We're back! What a long weekend. J had a blast - especially since 2 of her best friends spent the whole weekend with us. There was a parent orientation on Friday and then the kids learned new routines for 4 hours. On Saturday morning, rehearsal started at 8am and went all the way through to 3pm. A makeup lesson and a lunch break were thrown in there too. On Sunday they had a wonderful photo shoot on the beach 40 minutes away. We got there at 7:30am. All the kids (about 80 altogether, from all over NY, NJ, and CT) wore white outfits with a "bohemian" flair. They shot the kids in groups of 20 all over the beach. Then they changed into bathing suits, jeans, cowboy hats, and bandanas for a second round of photos. At noon we left, got the kids changed and they had dance from 1pm to 5pm. On Monday there was one last rehearsal from 12:45 to 2:30. The first performance is in July, I think.
On the evenings after dance, we all went out to eat, swam in the pool, went bowling, and just had a great time. The kids also ran around to each others rooms, did a lot of jumping on beds, and practiced dancing in the hallways. My camera's broken, so I'm waiting for my friend to send me an email of all the pictures she took.
I was late for work on Friday. The traffic was terrible and I ended up in the wrong direction at one point. I ended up leaving J in New Jersey with another mom and I stayed home so I wouldn't be late for work Saturday morning. I hated to do that, but even if I got back there it wouldn't have been til 10:30pm and I would have had to leave by 6:30am. J would have been sleeping the whole time I came back. She was fine, though and loved sharing the hotel room with her friend, A.
2 comments:
I've been browsing your blog for a few weeks now. My husband and I unschool our two beautiful girls -- ages six years and fourteen months -- in Kansas City, Missouri. I've always been fascinated with New York City, because it sounds like a whole different world.
I'd love to hear more about the attitudes you encounter when people learn that you unschool, and also about attitudes toward homeschooling in general, in Queens where you live. We have a large homeschooling community in K.C., but I don't meet many who are supportive of unschooling.
My husband and I have sometimes envied people in N.Y.C. and other big cities, because we'd heard that public transportation was so good there that people didn't really need cars. We'd love to not need our car, but we don't have adequate public transportation to and from the suburbs -- which is where most of the job opportunities are, and where my husband works.
From what I've read in your blog, it sounds like you mostly drive also, rather than taking the subway or bus. Is the public transportation not as great as we'd heard? I'll understand if you don't want to cover this kind of stuff in your blog, but you may be surprised to learn how many (non-N.Y.C readers) would be interested in hearing more details like this.
I think NYC is such a diverse area with so many different ways of lving, that no one really bats an eye when I say we're unschoolers. I find that exuding confidence about a certain choice helps a lot, too. I am coming across so many homeschoolers now in NY. In Queens, there are a handful that I know of, but almost every single non-homeschooler I talk to has been supportive. Live and let live, as they say.
The public transportation here is great. B takes the subway to work every day, as do most people. I drive to places in Queens or Long Island because it's faster and easier with kids. When we go to Manhattan for something, we do take the subway or the bus. I used to drive much more when W was smaller because I was nervous with him on the train, but he's very cooperative now with that.
Also, the car is sometimes easier for me when W gets tired or his legs ache from walking so much. Having to stand another 30 minutes on the train would not make him a happy camper.
I don't realize that the things I take for granted here in the city are actually interesting to those from other parts of the country. I'll try to remember to be more detailed in the blog about the city's little nuances. Thanks.
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