Day of the Dolphin

CRESCENDO: Friday means morning music. There are just 5 kids in the class - four boys and a girl. For the last 10 minutes of the class, parents join in. Since it's so close (a block away), I'm usually a couple of minutes early. Standing outside the door spying, one thing is clear. Annabelle is a steamroller baby (to steal a line from Elvis). She's quick (really too quick, not giving others a chance) to answer and her volume, well let's just say the word megaphone comes to mind. That said, I'm glad she is excited about music and I wouldn't want her to be a shrinking violet but gee whiz. I think we just need to have a conversation about not always having to be first - that (unless it's truly a competition) it's nice to give others a chance to participate.

SOCIAL MIXER: As has become a Friday tradition, we met Connor at the park in Magnolia for an hour of fun and games. Before Connor got there, I reminded CJ that we were at the park to play with Connor. (While this might sound like stating the obvious, if you know CJ, you know that he is predisposed to focusing his attention inward and often at a park, he will be running around playing, battling invisible bad guys and such, but it's almost always solo, or with Annabelle, and not really engaging with other kids for extended periods of time.) But boy oh boy, was today the day. From the moment Connor arrived, CJ and he were thick as thieves. They found a couple of traffic cones which, of course, they used either as faux/makeshift weapons, or as "sucker-uppers" and they busily sucked evil out of the park. There was lots of cooperative play and conversation and this went on for the entire hour - much to Annabelle's chagrin. She is not used to having to share CJ, and she would prefer to be the one directing play. So Annabelle spent part of her park time pouting, but that was her choice. (I told her I thought it was a big waste of valuable park time!) Anyway, I really think today's play session was the best hour CJ has ever had in peer play. HOORAY!

LUNCHTIME: As usual, the kids watched Spanish language programming while they ate. They are definitely used to hearing the language, and are picking up words and phrases here and there, but we need to start a more formal program. I bought the Muzzy program a couple of months back. I need to get going with that.

OPEN WIDE: Right after lunch, Annabelle and Kirby were nose to nose and Bee found herself staring down the dog's open mouth. She observed, "I don't know how food gets down your throat. It looks like your mouth just ends." I assured her that it doesn't just end - that there's a tube called an esophagus that carries the chewed food down to your stomach. Then we got out a cool quasi-book/model about the human body that we have and and I was able to show her what I was talking about.
VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP: A few weeks ago, I signed up as an educator on the Scholastic.com Web site. As a result, I was sent an email about a virtual field trip to Clearwater Marine Aquarium to visit Winter, the Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin who has a prosthetic tail. So our afternoon was all about marine mammals. First, to get them intrigued about Winter the dolphin and her tail tale, I read an excerpt from the book. Next, I shared some background info (a PDF provided by Scholastic) with the kids. We learned that we have many things in common with marine mammals (like dolphins, whales and porpoises), such as breathing air with lungs and being warm blooded. We learned that marine mammals, called cetaceans, range from less than 5 feet (Hector's dolphin) to over 100 feet (the blue whale). Together we took a true/false quiz covering our new knowledge. They aced it.

We also talked about dolphin body parts and the kids used a dolphin "map" (PDF here) to label these body parts. Before the actual video field trip started, we traveled around the house in a pod, like dolphins. ; )

Then we joined the field trip, which included a video about Winter's rescue after being trapped in ropes attached to a crab trap. The accident cost her her tail, but experts at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium were able to keep her alive, and eventually the dolphin was fitted with a series of prosthetic tails as she grew.

The field trip was informative, but honestly maybe a bit too informative, if that makes sense. Lots and lots and lots of words, and surprisingly little face time for the actual dolphin (who turns 4 on Oct. 10, by the way). So, all I can figure is maybe Scholastic wanted to leave us wanting more (translation: they want us to run out and buy the Winter's Tail book).

After the "field trip" we left the Scholastic site and hopped over to http://www.winterstail.com/. There we found photos, a singalong, games, a Winter web cam and even a video maker. "We can do video mash ups and be kid directors!" declared Annabelle.

The Countdown's On

CHAIN CHAIN CHAIN: We started the day off by checking in with our calendar, noting today's date, that Rick's birthday was yesterday and talking about Thursday's special events - ballet and a library trip. I also, for the first time, pointed out to the kids that a calendar is a great tool to help you figure out how many days there are between today and a big event you're looking forward to. So we counted the number of days until Annabelle's birthday and Halloween. Then, to make it more concrete, we constructed a countdown chain with 10 links to help us countdown to Bee's Bday. Here, the kids are numbering the strips (1-10) and the glue is standing by, ready to help link them together. Table time also included a workbook writing exercise - finishing some sentences. CJ's handwriting is really terrific when he pays mind to it.


PUFFY EYED BALLERINA: Today was Bee's ballet day. Before ballet she had a - hmm, how to put it nicely? - really ugly episode where she was screeching at CJ in what we'll call a very unfriendly voice. So she got to spend about 15 minutes in her room to think about the errors of her ways before class. I darn near didn't take her at all. ...
Once Bee was in the cocoon of her ballet class, CJ and I headed to the library. There, we found a whole library shelving cart full of Halloween books (which I thought was odd, since there were next to none last week. We picked up several.








WORD OF THE DAY: Sometime before 8, CJ asked me if cyberspace is in a computer. Good question. I told him I thought of it as the connection or network between computers or computer users rather than being within a single computer or computers. Not sure why he was thinking about cyberspace at 8 a.m. ... (Later, I checked Dictionary.com, which defines it as "The electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place." So I wasn't too far off.)

FIT AS A FIDDLE: The kids haven't been able to use many of the Wii Fit features for weeks now - the balance board was out of order. However, good news - brother Ken came by today and resynched the board and happily, we're back in business. It's good news because it lets the kids play a game while they get a little bit of exercise.

CJ SPEAKS: This afternoon CJ started asking questions about pets traveling on an airplane. I knew the genesis of that line of thought was a great show we watched yesterday, "Martha Speaks." It's about a talking dog with an exceptional vocabulary, and the writers do a really clever job of introducing new words to young people. Yesterday's storyline involved the dog Martha going along on a family vacation, and new words included cargo area destination, turbulence and reservation. One of Martha's destinations included a Dude Ranch, where she sang the song that includes the line 'git a long little doggies." Me, I always thought 'doggies' meant canines, and long little ones? Hmm, sounds like a Wiener dog to me. Anyway, turns out a "doggies" is really dogies, pronounced doe-geez, and that a dogie is a young calf without a mother. Did everyone - including a cartoon dog - know this except me?!

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: For today's physical activity (besides Bee's ballet), we walked Kirby to the neighborhood park, which gave us a chance to check out renovations there. Later this afternoon, we hiked up to Ella Bailey park (about 5 blocks seemingly straight uphill) and the kids roamed around there with about a hundred other kids.

MR. INVENTION: I can't tell you how many times a day CJ talks about making something, be it a new video game, a machine that makes money, a time machine - the list is long. Whatever his invention is, it usually has an -inator suffix. I really need to start writing his ideas down. Anyway, no matter how outlandish or illegal (for instance that whole counterfeiting thing) his future inventions sound, I always encourage him to go for it. (I can't help but wonder how many creative minds have been smothered or squelched by nay-sayers.)

CANDY MATH: CJ practically begged for candy corn at Fred Meyer today so I caved on a tiny bag. Tonight after dinner, the kids wanted at it. I poured it onto a plate and said they'd have to do some math - specifically division - to earn it. Together we counted that there were eight pieces. I asked them how they'd divide it so that they each had an equal amount. I expected there to be some discussion and work to figure it out, but Annabelle instantly swooped down, pushed four to each side of the plate and they dug in. Highly motivated, I guess.

Big Bro's B-day

MARLEY IN THE MORNING: Overheard at 8:35, Annabelle singing to CJ, "Get up, stand up - Go put on your pants!" to the tune of the Marley classic. (At the time, they were both sitting on the couch, under a blanket.) Too funny.


SPECIAL DAY: We consulted the calendar to find out today is Wednesday, Oct. 7, and that means it's Rick's b-day. That means today's activities will include working on his birthday cake and wrapping presents - both good for fine motor skill practice. : ) More on that later.


TABLES AT THE TABLE: Today the kids did a couple of math worksheets from the site I found yesterday. It was a new take on simple addition and subtraction. Instead of vertical or horizontal equations, it was in a tabular format. The top, for instance, would say "plus 7" and then there was a column with a number and a blank next to the number. So say the number was 3, you'd do 3 plus 7 and write 10 in the blank. The kids caught on immediately - no long/special instructions needed. Good for them!


DOGGIE DOCTOR: Today was Kirby's first trip to the "vet" (really it was to see a technician at a local animal clinic to receive puppy immunizations). We went to Urban Vet because it got good Yelp reviews. The trip gave us a good reason to talk about immunizations (which the kids have both experienced), and why animals can benefit from them. CJ and Annabelle were a little worried about Kirby being hurt by the shots(s). I conceded that it would hurt a little, but the discomfort would be short - much shorter than if she were to get sick with one of the diseases she was being immunized against. At the vet's the kids got to see photos of parasites (which gave Annabelle the willies) and a model of a dog's inner ear (which also gave Annabelle the willies). When it came shot time, Kirby was a stoic - she didn't let out a peep. What a good role model for the kids. : )


In other Kirby news, last night we put a new ID tag on Kirby's collar. We talked about why people would put ID tags on someone/thing (to help them find their way back should they get lost). Of course, if Kirby could talk, we'd just teach her how to say her address, so she could tell her rescuer where she lived, like this Japanese parrot did.


CHECK IT OUT: Wednesday means CJ had a Befriended session today. The group was working on how to deal with their emotions when they feel mad or sad when they're around peers. The kids work with the group moderator for 45 minutes and then the parents return for a post mortem, so to speak. When we came in there was a chart on the board with the kids' names and stars next to their names denoting good behavior. There was also a check column that was apparently used for tracking not good behavior. Moderator Kim told parents that the kids had requested that she erase the checks so the parents wouldn't be upset. Hmm. At that CJ immediately piped up, "I didn't have any checks!" And honestly, I believe him. He is almost obsessive about following rules and actually works really hard to do the right thing. And I also think he was probably a bit confused or miffed that the checks were erased, when he worked hard to toe the line during the exercise, and some of the others perhaps not so much, but the slate was wiped clean. Not sure what the positive lesson there is. ...


YOU'RE IN THE ARMY NOW: Yesterday CJ found a little army outfit that fits on one of Annabelle's teddy bears. He wanted to try it on (um no, CJ, not even close). But I told him that his daddy had real live Army clothes that he might be able to outfit CJ in. So when Christian got him, he brought up his old duffel bag and showed the kids his old getup. CJ was hot to try it on, but I had to veto that - the clothing smelled like an Army barracks from the early '80s. So instead, CJ got a lesson in doing laundry - he oversaw the washing of it last night, and helped Christian put it into the dryer. Unfortunately, it wasn't dry by bedtime. Mr. Mind Like a Trap's first words this a.m.: "Do you think the Army clothes are dry yet?" I told him they most certainly were, but that I wanted his dad to be able to be here when he was trying them on. So within 60 seconds of Christian getting home this afternoon, the two of them were in the basement retrieving the laundry. Then Christian spent the next half hour or so outfitting both CJ and Annabelle in oversized Army uniforms. Sorry no photos ... I was elbow deep in fondant. I'm sure they're going to want to repeat the exercise tomorrow.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RICK: CeeJ and Bee's big brother Rick turned 24 today. Yikes. For one week and one day a year, Rick is TWENTY YEARS older than Annabelle. That makes me feel ancient for some reason, but I digress. ... Anyway, we just had to make Rick a birthday cake and it had to be something well, weird, just because. So I decided to make a Twin Peaks inspired cake. In that show, Agent Cooper was obsessed with "a damn fine cup of coffee" and cherry pie. So, I decided to make a cherry pie cake and cup of coffee. Why I didn't just make a cherry pie, I'll never know. I should have started this project at least a day or two earlier, but, I didn't. Good thing I had Annabelle and yet another big brother, Kennedy, available to help me form fondant cherries. Lots and lots of fondant cherries. CJ was apparently unavailable to help with the crafting part, but he was extraordinarily eager to sample it ... Anyway, we got the pie cake done. Now, Annabelle needs to help design her birthday cake. ...

Two Little Pumpkins

I BELIEVE IN YESTERDAY: We started the morning off with calendar talk and identifying the day/date (they both did so quickly). Next, they each recorded a weather icon for today. Easy stuff. However, a speed bump was dead ahead. ...

I want to teach them that one of the great things about a calendar is that it can help you keep track of things you have to do on certain days. So, I asked them, "What is it we do every Tuesday afternoon?"

I was met with two long blank stares. You'd think I'd asked them who the Tsar of Russia was in 1547. I gave them a hint: "It's an activity you do. Every Tuesday. Afternoon." More blank stares and a few silly guesses. "We drive there." Still lots of nothing. So - seriously like 10 minutes later - I gave them a hint - a big hint. "It starts with a 'Y'." That had to do it, right? I mean, how many activities begin with a Y?

So they started rattling off Y words (everything from 'yeah' to 'yellow'). Everything but ... "yuh, yuh, yuh YOGA!" Annabelle finally figured it out. So they wrote Ys on all the Tuesdays on their October calendar.

Next, we the covered the concepts of "yesterday" and "tomorrow." I was happy they IDed yesterday right away. Tomorrow was more of a challenge for CJ. We'll hit it again, well, tomorrow.

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS: We've been putting it off long enough. Today, it was time to do some old school arts and crafts. : ) Historically, crafty things haven't been CJ's favorite (or even third, fifth or twelfth favorite) activity. And I know I let this influence me toward other types of learning, but doggone it, Annabelle LOVES all things artsy and really, so do I. So today was the day. Being October and all, I figured I would have the kids make jack-o-lanterns out of paper plates. While they were working, I played a preschool favorite song - "Five Little Pumpkins" through the computer speakers.

I also found a version of the song that was presented in a more book-like manner, so they kids watched and read that twice Same words, but presented more like a book. The kids watched it twice.

I had them each make two jack-o-lanterns, much to CJ's disdain. (While gluing the face on his first one, he cried, "My pumpkin's out of control!") After they each had their pumpkin pair, I told them we need five little pumpkins, like the song, so how many more do we need? (A story problem!) They both knew it was one more pumpkin, so I whipped one up, post haste.

I noticed at the end of the Five Little Pumpkins story we watched, there was a slide listing resources used. One was a Web site http://www.dltk-teach.com/. Curious, I pointed my browser there, and there I found a one-page version of the poem, which I printed out. There was also a minibook template for the story. It pleased Annabelle greatly. "I'm always up for a craft!" she declared. (She better watch out - that's dangerous talk. Before she knows it, she's going to be making Twinkie sushi, Nintendo-themed cakes, or three pinatas for the block party.)

Anyway, I made a big deal out of putting our pumpkins and the book together and displaying them, and I could see that the kids were very proud of their work. (They kept going over to where it is hanging all evening, reading and re-reading the poem and talking about whose pumpkin was whose and so on.) It served to reinforce the fact that we absolutely should incorporate crafts frequently. It's great for the motor skills, fosters creativity and it was wonderful seeing their sense of accomplishment.

(If you click on the photo to see the larger version, you can make out the towers on Queen Anne Hill on the righthand side.)

ANOTHER GOLDMINE: While on my Internet pumpkin hunt today, I found a great Web site with free printable math worksheets. We have several books with math worksheets in them, but it's nice to give the kids something with a different look or style from time to time. They have math and other curriculum that can be searched by holiday, grade level, activity type and more.

THE LOTUS POSITION: After taking Kirby for a walk, we headed for Columbia City to Lotus Yoga for their Tuesday afternoon class. The kids didn't say much about it afterward, but they were pleased that eating apples was a part of the class as they're such apple experts and all now. ; )

FONDANT FORAY: After dinner, I started working on Rick's birthday cake. Annabelle got her first lesson in making fondant. She wanted so desperately to be helpful, and mostly she was, but it was a very sticky situation. Tomorrow it will be more fun as we'll be into assembly and decoration mode instead of just the sugary grunt work.

Another Monday

YESTERDAY ONCE MORE: We started the day by revisiting the calendars the kids had created on October 1. We really need to do this first thing every day. Today, my goal was to get the kids to be able to figure out what the date (Monday, Oct. 5) is based on their calendar. We started with "What day is it?" Then, it was, "What month is it?" And lastly, it was, "What's the date?" It didn't come easy, and I doubt that it stuck, but it's a process. I also have a few ideas about how we'll make the concepts of "tomorrow," "yesterday," "later," etc. more concrete. Stay tuned. ; )

SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS: One of the things I had the kids do was add a weather icon to today's date. They both chose to draw a sunshine because it is still very sunny round here. We were heading into working on some basic math worksheets, so I thought it would be nice to play some background music that continued that "sunny" theme. I started off with the lovely Sunshine on My Shoulders. After it concluded, CJ said, "I want to hear it again!" Nice. Next up, the very bubblegum, "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows." Bee liked this one. Third up was a contemporary sun song, "Raining Sunshine," from the movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." While the music had served to enhance their math work up until this point, when he heard this song - and he knew it was from YouTube and there was a video with footage from the movie accompanying - CJ said, "I can't focus on my math with this song playing. I need to watch it afterward." I thought that was pretty astute of him. So, I switched to a simple little ditty from Rick and Ken's early teens: "Steal My Sunshine." CJ soon finished his math and watched "Raining Sunshine" twice. : )

APPLE AFICIONADOS: I love it that since our crash course on apples, the kids now frequently ask (or guess) what kind of apple they're being served. Today I sliced up a Gala, handed it to CJ and he said, warily, "That's not a Golden Delicious, is it?" The Goldens are not his favorites. He was happy to hear it was a Gala.

SAY CH-CH-CHEESE!: We are still working on our consonant blends, of course, and so at snack time this morning, I thought I'd offer some cheese and Cheez-Its and make them tell me which consonant blend the snack represented before they could chow down. They both chimed in, "CH!" immediately.

MORE OR LESS:
This evening, we read "More or Less." I hastily grabbed it while at the library last week thinking, "Looks like it might be about estimating. Math = good." Sold. And it was good. The storyline was that an elementary aged boy was running a booth at the school carnival where he guessed peoples ages. He used estimating, his knowledge of the concepts of more and less, logic and deducing to guess patrons' ages. (If he used too many guesses, he wound up in a dunk tank, so the suspense factor was there, helping keep CeeJ and Bee interested.) After we finished the book, I had the kids each get a Magnadoodle and we wrote the numbers 1-15 on one, and on the other, they took turns choosing a number that the other two of us tried to guess. It took them a couple of rounds to "get it," but before long, they were becoming pretty good guessers. As it turns out, the book is one in a series that helps teach math concepts, so I'm going to try to run a few more titles down.

WE'RE TALKING BASEBALL: This afternoon, CJ and Bee were playing Mario Super Sluggers on the Wii. "I love baseball!" CJ declared at the game's start. It was fun listening to them use their vast-and-expanding baseball terminology. Among other gems, I heard Bee ask CJ, "How do you bunt?" and I heard CJ say, " Can you hit my fastball?" That's our kids! : )

We Had Joy, We Had Fun

WE HAD SEASONS IN THE SUN: Usually Magnolia Prep field trips are a Monday affair, but we bumped it up a day this week so that we could take the kids to the last Mariners game of the season. There will be no playoffs for the Ms - today's the end of the road. Of course we had to be there. We were there for the season opener, and the storybook return of Ken Griffey Jr., and you had to know we'd be there for what could be Junior's last game as a Mariner-or his last game EVER. And so we donned our Mariners "uniforms" for one final time in 2009, swung by Queen Anne to pick up Rick, and then headed for 'The Safe."

First stop: The centerfield play park. While pre-game festivities were going on, the kids clambered around the slides and tubes and nets and such. Christian headed for a concession stand to score the kids a Moose Meal.

Eventually, the National Anthem came on. I stood in the play park, facing the flag, and wishing more people would remove their hats. I was also wishing CeeJ and Bee would somehow miraculously hear the song and come out of the playground and face the flag. A ridiculous wish, I realize, as it was the wild west in there! I watched and listened to Old Glory flap on a very windy day, and at one point I glanced over to my right and there was CJ, standing stoically, silently and at attention, staring at the flag. I was very proud of him.

We headed to our seats - the bleachers in left center field. We were facing southward and staring into a strong October sun. Man oh man was it hot. How ironic that today, October 3, was by far the hottest game of the season we sat through. In fact, by the second inning I handed Rick $20 and gave him the directive to go find sunscreen (which he did, thank goodness).

And what a game it was. I'm not going to pretend that there was a lot - or any - Magnolia Prep-type learning going on. Rather, today was about sitting in the sun and savoring the moment. There would be no more baseball for five months.

And so we luxuriated in the moments - in watching future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. come up for his first at bat and tip his hat to the crowd. Magic. And we saw Cy Young candidate Felix Hernandez pitch 7-plus strong innings. Amazing. We saw Junior get a hit in his last (ever?) at bat. We saw closer David Aardsma come in in the 9th and slam the door shut on the Texas Rangers. And we saw the whole team embrace one another, and everyone was watching Junior, who was crying and not even trying very hard to hide it. I've been watching him for 20 years now. I've never seen him cry before.

Though the team finished just barely above .500, as jubilant as the fans and players were, you would have thought the Mariners just clinched a playoff spot. What was going on here? We saw Ichiro carried on a teammate's shoulders like a hero - which he is. Likewise, we saw Griffey hoisted up (no small feat!) and paraded around the ballpark.

Really, it was just a big ol' love fest - a bunch of people who love watching baseball, and a bunch of guys who love playing it. And really, that's why it was so much fun this season. For the fans and the players, it was all about: For love of the game.

I can't wait until April 12.


THIS GUY WILL ALWAYS BE IN MY HEART: On the drive home, listening to the post-game show, catcher Rob Johnson was being interviewed. When asked what it was like to play with future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey, he replied, "This guy will always be in my heart." Amen to that. Junior played in an era when cheating was the norm (yes, I'm talking about you A-Roid). But Junior always took the high road. He played hard and played clean and his accomplishments are amazing and have no * after them. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to watch him all these years.

And, of course, Junior was interviewed. He was asked what his favorite part of this season was and he said without hesitation it was being with his teammates. He said that to a man, they were each the type that you could call and ask for help and they'd be there. That's something that's hard to put a price on. Junior also made it pretty darn clear that he'd like to be back next year. I have to think that will happen. It's just the way this story is supposed to end.


BASEBALL HOUR: Before the game, we read an eye candy book about what goes on at a youth baseball practice. The photo realistic illustrations by Bill Thomson are in sepia tones-except for the baseball, which is always a bright white with red stitching, which makes it really pop off the page. For whatever reason, CJ asked that we read the book upside down, so we did the first time through.