Getting Centered

SECOND OF JULY: Independence Day is just a couple of days away, and I thought it would be appropriate to help the kids learn a little more about what those fireworks are all about.

We started off by visiting the History Channel's Web site, which you can always count on to give you a solid 3- or 4-minute synopsis of a given topic. First, the kids viewed a video about the history of the Fourth of July , in which I learned Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826, on the 50th anniversary of the day they signed the Declaration of Independence. Pretty wild.

We also checked out a video about the Declaration of Independence and one about the origin of fireworks (the first fireworks were real live bombs!).

Next, we turned to good ol' BrainPOP, where we learned about US symbols - everything from the American flag to the Liberty Bell to the bald eagle (the photo here is from our FLA trip).

Then, we hopped to the Seattle Public Library site, and the kids read along with a couple of books online via the BookFlix feature. They read "George Washington" by Will Mara and "So You Want to be the President" (which had a very annoying epilogue about how G.W. Bush "won" the presidency because he "won" Florida - but I digress).

EYE OF THE NEEDLE: At noon, the kids had a playdate with CJ's BFF (a very sweet girl with a really nice mom) from John Hay. We met at the big, central fountain at Seattle Center. The kids played around on the grassy expanse and clambered over a whale sculpture for awhile before we migrated over to the Children's Museum.

The museum was lots of fun. The kids had fun playing in the storytelling room (which they had all to themselves, despite a good crowd on hand today), and they explored the larger-than life books place, too. There, we found a few things we didn't see on our last visit there, including this neat-o estimation station. There were several jars full of cookies and you had to guess how many cookies were in each.

There was also a display where you could place "chocolate chips" in cookies. A sign on the display asked which cookie you'd want to eat most. For CJ, I'm guessing it's lower right corner ...

Before too much longer, it was our turn in the art center (you have to have a time-slot ticket for entry, which is a good idea, because having too many people in there would just ruin it for everyone). I was surprised that Annabelle skipped painting today, instead opting to go with recycled arts and clay. Here's her olive pizza. CJ spent most of his time at his favorite station - a plastic panel you can paint on and then clean. It's very fluid and dynamic - I can see why he's drawn to it ...
Almost the whole time we were in the Children's Museum, Mr. Bionic Nose (a.k.a. CJ) was picking up scents wafting down from the food court overhead. He was VERY happy when we finally went upstairs so he could get something to eat. On display in the food court was a LEGO Statue of Liberty.

After we ate, CJ's friend and her mother introduced us to a couple of spots we'd never seen before, upstairs, above the food court. One was a playroom.
I'm guessing the place is a pretty tightly kept secret because despite the food court being full of families, our three kids were the only ones in it!

Also, on a landing adjacent to the playroom, were over-sized checkers and chessboards. There, CJ waged an epic battle on the chessboard.

Afterward, we ventured back outside and to the fountain where we started. Even though they just had their street clothes with them, I encouraged the kids to get as wet as they wanted. We were just heading home, a short trip, afterward.

Can you spot CJ & Annabelle in the photo below?



And here is a gratuitious Space Needle shot. Hey, it's Seattle Center -we gotta include a Needle shot!

YOGA STORY: A couple weeks back, a woman who works at Lotus Yoga, where the kids take classes, asked parents' permissions to take photos for a story she was writing for a blog. I just found that story and some photos online. It's a nice write up, and does a good job of capturing the weekly class CeeJ and Bee participate in.

If you look at the photos closely, you'll spot Annabelle in a couple (one a face shot, the other is the back of her head). And I found CJ's foot in one. :)