Competing with Aidyn's Friends

As you've probably noticed, all two of my readers, I haven't been posting anything about our current unit: California. I've wanted very badly to post pictures and type a fabulous report of All Things Learned.

The truth is, we've done very little learnin' about our home state because...

I'm competing with Aidyn's friends for his time and attention. I never win.

Come 10am, a high-pitched call comes from upstairs, like some strange Juliet from the window sill. And Aidyn, no matter his intrigue in a story or conversation, dashes off, his eyes big as quarters, to swoop upon our back fence and answer the call.

They then proceed to play from 10am until we drag him in at 8pm.

Sometimes he doesn't even wake up until 9:55am, and this happens as he's got his mouth full of toothpaste over the sink.

Yesterday I was victorious for sneaking in a reading of Nine For California by Sonia Levitin,

an adorable and rambunctious story about a mother and her five kids traveling from Missouri to California over the course of 21 days. He loved it, so long as I provided wacky voices and those...delayed.....moments....of ......(gasp!) anticipation at-oh-my-god-what's-going-to-happen!

I also managed to kick his friends out of the house (lovingly) to take Aidyn to see a clown at the library. When I told him to get his shoes on, one of his friends looked me square in the eye and said "Aidyn actually doesn't even laugh at clowns."

Oh, really, girl-that-Aidyn-just-met-two-months-ago?

See what I mean. Competition.

I also lucked out once when Aidyn came squinting out of bed at five in the morning. We cuddled and watched The Crocodile Hunter and eventually an episode of Reading Rainbow in which they read Humphrey the Lost Whale

I am glad that Aidyn has these pals and this summertime freedom with them.

He's learning a lot about getting along with multi-aged children, sharing, not being such a bossy pants, and gauging whether something should be reported to an adult or handled independently.

He's learned that sometimes friends aren't careful with your stuff and things get broken, sometimes stolen. He's learned that other kids ride bikes sans training wheels, and he's determined to fit in. He's learning to socialize (pffft, outside of school, aka "the real world." How is that possible?).


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10 Things To Do in the Central Valley for under 10 Bucks

1. Visit a California State Park.

It's only a fistful of dollar bills to get in (around $8) and you can spend the whole day exploring, wading in a river, making mud pies, feeling the cool forest breeze, having a picnic, playing Pooh Sticks, and enjoying family time. There are some quaint ones, like Caswell in Ripon, or more adventurous ones like the Effie Yeaw Nature Center, where we once were within a few feet of majestic deer and does.

2. Attend a library program. Today there will be a clown in Lathrop, a magician in Stockton and Ripon and even Cake Pop Decorating class in Tracy! Plus, it's all free, free, free.

3. Splash around in a fountain.
Stockton has a nice interactive water feature with picnic tables nearby. Manteca also has a lovely one near the library (also with picnic tables) that we splashed around in yesterday.

4. Visit the Haggin Museum in Stockton. It's cheap, educational, and there's a huge park to play in afterwards.

5. Escape to Pixie Woods in Stockton and ride a vintage merry-go-round or locomotive.

6. Go to FairyTale Town in Sacramento and step inside the world of nursery rhymes and fairy tales, visit Pooh Corner or King Arthur's Castle, or

meet Clifford! I hear there's a puppet show today for only $2.

7. Take the kids to the movies FOR A DOLLAR. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, certain theatres will show kid-friendly films for a one-dollar-ticket-price! That's pretty killer.

8. Have a picnic at your local park. Bring a basket of goodies, find some shade, and watch your kids play. Better yet, get out there, play with them and run with them when the ice cream truck comes calling.

9. Host a water balloon fight.

Supplies are cheap. You can get 200 water balloons from Rite Aid for a couple bucks. Fill a bucket or two full of water balloons, and let the kids go crazy. It's a simple joy of summer.

10. Boldly go to Baskin-Robbins and have ice cream for dinner. Enjoy a banana split or a hot fudge sundae, or some random assortment of ice cream flavors scooped into a waffle cone.

2. Grand openings

Most people hate spending more than two minutes in line at the grocery store, even with the cover of National Enquirer alerting you to the birth of a vampire-bat-man, for your reading pleasure.

But, most people will sacrifice hours upon hours of time and buckets of endorphins at a grand opening.

Whether it's the new Harry Potter movie or a shot to purchase the new Apple iPad, crowds will form and people are more than willing to standing THAT CLOSE to random people for the next few hours.

Why is that?

Is it the rush of excitement,

the anticipation that built up over the course of waiting for whatever-it-is to open or come out,

the joy of seeing something brand new,

the reunion to that which you love,

or something else entirely?

I once stood in the hot, June sun for four hours to ride the new Star Tours ride at Disneyland. At the end of waiting, I felt like I really knew the people I stood behind for hours. Like we should exchange numbers or something.

But I did it, and would do it all over again, because the excitement and anticipation of experiencing this new, amazing thing felt so wonderful. Ah, this is what life is all about.

How spectacular it is that we have these things to look forward to, to brighten our lives, to give us that titilating glee over something so simple.

What have you waited for? What was worth hours in line to experience? Why on earth do you wait for a grand opening?



image above from www.celebrationcinema.com

How to Make a Trip to Disneyland a Learning Opportunity

It's true: children learn when they are having fun. Memories crystallize where excitement pervades.

Taking a trip to Disneyland is a good opportunity to learn about out-of-the-box subjects that might not be covered in school or everyday life. With a trip of our own planned in October, we have been gently learning about a wide array of Disneyland-related studies. This is our second go-around with Disneyland-themed unit studies so below you will find suggestions and resources for preschoolers and young children.

Aidyn, at 3, with his 'mars cake' for Tomorrowland

The easy way:

Say your trip is coming up in, oh, five months. Start by making a list of all the "lands" and major attractions of the park (or, heck, just use mine).

Main Street U.S.A
Adventureland
Critter Country
Frontierland
Toontown
Fantasyland
Tomorrowland
New Orleans Square
California Adventure
Hollywood Pictures Backlot
A Bug's Land
Paradise Pier
Car's Land
Golden State
Transportation
Dinosaurs

Then, pick the ones you want to "cover," maybe one per month or one per week. Some seem "boring" like New Orleans Square, but that unit could cover pirates, pirate life, ghosts, and haunted mansions!

Once you have your lands picked out, it's time to Round Up.

image from www.seosumo.com

Search your personal and local library for books related to the land. Balance your selection between fun stories, non-fiction reads, films, and music. Jot down ideas for crafts and snack items related to your subject. Search online for any field trips that would enhance your learning adventure.

Here's what I do:

image from pirates.wikia.com/disneyland

Say I pick New Orleans Square. I make a list of topics I can cover in that land:

pirates
ghosts
ships
mansions
Creole culture
Louisiana/Bayou
Jazz music

Then I might head over to Homeschool Share, which has a ton of resources for all sorts of books. Just type "pirates" and you could be led to:

a suggestion to read Tough Boris [Hardcover] by Mem Fox
worksheets about pirate garb
go-along book suggestions
pirate craft ideas

Essentially, your time spent "in New Orleans" could consist of hearing a few pirate stories and exchanging "Arrrrr!"s, cuddling up with some ghost stories at night, learning about pirate garb and maybe making some of your own, hearing jazz music filter through your home, sampling some Louisiana-style gumbo, and drawing elaborate pirate ships.

Not only are those activities fun, but they engage us in learning. Maybe it's during a reading of Tough Boris that your child learns that even "tough" guys cry sometimes; perhaps it's while hearing jazz music blaring that your child becomes fascinated with a trumpet, demanding their own to play.

Another bonus: when you actually get to Disneyland and stroll past the Jambalaya Jazz Band, it's familiar. When pirates are singing Yo-Ho-Yo-Ho, a pirate's life fer me!, your child understands that spirit. When you sit down for lunch at the French Market, your child begs for a try of that jambalaya.

Also, it's fun.

Creating unit studies like this works for families with children of all ages. Younger children enjoy the stories, crafts, and music. Older children (who still do enjoy the stories, even if they won't readily admit it) can go one step further. They could create costumes to fit the unit: pirate garb for NOS, armor or a dress for Fantasyland, a space suit for Tomorrowland, etc. They could read chapter books related to the subject, learn to cook a special meal, and draw elaborate pictures.

What's nice is that all you need is a subject, a "land," and you can find practically anything to help bring it to life. You can take your child's lead and let them develop ideas:

You: "We are going to learn about Fantasyland. What do you want to learn  about that is in Fantasyland?"
Child: "...castles! and fairies! are fairies real? are castles real? can we go in the castle?"

For more ideas on building a unit study on a particular land, send me a message, and I'd be happy to hand out ideas.

1 of 100 Amazing Things

This is the first post of 100 which will feature blips about 100 amazing things in life. Little moments, tiny sparks, and passing flights of pleasure in ordinary life. Things we might not see, see but not appreciate, appreciate but forget to share.

1. A forgotten blast from the past


You go on about your life, day in and day out. Nothing exists but the present, the ever-moving pull toward the unknown future. Bits and pieces of childhood memory cloak themselves in the dark recesses of your mind, forgotten and buried.

Then.

Something sparks your memory. You might see an old commercial or hear a song or stumble upon some clip from Youtube, and bam! A little light in some forgotten  memory bank blinks off.

That feeling where your present self reunites with some faded memory is magical. I can't describe it any other way.

Yesterday I found an unopened Chutes and Ladders game from 1979. Playing it with my son, I reeled back in time to a seven-year-old version of me who played that game with delight. I suddenly remembered the little video that accompanied the game and searched YouTube to find it.

This cartoon probably means nothing to you, but seeing it again was like opening this tiny, drawer in the dusty corner of my brain and extracting a beloved artifact.

The first time I found YouTube with a friend, we searched old cartoons and 80s commercials with a flurry. So many cartoons, clips, songs, and ordinary commercials just propelled  me back to my childhood. Like yesterday's find, I still happen upon some items (toys, cartoons, and such) that jolt me back to some of the most pleasant memories I have.

Now, after having spent many random nights up late searching YouTube and plucking old VHS tapes from thrift stores, I feel like there's nothing left for me to rediscover.

But then it happens.

I found an old Manx Mouse video at a thrift store, only it was the wrong video inside. That's still out there.

I know I've found the MAJOR ones, but the little ones are still out there. I might run into an old doll I used to own, or I might find a forgotten book or rare cartoon (like that time I found The Dragon That Wasn't (or Was He?) ). When those moments happen, it's pure bliss.

What have you found or rediscovered?

What is still out there (a random toy? I had a superhero banana-man that I've never tracked down) for you to find? What does it feel like to find it?

Hunts and Ventriloquists and Zombies, oh my!

Happy Summer Solstice!

Man, yesterday felt like the longest day of the year!

For some reason, Aidyn was up bright and early at 6am (the kid usually snoozes until 9 or 10), sweetly demanding some "cuddles and reading." We got comfy on the couch and read about three chapters of Calling All Creeps.

image from paperbackswap.com

Afterward, we watched an episode of Reading Rainbow, in which they tour a bowling alley, read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, show a bowling ball factory, and interview a domino-enthusiast.

And since it was summer solstice, I figured I had to do something summery.

First, I showed him the position of the earth and sun, using our globe and handy dandy lamp. We even looked at some pictures of an analemma.

image from kbccmeteorology.pbworks.com

Once the neighborhood kids burst through my door, I printed out some Summer Scavenger Hunt Lists that I found through The Handbook of Nature Study blog and had the kids ask their mother if they could join us. We searched for all sorts of summery things: a ladybug, butterfly, bee, something red, something pink, a weed taller than them and listened for a chirping bird, a buzzing bee, and wind rustling the grass.

We found and sniffed wildflowers, pointed out the distant peaks of Mt. Diablo, and happily checked items off our lists.

After the scavenger hunt, they piled back in my home and drew something they saw/found outside. Aidyn drew a "baby pine cone" while his friends drew butterflies.

Then they played a game of memory, watched Beauty and the Beast,  and played indoor tag (Ooo, my favorite!).

Later in the day, Aidyn and I headed over to the library to pick up his Duffy bear, who participated in the Great Stuffed Animal Sleepover at the library. Pictures were posted all around of Duffy and his new stuffed friends having a blast on the bookshelves, at the computers, and lounging in the teen center. After he read six books, it was also time for Aidyn to pick up his halfway prize, which was a book bag, a little stuffed bear, and a coupon for a free sandwich.

THEN, we watched the Steve Chaney and Cornelius Crow Ventriloquist show, and the man was HILARIOUS. Loved it.

image from newarklibrary.com

At this point, it felt like two days had passed by, but Aidyn found enough energy to play outdoors with all the neighborhood kids and put on a play about zombies.

California, Here We Come!

Disneyland in October is approaching quickly as we hop, skip, and jump through these Disneyland-related unit studies. Our next stop is to  focus on the California Adventure Park as a whole.

image from www.famous-wonder.com

Lucky for us, we live in California so hands-on experiences abound!

The goal for this unit is:

1.  to hear California-related stories like Nine for California and Humphrey the Lost Whale ( I STILL remember when the author, Richard Hall, visited our dinky little school in French Camp).
2.  to learn a little bit about the Gold Rush, the landscape, the agriculture, and the earthquake-prone geography.
3. to learn the state facts-- bird, flag, flower, etc.
4. to understand the spirit of our home state

Also I have these wild dreams hopes of possibly:

• driving on Highway 1
• crossing the Golden Gate Bridge
• taking some California history-related field trips
• do a bunch of activities that SCREAM "California" like dance to Beach Boy music and see a celebrity (pfff!)