questions are formed and ready to be explored. I'm getting it. I'm understanding there's value.

But, yes, I"ll admit I love when I see a simple thought snowball into something that would put any curriculum to shame. I had way too many years of schooling to rid me completely of placing value and importance on what kids find interesting or how they spend their day. But that doesn't mean I want my kids to feel that way. I want them to just enjoy everything in life without unneeded stress or tedium. They can leave all of that to me, lol.

The kids and I walked around Chinatown, Little Italy, and the South Street Seaport today. We took the bus into Manhattan - which took so long that we're not doing that again. I'll stick with the subway from now on, thank you. Chinatown was interesting as usual. We had lunch in one of the restaurants that served regular sounding stuff like sliced chicken in black bean sauce and fried dim sum. But then we saw the not so regular souding stuff like steamed frog and goose intestines. Um, eew. But it's always fun seeing the roasted ducks hanging in the windows, feet and heads all still attached. LOL.
In Little Italy we went up and down the bright streets amazed at just how many restaurants can actually fit in a matter of several blocks. Most of them have tables outside on the sidewalks and no one cares that people are practically bumping into them walking by. I also love the touristy gift shops full of NEW YORK items everywhere you look. I probably look like a tourist myself.

We jumped on the J train down to Fulton Street where we stopped for a bubble tea and a snack. We walked down to the Seaport, past an outdoor mall on a cobblestone street (complete with Gap, Coach, The Body Shop, etc), the Seaport Museum, and the Centre where Bodies-The Exhibition is showing. The Seaport is really beautiful. Pier 16 has a couple of old large sailing ships docked there and Pier 17 has an indoor mall with quaint little stores (like "Purplicious" and "Graffiti") and restaurants. Every floor has a large wraparound outside part so you can take in the river, the boats, and the city.

The train ride home was quick and I got ready for work. Work is unbelievably still great and I love being there. I've already put aside my last paycheck to use in Boston and my next paycheck has my first bunch of bonuses on it - which actually more than doubled the amount (woohoo!) . We get this extra money every 2 weeks. It's nice. It will certainly pay for a Catholic High School for K - since that's the direction she's leaning towards, and cover all the kids' dance expenses. This way, more of B's paycheck can go toward the bills and groceries. It's working out pretty well so far. I couldn't ask for a better place to work.

W had a cool idea yesterday. He wanted to copy the "Jig and Mag" Bob book onto a Word document so he could have the whole story on one page. He typed out the first few pages and them wanted me to do the rest. I asked if he would read me what to type since I can't type and read at the same time ;). So he did and I typed it and printed it. He folded the paper in half, wrote the title on the front and drew a picture of Jig and Mag. He thought it came out great and he's very proud of himself for thinking of it.

His favorite readaloud so far is Caps for Sale. I remember that one when I was little. I asked him if he knew what a "peddler" was, and he said a "seller". I didn't think he knew that. He says he gets sad for the peddler that no one wants to buy any caps. So he decided to add a bit at the end where he walks back into town and sells most of them and gets a lot of money. LOL.

J is still reading Aquamarine. She has been taking it out with her, then forgets to bring it back home so it's never here when she wants it. But I'm happy she has an interest in reading at all. It's been such a long road getting that love-of-learning spark back. It's still not all there, but she's definitely come very far. She's never lost her spark for dancing, though. 6 years of it and she loves it more than ever. Rehearsals are going very well. She's had a couple of private lessons this month and P says she's perfect - except for a bit of sloppiness, but that's not anything a coach can fix. J knows her weaknesses and P even said she's overcome most of them. J really focuses so much more on just having a great time dancing than thinking about technique, winning awards, or qualifying for Title or performance teams. To her, it's all about having fun. I love that about her. I wish I had a fraction of her personality and drive.

K spent the day at her friend's house yesterday. They went to the mall and to the park and K slept over. Her attitude has been so-so lately. I have been reading lots of John Taylor Gatto lately and everything he says about public schools is so true. I see it. And the problems escalate the more years you're there. Sigh. She has changed so much since last year. I worry every day. But I know K has a good head and a good heart and I may need to put forth more effort understanding where she's coming from. I can do that. :)

J had Nationals practice at a local high school. They have a big stage and an excellent sound system. It was just renovated and has huge screens on either side of the stage - we're having our recital there next year. And the show will be shown on the screens at the same time the kids perform it. Awesome. The kids ran all their numbers. I'm glad they're getting lots of practice. Yesterday the owner set up mock interviews for the ones going for Title. J said she was a little nervous, but it was fun.

After B drove me to work, he went back to pick up J at the high school and took the kids for some takeout. He found an Arby's whereby he had to call me to revel in his good luck (lol). I haven't had Arby's in like 20 years and told him he better get me some too!

There was a party tonight at the dance studio for one of our guest choreographers who is going away to California to college. He is an amazing person and it's so sad to see him go. The kids performed for him - lots of Team Rave stuff, he sang with one of the moms, he danced for us, they played big group games, and we all has lots of food and cake. W hung out with the owners son and 2 boys from J's team - they are 9-11 y/o. He doesn't have patience for the other 5-year-old boys. K stayed all night with the 12-year-old team, and J bounced around everywhere, mainly with her team, dancing all night, and so full of energy. We all had a fun time and got home after 11pm.

W is still insatiable with readalouds. We're still averaging at least 10 a day - mostly picture book stories that can be read aloud from cover to cover in about 15 minutes. He loves playing "find the word" at the end of the stories, where I pick a word and he has to find it in the book. He found his old Bob books and after every 3 books I read to him, he'll read me a whole Bob book. I guess he's starting to feel more confident in his reading abilities. He's learning so much with all this reading and listening and finding. He's also writing a lot more. He asks me "how do you spell ____ ", I spell it for him, and he turns it into a card for one of us, lol. And today he played addition games on iknowthat.com. He had to figure out the addition answers quick before the turtle met up with some life-threatening danger. Two problems correct and he saved the turtle. He was quickly answering ones like 5+4 and 2+6. He used his fingers at first, but when a problem repeated he would remember the answer. I thought that was cool. I can't help but be amazed at his enthusiasm and love for learning. And the best part is that life and learning can always be fun like this. Even when he does something difficult and challenging, it's still fun and will help him achieve a goal. And most everything he chooses to learn will be done in context, having meaning for him. I love unschooling.

And here's one of my favorite articles about unschooling:
I LIVE THEREFORE I LEARN

We all went out to Long Island today for a family visit and barbecue. Mom took K and J out shopping for a while (she can't stop spending money on my kids) and W swam in the pool all day. He still needs his floaties, but he doesn't mind. When the girls got back, they spent hours in the pool, too. My sister made the best pasta salad in the world and B barbecued dinner. The neighbors had bottle rockets and Roman candles going off all afternoon. It downpoured for about 10 minutes and then was sunny again - so everyone went back in the pool after dinner. On the drive home I decided to drive us over to a great area right on the East River where we had a pretty nice view of the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. We grabbed a beach chair for W to lie down on and got a good spot. A few dozen others went down there as well, but it wasn't crowded. Cars had the radio simulcast on and it was so cool to see the fireworks somewhat going with the music. We stayed for about 45 minutes. Such a great end to a great day!