First Dance Competition!

We all spent the weekend out in Jersey for J's first dance competition!  As usual, the first is always my favorite, as we get to see all the number on stage with full costume.  J was in 8 numbers and received all Gold and Ultimate Gold awards, which are the two highest given.  J was thrilled when Diane Gudat (a prominent figure in the competitive dance world and who writes books and articles on dance) called her up for a special award for her solo.  She praised J's intensity and she went on for a good minute about it.  I was so proud.

The hotel was lousy, the days were long, and I left there feeling like I'd run a marathon.  But I wouldn't trade it for the world.  My daughter shines on stage.  Her studio owner pointed out how beautiful her lines have become, how much she has grown as a dancer, and that she was definitely meant to do this. 

K spent the 2 mornings doing everyone's hair.  She definitely has a knack for getting it just right.  Moms were even slipping her money to ensure they were one of the first done the next morning, lol.  W enjoyed hanging out with the other boys his age there - one a performer, one a twin brother.  The grounds were nice and grassy, so the boys got to run around outside.  

Next one is in a few weeks!

Piano, Film, & Phonics

W's music class this past week was all about the piano.  The kids got a basic introduction to it.  They talked about different types of pianos.  They learned about chords and melody and Beethoven and Mozart.  W was lukewarm about the piano, just like he was about the violin.  I'm waiting to see what will capture his interest.  He's looking forward to the next class.  Not sure what instrument is next, but he's excited.

Today at film class, W learned more about editing.  The kids went to the playground across the street and filmed some more of their movie.

The updated version

I found a new workbook that I absolutely love.  It's called "Word Study & Phonics" by Spectrum.  I had it in my closet from when J was in 3rd grade. She didn't like it then because it was too plain looking and too easy for her - even though it is a 4th grade book.  But it's exactly what W prefers.  It's on his grade level and the fact that it's plain makes it all the better for him.  The exercises seem to exactly focus on what he struggles with regarding his dyslexia.  To him, the words "these" & "those" look the same, "for" is still "of", and "want", "went", and "what" are so confusing.  The workbook had him read a sentence like:  "We all (chase, chose) a topic for our report."  It makes him look inside the word and distinguish between vowels.  There are all different types of exercises where you have to stop and really think about and look at words.  This is already so helpful for him.   Oh and he enjoys it so much, he does 2-3 exercises in one sitting.

Charlotte Mason

Every now and then, I like to take a "refresher course" on the Charlotte Mason method.  We have always incorporated some CM into our homeschooling ever since 2005.  I feel like I know all there is to know about it, but when we fall into a regular routine, sometimes key things get neglected.  My favorite place to start is right on the Ambleside Online website.  I just pull up the page for beginners and read everything in order, clicking on all the links and reading those pages through as well.  Doing this reminds me why I love Charlotte Mason.  It also gives me new ideas for when we hit different stages of learning.  We do things differently with W now than we did 2 years ago. 

I have been neglecting things like artist study, composer study, nature study, Spanish, timelines, - even copywork sometimes.  The funny thing is that we love those activities, but pushed them to the side, being in such a hurry to get through AO Year 2.  The problem with trying to rush through this curriculum, is that it defeats the purpose of the whole CM method.  I'm promising to now make time for these no matter what. 


Reading Charlotte Mason's Original Home Schooling Series lays out her whole philosophy.  It's a great idea to read this to understand the hows and whys of the method and how she implemented it in her own schoolroom.  She believed that children were so capable.  She believed learning should be very child-led, but also parent-guided.  "Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life" is one of her mottos. This means that,  1.  A child absorbs a lot from his home environment,  2.  It's important for your child to cultivate good habits,  and 3. We should give children living thoughts and ideas, not just dry facts.  The other quote always associated with Charlotte Mason is "I am, I can, I ought, I will".  It seems so wonderfully unschooly to me and is what my kids always innately believed about themselves.  I like this explanation from the Simply Charlotte Mason site:  ["I am" means that we can know ourselves and understand what we're really like. "I ought" means that we have a moral judge inside us. We feel like we're subject to it. It lets us know what our duty is and compels us to do it. "I can" means that we know we have the ability to do what we know we're supposed to. "I will" means that we resolve to use the ability we know we have to do what our inner moral judge has urged us to do.]  

I also love to google "Charlotte Mason" and read various websites and blogs and discussion boards for any new ideas or suggestions.  But mainly I like to be reminded of how much we love homeschooling and living this way.

Some of the other things I'm reminded of are that: 

• Reading through books slowly over a few months makes them so much more enjoyable.  
• Good literature and an incredibly gentle entrance into writing and composition are things that W responds so well to. 
• W went from a first-grade reading level (and having 25 out of 26 symptoms of dyslexia) when he was 8 to now being able to read a book with  "RL 6.2" on the back, silently and quickly with full comprehension (and enjoyment).
• W doesn't want to part with most of the books we finish
• There are so many ways to correspond an art project with any reading
• Having short lessons and afternoons free allows us to do so many classes & field trips and for W to pursue his interests.  And he has lots of interests, lol.
• Living books are so much cooler than textbooks
• Narrating after reading shows so much more of what they got from the story than any test could show  - plus it seems to create fuller and lengthier retention of info.
• Getting outside every day is really needed, no matter the weather
• I love the word "handicrafts".  :)

Violin, Friends, & Fun

W started a 7 week series of music classes yesterday in Brooklyn.  Every week he and a few other kids get to try one new instrument for an hour.  The first instrument the kids got to try was the violin. The instructor gave them a brief overview on how to read notes, what strings are what notes, how to hold the bow, how to position the violin under the chin, and how to play a few notes in sequence.  I watched a little bit of it at the end and was proud of how W gave it his all.  He looked adorable with the violin.  Then the moms got to try it!  W said the violin was ok, but he wouldn't want to continue with it.  So onto a different instrument next week!

No one in my family plays an instrument.  K did some violin and clarinet in middle school and she has a guitar that she tinkers on.  Piano keyboard was a regular class in J's gifted school (2nd & 3rd grades).  I can play a few things on the piano by ear and all of us sing.  Nothing really substantial, though.   I'm excited for these classes because W may find something he'll want to stick with.  He's looking forward to trying out more instruments.

After the music class, we enjoyed a fun few hours at a nearby Chuck E Cheese. We haven't been to one of those in years and W had a great time.  He and a friend payed tons of games, ate pizza, and sat together sharing Pokemon cards and playing Pokemon on the DS.   When we got home (remind me not to drive to Brooklyn anymore.  The train would have been much easier, lol) I picked up the rest of the family and W's friend Matt, who lives next door, to go bowling!  We did a "Family Bowl" which is $78 for 6 people, shoe rental, pizza, pitcher of soda, and 2 games of bowling.  Great price.

Today, K is working, J has dance, then both girls are hanging out with friends into the nighttime.  B & W are going upstate for a birthday party and I'm working at 5:30pm.  My work schedule is changing next week and I'll have both weekend days off!  I can't wait.

Film Class, Birthday, Reading

W went to his film class yesterday in the Lower East Side.  This time they learned all about editing.  The kids (6 boys, ages 10-12) broke up into 2 groups and filmed some scenes a few weeks ago based on their own ideas for a story.  They took that footage and learned how to add music, fade in and out, add lighting effects, cut pieces out, and more.  We moms came back just in time to see the 2 films.  I was impressed with their acting!  I also loved how the instructors asked the kids questions on their feelings about the movies, what they liked, and what they didn't like.  It was fun hearing them be film critics. 

After the class a bunch of us went to the playground for a while.  We got home around 6pm and ordered Japanese food in honor of W's 10th birthday.  It's his favorite.  Everyone was home around 9pm and we did cake and presents.  Due to all our busy schedules, we decided to do our usual birthday outing on Friday evening.  W decided he really wants to go bowling with all 5 of us.  I can't believe my youngest baby has hit the double-digits. 

Today we hit the books again.  Like I said before, I'm no longer in a rush to finish AO Yr2.  It's a lot more comfortable taking our time with it and allowing for all the time we need for field trips, classes and other outings.  We have about 9 weeks left in the schedule.  We're up to Lesson 63 in TT5 - starting division.  I know most math programs start with basic division, but I know W.  He is more of a "big picture first" kind of kid.  So, I gave him a brief overview of what basic division is (recapping from our Times Tales days a couple of years ago) and how to do fact families.  Then we did some with the division box and some with fractions.  After that, I went right into long division.  To me, it's easier to bring that in early, show him how it's done, let him do a few problems (with and without remainders), and then go back to basic division, working our way quickly back up to long division.  It worked.  He understands it and actually thinks it's fun (for now, lol).

We also read some of Joan of Arc & Seabird (with oral narrations), learned about subject and predicate in Spelling Skills, he wrote out a few lines from a Christina Rossetti poem for copywork, and he read 2 pages from A Cricket in Times Square.  He's doing well with that book so far.  I purposely made "Read to Me" part of our homeschool schedule since W does have mild dyslexia and I'd like to keep tabs on his progress.  His reading aloud is ok, not great, but he gets through it.  He's been asking to just read the 2 pages to himself instead, but I was reluctant since his "Read to Me" is full of skipped words, backtracking, and confused looks.  But I figured we could give it a shot.  He read silently on Monday and today.  Both times I would then read those pages myself and ask him to tell me back what he just read.  Would you believe that not only did he have full comprehension, but he was narrating back almost verbatim?  It blew my mind.  He even stopped to ask me what "scornfully" meant (he knew that word??).  I guess I should listen to him more often, huh? 

Stonewall & Streams

 

  On Tuesday we went to our usual homeschool get-together at the pool hall in the West Village.  There's so many kids there his age and there's so many things to play.  Afterwards we went across the street to a small "park" where all the kids played tag, Nerf war, cops & robbers, and relay racing.  It was a gorgeous day out.  Right next to us was the infamous Stonewall Inn and in the park were life-sized statues of gay couples.  It seems to be a big tourist attraction.  The kids were climbing all over them while people were trying to take pictures, lol. 

Yesterday W and I went out to the Garvies Point Museum for a really nice class on stream erosion.  It was basically all about how streams are formed, why they curve, how they shape the land and move the sediment, deltas, alluvial fans, etc.  The instructor had this large sandbox which illustrated the movement and effects of both young and mature streams.  W enjoyed it.  Then we walked around the museum a bit.  It's major focus is on American Indian artifacts and ways of life.  It's right near the water and the woods, too, so you really feel like you're a part of it.

Oh, and three LaGuardia High School alumni (alumnae?) are in the top 24 of American Idol!!  Go Pia, Karen, & Rachel! 

FOOTBALL!

So, W went back to football practice this week and decided he wants to join the team again.  It was a good few hours and W felt he did really well.  They're practicing in a school gym for a few weeks and then they'll move out to the park.  I'll admit, the drills are tough.  But W is tough, too.  I told him that in order to be really good at anything, you need to work hard at it.  It might not be fun all the time, but it will be worth it in the end.  He thought about that and agreed.  He may eventually hate football, but at least for now, he's giving it a chance and putting his all into it.  Back in the summer of 2008, W played defense. I kinda think he'll be doing that again this time.  :)

Football, Scouts & Dance

It's been a nice week off so far.  The girls are enjoying the break from school, and W gets an almost-free week as well.  Last Saturday, W wanted to give football another try.  He loved it a few years ago.  It's really rough and tumble, with full-on tackling and brutal practices.  For not being there a while, he got through the whole 2.5 hours of off-season practice.  He was hurting for a few days afterward, though, and isn't sure he wants to get back into it.  We'll see.  His Boy Scout Blue & Gold Ceremony was on Friday and W is now officially a Webelo.  At next year's Blue & Gold, he will be a full Boy Scout.

J has been so busy with dance.  The weekends are filled with pointe class, teaching new babies, and 3-4 hours of perfecting the new choreography for the upcoming competitions.  On Monday and Tuesday this week, She was one of six kids from her studio to get to go to the High School Dance Festival at Hofstra University.  Both days went from 10am-5pm with classes in Modern, Ballet, Jazz, & Hip Hop.  On Tuesday they got a nice dinner at 5:30pm, then were part of a performance from 6:30-7:30pm.  B, W, & I went out to see it.  They performed a routine from each of the classes they took.  It was impressive.

Film Class & Tyce

W went to this great film class on the Lower East Side yesterday.  This is perfect for him since he's been making films for what seems like forever.  The class had about 8 boys from age 10-14.  For over 2 hours the kids discussed, created, acted, and filmed different scenes.  The instructor is a professional filmmaker.  He and his assistant were so good with the kids.  W absolutely LOVED it and can't wait until the next class.

J went to Broadway Dance Center today after school.  She took an advanced jazz dance class taught by TYCE DIORIO!!   She said it was amazing.  Tyce gave them a hard-core workout and then they did some choreography.  He's one of my favorites on SYTYCD.   Being the youngest in the room, J and her friend from school held their own.  The 30 or so others in the class were mainly in their late teens and twenties.  This was such a wonderful experience for her.  I'm so glad she got to be a part of it.

Weekly Recap

This week W and I read a few chapters each from:  Pagoo, Seabird, An Island Story, A Child's History of the World, A Cricket in Times Square, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood ($0.99 on the Nook!), & Joan of Arc.  W is half-way through the 4th grade Spelling Skills book, still loving the proofreading sections.  He also did dictionary skills, analogies, and definitions.  Math was money (decimals) word problems and subtraction (regrouping/borrowing) with 4 digit numbers.  Copywork was from a few different poems.

He spent time with his friend next-door, went to Cub Scouts, and got a "new" Game Boy Advance SP (old school, lol) with a few games.  He's made lots of drawings and videos with his Flip.  He's training one of the parrots and creating flying machines with his Legos.  He spent $5 on 3 new mini Nerf guns that he already modded to shoot faster and farther.  We watched a few scary movies together and he decided his new favorite shows are Dog, The Bounty Hunter and Man vs Wild.

J's new school (spring) term began so all her classes have a "2" in front of them now.  School is still awesome, she says. Today J and her friend S were the paid entertainment at a 10-year-old's birthday party.  They taught dance moves and basic choreography for an hour and made $30 each.  Now J is at another birthday party (as a guest this time, lol) and having a sleepover.  Last night I met her at school (with my mom and sister) to see the Senior Dance Showcase.  It was amazing, as I knew it would be.  In junior year there, the dancers do a "Junior Project" where they choreograph their own numbers with all original movements and based on a certain theme or idea.  Several of those were performed as well - the kids originally performed these last spring.  The talent these kids have is mind-blowing.  Then we walked around the Lincoln Center area and had dinner at Ollie's Noodle House.  So beautiful over there.

K is currently on her senior trip.  Paintballing, snow tubing, rollerblading, dance clubbing, swimming, and having a blast with all her friends.  She's ready for summer - and college.  We should be getting the college letters sometime this month.  Eeeeek. 

Museum Time

Early Sunday Morning  --Edward Hopper

I took W to a cool class at the Whitney Museum of American Art on the Upper East Side.  We discussed a painting by John Sloan called Backyards, Greenwich Village from 1914 and two paintings by Edward Hopper.  One was called Barber Shop and the other was called Early Sunday Morning.  With this last one, the kids were told to imagine what they thought might be inside the shops along the street.  They were given art stix and paper to draw with.  We never went to the Whitney before.  It was really nice to be with our friends there.

After that, W, a few friends, and I walked over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  It's been 4 or 5 years since we'd been there, so I figured it was time.  Outside, we all got some hot dogs from the street cart and took a few pictures.  It's such a gorgeous building.  My corporate membership got my friend and me in for no charge and all kids under age 11 are free - so that was cool.  We started in the Egyptian gallery (my favorite) and ended up in Ancient Rome.  Of course we hit the gift shop before we left.

Sushi

Yesterday W had a great time making sushi in the West Village.  It's always fun getting together with our homeschool group and thanks to some really creative moms, we usually get to do these interesting activities.  We had all the tools and ingredients - bamboo mats, avocado, cucumber, rice vinegar, soy sauce, fake crab, nori sheets, teriyaki eel, and a rice cooker.  We were shown how to layer on the ingredients and then how to roll it using the mat.  The kids did such a great job with it.  I tried one too, but my roll sort of fell apart, lol. 

When we got home, we decided to do a few of those extra subjects we often neglect.  So we listened to each of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" while looking at the beautiful paintings of Caravaggio.  We did this for over 30 minutes with great discussion about the time periods in which they lived, what the style of dress was, Italy, how religion seemed such a big part of life, etc.  Then we researched a few things about trees for about 20 minutes.  It was late in the day, so we didn't get to Spanish or Dictation, but we'll figure that out by next week.  It was fun and reminded me to make a stronger effort to fit these subjects in every week.  

Busy Busy Busy

Beautiful pink winter sunrise on my block

I haven't posted our homeschooling schedule since the beginning of December.  This is the one W thought of and we've been using it.  I still love it and so much gets done.  Here's how it's laid out:

Mon, Wed, Fri
Math
Spelling
Read-to-Me
1 AO Reading w/narration
1 Free Reading
Poetry
Copywork


Tue
Read-to-Me
Artist Study
Composer Study
Dictation
Spanish
Nature Study


Thu
5 AO Readings w/narrations
Spelling
Read-to-Me

W's duct tape wallet...and what his work table usually looks like

And W's new "Read-to-Me" is A Cricket in Times Square.  Yes, that's right.  He picked it and he is actually reading 2 pages each day out loud to me from that 6th grade-level book.  I cannot tell you how proud of him I am.  Backtracking to an easy reading book then up again to something harder tends to work with him. 

W chopping onions.  He did wash his hands, but the paint wouldn't come off, lol.

W has planned and made his meals for his scout project.  I did one with him.  He knows a lot about cooking.  Besides that, he has been modding Nerf guns, making new crossbows, and even made himself a trifold wallet out of duct tape.  All the while he continues to make tutorial videos about cartoon drawing, Super Mario Bros. on the Wii, and different ways to change-up Nerf guns - I should suggest making a cooking one!.




J had finals this week at school.  Then today her English quiz was to perform a monologue from "Fences".   And tonight is her school dance.  Thankfully, she enjoys keeping busy.  Tomorrow is her 9am pointe class, then she teaches her new baby class, then there's 3-4 hours of solo, duet, and group numbers rehearsal with her dance team.  After that, she grabs a quick lunch with her friends and heads to another friend's house to spend the day.  I'm exhausted for her, lol.

Scouts

At scouts last week, W has another cool project to do.  He is working toward getting his Family Badge (or something like that).  He has to plan out 3 meals, make a shopping list for those, and prepare everything himself.  He knows how to do this already, having done it a few times, but now it includes writing things down and thinking of whole meals instead of just one dish.  He's excited to get started.  Since B is the chef in the house, they will be doing everything together (there's never enough dad and son bonding).  I hope I remember to take pictures.

The scouts also went ice skating yesterday.  They went to a brand new place that was just created this winter.  It seems like they just sealed off an area, filled it with some water, put some plastic railings all around, and called it a rink.  Simple, yet so nice.  There's a mall across the street and a huge cemetery across the other street.  They had the whole place to themselves and had a great time.


I re-organized my entire apartment (again, lol) and I'm so please with how it looks now.  We threw out so much stuff - it looks so much bigger in here!  An open, clutter-free home does wonders for my motivation.  I have so many plans brewing!

Justified.

J did an essay for English the other day.  When she handed it in, the teacher read the first paragraph and told J it was VERY good.  Most of the kids didn't understand the assignment (and didn't do it), so the teacher told them to look at J's "because she did an excellent job".   Ok, now, what I'm finding incredible is that J has never really had any sort of real writing instruction.  She writes from her heart and how she'd tell someone a story out loud.  The teacher is probably used to the cookie-cutter way of writing all kids learn in elementary/middle school and I would think it's refreshing to see more of someone's personality in their work.  Another hat-tip to homeschooling.  Best decision we ever made.

Reading

We haven't finished AO Yr 2.  Oh well.  We'll get to it.  We tend to do more readings than each AO week requires, so we'll eventually catch up.  I'm not worried about it.  W is on track with math, spelling, & reading.  That's right...reading.  He has been reading to me a lot and his fluency, intonations, and comprehension are spot on.  The book we're using as his "read-to-me" is an old one I've had lying around since K was little, called, Treasury of Virtues.  It's below his reading level, which I did on purpose, to boost his confidence.  And it worked.  It creates a fierce belief in himself that he really can do it.  I can see that he tries so hard - and it has really paid off.  So proud of him.  Here's some more of what we did this week:

Spelling Skills 4:  Synonyms; Using commas
Copywork:  Poetry
TT5:  Subtraction (Regrouping twice with 2 zeros)
Readings:  Five Children & It,  An Island Story (we're up to the mid-1300s AD),  Pagoo,  Seabird, & Child's History of the World (all about Gothic cathedrals and churches)

His narrations are great.  He's been doing them for 2 years now and has it down pretty good.  Starting next week, he'll be writing one of them down in paragraph form.  I wanted to wait until we started Year 3, but who knows when that will be.  He's ready for writing and I'm excited to see how he does.

Holidays!

We had a wonderful Christmas.  We went out to my mom's again on Christmas Eve.  We had our 7-fishes traditional Christmas Eve dinner, which included:  shrimp parmigiana, fried calamari, stuffed flounder, and pasta with a zuppa de pesce sauce.  Everyone was in bed before 11pm.  They figured that the earlier they get to sleep, the faster they'll wake up, LOL.   Mom and I arranged all the gifts, stuffed the stockings, and watched Meet Me in St. Louis with some tea and cheesecake.

Christmas morning was fun, as usual.  The kids opened their big gifts first.  Then onto everything else.  It was great.  Opening gifts lasted a lot longer and was so much less chaotic (but still really fun, I swear) when I did things my way, lol.  Breakfast was eggs and bacon, flavored coffee, rye toast, tea, etc.  My sisters came over and we exchanged more gifts and did more eating. 

Dinner was at around 5pm.  We had stuffed shells, chicken francese, loin of pork, etc.  Always too much food.  We brought home a bunch of it, though.  At 6pm we packed up and headed back into Queens to see dh's family at MIL's house.  More gifts, more food and we were home by 10pm.

I had most of the week off from work - mainly due to the ridiculous snowstorm we had here.  Normally it wouldn't have been a problem, but our spiteful sanitation workers decided to take out their frustrations on everyone in the city who was not involved in their budget cuts and hiring freezes.  So instead of taking less than a day to get the city up and running again after 20" of snow, it took 4-5 days.  Conveniently, they do this right after they all got their Christmas envelopes.  grrrr.

But overall, and through most of us battling stomach viruses, colds, and coughs, we had a wonderful holiday season.  We topped it off by celebrating New Years Eve with some homemade sangria, trays of snacks,  playing Taboo, and trying to stay awake til midnight. 

2011 is going to be a year of new beginnings.  I think I say that every year, but I'm going to really make it happen this time.  Anything I don't like, I'm changing. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERY ONE OF YOU.  MAKE 2011 THE BEST!

SIX

Six years ago today I wrote my first blog post. 

Can't believe J was only 8 then.  K was 11.  W was 3. 

We've come a helluva long way. 

December!

We are having a fantastic December.  W is getting so much reading, writing, and math done.  He decided that he wanted to try Spanish again, so while at Costco last week I found this knock-off, Rosetta-Stone-like program on sale for $18.  It comes with a bunch of CD Roms and you can record yourself saying the words.  It's fun and he likes it so far.   We're half-way through TT5 math now - right on track to finish it by the end of 4th grade in June (then we're doing TT7 from the beginning of 5th grade to the end of 6th grade).  I find that it's best for us to stretch out the math.  W retains it better that way as he isn't inundated with too many new math concepts each month.  We do math 3-4 times a week (sometimes once or twice a week - December slows us down a bit, lol).  The schedule that W made has been working well - actually better than anything I came up with. 

W had a party and awards ceremony at Cub Scouts this month, too.   He was presented with a bunch of patches and badges he's earned over the last half-year.   In addition to the patches in the picture below, his 4 activity badges were:  Citizen, Readyman, Outdoorsman, & Artist badges.  He got a patch, pocketknife pledge card, and badge for the Whittling Chip.  The badge states that W "has earned the right to carry a pocketknife to designated Cub Scout functions", because he demonstrated knowledge and skill in its use and completed the safety requirements and promises to abide by the Knives Are Not Toys guidelines.  He's proud of that one the most, I think.  We also got our Pinewood Derby car to build for the big race in a few months.   This is such a wonderful pack and troop of scouts.   

W's New Cub Scout Patches

 

We have also been going to the pool hall in the West Village every week.  I'm so glad it's that time of year again!  For a few hours W gets to play games with friends and moms get to relax and chat and listen to some good jazz music - usually being played by various bands who use the space to rehearse.  It's a dark, gritty, oh-so-cool atmosphere that just drips the essence of New York City out of its walls.  W and I really look forward to this every week.

W and Friend Playing Pool

As I mention every year, NYC is the most incredible place to be at Christmastime.  The kids and I decided to walk around the mall in the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle.  This is where we were a few years ago when we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade go by.  For Christmas they have these beautiful hanging stars that light up to the beat of the Christmas carols being played.  The kids loved it.

Christmas Stars in the Time Warner Building

K, J, & W under the Christmas stars reflected in the window

A Tree in Columbus Circle

Ballet & Modern

Today, parents got to observe dance classes at LaGuardia High School.  I watched all 3 hours of J's classes and was in awe.  There are 33 kids in her dance class.  They started with an hour-and-a-half of ballet - first stretches, then exercises (at the barre and the floor), then combinations.  The next class was an hour-and-a-half of modern (Graham).  This was a bunch of different floor stretches and across the floor combinations.  It was just beautiful to watch.   Live music in the dance classes add so much to the whole atmosphere.  The dance teachers and piano players are really in tune with each other.  I don't know how they do it, but the timing is always spot on.  Sometimes they just play piano, others they'll have a bongo drum with it.
The children are so focused and determined and the teachers are so incredibly aware of each child.  I noticed eager hands up to answer questions and to volunteer a demonstration.  They are treated like professionals and in turn, they act as such.  What a wonderful treat to get to see this kind of training in action.