Ballet Day

PINKADELLIC: This morning was the final session for Bee's fall ballet. (Winter session starts in January). We're allowed to sit in on the final class, so I was there camera in hand and CJ was there Pokemon book in hand (and I have to hand it to him, he stayed perfectly quiet, reading the entire 50 minutes).

This time (and for the first time) I could actually see some improvement in her technique from last session to this one. She follows the teacher's directions and cues much more closely and some of what she's doing actually resembles ballet now.

SLIP SLIDIN' AWAY: For today's fresh air session we went ice skating. Well, ice sliding. The hillside in our neighborhood leaks water darn near all year long, and with the sub-20 degree weather, some pretty significant sheets of ice that have formed on the street. Kirby and I stood lookout while the kids shuffled and slid down a two block swath of ice. CJ had no trouble staying upright. Annabelle, on the other hand, fell three times. Neither of them has ever been ice skating. I'm hoping we can take them to the seasonal ice rink at Seattle Center sometime between now and New Year's Day.

Afterward, the kids were super helpful picking up piles and piles of leaves in the alley. I was impressed with (and surprised by) their dedication to the task.

DEAR SANTA: Today's writing exercise was crafting a short letter to Santa. Capitalization and punctuation were stressed, and I'm really starting to hammer the kids on their tEnDeNcY to MiX UpPeR aNd LOweRcaSE LeTteRS, making their writing look like a ransom note. It was also good practice writing/remembering their address (I told them they had to include it so Santa knows where to bring the presents).

Bee finished in short order. CJ alternated between being pained over getting every letter correct and being completely distracted. He took a loooooong while, but he finally completed it, address and all.

A bit later, Annabelle said, "We should make Santa a present." I told her Santa likes chocolate cookies. CJ agreed that we should make some. "I'll taste them to make sure they're OK," he volunteered. How unselfish of him. ; )

LET'S GO TO THE TAPE: Yesterday we read four books about fire safety. Today, the kids and I reviewed the DVD "Lots & Lots of Fire Songs and Safety Tips." In the opinion of this reviewer and my two co-reviewers, it was short in length and in content. Annabelle was quick to opine, "The books yesterday were better." I told her I agreed with her, but that the video has a place too - some people would probably prefer the movie, in fact. Overall, I'm glad we watched it. When it comes to fire safety, more information is better.

A CHANGE OF HEART: Our reading this afternoon was a turnabout fairy tale, "Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig." Like the original story, the book features the message of being prepared and persistence, but it also brings to that people (or at least pigs) can change. The wolves keep building stronger and stronger houses, but the pig still finds a way to destroy them. Finally, the wolves decide to build a simple cottage from branches and flowers and hope for the best. (Spoiler alert!) The pig has a change of heart when he sees the natural wonder and winds up living in peace and harmony with the wolves.

SOME SCIENCE: This afternoon the kids went back to the BBC's education site. This time, they explored the science portion of the site. We spent an hour or so there, including learning about plants and animals in the environment and growing plants, and we really haven't even scratched the surface regarding what's available.