Thanksgiving

Mentors for Xmas

Put my text.

Gardening at Sacc

Last week was our turn to take care of the garden beds at Sacc. We weeded and we didn't water. I couldn't figure out where there was any water available. Well, maybe with netter diligence I would have shown up during possible open hours although not sure whom the school would be open for but anyway, the weather had mercy on me and the plants and it rained. A nice long rain saved us!
There is a compost bin, the fancy tumble kind, which wasn't full at all, so we put our weeds there. I assume it's safe to compost weeds if they have not started blooming yet and thus there is no danger of contaminating the compost with weed seeds, right?
Check out the pics!
And yes we biked over. Haven't done enough biking lately. Need to look into it.

Soccer trophies!

Maxim's first soccer trophy

Cool hairdo courtesy of misty rain on the soccer field on Sunday as the spring in-house soccer session was closing. Kids didn't mind the rain and the parents got enough good entertainment to forget the spray. It was fun!

Trying this new mobile thing!

This may not be much of a post, but I was dying to try it. You see, with Blogger you can send emails to your unique address and they should turn into posts.

Last Monday afternoon, we had a lovely – wonderful!!! – dinner for volunteers at Sacc. I volunteered a few times, and when I walked into the room everyone already there started clapping and cheering, and I turned so shy! I felt like I was overrewarded, but dang it felt good! :)

Not only it was a (relatively) healthy dinner, the whole place was festive and inviting with bright colors and even brighter smiles from the teachers who stayed late at night to help set it up and serve us after they spent the day with kids. Amazing! I just wanted to hug them all! Instead I just smiled, and enjoyed the dinner and – more than I should! – the cake. Anyway, it was quite an experience and depending on my employment situation next school year, I would love to be in the classroom.

So there!

Summer reading rewarded!

I have been following a very busy blog, Common Sense with Money, and this is one of the latest deals announced by Pottery Barn as I was alerted through this blog.
Read books from the reading list and earn a free one!

Community Garden

Last Saturday Maxim and I went to volunteer at the Community Center Garden event. There were lots of volunteers from the Home Depot, which also donated tons of stuff including seedlings (one of the most exciting parts!) and of course the lumber, the trees and bushes, the plants, the soil and the mulch, and gloves, and rakes, and equipment of various sorts, and I assume the paint (we didn't do the indoor part this time, primarily because we wanted to spend some time working outside after a whole week of working inside and in anticipation of a whole week of rain). It was great, Maxim worked really hard, – he is a good worker – and we reserved a bed for ourselves. I have two little raised beds at home, but couldn't resist the temptation to get another one. I would have rented more, but had to resist at least that much. It is a great deal, but it's risky business. We will see how much the wild creatures will leave us of the plants and of the crops. I know in my backyard, there is a groundhog, who eats tomatoes and maybe more, a huge raccoon, who steals lobster shells from the compost bin, a skunk who ate baby birds, and chipmunks and squirrels who will eat anything. I also have a herd of slugs and snails, that I wage a real war against. The slugs are fairly easy, as they fall for and in beer traps, but snails are not much of drinkers, and thus a little bit of poison and handpicking are necessary. They are very good eaters, amazing how much damage they cause!
The fact that the community center will have summer campers may help keep animals away during the day, but nighttime may be treacherous. We will see, I guess. For now, we are hopeful! Saccarappa also has raised beds next to the school, and we are going to sign up for the weeding/watering duty for at least one week in the summer (close to harvest time, preferred, ;) )
It's a great experience for kids, I observed several underage volunteers, they had a blast poking holes in the dirt, and even planting seedlings. Those guys are aspiring farmers, I tell you!
This week's weather saves us from watering, phew! Hopefully, this doesn't turn into flood, and the sunny promise for the weekend will dissipate any mold and other wet-loving organisms. Can't wait to get out there again.
I grew up in a family with a big garden and all sorts of fruits and vegetables and herbs and whatnot, so I am planning to apply skills here to a small bed, and see how I do.
I will add pictures after I copy them from Community Center's FB page. They are there now, just search for Westbrook Community Center if you can't wait.

Know The Ingredients in your Personal Care Products - Health Tips from EWG | Environmental Working Group

It's important to use chemicals wisely. Right now, it's a season of all sorts of colds, and our bodies are longing for the warmth and the sun, and less stress, and fewer clothes, and more humidity. Make sure you avoid dangerous ingredients in personal care products for you and your family. Use the health tips below for reference.
Know The Ingredients in your Personal Care Products - Health Tips from EWG | Environmental Working Group

An interesting perspective: Do you have a hand in this?

I am a dy/dan blog reader, and recently there has been a post about bloggers – especially the successful ones – who unknowingly become part of a game to improve money flow to certain institutions. If you are a blogger and don't want to improve the third party's bottom line in this way, you may be interested in learning more:
http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=9672
I would love to hear other people's thoughts about this one!

Snow is almost gone

Today was a lovely day, days are longer, warmer and kids are older! Speaking of older, my son has lost one tooth already and a second one is loose, so we are anxious to see when it will come out. He is turning 7 next weekend, and I hope to see his classmates at Happy Wheels for the party.
Today we noticed the first blooming crocus - behind our house, in a sunny spot. A bright yellow sign of spring! We are expecting to see more especially in the front yard, but it's shaded and may take a while for all the snow to go away. Ducks are flying in pairs, and birds are incessant all day. The bird feeder is still attracting diners and a bee came to sniff around as I had honey in my tea cup. The world is abuzz with life!

First graders went on a field trip!

I certainly received the notice and the waiver from the school about the field trip last Monday, Jan 31, and my son had fun.

I also caught the wind of what they actually watched, When you give a mouse a cookie. In line of work, I came across this title – it didn't ring the slightest bell with me, I must admit, – and I looked it up. If any of you are interested and would like to keep up with what your kids are doing in school (tall order, I confess!), then check out this helpful link. If you are a teacher, or would like to do some activities with your child(ren) to connect to the field trip, here are some resources for you.

Free National Parks Days

Admission to all 394 National Park Service properties will be free over the Martin Luther King Jr. birthday weekend, Jan. 15-17, in addition to 15 other days in 2011.
Besides the upcoming holiday weekend, the 100-plus national parks that normally charge for admittance (up to $25) will waive the entry fee on the following dates:
April 16-24 -- National Park Week
June 21 -- first day of summer
Sept. 24 -- Public Lands Day
Nov. 11-13 -- Veterans Day weekend
Source: http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/01/mark-your-calendars-for-free-entry-to-the-national-parks-in-2011/137473/1

All-inclusive

Here I go again getting all thoughtful and things.
I just read a post from a blog which talked about the Christmas season and the not-so-secular connection to public schools.
Indeed, throughout the curriculum there seems to be a fairly broad cultural spectrum encompassing different beliefs (including those of non-believers). Yet, when Xmas comes around, this consistency breaks down, and the school becomes all about Christmas. Granted, it's not always – and probably quite au contraire – not about the Nativity scene, but rather about the other stuff that surrounds modern Christmas celebration, such as Snowmen, trees, and the most baffling to me, Santa's reindeer. That's in addition to the conversations about present expectations and wishes. Talk about equity now!
So, the point is really how does your school make sure that other beliefs are included?
The post I referred to in the beginning, also talked about the fact that we need to – and do – teach kindness and compassion. This should be the season to emphasize compassion and kindness – and does holding a Christmas celebration but not any other help with this?
You see, I don't belong to a religion, nor do I believe in Santa, in fact, nothing stresses me out more than having to compromise my ideas about raising children and having to play along with the Santa story (my main opposition is really about the commercialization and the fact that Santa is so unnecessary!) that the people around us pressure us to comply with. Talk about peer pressure!
Yet, I play along and we attend events, but my heart is not in it. I am trying to find ways to connect with the community but do I have to compromise that much? Are there other ways?
How does your school teach kindness? What does your school do to include and welcome everyone?