Back in the Saddle

BACK AT IT: Nothing like a math workbook to make you love a Monday morning! ;) After a weekend away from table work, the kids were a little slow to get their mojo back. The work (simple addition and subtraction) was so easy but oh-so-hard. I finally had to set the kitchen timer for 5 minutes. That always gets their attention.

Meanwhile, I wanted to play music (per our tradition) but didn't want to distract them too much. I figured "easy listening" would fill the bill and who better to embody for that than Kenny G?! Of course, the kids did listen to the tunes. During "Going Home" Annabelle asked, "How does he play such beautiful music?" and CJ said, "That's sad music isn't it, Mommy?" Hmm. I suppose that tune is a bit mournful or longing.

Switching gears, I played "Air and Simple Gifts," arranged by John Williams based on Aaron Copeland's arrangement of "Simple Gifts" and "Variations on a Shaker Melody." It was performed by an all star orchestra at Barack Obama's inauguration. A few measures in, Annabelle said, "There must be cello in there." So that the kids could hear the lyric to Simple Gifts, I played a version by Marilyn Horne .

A PILGRIM-AGE: Since Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away, I thought we'd better get to talking about the holiday's origin.

We watched a narrated slideshow about the voyage on the Mayflower by Bookflix (which we can access using our Seattle Public Library card). Afterward, the kids played a related vocabulary game with Thanksgiving related words.

Fortunately, our friends at Scholastic have a whole lesson plan about Thanksgiving - and for that, I am thankful! The parts we used today were a virtual voyage on the Mayflower and an informative tour of the ship.

Of course, if the American Indians hadn't been so kind in helping the pilgrims learn how to survive at Plimouth (that's how they're spelling it in the resources we viewed - it was Plymouth when I was a kid), there wouldn't have been any Thanksgiving. And so, we enjoyed a video/read along book "Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message" by Chief Jake Swamp, Wolf Clan of the Mohawk Nation, Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Known as the Thanksgiving Address, it is based on a American Indian good morning message based on the belief that the natural world is a precious and rare gift—from the stars overhead to the tiniest blade of grass underfoot. Chief Swamp narrated it in both English and the Mohawk language.

We also viewed a short video about Thanksgiving produced by the History Channel. We learned about the pilgrims' three-day feast in 1621, celebrating the fact that they had enough provisions to winter over (half of the pilgrims had died in the winter before). The kids learned the pilgrims' thanksgiving was likely turkey-free, but lobster, cod and roast goose may have been on the menu. We also learned that Thanksgiving was made a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln, not long after the battle at Gettysburg.

CRAFTING A CRAFT: For fun, I had the kids make a Mayflower. First, they folded and cut the ship, then they cut three sails apiece (two squares and a rectangle) and then they used tape to affix the masts (bamboo skewers) to the ship and the sails to the mast. They were pretty proud of their small fleet and sailed them around the house for a good while.

ON THE WATERFRONT: The monsoons have subsided for awhile, so we took full advantage with a visit to Puget Sound. The kids rode their bikes and Christian, Kirby and I alternately jogged and walked. Instead of stopping at Terminal 91, we continued on, to the sea wall on the west side of Elliott Bay. Along the way, we found a big compass rose and talked about directions. After checking out the waves and sights, it was time to head home. Along the way CJ said, "I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make us exercise too much!" On the way home, CJ told me he's ready to try riding his bike without training wheels. Can't wait!

MEDIA BLITZ: I found out this morning that CJ (as pictured below) will be the face of a toy and food drive in south Florida for an organization called Daily Bread. The organization is a big one - with over 800 affiliated agencies, and distributes over one and a half million pounds of food to hungry people each month. We also learned that photos I took of the coyote hanging out in our yard yesterday will be on KING 5 news.