Magnolia Preparatory Academy: Hoopin' it Up

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Hoopin' it Up

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES: First thing this morning, we got started on an arts/language arts project. I wanted to have the kids make thank you notes to send to the Puyallup Fair, as this year we benefited from their Educational Ticket Program, which provides free admission tickets to students ages 6 and older and educators (yes, even home educators - hooray!). I helped coordinate the ticket order for the Seattle Homeschool Group, and in doing so I communicated with the folks at the fair who administer the program and provide the tickets and I know that it's no easy task they have. I envision that they are always peppered with requests, but rarely thanked. So, I thought a couple of thank yous were in order.

The kids each used the Puyallup Fair logo and wrote a "thank you" for their card's cover. On the inside, they each wrote a poem. CJ went with a Diamante (something we learned last week) poem. It read:

The Fair
Fun, dizzy
Riding, sliding, jumping
Swinging, thinking, learning
Happy, play time
The Fair

Annabelle wanted to try something new. Happily, I found the very cool Poetry Idea Engine on Scholastic's Web site. There, we learned how to write a cinquain poem. Its pattern is:
Line 1 = 2 syllables telling the subject of the poem.
Line 2 = 4 syllables describing the subject.
Line 3 = 6 syllables telling about the subject.
Line 4 = 8 syllables about the subject.
Line 5 = 2 syllables synonym for the subject

Here's what Annabelle came up with:

The fair
Big fun for all
Riding, walking, looking
Colorful, bright and exciting!
Happy land

And then the kids each picked a photo they liked from the fair yesterday and added those to the cards.

LET'S MOVE: Today I signed our names on the dotted line. The entire the student body of MPA is now signed up to participate in the for the 2010 President’s Active Lifestyle Award program.

The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN) and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) are trying to encourage Americans to harness their energy and get out into local parks, completing 60 minutes of physical activity a day for kids and 30 minutes a day for adults, five days a week for six weeks. Those who meet those goals will earn a President’s Active Lifestyle Award. Cool! I think we're up to the challenge.

There are some pretty compelling reasons for signing up. According to info on the program's Web site, "Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. One third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives; many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.

"In total, we are now eating 31 percent more calories than we were forty years ago–including 56 percent more fats and oils and 14 percent more sugars and sweeteners. The average American now eats fifteen more pounds of sugar a year than in 1970."

Well that's not good. :/ So as we're making sure we have a decent level of activity, I think we'll also spend some time talking about food-as-fuel concept.

BACK TO MUSIC SCHOOL: Today marked the first day of fall quarter at Musikgarten. It was good to be back!

The unit the kids will be starting with this year is music of the British Isles. They have a new CD to listen to and even homework this year. I noticed there's at least one other girl in the music class this go round. That's nice, as Annabelle was outnumbered 5 to 1 last year.

I was very happy to see CJ very engaged with the music activities when I went for the parent participation part. He was the first to answer most questions teacher Nancy posed.

NEXT UP: Following Tuesday afternoon music is yoga class. The kids were happy to see teacher Nicole back after her month long vacation.

STORM: From yoga, it was straight to Key Arena for game 2 of the WNBA finals pitting the Seattle Storm against Atlanta Dream.

This was our first WNBA experience.

The event was sold out, the arena was rockin' and the atmosphere was absolutely electric. I can't remember the last time I've been in a crowd that had that kind of energy. Maybe a Mariners game in 1995? ... And the noise. OMG, the noise. I haven't been in an arena that loud since Queen at the Memorial Coliseum in, what, 1980?

From a multimedia standpoint, the entire game was more choreographed than any sporting event I've ever been to. The music was almost non stop (yes, even during gameplay, which was very un-NBA like), and the announcer was a quasi-DJ, frequently exhorting the crowd. I found it a bit annoying at first, but I got used to it. Over half the crowd was waving white towels a good portion of the time, and many had those noisemaking sticks they beat together. That said, this was by FAR the most polite sporting crowd I've ever been around, and I didn't see a single drunk in the crowd. It was a very family friendly event.At one point Bee yelled, "This Storm game is GREAT!!!!" Even CJ didn't seem to mind it too much. (I think he liked being able to watch the clock count down the quarters - which is very unlike a baseball game!) It was a great game - close all the way - with no sure winner until the final buzzer. Thankfully, the Storm came out on top. One more win over the Dream and they're the WNBA champs!