Lowes Build and Grow Workshop: Make an engine

This Saturday - if anyone would care to join us - at 10 am you can make your very own engine for a train set. The train set has been spread over 3 weekends, we missed the first one, but did make it to the passenger car clinic, and now on Saturday we get the very important engine.
These events are fun to attend, definitely educational (parents learn a lot, too, to control their own frustrations, and reading directions carefully, for example) and easy to plan. You just need to have about 30 mins of time and then you can also walk around looking at cool things for your home, but no obligation to buy anything.
Next week, my son's class is having a cookie decorating event - I bet lots of classes are - and I am planning to make the gingerbread people for it. Very excited to learn how to make them, as I have only made gingerbread cookies out of a box. They came out very good, too, simply delicious, but they were also very easy to make. I am counting on my son's help next Tuesday, maybe even a cookie making party? Any takers?
photo © 2008 Dave Fayram | more info (via: Wylio)

Lowes Build and Grow Workshop

We had a good time at the workshop at Lowe's. We made a snowman card holder.
I invited everyone in Maxim's classroom. It's a fun and easy way to connect and be merry... at someone else's expense. I also noticed that though cool, my idea wasn't unique and we spotted groups of families spending time together thanks to Lowe's. I think it's worth a shot! :)

Parent lunch and Costume Parade

Dressed up on school playground

What a busy week! It will all be over by Sunday night, after kids fill up their candy buckets.
On Tuesday, Sacc had a parent lunch. I didn't get a chance to attend last year, so this year was a first for me. It was a lot of people, and even more work - I didn't volunteer due to my day job schedule, or I would have experienced that first-hand. The school did a lot of work - I am sure the administration and staff felt deflated and exhausted after such an endeavor, and it must have felt like a tornado ripping through the school.
So, the parents got to spend some time with their darlings. I found the darlings were also experiencing a bit of anxiety because their parents were disrupting the usual routine. I guess you could also call it excitement, :)
After lunch, kids went to the recess and parents followed. The weather surprised with a sunny sky and unusually warm day. The playground was bright, and parents watched, or chatted, or chased a younger child.
When time was up, we proceeded back inside, to help the kids get in their costumes and then some parents had to leave (like me), but some stayed and walked the costumed procession to Longfellow Place. It must have been nice.
Then there was cookie decoration, and end of the day.

Fall is flush with colors.

The school also offered lots of cute large prints of kids at the playground or with the famous giant pumpkins, in exchange for a donation. I felt badly as I didn't bring much money, in fact I was lucky to bring even that much! - and the pictures were adorable. I contributed more at a later date, hope it was acceptable.
Wednesday was the flu shot day! My son has been somewhat (=very) uncomfortable with the whole pricking concept, so we went for the nasal spray. Can't blame him. I opted for a nasal spray myself the other day, and would for any vaccine, if there were only available.

October is done, I guess. Now it's only the Thanksgiving event and then Christmas break that we have to deal with. And big things are afoot.

Book fair and October events

Last week, Saccarappa's library had a book fair. In essence, it's a mini book sale with titles targeted for the younger audience. Some titles were more of a family kind - for older children in the family, if you have them.
We found a good (in my opinion, of course) book, I Need My Monster, and have been reading it every night as a bedtime story. I had some misgivings about really having it as a nighttime story but it seems to be safe.
A lot of books I simply don't care for - they are of little literary value, like those Disney stories, and I guess I am snob like that - I like good books, books with a story rather than commercial success as a cartoon.
Anyway, now another major even is parent lunch - which may be tricky as it appears it will be rainy, and Halloween.
The school is looking good - thanks to lots of efforts by the principal and other helpers (whose names I don't know, sorry about that!), and anyone attending the parent lunch will enjoy the view.
I wonder if anyone is reading this blog. If you do, please leave a comment so I know. I guess I will still be writing, because I enjoy it. I would also like for it to be useful.
I have some ideas about PTA, too. In another post.

Costume Swap: A Better Halloween Experience

Is anyone interested in hosting one? We might not make it on time to join the National Costume Swap Day, but we can still have it!
Check it out and contact your school, church or some other organization for support.
http://www.greenhalloween.org/CostumeSwap/

Saccarappa PTA

Tonight was my first ever PTA meeting! We had great refreshments to celebrate that event :), but most importantly there were lots of valuable ideas.
There turn out to be more functions for the PTA than I had heard before. I am glad it's taking shape, and I would love to contribute to certain work that needs to be done. There seems to be a lot of it too.
Among the subcommittees that have been identified are: fundraiser, of course; events, volunteers, acknowledgment (aka teacher support/appreciation), and something less defined, like community service or outreach.
I feel strongly about educating other parents, (when they ask for help), and healthy kids/green environment stuff. Not sure where that will be.
We have also agreed to follow up soon, in two weeks to further define and delegate the jobs. Please contact me for details if you would like to join. It sounds very promising.

Do something!

Some of us have found themselves in a situation when they - voluntarily or involuntarily - are staying increasingly home, and if you feel like getting involved in community life on your terms, you may find this resource useful:
http://www.dosomething.org/actnow
Do something!

Update on parent involvement meeting

I have just come back from the parent involvement meeting hosted by WSD at Congin School. One thing is sure, the school building is the safest place to be in a severe thunderstorm unless you are sitting next to an open window and lightning interrupts what you are saying.
Anyway, some of the ideas (a more comprehensive list will soon be available through your principal) included starting up Odyssey of the Mind and/or Destination ImagiNation. Both have corresponding websites. Check them out for they may be coming to a school near you.
Please share your ideas and thoughts below.

You pick!

It's the season for everything you pick and pick you can!
First, there have been strawberries - I must confess we haven't made it there yet, but we were diligently on our way this morning - and Maxwell Farm is open for the season, still open in fact, given the early summer we are having, and that's fun. There are also pick your own raspberries opportunities around Portland, such as off Maple Ave in Scarborough. They just opened today for the season. They have tons of raspberries, the weather has been very favorable for them, and the trick is to figure out when they are open. If you see the sign on Maple Ave, they certainly are, but they are not open every day. So, give it a try.
You can also choose to attend a free lunch program for children 18 and under at Canal School, 11:45-12:45. Every Thursday there is a wonderful theater comedy workshop, so stop by.
Don't forget to read - Borders is still giving out a free book to everyone who has read 10 books this summer. Come to think of it, I myself will have to try pretty hard to make it 10 books - this beach weather may be conducing to reading under an umbrella but not so much if you have to keep eyes on your kid. Some things come first, :).

Some things I do in the summer

I am looking forward to some free time to plunge into my hobby. I love painting, or drawing, or lots of other things, like tennis, easy hiking and such. So, this summer I intend to continue working on finessing my painting and drawing skills for sure, and below you will see a small sample of my most recent pieces.

More on summer lunch

Details are available at the Westbrook Parenting Network blog.
http://westbrookparentingnetwork.wordpress.com/
Come join us!
PS. My son is a terrible and extremely picky eater. All that nutritious spiel is totally lost on him. If there are people to hang out with for the lunch program, we'll bring our own stuff to just hang out, especially since the activities planned for the lunch time are so interesting. See you there!

A web of deals

If you are like me, you may be rummaging through Sunday papers looking for coupons on things you might buy. Sometimes you end up with a whole bunch of coupons on things you will never use or are very unlikely to buy. It's also difficult to find out where the deals are. Not any more! The power of the web has come here to help you stretch your dollars further.
Check out this wonderful blog - updates are very frequent - Common Sense with Money.

Summer's coming!

Have you been frantically looking for summer school vacation solutions for your child? Even if you are like me staying at home (almost) all summer, you will still be looking for something to do with your kiddos; and if you are a working all summer kind of parent, then you already have solutions in place, I am sure.
Well, if you are like me, you will soon be wanting for your child to do something more fun than bugging you for attention and waiting to be shipped from one activity to another, while you are waiting for him to wrap it up in the blazing sun, cold wind or some other kind of unpleasant, uncomfortable condition.
One idea is playgroups/play dates. There are a number of parents at both Sac and Pride's Corner who are planning to spend some time together every other week (original idea, open to modifications). Please contact me for more details.
Nice to keep in mind too that there will be two locations in Westbrook for anyone under age of 18 to get free lunch, with a bus pickup under consideration.
I would love to hear more about some free/affordable activities for kids this summer that you might be doing or are attending.

Want to get a free book?

Rejoice! There is a way. Borders has started a summer reading program, where if you child reads 10 books, s/he gets a free book (from selected titles).
To read more and spread the word, here is the link.
Borders Double-Dog Dare

Rethinking Math Curriculum

While it may be a little too early to worry about transcripts and publicized low test scores for high school and middle school in Westbrook, if your children are in Kindergarten, it's never too early to start thinking about the way to teach them better, especially if the topic is basic math and not rocket science. Dan Meyer has an interesting take on the math curriculum, and he says that one thing we all can - if we can't teach kids ourselves - is to demand a better math curriculum.
Here is Dan's blog, and the video should be embedded too.

Great Community Events

If you are a type who likes to visit music and other performances, the new Middle School's PAC (Performance Arts Center) is close to home and affordable.
My kindergartner son and I attended the Jazz night last night. It was a great experience. No problems parking, like in downtown Portland, upscale facility (hurry before it starts showing wear and tear!), and of course it's close to home. The bands were wonderful (listen to the short sample).

Plus you can leave when you have to, if you have a young child. Great!
Tonight there will be another event, it starts at 7pm, check it out!

Safe Home

If you are like all those green and anti-toxins families - I am certainly trying to be like that - you might find this simple checklist very friendly and helpful. Walk around your house and make sure your house is safe for you and your children.
You may also want to bring the same habits to the workplace. Less is definitely more in this case - less toxins, more healthy years.

With summer - or at least sunny days - upon us, it's important to shield skin from the harmful sun rays. It's just as important - if you choose to use a sunscreen, which is wise - to choose one wisely. Read carefully the ingredients listed on the box/bottle/tab. Research before you buy and apply. Here is a good start for your investigations, the EWG's database.

Seedlings are growing fast! UPDATE on the Garden Project

In fact, maybe even too fast! It's just April out there, and early April at that. Once they are this big, there is no stopping these guys, they will grow fast! I am getting a little concerned that they might be too big by the time it's safe to plant them outdoors - the weather forecast is frost on Tuesday night, and overall, low temperatures for the foreseeable future. It's how it's supposed to be in April, of course, although we got sidetracked by the unusual heat waves throughout March and early April. Now back to normal feels almost unseasonably cold!

Anyway, check out the peas!

Garden Project

Here at Canal and High School (just because we share the campus, really), we have started our seeds for the school garden which will be right behind the Canal Building.
I got a few charges (delivered to me, by the way, very nice), and they are sprouting. See for yourselves. I wonder if anyone else is posting updates anywhere.
The first ones to appear were seedlings from cups labeled "P", for peas. The other ones I have are beans, and the "B" cups are not ready to show their green yet, but they will soon, I am sure.

Picture day racket

So, you get a notepad (why do you need it? doesn't it cost money to make?) and address labels (tons of them at my house) in a charity envelope asking you for a donation. That is both wasting good money (and trees) and sending you on a guilt trip. After a while you grow more insensitive to these things, but at least they don't have your child's picture on them!
At school, they take your child's picture - even though you didn't ask for it - and then send them home, saying that not only your child is so cute but that you will also be helping the school by purchasing these (extremely) expensive pictures. I wouldn't have bought them, but my son said he really wanted them, so I gave in, but made him pay for them himself. Either way, I think it's racket, sponsored by school. I will be happy to support school through simple donation - where I can donate (and write off my taxes) - and in an amount that I can afford at a time, instead of paying $22 for two pictures. Of course, you might argue I didn't have to do it - I will argue that I didn't ask to be in that position to begin with.
What if I don't return the pictures and don't pay? It's not honest, obviously, but just like with address labels, shouldn't you expect that some people may just forget to pay? (I personally didn't make it within the 5 day window, in fact, I didn't even know about that window until it was already too late) So, basically, if the pictures are really that expensive to make - who is paying for those pictures that aren't returned? Or are returned? I am so confused by this, and don't think that the only connection to the community should be money-related. It seems that a lot of things are fund-raising related. I think that this rant is exacerbated by the fact that there are no spring conferences for parents, and I am still feeling upset about it. End of rant, have a great day!

Please feel free to leave a comment and convince me that I am unreasonably overreacting. ;)

Report cards

Report cards are expected to arrive in Thursday folders this week, so watch out for them!
It has been news to me, there won't be parent-teacher conferences in the spring at Sac. I was looking forward to that, but it looks like it won't happen. Spring conferences have been discontinued and I don't think that I like that. I think I would very much enjoy having more, rather than fewer, opportunities to talk to my kid's teacher in a more organized fashion - I have enjoyed the earlier conference a lot, and found it very valuable. I wonder what prompted the decision to abandon that.
If you would like to have your child in a looping class ( applies to current K students) contact the principal and the secretary with your request.

Kindergarten Math Night

We had lots of other arrangements for the evening - for one, it was my birthday! - and missed the Kindergarten Math Night that was held at Sac last night. If you did attend it, would someone kindly leave a comment with your impressions? That would be great!

Playgroups

Saccarappa Thursday Coffee talk group - all four people! - have come up and discussed an idea about connecting parents for playgroups. It's an informal way to create a stronger community - which in my opinion is seriously lacking - of parents and have kids form relationships outside school day. While there are many unknowns, some actions are about to be taken to promote the idea - including my favorite venue, the digital way - but right now, I may be the only one writing about this.
BTW, Saccarappa has had a number of events for its students and parents, such as Literacy nights, Math nights that are coming up, Unified Arts nights.
My son loved the Mad Science workshop (6 weeks of science fun) so much that he asked to sign up for the second run of the program (a different focus), and he will attend - if everything goes well. Get them thinking about science early, while there is still interest.
Other things that schools are doing around town - I know that other elementary schools (or a school) are planning gardens - which I am a strong supporter of! - and that would be a great opportunity, providing parents or guardians have time to participate. Also, Canal will likely continue its last summer's (unexpected) program of free lunches for school age kids during the week. My son and I were curious and stopped by - his taste is among the pickiest, which is a constant headache for me - and while he didn't enjoy much, most kids did. It was definitely filling. A suggestion has been to have an affordable snack for adults for sale on the premises, so that adults don't feel awkward watching everyone else eat, and could get a bite themselves. Any other program I have not listed here? It's hard planning for summer already - was very easy last Saturday! :) - while it's snowing outside. No snow accumulation is expected but temperatures for Friday look outright scary.
Have a good day!

Restore play for kids

There is a growing pressure in education to "meet standards" and "achieve" and do all sorts of highly structured and measurable things, which in turn suppress and move attention away from play, unstructured learning opportunities, which are often more normal and are simply essential to children's well-being. If you are interested in learning more, check out this link.

Smart Measurements

I just stumbled upon this reference in one of my favorite blogs that I subscribe to.
I checked it out and it looks like it's good for younger students (some are K-2) to learn about time, measurements of length, money, etc.
Smart Measurements Wiki