T Has One Thing On Her Mind

More Watercolor

She is really having fun with the technique!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

Today was the last day of our gym and art program at the neighborhood rec center. They have a second semester program, but we've decided to pursue other interests. It's a good program. I like everything about it, but the kids would rather do other things.

Celeste made this thank you card for the art instructor. She is a former art teacher turned homeschooling mom. She volunteers her time to teach the kids basic drawing. Both girls have really enjoyed her class.

So, we'll miss our time at the rec center. Many of the families there are of the Conservative Christian segment of homeschoolers. It was nice to share activities with people who are outside our immediate circle of friends. Diversity is a good thing. We'll be replacing the rec center program with basketball (for C) and gymnastics (for T) at the YMCA--another opportunity to share activities with kids from a background different from our own. We'll also take a handbuilding with clay class at an art center across the river. I expect that group to be fairly homogenous--non-secular homeschoolers like ourselves.

First Snow of the Winter

We had our first snowfall on Saturday. R's comment when he looked out the window and noticed snow covering everything: Uh-OH!

Of course it has all melted and we're back to just cold and muddy....

The Tempest

C has spent the past 7 Saturday afternoons preparing and practicing to play Miranda in a kid-sized rendition of Shakespeare's The Tempest.

She did a great job; she remembered her lines, she projected her voice, she subtly prompted Ferdinand....

Ms. B, the teacher who led this class, is a rare human being. She's one of those teachers the kids love--she's passionate about the topics she covers, she relates to the kids sensitively and with honesty, she redirects with such a deft hand that actual discipline is unnecessary...C just loves her.

Next term the Shakespeare class is only open to older students (it alternates,) so C is going to skip the Saturday enrichment program all together. It works out nicely that the YMCA basketball program fills the Sat am time slot.

Our Current Reads

What we are reading:

Roller Coasters: Or, I Had So Much Fun I Almost Puked

C has a Saturday afternoon physics event with the UC Society of Women Engineers coming up next week. This is a great program. She missed the last one (Take Apart a Toaster Day--reverse engineering) due to her Super Saturday class. This evening she spent quite a bit of time looking at pictures and schematics of the roller coasters at our local amusement park. She has elaborate plans for the visit I have promised when the park opens in the spring.

Johnny Tremain

This is C's book club selection for December. She was hesitant to start it as it meant she'd have to set aside the Artemis Fowl series she's engrossed in, but she came to a stopping point and picked up Johnny Tremain. It turns out she loves it. I'm relieved. She reads so much fantasy and sci-fi (not that there's anything wrong with that!) --I'm glad to see her branch out into other genres.

How Underwear Got Under There: A Brief History

The other day C was at a parks program & T and I had some time to kill, so we went arranged to meet a friend to swim at the YMCA. Afterward, she asked to stop at the library on the way to pick up C. We didn't have much time (and R was ready for his nap,) but considering that she's a rather reticent reader, I agreed. It turned out she had an agenda. She wanted books about fashion. We picked up a history of girls' clothing in America, a book on costumes, and my favorite, How Underwear Got Under There.

When Things Fall Apart

Someone recommended this book to me a year or so ago when I was having a hard time around the birth and death of a baby I loved. Everything was just too raw and too much at the time--I didn't have any kind of perspective for reading a book. Now I do, and I love this book. I've read Zen shorts--those little metaphoric stories--and I've really enjoyed them, but I've never gotten very far with Buddhist philosophy. This is different. This book speaks to me.

Star Wars: Heir to the Empire

This is D's book. We have just finished watching the Star Wars movies with the kids (which they loved, of course.) D was on a mission to find the first book that continued the story beyond Return of the Jedi...he bought it two days ago and he hasn't put it down. I am so grateful that I am married to a reader!

and last but not least...

My Little Counting Book

R loves this book. In fact, he loves it so much that even though it's a board book, I've had to repair it with clear packing tape. There are pictures of strawberries (his favorite,) kittens (a close second,) ducks, trucks, balls and kids. What's not to love!?! I read this book several times a day.

More, More, More Said the Baby

R loves this book, too. I love the rhythm and the ritual of the text. "Little Guy's daddy runs like anything just to catch that baby up...and then he gives that little guy's belly a kiss right in the midle of the belly button. 'More,' laughs Little Guy. 'More. More. More.'" Some books I don't mind reading over and over (and over and over.)

Dubious Milestone

Well, R set his first thing on fire today. He threw his toy cellphone at the stove and it slid under the lit burner. I had my back turned, buttering the toast.

His "Uh-OH!" had a quality of urgency about it, so I turned and looked and to my surprise, there was a six inch orange flame coming out from under the omelet pan. Uh-oh. It was easy to turn off the burner and toss the flaming phone into the sink--crisis averted.

I present the evidence:

...and the accused: