Wednesday at MPA

NUMBER CRUNCHERS: We have gone a couple of days without doing any formal math, so it was back to the worksheets this a.m. We started with a word problem about a farmer's pumpkin harvest that used addition. Next, I had them do something a little different - tabular addition and subtraction. CJ had a little trouble getting back into the swing of things - until I put a stopwatch on him. No doubt from his video game background, a visual countdown puts the fear of GOD in him. He got right to it with the stopwatch on my cell phone ticking off the time. (Ironically, he wasn't given a time limit, but just the running numbers lit a fire under his arse.)



BACH TO THE FUTURE: While the kids were doing math, I thought I'd put on a little classical "background" music. I chose Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Bach's most famous organ piece. As luck would have it, I happened upon a YouTube upload which featured a great bar-graph animated score. It was a huge BINGO! moment for MPA, as the graphical notation is very much like what the kids are learning in Musikgarten. At the very first note the kids came running for the computer and they sat absolutely rapt for the entire 8:32 "watching" the music. They both acted out various parts with their hands and even made up some lyrics that went along with the musical action. Superb! We also listened to and watched Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3, First Movement, Allegro . Regarding the musical animation, author "Smalin" explains, "When the instruments in each section play in unison, there is a single fat (tall) note for all three; when they have solos, the notes are thinner (about half as high). The violins are shades of red, the violas are shades of green, and the violoncellos are shades of blue. The contrabass is sort of a brownish-gray, and is always wide, since it doesn't have solos. When two instruments play the same note, the colors blend (e.g. red + green = yellow)." At some points in the piece, I suggested to the kids that they pick out one color (or instrument) and try to isolate it while listening. The animation made that pretty easy. BeeBee also did some interpretive dance, and CJ became a spontaneous concert conductor.

I asked the kids what Concerto #3 made them think of. Annabelle said, "A happy bird flying along a rainbow and little bunnies." And CJ? He said, "It makes me think of kids' stuff, like no math. Kids just playing, no math or no science, no paperwork. Just playing." :)

I felt like checking out all of the videos from the uploader (Beethoven! Sousa! Chopin! Mozart! and more), but figured I should save some for subsequent days.

MIGHT AS WELL JUMP: It was another drippy day out, so I rolled out the trampoline and the kids hopped and jumped to burn off some energy. For inspiration, I played VanHalen's Jump! for them. By the end of the song CJ staggered off the trampoline saying, "My heart is getting tired" and headed for a drink of water. For Annabelle's blast off, I played Brian's Setzer's "Jump Jive & Wail" She went to town but was ready for it to be over by its end, saying, "That hurt," as she dismounted the trampoline. Ah, nothing like a little exercise to do the body good. :)

BEFRIENDED FINITO: Today was the final meeting of BeFriended, a 12-week course where kiddos "can learn and practice the skills they need to connect with peers through friendship and play." Sounds great, especially for CJ, who lives in his own head a lot of the time. While we believe Magnolia Preparatory Academy is the best place for Mr. CJ to be learning at the present, we are also keenly aware the young man needs to interact with typically developing peers (other than his sister!) on a regular basis. And so, we signed him up for this class. Truth be told, he wasn't thrilled about going and is glad it's over. But just because he didn't love it doesn't mean he didn't get anything out of it. ;) Really, the material covered wasn't new to me at all as, in the last couple of years, I've already read so many books, Web sites, articles, etc. about helping youngsters acquire social skills. However, along the way, I did meet some really nice parents of CJ's classmates and it was nice exchanging information and experiences with them. And it also reinforced my belief that what I really need to do with CJ is some silly-but-serious social story role playing. I just know that's how we're really going to cement some of this stuff for him. (Stay tuned for details ...)
HALLOWEEN FYI:This afternoon we read parts of The Halloween Book of Facts & Fun. We learned a bit about the Celtic roots of Halloween, why people wear costumes (to hide from spirits), that bobbing for apples used to be a spin-the-bottle sort of game. And we read that the origin of the Jack o Lantern tradition may have its roots in Ireland and a tale about a lad named Jack who used an illuminated hollowed out turnip to find his way back from Hell (not the happiest story). We also read about El Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead, which is actually a happy time to remember and celebrate the lives of family and friends who have passed.

We also read another chapter from All About Sam. In this episode the now-toddler wound up flushing his sister's goldfish down the toilet. The lead up to the incident was funny, but CJ and Annabelle were both aghast at the outcome for the fish - Annabelle to the point of tears.

IT'S ELEMENTARY: While perusing Club Penguin today, Annabelle noticed something on a wall in a laboratory. "Look, it's a periodic table of elements," she declared. Good eye!