Timber!!!!!!!!

Can you spot the tree trimmer?

RIP ROARIN': Both kids were up (well kind of) before the sun this morning and it's probably just as well, because come 8 o'clock there was heavy equipment in our alley and the sound of chainsaws. The neighbor was having a whole bunch of tree maintenance taken care of and while the Tree Dude was in the 'hood, we had him remove a huuuuge limb that was hanging over our entryway. It was educational watching them clamber around the trees, and we spent some time talking about how the tree parts could be recycled.
REPORT CARDS: As part of our affiliation with Shoreline School District's Home Education program, I have to file monthly reports on CJ and Annabelle's academic progress. It sounds simple enough, but this month is the first time I've done it, and I probably overdid it, and it took me nearly FIVE hours this morning to do it. :/

The reason that it takes so long is because for each kid, I have to write assessments not just for each kid, but for seven classes for each kid. That's 14 lil' summaries. (Gee, can you imagine being a regular classroom teacher and having to do that for, say, 25 kids each quarter? Egad.)

It sure was handy to have this here blog to refer back to. It helped me be a lot more specific about curriculum we've covered and lessons learned this past month. For example, here's Annabelle's assessment for art:

Much of October's artwork centered on seasonal themes.

Annabelle's various pumpkin projects included crafting a 3D jack-o-lantern, creating a wax and tissue paper pumpkin, painting a pumpkin and carving a pumpkin. Annabelle also constructed an elaborate "haunted" gingerbread house.

Using Activity TV tutorials, Annabelle drew a witch and a vampire. She used construction paper to craft a witch.

Annabelle had a hand in designing and creating three custom cakes this month. She mixed custom colors and sculpted design elements in fondant.

This month's field trips included a visit to the Olympic Sculpture Park where Annabelle studied the sculptures and landscape, and the Burke Museum, which had a special exhibit on textile arts. There, she was able to do some weaving and learn about materials used in weaving.

Obviously that's not all inclusive, but it certainly accounts for the clock hours we're supposed to be logging according to their specs.

I'M GONNA: This week Annabelle chose "I'm Gonna Like Me" from the shelves of the Shoreline school library. It's a celebrity book - no, not about a celebrity but BY a celebrity. Specifically, Jamie Lee Curtis. The subtitle of the book is "Lifting off a little self esteem."

I asked the kids if they knew what self esteem is. They didn't. So we talked a bit about that, and I have to give the book props for introducing that to our conversation. That's important.

The book was page after page of reasons the narrator felt good about herself, from missing front teeth to mixing a floral print and plaid, which is affirming and endearing. I get that. But I have to say, I just had a hard time warming to the book because I couldn't get past the "I'm gonna ..." bad grammar bit. IMHO it really wouldn't have hurt the book at ALL to say "I'm going to ..." instead. But enough about me. ...

I decided to turn the book into today's writing assignment and asked the kids to complete the stupid "I'm gonna" phrase.

CJ wrote, "I'm gonna like me when I go to the beach. I'm gonna like me when I get out of bed."

Bee wrote, "I'm gonna like me when I hug my mom. I'm gonna like me when I hug my dad."

MEGAMINDS: This evening Rick and Kennedy took CJ and Annabelle to see Megamind, the new Will Ferrell movie. It got eight thumbs up from our reviewers.

SCRUBBED: First thing I did at 5:20 this morning was check my email for the latest update from NASA regarding today's launch of Discovery. The report in my inbox was that it was a go and they were fueling up. As soon as Christian left (about 5:45), I hopped on Nasa.gov to see the countdown clock. However, there I leaned there was trouble - a hydrogen gas leak was detected at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate while fueling the external (that big orange) tank. Drat. At the time they were going to meet and still hoping to launch if not today, Monday, but within a couple of hours, the mission was scrubbed for not just the day but until Nov. 30th at the soonest. (Image Credit: NASA)

Man, oh man, we were lucky when we went to "our" launch.

CJ SHARES: Last night from the darkness of his bedroom, CJ called out to Christian and me to tell us, "The first day when I get my kids I will bring them to their grandma and grandpa's house - which is you." I thought that was super sweet. I went in his room to talk to him about it and he informed me, "You will bake them chocolate chip cookies. And if we lived far away and it was the kids' bedtime, I'd make them beds in the back of my car. I'd make as many beds as I needed," depending on the number of kids, he said.

This morning, shortly after breakfast, CJ told me, "When I'm a dad I'll be a swimming instructor." I thought that an interesting choice given CJ isn't terribly fond of swimming, but I told him that sounds like a great idea and told him he'd probably be really good at that. He did mention he'd wear a life jacket while on the job. :)

Tonight as he walked into his bedroom for slumber CJ handed me a "secret message" he'd written. It said, "M is for Mario and Mega Man. Mario + Mega Man = Mega Mario." He said he wants to have a picture to go with it. I told him we'd do some Photoshopping tomorrow.

Closely Shorn

We caught glimpses of a rainbow in the fountain at Seattle Center this afternoon. In fact, it looked like the rainbow ended right in the fountain. But being studied up on rainbows like we are, we knew that the "end" is nothing but an optical effect.

SPIN A STORY: It is clear to me that we haven't been doing enough pencil to paper writing. We need to write daily, just like we do math daily.

We returned to an old favorite tool for getting the writers' juices flowing - the Scholastic Story Starters. With a click of the mouse, the kids "spun" the machine's four wheels. Like a slot machine, the wheels stop spinning and your fate is revealed.

For Bee, the wheels spelled out "Write a quick fairy tale about a hopping queen who gets locked in the classroom overnight."

CJ's task: "Write about a day at the amusement park with a crazy donut who lives next door to you."
CJ didn't stray from the assignment. He wrote, "I was at the amusement park with a crazy donut. We rode on some rides. We liked those rides. The last one was the spider!"

Bee got a bit more creative. "A hopping bunny queen named Bueen was walking down the hallway. Suddenly Bueen saw a classroom and desided to go in. All the kids saw Bueen, so Bueen desided to stay. But accidentally Bueen got locked in the classroom overnight."

VITAMIN D: It was yet another lovely day so we spent an hour plus outside tending to the yard (sowing some more grass seed, mowing the lawn) and getting some P.E. The kids practiced throwing a Frisbee at targets.

ART IN THE AFTERNOON: This afternoon we made our way to Seattle Center. We parked faraway to save $, as usual, and had a nice walk to the Children's Museum. There, the kids spent most of their time playing in the Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit. They were really into playing mail persons today. They sorted dozens of letters at the post office and then delivered them to the proper boxes around "Birdwell Island" (where Clifford lives). They also played in the island's restaurant, and messed around with a conveyor belt that moved bones to and from Clifford's big bowl. When visiting the Birdwell Island music studio (a couple of drums and a marimba). Without prompting, CJ started playing "Hot Cross Buns" - a song from Musikgarten classes - on it by ear. Cool!Come 3 p.m. it was time to report to the Museum's "Art Club." It's a 1-hour art class for ages 6 to 10, and Annabelle's finally old enough. Based on when it's offered, it's clearly aimed at the homeschool crowd. Today, there was just one other student there - a homeschooled girl I'd guess to be about 9.

Today's art activities involved leaves. The kids painted leaves (by spraying on watercolors), they used leaves to paint, they used stencils and dripped paint onto the paper beneath them.

Annabelle really enjoyed it. CJ was super glad when it was over.WATER DANCE: When we came out of class it was still downright balmy. We made a beeline back to the spectacular fountain and, of course, I let the kids get wet. (I mean, how often are you going to be able to splash around in a fountain in NOVEMBER in Seattle without freezing?) Can you see the kids? They're right up against the center of the fountain.HAIRY SITUATION: Tonight as I was prepping dinner in the kitchen, Annabelle did something really, well, hmm, how to put it ... stupid?

She was in her bedroom and apparently thought it would be fun to crawl in her empty wicker laundry basket. While doing so, she apparently got her hair caught in it somehow. Then she apparently thought the best way out of her predicament would be via scissors. She asked CJ to get her some scissors. Dutiful brother that he is, he did so. And then, Annabelle whacked off a huge patch of her hair, right at the scalp.

Christian noticed it first. Now that she was free, Annabelle could walk around. As she was strolling through the living room, Christian noticed a HUGE hunk of Annabelle's hair hanging off her still-attached hair.

Great.

We certainly talked about how that was a very radical, ill-advised, semi-permanent solution to a very temporary problem (tangled hair).

Most of tonight Annabelle's been walking around the house wearing a hood and a few tears have been shed. I did get a smile out of her when I suggested she might want to consider wearing Rick's Halloween wig for the next few months.

Lovely November

Can you find the kids on the bridge over Lake Union?

A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE: We were gearing up to go to our southbound science class in Seatac this a.m. when we got a call from the teacher letting us know that the kit she was expecting didn't come in, so no class today, darn it.

We decided to head southbound anyway - we needed to hit Costco. As soon as we walked in the door there what did we see but a big ol' Sony 3D TV on display. CJ and Annabelle strapped on goggles and took it for a test drive.

It looked horrible without the goggles on, and pretty good (but not awesome) when wearing them. It will be interesting to see if/when this technology takes off for the home market. According to one article I read today, "3D is here to stay."

CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUTE: Oftentimes our unorthodox schooling means we have to be in the car for a half hour or more commuting to one place or another. I try to make that time useful by always having books, flashcards, CDs, etc. in the car. Today, on the 30-plus minute drive to science, the kids put finishing touches on their science homework.

GOOPY AFTERNOON: We continued our explorations of paper in our p.m. science class. Today's topic - papier mache. The kids have a lot of experience when it comes to that, thanks to our past piñata projects.

The kids were covering a plastic tub with strips of newspaper and gloppy gloop. No doubt when it dries, they will paint it off as a bowl.

Perhaps not too surprisingly, Mr. Tactile Sensitive wasn't too down with the sticky icky nature of the work. However, he did soldier on and waited until class was over to wash his hands against his many, many urges to bolt to the sink sooner.

After class, we three stayed to help the teacher clean up the considerable mess. That's when I noticed her space shuttle earrings. I told her we went to the last launch and she told me she's not been to one, but is flying down to FLA for the launch in Feb. She's even been to NASA's Space Camp (me = jealous!).

LOVELY AFTERNOON: The headline this morning said it all: "Nearing record high temperature, another sunny day in Seattle Wednesday."

Well, we couldn't let that go to waste, could we? The kids and I talked about where we should enjoy the sunshine. We recalled that we hadn't been back to South Lake Union Park since its grand opening (complete with Bubbleman!). On that day we had to share it with thousands and thousands of people. Today, the weather was every bit as lovely and there were only a couple of dozen others. I'll let the photos do the talking.






MI AMIGO, AMIGA: This evening CJ emerged from the bedroom and asked, "What the hell is an Amiga system?"

I corrected him and so he restated, "What the HECK is an Amiga system?"

Apparently he'd been doing some research in his room on his PC and discovered yet another gaming platform he'd been previously unaware of. Lord knows for the next several days we'll be hearing all about every game ever made for the Amiga system ...

Oh, and in case you're wondering what the hell an Amiga is, the Amiga 1000 was released in 1985. It was a personal computer sold by Commodore. According to Wikipedia's Amiga entry, it was "a high-end home computer and became popular for its impressive graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities. The Amiga provided a significant upgrade from 8-bit computers, such as the Commodore 64, and the platform quickly grew in popularity among computer enthusiasts."

Space Case

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Ten years ago today the crew of Expedition 1 became the first residents of the International Space Station (ISS). Since then, humankind has maintained a continuous presence in orbit aboard the ISS. The ISS has hosted 200 visitors and more than 600 experiments have been conducted. Fifteen nations have contributed hardware and modules to the ISS.

We watched a video about the ISS. To be honest, it was a little disappointing. A good part of it sounded like a pitch for more funding, which, of course, is important (no money = no space program), but it just seemed a bit off the mark for our little audience.

Fortunately, in past months we have watched several other really great videos about life and activity on the ISS, so the kids weren't completely bored by it. And we did find a fantastic International Space Station Interactive guide online. It's worth checking out.

To mark the anniversary we also read "The Amazing International Space Station," a book by the editors of "YES Mag" (a Canadian publication billed as "The Science Magazine for Adventurous Minds). It is a colorful book, and I appreciate their valiant attempt to keep the text cool, but I just didn't like how the authors kept calling astronauts and cosmonauts 'Nauts. I appreciate the fact that they were trying to come up with a generic that would encompass both astronauts and cosmonauts, but I've never heard them either of them called 'Nauts before. I think there's a reason for that - it sounds dorky. :)

DAY OF DISCOVERY: We have been watching the preparations for the launch of STS-133, space shuttle Discovery. It's the first shuttle mission since we watched Atlantis launched last May. Discovery was set to launch on Nov. 1, but it's been delayed three times now, by my count. It has been one thing after another (leaks, an electrical issue).

No doubt the crackerjack team at NASA will work through it all. When Discovery does finally launch, it will have a special passenger on board.According to NASA, "Robonaut 2, a dexterous, humanoid astronaut helper, will fly to the International Space Station aboard space shuttle Discovery on the STS-133 mission. Although it will initially only participate in operational tests, upgrades could eventually allow the robot to realize its true purpose -- helping spacewalking astronauts with tasks outside the space station." Image Credit: NASA

Isn't it funny how they made Robonaut 2 look buff/like a superhero?

M&M: We did math and music around midday. The kids are plugging along through Singapore Math with no trouble. We also did a few rounds of flashscard addition in the car on the way to yoga today. The kids can always figure out how to add, and have memorized many of the basic addition combos, but they'd be much faster if they remembered 8+7=15, 9+8=17, and a few others.

It was such a nice day here - the high temperature was 63 F- in November! We took the long way to music class and enjoyed the changing colors of the leaves.

During the with parents portion of Musikgarten we played an ensemble piece - half the room playing two notes, the other half playing another couple of notes. It actually sounded pretty good!

NICE SIZE: Today was our second visit to the big kids' yoga class. It's a really nice change. Instead of the dozen plus kiddos, the only ones in this class are CJ, Annabelle, their best yoga buddy and one other, older, girl. It's almost like a private lesson! The time isn't as convenient, and it makes a bad commute a little worse, but overall it's an improvement.

CJ SAYS: Tonight just before bed, the kids and Christian played "Simon Says." Gosh, it's been years since we've played that in this house. It was interesting listening to CJ be Simon. He came up with some good ones, like "CJ says, 'Pile and tickle.' CJ says, 'Lay on the floor and make a snow angel.'

Enter November

Here are the pumpkins the kids carved (with Christian's help) this weekend.
IN NOVEMBER'S GUSTY GALE: First thing this morning, I asked the kids if they knew the date. I figured this would be an easy question. "Everyone" knows Halloween is Oct. 31 and that's the last day of October, right?

Well CJ remembered that yesterday was Oct. 31, but he guessed today to be the 32nd. Annabelle let him know he was wrong, that no month has more than 31 days. So she knew it was the first, but neither could remember the word November. I remedied that by pulling up "Chicken Soup with Rice" on YouTube.

Now that they both knew it was November, I asked them what they recall as being special about that month. Naturally, I was expecting something about Thanksgiving or Veteran's Day. What did I get. "Is it called "NOvember because you don't do stuff you don't want to do in November?" CJ asked (seriously, I think). Um, no, CeeJ, that is NOT what November's about. ...
Clearly it wasn't our most stellar 'school day' start.

DAY OF THE DEAD: Once we got into our November groove, the kids did recall that the day after Halloween is La Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead.

Fortunately, a couple weeks ago I picked up a book from the library on the holiday:
"Day of the Dead" part of the Celebrations in My World series.

It's a wonderful resource - 32 colorful pages filled with detailed-but not dry-information. We had no problemo powering through the book.

The kids were reminded that the Day of the Dead is not about being afraid of spirits (as is the case on Halloween, hence the hiding via masks and costumes). Rather it was about celebrating dearly departed and welcoming back their spirits for a short visit.

The book explained that the holiday is a blend of more than one culture, and that it was heavily influenced by the Mayans, who believed that adults who died had to go through nine levels of the underworld. There, challenges they faced included a fierce jaguar and icy winds. I told CJ that sounded like the makings of a cool video game. After we finished the book, we hopped online and searched for a "Day of the Dead" video game online and we found none. I told CJ I think he needs to design one.

SKULL DUGGERY: Skulls are a huge part of Day of the Dead decorations of all kinds, and so I thought we should try our hand at drawing some.

I found a skull drawing tutorial on YouTube. It was completely wordless - we just had to watch and follow. The kids learned a couple of important things today. First, that when drawing with pencil, it really helps to have a light touch at first, as that's much easier to erase later. Second, they worked on smudging and shading with pencil lead today - good techniques to know. Here's a closeup of CJ's...
They were each pleased with their final product.

SUGARY SKULLS: Not ready to settle for sketching skulls on paper, we also put to use a great pair of skull cookie cutters I bought a month or so ago.

The kids were instrumental in helping mix up the cookie dough - they read the recipe to me off the computer while I mixed it up in the kitchen. It was a good reminder regarding the IMPORTANT differences between teaspoon and tablespoon and how to properly read fractions.
They rolled out and cut out their skulls. After they had sufficiently cooled, we broke out all the colored sugar goodness I have stashed all over the kitchen and we all went at it.
ARTS IN THE AFTERNOON: One of the Day of the Dead customs we learned about this a.m. was the "Old Man Dance" or La Danza de los Viejitos. It starts with dancers stooped and moving slowly and then they apparently recapture their youth and dance up a storm, only to slow down again in the end.

We found a nice example of the La Danza de los Viejitos on YouTube, with some street dancers in costume performing it. The kids got into it, getting up and dancing along with the music for most of the clip.

The kids completed most of their Musikgarten homework this afternoon. First, they transcribed "Hot Cross Buns" onto lined (staff) paper). Next, they had to draw a picture that reminded them of the character Molly from "Cockles and Mussels." Boy, did CJ not want to do that drawing. Not sure what his reluctance was. He finally soldiered through, his picture taking all of two minutes tops (a mostly stick figure pushing a wheelbarrow that's not even touching the ground).

Annabelle took more time. When I asked her about her drawing, she sang, "She died of a fever, And no one could save her, And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone. Now her ghost wheels her barrow, Through streets broad and narrow, Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"

After the pencil to paper portion of music, the kids got out their glockenspiels. The challenge was to play "Mouse, Mousey" perfectly by ear. I let them take turns. They had to stop as soon as they had a mis-hit. That made the exercise a lot of fun.

Annabelle finally had a clean run and CJ was oh so close, but then he lost focus and it all went to hell, basically. We never did get through it before it was time to go to ballet.

CJ GEMS: When Annabelle was in the shower this morning, CJ said, "She's been in there for 10 minutes. That's twice five minutes! That's 600 seconds!"

Nice to hear his math at work!

CJ also took some time out this afternoon to tutor me in how to make a smiley face on the computer. (Of course I knew how to do so already, but kept my mouth shut.)

CJ showed me that you use "the two dot thing like after someone's name in a play (dialogue)" followed by "the thing above the zero." I was also coached that you have to turn your head sideways to see the smile, and that "you do the opposite," or the above the 9, for a frown.

I asked him where he learned that and he said a YouTube video. I swear, everything's on YouTube.

BEE PREPARED: It's not unusual for CJ or Annabelle or both to migrate upstairs to our room at some point during the night. Always, always, always, Annabelle remembers to bring with her whatever thing or things she took to bed with her the night before (a stuffed animal or two, usually). The other night she not only brought her slippers up, but she carefully lined them up outside our door, so she'd have them in the morning. I don't know how she has the presence of mind to do such things from a dead sleep.OLD BUDDY FROM THE WEB: CJ has been asking me for days/weeks to post this creation that he and Annabelle made using the Sonic Character Creator tool they found online. So here, after much ado, is Mecha Man.