Dance School Promotion

Rebecca was recently moved up to a higher level class at her dance school. She has been working really hard all year, and has put a lot of effort and energy into this class.

Earlier in the year, she tried out for the Spring Ballet and earned a prominent role in one of the dances. She was in the front row, in the center spot, and did a great job of "owning" the dance, and performed with reckless abandon. She looked like she belonged there. There were many, many trips to the dance school for weekend practices (it was a big PIA), but it all became worth it when we saw how happy she was doing this dance.

As a result of her hard work, and wonderful performance, the head of the dance school decided Rebecca was ready for the next level (and he is a very serious man who doesn't hand out compliments easily). She is now more excited than ever to go to dance lessons, and is already talking about the Winter Ballet, and how she's going to try out for a big role.

Jen and I are very proud of Rebecca's perseverance and her follow-through. She's come a long way since her bumble-bee dance when she was 4....but she's still our little Lamb Chop.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

We recently had Parent-Teacher conferences with both Joshua's and Rebecca's teachers. We are happy to say that both kids got very good reports.

Joshua, apparently, is a leader in his Kindergarten class, and many of the other kids want to play with him and sit near him at lunch. Joshua is completely clueless to this fact, which is probably a good thing. He just goes about his business, not realizing that the other kids are watching him and trying to emulate him. Some of the kids with special needs often select Joshua as their "buddy" when they go for additional services with the school specialists. And in fact, Joshua's teacher encourages this, as she feels he is a good influence on these kids. Who would have thought?

Rebecca is excelling in reading and writing. Her reading comprehension skills have gotten excellent, and she is better able to describe events taking place in the books she reads. She is also doing great in her writing exercises. This is something she thoroughly enjoys, and even writes stories in her free time for enjoyment. Jen and I were worried about her math skills, but her teacher says she is doing great, and is improving nicely. One thing she needs to work on is penmanship, but I'll give her a pass on that.

Very proud of our two little pups.

The White House

A recent conversation between Joshua and Uncle Brad:

UNCLE BRAD: Joshua, I heard you had a playdate near my house the other day.

JOSHUA: Yeah, it was with my friend Timmy. He lives near you, but if you go down the street, then turn this way, you see his house. It's the big white one.

UNCLE BRAD: Oh, so he lives in the The White House?

JOSHUA: Nooooo, he lives in a regular white house.

UNCLE BRAD: Do you know who lives in The White House?

JOSHUA: Barack Obama.


So proud of my little boy....

Science Experiment

Rebecca's school recently held a Science Fair, and Rebecca and one of her good friends decided to participate. With a little help from their moms, they decided to set out to prove that plants absorb water through their stems, and that the water makes its way all the way out to the outer reaches of the leaves and branches.

They did this by placing white carnations in colored water. They took 4 cups of water, and added blue food coloring to one, red to another, yellow to the third, and they left the 4th one uncolored as a control. They then placed a white carnation in each cup....and waited....and waited.... Within a few days, the petals on the carnations in the colored water started developing a ring around the outside of the petals the same color as the water. So Rebecca and her friend had successfully proven the process of cohesion and capillary action (I had to look up these terms).

The point of all this is that Rebecca and her friend had the opportunity to show off their experiment in the school cafeteria, along with all of the other young scientists. They stood proudly at their table, wearing lab coats (their dads' old white suit shirts) and protective goggles, happily explaining to everyone that approached about their methodology and results. It was wonderful to see Rebecca completely engaged in something that is outside her regular world of activities. She seemed to really enjoy doing this experiment, and then took great pride in sharing her experience with the world. It was a proud moment for her parents.

Well done Rebecca.....well done.

Activities: Too Many or Just Right?

As the school year started, we signed the kids up for a variety of activities and sports. They include figure skating, hockey, karate, tennis, dance (modern and ballet)....not to mention homework and religious school twice a week. I'm happy they are getting a well rounded sampling of a lot of different types of activities, and the hope is that something will stick, and they will find a sport they can play for the rest of their lives. (Yesterday, Joshua spent some time hitting a golf ball in the backyard, and actually had a very nice swing).

But with all these things going on in their lives, I think it's also good for kids to have some quality downtime, where they create their own games, and play quietly by themselves without any structure. Rebecca spends a lot of time reading her Harry Potter and Nancy Drew novels, and Joshua enjoys creating small towns with his Lego sets. These types of activities are very valuable for them, and should not be put aside for the structured team sports. There is definitely a balance here....somewhere. I just hope we are achieving it.

The Grass is Greener

Recently, Rebecca and I had an interesting conversation. We were talking about her days at day camp over the summer, and I said something to the effect of, "I would love to spend my days playing, swimming, singing, and doing arts 'n crafts."

Rebecca's reaction was very interesting, and very amusing. She started telling me how lucky I was that I was able to go to work every day. "You get to go to your nice office, drink coffee anytime you want, eat whatever you want, play on your computer, talk to your friends, and have lots of fun." I thought this was very funny. Rebecca then complained about having to play sports she wasn't interested in, and being outside when it was really hot.

This really made me think. When we are kids, all we want to do is grow up, and fast. As adults, we yearn for the care-free, fun-loving days of our youth. Why can't we just be happy with our current situations?

6th Birthday

We recently celebrated Joshua's 6th birthday. It was a great party at a local gym, with all his pre-school and family friends. And his cousins made a special guest appearance at the end.

Jen and I are so proud of Joshua. He's come a long way over the past few months. We didn't really appreciate how great he did at camp this summer, but when we look back at it, we are amazed at how much we threw at him. For the first time in his life, he got on a bus and spent the day somewhere that wasn't his home, without his parents or familiar teachers. And he did this all without complaining or fussing. He just went with the flow, and didn't get upset. (Of course, it did help that Rebecca was there to take him to his group every day, and take his lunch out of his backpack and put it in the cooler)

He adjusted very nicely to the day-to-day routine of camp, and didn't get upset when his counselors lost him for several minutes by the pool, or when a bratty kid on the bus bit his arm, or when the camp director put him with the wrong age group...and the list goes on. By the end of the summer, his counselor (not the one who lost him) nominated Joshua for Camper of the Year. The only reason he didn't win the award is because he was not at camp for the full summer (he missed 2 weeks in the beginning for Farm Camp).

And when it came time to start Kindergarten recently, Joshua went with no problems at all. He got on the bus smiling, and got to school smiling (we know because Jen and I went to the school to greet the kids as they arrived). He seems to like his teacher and the kids in his class, and adjusting very nicely.

Life is a series of adjustments to change, and it's important that kids learn that early on and are able to deal with it. This isn't easy, but is very important. Joshua and Rebecca are both doing great. You guys are awesome!!!!!

Back To School

Both kids went back to school this week. For Joshua, this is a big deal as he's starting Kindergarten in a new school, with lots of big kids and large classrooms. When the bus arrived, Joshua was more than excited to hop on. This was the part he was looking forward to - all he wants to do is ride on buses, trains, and planes. But what would happen when he got to school? Jen and I raced over to the school to make sure we were there to greet both kids and watch them file into their classrooms. They were both smiling and waving as they got off the bus, and headed separate ways - Joshua to the little playground outside the Kindergarten classes, and Rebecca off to the other side of the school where they have the classrooms for the big kids.

Rebecca was pretty excited to see some of her old friends, and has already started making new friends in her class. When she got home after her 2nd day, she said, "Daddy, we already started doing real work!." Shocking....The nerve of those teachers....

Anyway, seems like we are off to a good start. Hard to believe I have a 3rd grader and Kindergartener.

Who's Strict???

A recent conversation in our kitchen:

Joshua: Mommy, you're very strict.

Jen: Thank you.

Joshua: .....(pause).... What does "strict" mean?

Jen: (smiling) It means I have a lot of rules, and I enforce them. I make sure you follow them.

Joshua: Daddy, you're not strict.

Summer Fun

It's been a great summer so far, with the kids growing and learning a lot. Joshua and Rebecca spent the first two weeks of summer at Farm Camp, where they spent their days learning how to grow organic vegetables, and prepare healthy foods from the farm-fresh produce. They then went to a local day camp for another 5 weeks where they engaged in typical summer activities like swimming, boating, fishing, arts 'n crafts, archery, climbing through a ropes course.

There are a couple of big things to note:

-Joshua recently passed his deepwater test at the camp pool, so he now has a complete pass to go into either of the two pools, and in any part regardless of water depth. In order to pass the test, he managed to swim from one side of the pool to the other without stopping (using his favorite frog/doggy paddle stroke), and then tread water for 30 seconds. He was very proud of himself when he passed. To be honest, Jen and I were quite surprised the lifeguards actually passed him. But we were both very impressed that he not only passed the test, but had the desire to take the test after he failed it earlier in the summer. Good persevering Buddy!

-Another big development this summer is that we are considering sending Rebecca to sleepaway camp next summer. A couple of weeks ago we spent the weekend visiting some camps in the Berkshires, and they were all lovely places with lots of happy, smiling kids. After seeing the camps, Rebecca is even more excited about going away for four weeks. She says she is ready, and can't wait to leave. Good thing Jen and I have a year to prepare, because even though Rebecca is ready, this is going to very hard for us.