Hip Hop Anonymous

I admit it.  I can't say the words hip-hop without a Big Daddy reference.  Ever.

"Dancing is my favorite thing to do in the whole world!" said Miss Elora Kay today.  Seleia and Elora are taking a month of hip-hop classes, and today at class numero uno they had so much fun.  We went from violin lessons to art classes, then straight to dance...ugh!...but it was well worth the effort. This was Seleia's first real activity of any sort since she broke her foot mid-August, and she felt it.  I was really proud of her, though, because she stuck with it and worked hard.  She's been wanting to do this forever, so she wasn't going to let a little thing like that hold her back, no siree, Bob!

I am so overwhelmed with gratefulness for the opportunities that my children have. A little thing like dance classes might not be a big deal, but on top of the science classes, art classes, ballet, theater, music lessons, fencing classes, choir, plays, field trips.....there are so many opportunities available to homeschoolers these days. And I, of course, want to let them do ALL of it. I also, however, cherish our lazy days at home...days full of schoolwork and snuggling. I feel like we get the best of both worlds.

They may not think much of all of this now, (after all, they've never known life to be any other way) but I hope that someday my children look back on their childhood with fondness. I hope that someday they realize, "Wow. We had it good."

Bug Me

Well, you know we love the library. And OMSI. And we've got a self-procalimed etymologist (though I like "tymolotist", the way she says it) living among us. So, when we happened  to be at the library the day they started registering for an OMSI bug class...well, Miss Amarra was just in heaven. When it was time to talk about the parts of the insect, the instructor asked for volunteers that liked to wear costumes. Elora's hand shot up as she shouted, "I so TOTALLY do!", which made everyone laugh. So she got to go to the class as he dressed her in an abdomen, thorax, wings, legs, and head. Pretty funny stuff! Then the class got to "meet" a few insects from OMSI and learn about their habits, diet, life spans...all that good stuff. Then the class split up to examine specimens through microscopes and do some buggy crafts (yes, I have marshmallow insects living on top of my refrigerator right now). Those who wanted a closer look at the insects gathered, just a few at a time, at the other end of the class.  First in line?  Oh yeah, Amarra. Another mom and I grossed out together a bit as she leaned her face about an inch away from a hissing cockroach, and she petted the Rosie the rose haired tarantula more than once. Her favorites, though, were the walking sticks. (I just know it wont belong before this house is full of even more bugs than the currently captures spiders and grasshoppers.  *shudder*) She looooves those walking sticks. The big surprise, though, was that when Seleia and Elora joined a later group to get up close and personal with the bugs they both petted those hissing cockroaches.  Ewww! (For those not in the know: cockroaches and I?  Not friends.) I love the look on the little boy's face in the background when Seleia pets it...I think I was making the same face. These girls get an A+ in my book, though, between the bugs and the squids. Tough little chickies. And  we came home with another hundred or so bug books from the library that day. That's my tymolotist!

The Little Actresses

A new quarter of acting classes started up this week, and this time Amarra, finally six years old, was old enough to join in. She was so excited...asking, "How many days till my acting class?" every day for about 10 days leading up to her first day. She will be performing with Elora in Cinderella's Mice, a fairy tale from the mouse perspective. I am extremely impressed with Amarra for taking this class, as she can at times be paralyzingly shy (UNlike her big sisters). She wouldn't quite say lines onstage without help during auditions, so she is thrilled that her part will be small. But the real story here is that she auditioned. She got onstage and said lines.I am so incredibly proud of her. I actually tried a bit to talk her out of taking the class because I've had so much fun with her during the girl's classes, but to no avail.  Now it's just the boy and me. But he's pretty fun, too, so I suppose I'll get by.)
Seleia, running around in the bright orange shirt up there, will be performing in The Creature in the Classroom, a play based on and primarily written in poetry. The lines she has brought home already are hilarious. I love watching her laugh every time she reads them.
Performances are March 9th, people! Mark your calendars!

Fun With Scissors

Seleia and Elora have been looking forward to today's OMSI lab for months. Squid dissection! Seleia, my science girl, loves to dissect and for Elora Kay this was a first. Seleia was proud to already know that a squid could grow to 40 feet and that their eye and it's muscles are very similar to that of a human (Thanks, Jonathan Park!) but both girls were interested to learn that the two longest tentacles work like the squid's "feet" and help them get around, while the smaller tentacles work like hands and grab it's food, putting it into the squid's mouth. They learned to tell the male from the female (don't ask me, I don't know) and removed the "pen" which is basically the squid's spine (in Elora's hand), and got to draw in the squid's ink with it. Twisted, but cool. The class got to see up close through a high power microscope.  They removed the ink sac, the brain, three hearts (Says Seleia, "It has more hearts than Doctor Who!), two gills and the eyeballs. I wasn't there for the bulk of the class, just the last 10 minutes (I got to draw in squid ink, too!) but everyone was smiling and attentive when I arrived and they could not stop raving about the class. I doubt I could have handled this ate age 7 (or 9, for that matter) without totally grossing out, so I have total respect for these girls. They so rock.

Lego Robotics

We ♥ OMSI labs. Seriously. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is hands down one of the best places to learn about....you guessed it: science and industry. We regularly take about four science lab classes at OMSI per school year, but this year we upped the ante and are doing 13 different labs. Lab number one was Lego Robotics. Joel took Seleia ans Elora and they all came home telling me ALL of the reasons that we needed to set aside $300 to purchase out very own Lego robot. (Joel found one a day or two ago on sale for the bargain price of $289. Not that he wants one or anything.)

First the girls got to "know" their robots. Elora's name was Orangie Peanut Butter, Seleia's was Blackout. They learned about how they worked, did a few simple tasks, and then came the computer programming. They learned to program the robots to respond to their physical commands and move from one place to another, with some turns along the way. Surprisingly, Seleia's favorite part was the programming. She added in sensors so that it would stop and turn when she clapped, etc. Way too cool!

The only disappointment?
"I thought we were going to get to take the robots home!"

If only!

Storybook Theater

The girls are loving their acting classes so much!  In the beautiful surroundings, I must say, it would be impossible to not be inspired to learn.  The main areas for their classes are the Storybook Theater and the Looking Glass Hall, a giant space full of over sized columns and mirrors.  We were the first ones to arrive on Friday, so Seleia and Elora got the Storybook Stage all to themselves before class, and put on quite a show!  Amarra enjoyed exploring backstage and looking at all of the various props that were laying around. The Theater really has become a magical place to them, and they can't wait until the day they get to perform on the Main Stage upstairs!  (For that matter, neither can I!)