The other day I went in after school with another parent to help the Boy's teacher cut up plastic soda bottles and turn them into "eco-columns" (sort of combined aquarium/terrarium things for keeping both fish and crickets in). Today I received a wodge of lovely thank you letters from the class, all very colourful and - hm - idiosynchratic. I especially liked the ones that thanked me warmly for "wasting my time" to help with their project. Bless 'em.
For a while the Boy has been planning to celebrate Friday afternoons by strolling down to the local ice-cream parlour with his three best schoolfriends. Today we made the plan a reality. I was requested to walk several paces ahead so as not to cramp their style. Likewise I had to sit at a different table as they wolfed down their ice-cream and made silly remarks - really, fine by me.
The outing went well, I suspect we'll be doing it again.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
In a nutshell
No school today - Jewish New Year.It has been a very wet day. An even wetter day for the Girl, but deliberately so as she was at an indoor water park with her Girl Scout friends. The Boy and I stayed at home, but he had visitors - a friend from round the corner, and then his best buddy.
Here are a couple more delights from the Big E. It was the Boy who discovered the Footsie Wootsie massage machines - a quick fix for aching feet, and only 25c a go!
And the Girl and I were very taken by some craftily detailed Acorn People dioramas:
Both kids showed significant interest in the wares of the various spa manufacturers. The Girl also appreciated her "small" pack of cotton candy.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Schooled
On Monday night the Man and I attended an Open House at the Girl's Middle School. It was arranged as a condensed school day, so that parents could meet all the relevant teachers in their classrooms in the order in which our kids see them each day.
Each school day is basically the same. For the Girl it's Homeroom (video announcements and video-led pledge of allegiance), English, [Academic and Technology Management], Science, Gym, French, Social Studies, Math. The square brackets indicate a subject taught in "quarters", and over the course of the year that period will cover Computer Studies, Music and Art. ATM started with a "packet" (handout) and a test on "flag etiquette" (i.e. you mustn't burn it etc...). In each subject the class is a completely different group of kids, so there's a constant change in company throughout the day. And each classroom is about as far from the last one as possible, so there's a lot of opportunity for stair-walking and leg-stretching in the 3 minutes between lessons.
Somewhere in the timetable (bizarrely, around 10:30am) there's lunch and recess. And there's also a period called Homebase when you get to do your homework or go and find a teacher for specific help with something, or practise with the choir or band.
We liked the teachers we met - they all seem genuinely enthusiastic about their subjects, about their students and about teaching in general. There's a very strong emphasis on attaining grades and meeting prescribed NYS standards, and we weren't sure if that was something that was meant to appeal to us as parents - it doesn't particularly in our case, and we hope it doesn't get in the way of learning for learning's sake. But overall we had a good impression of the school. We hope the Girl will get a lot out of being there.
Each school day is basically the same. For the Girl it's Homeroom (video announcements and video-led pledge of allegiance), English, [Academic and Technology Management], Science, Gym, French, Social Studies, Math. The square brackets indicate a subject taught in "quarters", and over the course of the year that period will cover Computer Studies, Music and Art. ATM started with a "packet" (handout) and a test on "flag etiquette" (i.e. you mustn't burn it etc...). In each subject the class is a completely different group of kids, so there's a constant change in company throughout the day. And each classroom is about as far from the last one as possible, so there's a lot of opportunity for stair-walking and leg-stretching in the 3 minutes between lessons.
Somewhere in the timetable (bizarrely, around 10:30am) there's lunch and recess. And there's also a period called Homebase when you get to do your homework or go and find a teacher for specific help with something, or practise with the choir or band.
We liked the teachers we met - they all seem genuinely enthusiastic about their subjects, about their students and about teaching in general. There's a very strong emphasis on attaining grades and meeting prescribed NYS standards, and we weren't sure if that was something that was meant to appeal to us as parents - it doesn't particularly in our case, and we hope it doesn't get in the way of learning for learning's sake. But overall we had a good impression of the school. We hope the Girl will get a lot out of being there.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
A dude thing
It was around 80F today, but even so the pool guy came to close up our pool for the winter. To be honest we haven't been in it since we got back here at the start of September - a few chilly nights soon made it too uninviting. And the leaves are falling now. It's time.
I was out on the front drive pulling weeds when the guy arrived. After he'd finished what he'd come to do he offered me some advice.
"What you wanna get is... Well, it's kind of a dude thing. There's this big torch you can get, for weeds..."
A moment passes before I realise he's not talking about what he would call a flashlight. Of course, he means a blowtorch.
"It's, like, this long flame-thrower and you point it at your weeds and vroof! Go to [such-and-such store] and when you find this just ridiculously dangerous looking thing - that's the one!"
"Thank you," I say, "I shall tell my dude."
Any other dudes out there reading this (I know there are a few of you who check in from time to time) - does the thought of a weed torch make your heart race?
I was out on the front drive pulling weeds when the guy arrived. After he'd finished what he'd come to do he offered me some advice.
"What you wanna get is... Well, it's kind of a dude thing. There's this big torch you can get, for weeds..."
A moment passes before I realise he's not talking about what he would call a flashlight. Of course, he means a blowtorch.
"It's, like, this long flame-thrower and you point it at your weeds and vroof! Go to [such-and-such store] and when you find this just ridiculously dangerous looking thing - that's the one!"
"Thank you," I say, "I shall tell my dude."
Any other dudes out there reading this (I know there are a few of you who check in from time to time) - does the thought of a weed torch make your heart race?
Monday, September 26, 2011
Come fry with me
Hello, it is moi, the Girl (I just started taking French a few weeks ago). This is my list of things you can fry, which people will actually pay money for. The Big E turned out to be educational, because it turns out you can deep fry...
- Pickles
- Tomatoes
- Jelly beans
- Butter balls
- Dough (OK, that's an obvious one)
- Chocolate-chip cookie dough
- Candy floss
- Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches
- Peanut butter & banana sandwiches
- Twinkies
- Snickers
- Kool-Aid
That last one surprised me, too. People also sell frozen hot chocolate (this is kind of an oxymoron) and $4.00 lemonade that claims to be fresh squeezed (but I saw insta-lemonade packets in the back of the truck).Who would have thought it :P
Sunday, September 25, 2011
The Big Eat
I have long dreamt of going to the Big E - the annual New England exposition held in Springfield, MA - ever since I picked up a leaflet for it about four years ago and read about the enormous butter sculpture they display there.
Today my wish came true!
My, though, it's an expensive day out. You pay to park, you pay to enter, you pay even more if you want to go on any of the fairground rides, and you pay through the nose to eat. There are lots of opportunities to eat - the 90 listed concession stands is only the start of it - and none of them serve what you or I would recognise as food. Everything is fried. You simply wouldn't believe what it's possible to deep fry - but more of all that tomorrow.
We did see the butter sculpture. It was a sheep-shearing scene, executed skilfully, but a strangely unsatisfying subject in the medium of butter. I'd have much prefered a life-size cow.
In the Farm-a-rama pavilion we watched baby chicks hatching (awww) and saw giant pumpkins (awesome). Cows, sheep, goats - the usual agricultural suspects. Plus llamas.
There was a pavilion devoted to scale model circus scenes - that was cool. But the kids didn't want to see the real life circus.
We also missed out on seeing Galaxy Girl performing a trapeze act a-top a 120' swaying pole. Instead we paid a dollar each and took a peek at Lil' Muffin, the "world's smallest horse" (who was certainly small, but not, as advertised, small enough to "stand in the palm of your hand"). To avoid disappointment we decided to pass on the "unicorn cow" and (inevitably) the "world's biggest horse".
Parades of old tractors and marching bands passed by from time to time. There were elephant and camel rides and opportunities to buy a hot-tub or an extra-special mop, or get a tattoo or learn about your personality through your handwriting (but what really are you expecting to learn if it's your own handwriting?). There were pavilions representing each of the New England states, which seemed to be mostly full of vendors selling things like chocolate-coated bacon and maple-bacon ice-cream. E-euw!
All in all an odd day out. I'm not sure we quite got into the spirit of things (we definitely didn't get into the fried things), and we've no plans ever to go again, but it was an experience I'm sure we'll all remember.
Today my wish came true!
My, though, it's an expensive day out. You pay to park, you pay to enter, you pay even more if you want to go on any of the fairground rides, and you pay through the nose to eat. There are lots of opportunities to eat - the 90 listed concession stands is only the start of it - and none of them serve what you or I would recognise as food. Everything is fried. You simply wouldn't believe what it's possible to deep fry - but more of all that tomorrow.We did see the butter sculpture. It was a sheep-shearing scene, executed skilfully, but a strangely unsatisfying subject in the medium of butter. I'd have much prefered a life-size cow.
In the Farm-a-rama pavilion we watched baby chicks hatching (awww) and saw giant pumpkins (awesome). Cows, sheep, goats - the usual agricultural suspects. Plus llamas.
There was a pavilion devoted to scale model circus scenes - that was cool. But the kids didn't want to see the real life circus.
We also missed out on seeing Galaxy Girl performing a trapeze act a-top a 120' swaying pole. Instead we paid a dollar each and took a peek at Lil' Muffin, the "world's smallest horse" (who was certainly small, but not, as advertised, small enough to "stand in the palm of your hand"). To avoid disappointment we decided to pass on the "unicorn cow" and (inevitably) the "world's biggest horse".Parades of old tractors and marching bands passed by from time to time. There were elephant and camel rides and opportunities to buy a hot-tub or an extra-special mop, or get a tattoo or learn about your personality through your handwriting (but what really are you expecting to learn if it's your own handwriting?). There were pavilions representing each of the New England states, which seemed to be mostly full of vendors selling things like chocolate-coated bacon and maple-bacon ice-cream. E-euw!
All in all an odd day out. I'm not sure we quite got into the spirit of things (we definitely didn't get into the fried things), and we've no plans ever to go again, but it was an experience I'm sure we'll all remember.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
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