Are You Ready for Some Football?!?!

MORNING MUSIC: Come 9 a.m. we sloshed our way (Kirby included) to Musikgarten. Today the group finished their first unit, with music centering on the theme of "Home." Starting next week, they start "The Woodlands" unit, so they got new folders (which they were excited about) and a CD full of new-to-them music.

McMAP: Lately Friday has meant playdate with Connor and since today was so miserable outside, we decided to meet at (groan) McDonald's. I would MUCH rather take the kids to a park, but that wasn't in the cards weather wise and I wanted CJ and Annabelle to have the chance to run around and play. So, in this case, McDonald's fit the bill, as one in Ballard has a pretty darn big indoor play area/climbing/sliding structure. Plus, it's close, it's free (no admission charge), and (mercifully!) CJ & Annabelle would actually prefer a Happy Meal of chicken nuggets, apple slices and milk or water than a burger, fries and pop. So, they ate and then played for about an hour with Connor as well as a half dozen other kids there. More evidence that maps are all around us - in one part of the play area was a colorful map of McDonald Land. The kids both spent some time checking it out.

FOOTBALL BY THE BOOK: Once back home, we sat down to read three books about football. Why football, you ask? Because we'll be going to the UW Husky/UO Ducks football game on Saturday. Although the kids have been to a Seahawks' and a Huskies' game before, they don't know football as well as they do baseball, and I know the game is more fun to watch when you understand more about it. "My Football Book" gave some facts and figures, and I realize the football isn't an easy game to explain clearly or quickly, but frankly, I thought the author and illustrator could have done a better job. Next was "Football: Rules of the Game." It was a little bit clearer, but bo-ring. Lastly, we read "The Story of Football," which gave a little bit of info about the history of football (including that its genesis is rugby, and that Harvard and Yale students played the first game).

SCRIMMAGE: After reading up on football, we were ready to put the kids' new found knowledge to use! Naturally, I had a football field game board in the closet (doesn't everyone?). It was decided it would be Robots vs. Ponies, you guess who was whom. I quick-like made up some rules. The player on offense started on their own 20 and, just like legit football, they had 4 downs to try to get 10 yards. They would role a die and that = the number of yards gained on a play. So where was some good math involved

FLAG ON THE PLAY: Roughing the pony, 15 yard penalty and loss of down.

C'MON AND MEET THE ELEMENTS: They Might Be Giants' fabulous "Here Comes Science" CD is in heavy rotation in our car. One of the kids favorite tracks is "Meet the Elements." This afternoon I showed them the music video for the first time. They must have watched it a half dozen times. HIGHLY recommended listening and viewing. Give it a listen and I'll bet you'll find yourself singing it days from now.

Maptastic

DINOSAUR BRAIN DRAIN: This morning before ballet, I let the kids watch Dinosaur Train. It's a bit more sophisticated than many kiddie dinosaur shows in that a train is the vehicle that literally (in the dinos' cases) takes them traveling through the different eras when dinosaurs lived (rather than just throwing 'em all in mix together, like many shows do). The animation is interspersed with live action shorts featuring a paleontologist. Overall, there's lots to like. I told the kids to be ready, we had to leave as soon as the show was over. Meanwhile, Mr. Not Listening kept insisting that they had to watch the show because of its educational value. Yes, fine, I get that, I told him, but be ready to go right when it's over. I headed upstairs to change and use the bathroom. While in the bathroom, um, using it, I hear CJ call, "OK, Mom, we're coming with you now," followed by squeaking hinges and the front door slamming. Great, so here I am upstairs, indisposed, and CJ is running up toward the street/car. I have all sorts of horrid visions about how this is going to turn out. I pull myself together, tear down the stairs and then UP the stairs and find CJ. So while I blamed him for taking off like that at the time, as I recount this, it occurs to me that HE was the one ready to go right when the show was over (per instruction) and I wasn't. My bad.

MOSTLY SILENT READING: While Bee was in ballet, CJ and I made our weekly trek to the library. One of the dozen-plus books we came home with was"Snoopy: Flying Ace to the Rescue." I pulled it off the shelf because while watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, the kids really enjoyed the vignette where Snoopy is a WWI flying ace. Since we got back to the community center/ballet central early, I had CJ sit down and read the book to himself. He managed to do so with only a couple of exceptions, one being reading/shouting BAM BAM BAM when Snoopy was kicking Charlie Brown's front door. A few pages later he muttered, "Snoopy has lost his mind." Not sure what prompted that conclusion, but I can relate, Snoopy.

CHARTING A COURSE Thanks in large part to Dora the Explorer, the kids have been familiar with the concept of a map since toddlerhood. But it occurs to me that it would be good for them to study the elements of a map and a map's uses a bit more in-depth, as it combines geography, spelling, graphics/art, some math (calculating/estimating distances) and just plain practicality.

I asked the kids what they think a map is for and Annabelle immediately said, "A map is something that tells you how to get somewhere." I thought rather than go straight to worksheets, we'd START with the fun stuff - making our own map. So, we decided to map our midday Kirby walk.
I drew our alley, and CJ labeled it. As we passed houses along the way, I made boxes to signify houses we passed, and had the kids come up with an initial of a person who lived there. I had them label the E-W street leading to the park, as well as cross streets we encountered, and on the way back we checked our work.

Once back home we read "How Tall How Short How Faraway." Recommended by the National Science Teachers Association, this great book didn't just "talk" about miles, meters, inches, yards, and such, it shared info about the origin of measurements in very kid-friendly terms, with engaging illustrations, and along the way were suggestions to stop and measure things around the house using newfound knowledge (for instance, using a 'cubit' or the length from your elbow to the tip of your middle finger).

Afterward, the kids completed a good map exercise comparing a photographed map with a graphical reproduction. They had to ID landmarks in the photo map and ID them on the graphic map. They caught on quickly, and I think our making our own map ahead of time really helped. Next, they played an online game where they had to drag and drop states to their proper place on a US map. I was surprised how quickly they caught on to that, too (for instance, that the tiny states are in New England, that the boxy ones are in the Midwest, etc.).

BARBIE ZOMBIE: During free play time CJ and Annabelle were playing with some cute little dolls Bee got for her bday (thanks Nonnie & Bops!). I started to listen and had to laugh when I heard they were actually playing out a horror movie of sorts with them, and one doll was instructing another to "take me to your zombie master." Too funny!

IT'S ALIVE, ALIVE!: I really wanted to do a little "hands on" (cough cough) experiment today, so I decided to bust out the ghouly hands trick I found on education.com. It was simple - all we needed was a wide-mouthed jar, a disposable glove, vinegar and baking soda. I let an anxious Annabelle color the hand (truth be told, she wanted nothing to do with making a monster hand come alive). Then we poured 3 tablespoons of vinegar into a jar, 3 teaspoons of baking soda into a disposeable glove and put the glove over jar and sealed it with a rubber band. Soon, the monster hand started to expand, much to the kids' delight. Says Annabelle, "At first I was a little scared, but then it got fun." Yay for science!
IT COMPUTES: Later this afternoon, CJ requested FunBrain, a Web site where lots of games live. Even though there are tons of just-for-fun games there, happily, he specifically requested the MATH games FunBrain features. Good boy. : )

BEDTIME STORIES: Tonight before bed, the kids watched a Scholastic Storybook Treasures DVD with five great stories, all tied together by a "magic" theme. Titles included the classics Strega Nona and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. I really love this series.

Wednesday at MPA

NUMBER CRUNCHERS: We have gone a couple of days without doing any formal math, so it was back to the worksheets this a.m. We started with a word problem about a farmer's pumpkin harvest that used addition. Next, I had them do something a little different - tabular addition and subtraction. CJ had a little trouble getting back into the swing of things - until I put a stopwatch on him. No doubt from his video game background, a visual countdown puts the fear of GOD in him. He got right to it with the stopwatch on my cell phone ticking off the time. (Ironically, he wasn't given a time limit, but just the running numbers lit a fire under his arse.)



BACH TO THE FUTURE: While the kids were doing math, I thought I'd put on a little classical "background" music. I chose Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Bach's most famous organ piece. As luck would have it, I happened upon a YouTube upload which featured a great bar-graph animated score. It was a huge BINGO! moment for MPA, as the graphical notation is very much like what the kids are learning in Musikgarten. At the very first note the kids came running for the computer and they sat absolutely rapt for the entire 8:32 "watching" the music. They both acted out various parts with their hands and even made up some lyrics that went along with the musical action. Superb! We also listened to and watched Bach's Brandenburg Concerto #3, First Movement, Allegro . Regarding the musical animation, author "Smalin" explains, "When the instruments in each section play in unison, there is a single fat (tall) note for all three; when they have solos, the notes are thinner (about half as high). The violins are shades of red, the violas are shades of green, and the violoncellos are shades of blue. The contrabass is sort of a brownish-gray, and is always wide, since it doesn't have solos. When two instruments play the same note, the colors blend (e.g. red + green = yellow)." At some points in the piece, I suggested to the kids that they pick out one color (or instrument) and try to isolate it while listening. The animation made that pretty easy. BeeBee also did some interpretive dance, and CJ became a spontaneous concert conductor.

I asked the kids what Concerto #3 made them think of. Annabelle said, "A happy bird flying along a rainbow and little bunnies." And CJ? He said, "It makes me think of kids' stuff, like no math. Kids just playing, no math or no science, no paperwork. Just playing." :)

I felt like checking out all of the videos from the uploader (Beethoven! Sousa! Chopin! Mozart! and more), but figured I should save some for subsequent days.

MIGHT AS WELL JUMP: It was another drippy day out, so I rolled out the trampoline and the kids hopped and jumped to burn off some energy. For inspiration, I played VanHalen's Jump! for them. By the end of the song CJ staggered off the trampoline saying, "My heart is getting tired" and headed for a drink of water. For Annabelle's blast off, I played Brian's Setzer's "Jump Jive & Wail" She went to town but was ready for it to be over by its end, saying, "That hurt," as she dismounted the trampoline. Ah, nothing like a little exercise to do the body good. :)

BEFRIENDED FINITO: Today was the final meeting of BeFriended, a 12-week course where kiddos "can learn and practice the skills they need to connect with peers through friendship and play." Sounds great, especially for CJ, who lives in his own head a lot of the time. While we believe Magnolia Preparatory Academy is the best place for Mr. CJ to be learning at the present, we are also keenly aware the young man needs to interact with typically developing peers (other than his sister!) on a regular basis. And so, we signed him up for this class. Truth be told, he wasn't thrilled about going and is glad it's over. But just because he didn't love it doesn't mean he didn't get anything out of it. ;) Really, the material covered wasn't new to me at all as, in the last couple of years, I've already read so many books, Web sites, articles, etc. about helping youngsters acquire social skills. However, along the way, I did meet some really nice parents of CJ's classmates and it was nice exchanging information and experiences with them. And it also reinforced my belief that what I really need to do with CJ is some silly-but-serious social story role playing. I just know that's how we're really going to cement some of this stuff for him. (Stay tuned for details ...)
HALLOWEEN FYI:This afternoon we read parts of The Halloween Book of Facts & Fun. We learned a bit about the Celtic roots of Halloween, why people wear costumes (to hide from spirits), that bobbing for apples used to be a spin-the-bottle sort of game. And we read that the origin of the Jack o Lantern tradition may have its roots in Ireland and a tale about a lad named Jack who used an illuminated hollowed out turnip to find his way back from Hell (not the happiest story). We also read about El Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead, which is actually a happy time to remember and celebrate the lives of family and friends who have passed.

We also read another chapter from All About Sam. In this episode the now-toddler wound up flushing his sister's goldfish down the toilet. The lead up to the incident was funny, but CJ and Annabelle were both aghast at the outcome for the fish - Annabelle to the point of tears.

IT'S ELEMENTARY: While perusing Club Penguin today, Annabelle noticed something on a wall in a laboratory. "Look, it's a periodic table of elements," she declared. Good eye!

I'm a Rocket, Man

ENTER THE ARES ERA: Last night while we slept, a new age in space exploration was being born. NASA's experimental rocket Ares I-X was hauled to its launch pad. The four-mile trip took more than seven hours. At 327 feet, Ares I-X is taller than the Statue of Liberty. This is the first time in 34 years that a rocket other than the Space Shuttle has stood at Launch Pad 39-B. Ares rockets are designed to carry astronauts to the moon someday - if funding isn't cut. Ares I-X is a two-stage launcher with a five-segment solid rocket booster first stage and a liquid-fueled second stage. The Orion crew capsule and a launch abort system sit atop the rockets.

According to Space.com, the Ares I-X test rocket has three chances to launch next week, one a day each between Oct. 27 and Oct. 29. We'll certainly be watching!

Of course we went to NASA's Web site to get the scoop on Ares, and watched the video "A New Rocket is Born." It's a highly accelerated record of Ares' construction and assembly. On NASA's site we also found instructions for building our own Ares model out of cans. I think we'll do that between now and launch date. We also watched a slide show of the construction, some launch pad shots and artists' renderings of what Ares will look like in flight.

Because of the rocket news today, as the kids were doing math and language arts worksheets, I played some far out music, including Elton John's stellar Rocket Man (using a YouTube video that includes some great old NASA footage). The kids know this song well, and sang along. Bowie's Space Oddity (Ground Control to Major Tom) was another obvious/must. It's from 1969, which means it's FORTY friggin' years old. How is that possible? Seriously.

POP ARTISTS: For a creativity fix today, Pop Tarts fans CJ and Annabelle logged on to poptarts.com/popartist. We'd seen a promo on a box where you could design a custom Pop Tart t-shirt, and the kids were excited about the prospect. On the site they were able to drag and drop graphics, resize and rotate them. It was interesting watching the kids' different approaches. Annabelle wanted to fill-and-color up every square inch of her "canvas," while CJ had a more minimalist approach. I thought it was interesting how he took a Pop Tart and blew it up so that it's squiggled frosting appeared as stripes on his shirt front. He then used only chocolate chip cookies (which will surprise no one who knows him) repeatedly on the stripes.

PETER PETER REVISITED: From time to time, CJ brings up the injustice of the whole Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater situation. It Really Bothers Him. In fact, just Sunday he was saying how he figured Peter Peter and his wife would never have babies because of how Peter treated her. I had to agree with him. Naturally, this a.m. when I saw a headline about a pumpkin house in West Sussex, England, on the Internet, I had to check it out and show the kids. We decided that if Peter Peter put his wife in this house, it might, indeed, be keeping her very well.

COTTAGE INDUSTRY: Shortly after viewing the pumpkin house video, CJ asked, "What does 'cottage' mean, Annabelle?" (I'm guessing perhaps the word cottage was used in the video.) Annabelle replied, "It's a very little house." At that very moment, she happened to be crafting a cottage out of a box, a fact she pointed out to CJ. "It's good to recycle stuff," she explained.

BOOKWORMS: We read three books today. One, Move, was about the different way animals move. The fabric collages were cool, but the text was almost too young for my kids. Hooray for Reading Day! was age appropriate. It was about a first grader who gets embarrassed when she has to read aloud to her class because she makes mistakes. However, through practice she overcomes her fears. We also read The Bears Autumn by Keizaburo Tejima. It is a gorgeous book with woodcut illustrations (which gave us a chance to talk about that artform). It also melded some past units we've had nicely, as it was about salmon and autumn.

TURKEY TROT: Before heading out for yoga, we took Kirby for a walk. Along the way, Annabelle and I collected some longish pine cones we think would make great turkey feathers with a just-right squash of some kind. I hope we can find that squash ...

POLAR PROWL: At bedtime the kids watched one of the DVDs we got at the library recently: Really Wild Animals, a National Geographic production. The video had info about polar bears, walruses, penguins and killer whales, as well as info about geography and cartography. A nice way to close out the day at MPA.

Tour Takers

BALLFIELD FIELD TRIP: Monday means a field trip and today we had some special guests along - Grandma & Grandpa (a/k/a Judy & Eric) Richstad. Where would we go? Safeco Field of course. The Mariners' baseball season may be over but they give tours year round. And though we've all been to Safeco multiple times, the chance to go and see behind-the-scenes parts of the park was certainly a good enough reason for us to go.

The tour started in the team store where everything you can think of is emblazoned with a Mariners logo up for sale. From there, we caught the elevator up a floor to meet Ted, our tour guide. We darn near had a private tour - there were only three others in attendance (a couple from Australia and their baby).

We walked up to the concourse, and boy was it different looking than what we're used to. Missing were tens of thousands of fans in colorful garb, and no smells were wafting out of concession stands. There was no noise from the crowd or the PA speakers. Rather, it was eerily quiet, dark and cavernous. A lone groundskeeper limped around the infield and three young Japanese men were warming up near the home team dugout.

We toured several of the exclusive suites in the stadium where the high rollers hang out. We saw the visiting team's locker room, the press box, the Mariners' workout room, batting cages and the interview room where the team holds press conferences.


Pictured above, the Richstad/Kisky clan announces that Ken Griffey Junior has signed on for the 2010 season (don't we wish?)
Throughout the tour we saw all sorts of great baseball memorabilia and learned about the history of baseball in the Pacific Northwest, including women's and Negro League teams.

We definitely saw signs - and lots of them - that Major League Baseball is an international game. Most all of the signs were in Japanese as well as English (and there were a few signs in the locker room in Spanish, too). The Seattle Mariners are the only team in MLB with a majority owner from another country - in this case, the Nintendo Corp. of Japan.

CJ and Annabelle got to stand in the spot (deep within the bowels of the stadium)where people who throw out the ceremonial first pitch practice, and have a new appreciation for exactly how far (60 feet, 6 inches) it is from the pitching rubber to home plate.

We learned that there are tubes filled with warm water running underneath the grass at Safeco, so which help the turf grow year-round. We learned about the retractable roof, and the fact that it was retrofitted with an apron on the west/Puget Sound side in order to ensure the whole roof didn't rip off in high winds. (It's supposedly good for sustained wind of up to 90 mph now.)

And we learned that a lot more than baseball goes on at Safeco Field. There are over 300 events held there a year, including everything from weddings to proms to corporate get togethers.

After the tour, both kids said their favorite part was being able to go down on the field and hang out in the dugout, just like the real baseball players.

ANOTHER OUTING: Once we got back to the MPA campus, we headed for the hilltop and Ella Bailey Park. There, the kids got some good P.E. time.

ELECTRIFIED: Back home, we didn't break out the workbooks at all today. Instead, the kids watched Electric Company which, I am discovering, is really just about perfect for where they are reading-level wise. The show prompted CJ to want to go to their Web site. Once there, he played games including Chain Gang, where consonant blends are used to form multiple words. Perfect!
BROOM BOOK: This evening we read Room on the Broom, a cute story Annabelle got for her bday from G&G Richstad. In the story, an accident prone witch keeps losing items (her wand, her hair bow, her hat, etc.). Fortunately, she encounters critters (a frog, a dog, a bird, etc.) who help her recover the items and wind up coming along for the ride. CJ, Annabelle and I took turns reading pages aloud. Once the book was done, I asked them comprehension questions about which items the witch lost (and in what order). I did the same for the friends she encountered. They both were 100 percent on the item recall and sequencing, so I know they were comprehending what they read. Excellent!