Hello, 2011!

POD PEOPLE: The kids got in some PJ play time this morning with their dolphin collection.

BAG O' BOOKS: We got right back into the swing of schooliness this morning when I busted out a bag of books I'd scored a couple weeks back from the Rainier branch of the Seattle Public Library. While killing time there during a kids' yoga class, I found several bags sitting on a shelf in the children's section. Each bag had a theme and it included several books on that topic. The one we opened up today was about bravery. We found five picture books inside.

"Swimmy," by Leo Lionni, was the story of a little black fish who convinces other small fish to swim in formation of a giant fish, so they look powerful and can sight see round the ocean. The book was short on words and long on pretty watercolors.

"Hoptoad," by Jane Yolen, was about a brave (or is that stupid?) toad that hops out onto a road in front of a truck. Truth be told, while reading the book, I couldn't help but think of the news story I read this weekend about the brave, er, stupid man who decided to play a real life game of the arcade classic Frogger. Fortunately, for Hoptoad, the family in the truck screeched to a halt just in time and helped him across the road. Unfortunately, it was damn near "GAME OVER" for the real live dude playing Frogger. http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/12/29/1892464/cops-man-playing-real-life-frogger.html#storylink=mirelated

"Snip Snap! What's That" was a fun read about three siblings and how they deal with an alligator that comes a calling.

"Big Chickens" was a fun story about four rather hapless feathered friends who basically clutz their way into becoming brave.

And finally, "Not so Tall for Six" was the oddest book of the lot. There was a fair amount of Southern or Wild West-y words and images used, as well as an abundance of insect imagery. An interesting mix, for sure.

Also in the bag was a musical CD of kind of bluegrassy folk music "for kids and kin". Frankly, after reading the tracks' names and listening to a couple of tunes, I wasn't sure how the music was supposed to match the 'bravery' theme. That, and I wasn't too keen on the music even if it had matched the theme. The CD quickly went back in the bag.

There was also a book for grown ups: "A Running Start How to Play. Physical Activity and Free Time Create a Successful Child." I skimmed the book - it looks like an excellent resource for parents who haven't read up on the topic already.

All in all the bag was a boon. I'll be checking out more book bags in the future.

PUTTING IT TO THE TEST: Not content with just enjoying the books (ha ha), I decided it was high time to try out the Accelerated Reading program the kids recently signed up for via their Home Education Exchange (HEE).

By reading books and then taking comprehension quizzes, the kids can earn points. With those points they can get prizes at HEE. We were able to find (5-question) quizzes on three of the books the kids read this a.m. They aced them, earning a whopping .5 points per title. It's a start!

THE SCIENCE GUY: Today's science lesson came courtesy of Bill Nye, The Science Guy. We watched a DVD about rivers and streams - how they're formed, how they fill and drain, what happens when you mess with them or the land around them - all good stuff. Gotta love Bill - he makes science so engaging.

DIDN'T GET THE MEMO: About 3 today we started getting ready for ballet. Bee got her leotard and tights on, while Christian, CJ and I layered up for a cold weather run/ride.

We parked at the Community Center and Bee and I went it just a minute before her class was to start. Imagine our surprise to find a darkened ballet studio. Hmm. Clearly, ballet was not happening here today. ... I figured the class must have been canceled due to illness or emergency, but we didn't get a call, likely because our new phone numbers aren't on file with the parks and rec department. I need to go online and fix that ...

We decided that Bee would join us on a bike ride, but of course we had to go back home to get her bike and warmer clothing. And then back over the hill we drove to the Magnolia flatlands, where we'd be running/riding. (We haven't run since before Christmas and my hip is The Worst Ever, so we weren't going to take on hills.)

We made a big rectangle - probably the Longest Mile (or so) Ever for me. The combination of too much time off running, three days of high fever and the left hip of an arthritic, 18 year old black Laborador was not pretty. But we made it.
Afterward, the kids and Christian played at Catherine Blaine's playground while I limped around Albertsons.
N.Y.E. NIGHTMARE: On New Year's Day CJ asked me, "What's the limit on the number of 'favorites' you can have on YouTube?"

I told him as far as I knew, there was no limit, but that I wasn't sure. And I asked him why he was wondering. He told me, "I had a nightmare that my favorites were cut out because I had too many of them. Let's check my account and find out. If they were really cut out I will be like. 'OMG, it was real.' "

Fortunately for CJ, it was just a nightmare.

CALCULATION NATION: Thanks to an email lead (from Clickschooling), we discovered Calculation Nation today. WoW!

Calculation Nation® is a great Web site where students can play math challenge games against students around the globe (or, you can play independently, against the computer).

Calculation Nation® is part of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "Illuminations" project, which offers Standards-based resources that improve the teaching and learning of mathematics for all students. (Illuminations is also part of Thinkfinity.org, an awesome educational Web site funded by the Verizon Foundation to provide free educational resources to parents, teachers, and students.)

A lot of the games on the site a just a bit above CeeJ and Bee's mathematical prowess at the moment (factoring, algebra, prime numbers, squared numbers, figuring perimeters), but there are some they can at least start to use (fractions, angles). Today we played a little bit of "Dig It," in which we had to create and locate fractions on a number line to tell your shovel where to dig for hidden gems.

KERPLUNK: Throughout the day, Annabelle toted our Xylofun book around the house and plunked out tunes for us. HE SAID: Last night CJ was playing "Super Mario Crossover," a wonderfully creative fan hack game that takes the original Super Mario Bros. platform and allows players to insert other Nintendo Entertainment System characters into the game. Players can also choose the degree of difficulty (super easy to extreme).

CJ set the parameters to a new game and turned to Christian and said, "I want you to be my beta tester for this." ROFL!

I LEAVE YOU WITH THIS: The wackiest alphabet "book" you likely have ever seen. "A-Z of Awesomeness" is the work of artist Neill Cameron. In 2009 he took one suggestion per day from followers of his blog, Facebook or Twitter and produce a drawing for each letter of the alphabet.

CJ and Annabelle found his experiment's result most amusing - especially CJ, and especially the letters D, H and P.