Dreary, Drippy Friday

MAKING MUSIC: The kids had a fine time in Musikgarten this morning. One of the concepts they explored today was high notes and low notes, which can get a bit tricky because it can be relative. They also had an opportunity to play part of one of the songs on their "Woodlands" CD on the xylophone. CJ and Annabelle seemed confident, and their timing and tones were spot on.

BACK TO THE 'BOOK: Yesterday was a workbook free affair, so this a.m. it was time to dig back in. We went for math. CJ was introduced to a new concept today - the Venn diagram. There was a picture of farm animals, they were encompassed within a circle, a square or both. So he had to carefully read the question and provide the answer (how many pigs are in the circle AND the square? How many sheep are in the square but NOT the circle). To be honest, I expected him to struggle with it a bit, but he got it immediately.

WILY COYOTE?: Around midday, during a break in the rain, we walked to the park for some vitamin D and P.E. It was pretty nasty out, so I was surprised to find anyone there, but there was a toddler and his father, who had a camera. After a couple of minutes, the guy (who definitely sounded like Spanish was his first language) came over to me and showed me the display screen of his camera and, with a heavy accent, asked, "What animal is this? A fox?" I told him it was definitely a coyote, could tell he took the photo not far from where we were standing and then he told me he'd taken it right before we arrived. Yikes. (I couldn't help but think about 19 year old Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell. Just a couple of days ago I read about her being attacked - and killed - by coyotes while walking in a park.) So we'll be keeping our eyes open a little wider at our park. ...

BALLOON MAN: On our lunch break we went to Home Depot in West Seattle. It's not the one closest to our house, but it is by far the nicest one within a half hour of home. We had the place pretty much to ourselves and lots of people in orange aprons asking us if we needed help (we didn't). However, as we were checking out, another orange aproned man approached, this time offering to create a balloon animal for the kids. I was wondering, "What's the catch?" but there was none - just a bored small tool sales manager (and former professional clown, so I'm told). He fashioned a unicorn for Bee and a helicopter for CeeJ. They were thrilled - that's probably the happiest trip they've ever had to a Home Depot, and believe you me, they've had LOTS of trips to a Home Depot.

The clown/manager also told us to come check out one of their kids' workshops. Held on the first Saturday of each month, there's a hands on craft and Home Depot supplies all the ingredients, no charge. Our Saturdays are usually pretty hardcore work around the house time, but I do think it's worth checking out some day.

SILLY SIGN: Posted by the curb on the west side of Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle is a sign that reads: PARENT DROP OFF. Somehow, I'm guessing that not many parents actually get dropped off there.

WHITE LIGHTNING: Around 5 p.m. tonight, thunder and lightning made a showy return. It started over Queen Anne Hill and moved to the north with some pretty impressive bolts seeming to stretch across the entire sky. I turned the lights off in the house and had the kids sit and be weather watchers, looking for lightning and listening for thunder. CJ found it excruciatingly boring and had quite a knack for looking away about a second before a huge flash.

After the real-live show, I found a short film by NASA made for kids, explaining how and why lightning strikes.

NUMBER CRUNCHING: I read some stats in a recent Seattle's Child Magazine that made me choke on my Cheez-Its. According to the Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools (PNAIS), the average annual tuition at independent schools ranges from around $13,000 in kindergarten (O!M!G!) to $15,600 in sixth grade and $20,500 in 12th grade.

Parochial schools' tuition average range is reported as $4,000 to $7,000 for grades K-8 and roughly $9,000 in grades nine through 12.

Ironically, the title of the article was "Don't Think You Can Afford Private School?" as if the article would prove otherwise. I'd say it does anything BUT that.

I'm all for investing in education (heck, I can't even count the number of school fundraisers I've chaired and bond or levy campaigns I've worked on), but $13,000 for a kindergartener? That amount of money, earning interest over 12-13 years, would buy a whole lotta college. ...