HAPPY NEW YEAR: This morning I turned the TV onto the news at 8 a.m., just as Australia was ringing in the new year. There were huge fireworks in the Sydney night sky.
The new year occurring at different times in different places was a new concept to them, so I grabbed the globe and we talked about the International Dateline. We also discussed the fact that each year has 365 days, and that today is the 365th and final day of 2009.
The new year occurring at different times in different places was a new concept to them, so I grabbed the globe and we talked about the International Dateline. We also discussed the fact that each year has 365 days, and that today is the 365th and final day of 2009.
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON: According to NASA, blue moon was "used in much the same way we use the term 'harvest moon.' There were twelve names for full moons, one for each month, and the name blue moon was used in years which had 13 full moons." However, in 1943, Sky and Telescope Magazine wrote (in error) that the second full moon in any calendar month was called a blue moon - these days, apparently that's the definition most people go with. But what I found really interesting - and surprising - is that the saying “once in a blue moon” has nothing to do with these "extra" full moons. Rather (again, according to NASA), the phrase was supposedly coined in 1883, following the eruption of Mount Krakatoa. There was so much dust in the atmosphere that the moon looked blue in color. Who knew?
IN THE VILLAGE: We made a trip over the hill to Magnolia's 'downtown,' including a stop at the library where we had a stack of items to return and a couple to pick up. The kids made a beeline for the DVDs, per their standard operating procedure. After they plucked the ones they wanted, CJ went and sat at a library table. I happened to spy a book about The Nutcracker, and plopped it on the table in front of him. Lo and behold, he read the entire thing from cover to cover (and though it was a picture book, it was pretty wordy and rather lengthy).
Afterward, we three read an oversized book, "A Little at a Time," that explains how things (trees and people, for instance) and even problems (like litter and air pollution) start out small but can grow over time.
ORANGE ORB: While some celebrate the arrival of the new year by watching an illuminated ball descend over Times Square in New York, we spent a big part of New Year's Eve on the campus of the University of Washington, watching an orange sphere fall into a basket. Over and over.
We were watching the Huskies take on the Oregon State Beavers in a Pac 10 home opener. The kids haven't ever been to a basketball game before and we really don't watch a ton of it on TV, so I thought I'd give them a primer this afternoon. The basics of basketball are SO much easier to explain than football or baseball! All they really HAVE to know is that players have to dribble the ball while they progress it (they can't carry it while they move), that a regular basket is worth two points, one shot from behind a faraway, arcing line is 3, and sometimes when there is a foul (someone breaks a rule, like plays too rough) a player gets to attempt a free throw, which is worth one point. Oh, and we talked about in bounds and out of bounds, and turnovers. It might sound like a long list, but really it's short and simple compared to all the situational scenarios in baseball and football.
IN THE VILLAGE: We made a trip over the hill to Magnolia's 'downtown,' including a stop at the library where we had a stack of items to return and a couple to pick up. The kids made a beeline for the DVDs, per their standard operating procedure. After they plucked the ones they wanted, CJ went and sat at a library table. I happened to spy a book about The Nutcracker, and plopped it on the table in front of him. Lo and behold, he read the entire thing from cover to cover (and though it was a picture book, it was pretty wordy and rather lengthy). Afterward, we three read an oversized book, "A Little at a Time," that explains how things (trees and people, for instance) and even problems (like litter and air pollution) start out small but can grow over time.
ORANGE ORB: While some celebrate the arrival of the new year by watching an illuminated ball descend over Times Square in New York, we spent a big part of New Year's Eve on the campus of the University of Washington, watching an orange sphere fall into a basket. Over and over.
We were watching the Huskies take on the Oregon State Beavers in a Pac 10 home opener. The kids haven't ever been to a basketball game before and we really don't watch a ton of it on TV, so I thought I'd give them a primer this afternoon. The basics of basketball are SO much easier to explain than football or baseball! All they really HAVE to know is that players have to dribble the ball while they progress it (they can't carry it while they move), that a regular basket is worth two points, one shot from behind a faraway, arcing line is 3, and sometimes when there is a foul (someone breaks a rule, like plays too rough) a player gets to attempt a free throw, which is worth one point. Oh, and we talked about in bounds and out of bounds, and turnovers. It might sound like a long list, but really it's short and simple compared to all the situational scenarios in baseball and football.
Annabelle's Pokemon (Meowith) watches the Huskies down the Beavers on the UW campus
AND NOW, A YEAR END MESSAGE FROM MPA TO YOU: I found this New Year's greeting rather annoying - which is probably why the kids thought it was so fantastic. :)
But seriously, happy New Year one and all from Magnolia Prep!
How did they like the game?
ReplyDeleteWhen I was around 9-12 we always used to stay up late playing Scrabble and eating popcorn until it was pots and pans time on the porch. No Dick Clark Rockin' NY Eve for us by gosh.