Some Summer Schools Rock

Ah summer school, it sounds like punishment, doesn't it?  Or at least that's how I remember it.  Well, not necessarily, not if done right.

Big C has attended West Suburban Summer School for four years and it's a highlight of her summer!  The program is an offering of District 287 and is open to children who are part of the gifted and talented programs in the following school districts:  Brooklyn Center, Edina, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Minnetonka, Osseo, Orono, Richfield, Robbinsdale, St. Louis Park, Wayzata, and Westonka. 

West Suburban Summer School has fun week long summer schools that cover a variety of interests.  Think art, diving, animals, music, inventing and presenting, writing to get published, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, problem puzzlers, zoology.

Take a look:

West Suburban Summer School Classes

Contact your gifted and talented teacher for a card allowing you to register for the classes.  Registration begins in February.  

The administration and teachers associated with this program really understand the gifted and talented population.  Big C's teacher this year told me she instituted a new reading policy in her classroom because she recognized these kids need a little time to themselves.  BINGO, perfect for my introverted child! 

Sarah Saves

I can't take credit for the idea but I made my own laundry detergent!  My friend Nicole told me it's much cheaper than buying the detergent at the store.  And it was kind of fun for the girls and I to do together.  Even little c's American Girl doll Molly got in on the action. 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

8 boxes of Baking Soda
1 box of Borax
2 bars of Fels Naptha soap (I bought mine at Walmart)
1 oz. Lavender essential oil (I bought mine on Amazon)

You will need to grate the Fels Naptha with a cheese grater.  Mix all ingredients in a glass jar or container of some sort.  I did not have a container large enough to house all of the detergent so I only made half and saved the other ingredients for a later batch. 

A full batch is supposed to wash something like 288 loads but I am not sure how much you would use for each load to make it last that long. I use about 1/4 cup of detergent per load and find it works very well.  The lavender doesn't make much of a difference so I am not sure I would buy that again.  It's the most expensive ingredient in the recipe. 

The Top Five Reasons We Homeschool

There are many reasons why we choose to home school our children but here's the top five:

1.  Targeted Education
We like that our girls can work at work that is appropriate for their abilities.  If they are doing beyond grade level math and below grade level spelling, that's o.k.  If they are really enjoying science, we can keep going, we aren't required to move on to the next subject.  They are able to really be curious and ask questions and we don't have to move on to something else because the state requires it. I believe true learning occurs when the child asks the question versus the teacher instructing the child. 

Friends mention gifted education programs for the girls.  Most programs I am familiar with offer limited opportunity for pull-out.  It may be one hour per week.  For children who are truly gifted (meaning they process information much more quickly than others), they aren't gifted for only one hour/week.  It's just who they are, all of the time. 

2.  Flexibility
We like to travel and we don't want a school schedule or school, for that matter, to tell us we can't take our kids out of school for multiple weeks.  As a result of B-real's current job, we have chances to show the girls different parts of the world and we want to take advantage of these opportunities.  We don't want our children to be penalized for missing school.   When I was a child, traveling was encouraged, in fact teachers pulled together packets for kids to do while they on their trips so they weren't behind when they returned. 

3.  Free-time
The girls have a lot of down time to play.  They aren't rushed from one activity to another like we would be if they were in school for seven hours per day.  Having only two students means we are able to get through material faster than a traditional school.  I believe unstructured play time is nearly as important as learning your addition and subtraction facts.  Creativity leads to entrepreneurship.  In my dream world the girls would own their own businesses one day and not have to work for someone else.  They need good ideas to make that happen and lots of free time allows for that creative spirit to develop.  I want our girls to be bored some days!  

4.   Individuality
Homeschooling permits the girls to be themselves and not conform to fit into a group at school.   Honestly, they don't even know what's cool or popular.  They know what they like and no one teases them for it.  I believe this age is crucial in the development of healthy self-esteem.  I remember Big C winning the spelling bee each week in first grade and the other kids complaining it wasn't fair that she got to participate.  What was she learning from that experience?  It wasn't o.k. to be her.  It wasn't o.k. to be a good speller.   We want them to fail and not be afraid to try something new because they might be ostracized by other kids.

5.  Values
We teach values.  It's more important to me that our girls grow up to be good people than have a 4.0 GPA.  We talk about values that could not be discussed at school.  I don't want seven hours of their day wasted without values interwoven into their education. 

It's not for everyone but for the time it's for us!  We are happier now that we ever were when the girls were in school.  We have a peaceful life!  

THINK

This is a cute acronym to use with your kids (I use it too).  Before saying something,

THINK

T  -   is it true?
H  - is it helfpul?
I   -  is it inspiring?
N  - is it necessary?
K -  is it kind?

I Love Lucy!

Have you been to the store Lucy?  Oh my, do I love it.  My mom and I went to look at dishes yesterday at Crate and Barrel and Macy's.  We made it to Crate and Barrel but then got a bit detoured into a jewelry store and then Lucy.  My mom is ADD, nothing to be ashamed of, she'll admit it!  See, sometimes your parents shortcomings really work in your favor, like when your mom's scatter brain leads you into a store you've never visited before AND it turns out it's adorable.

Lucy sells workout clothes, actually I believe the term these days is 'active wear'.  The best part is they sell yoga pants in petite sizes (for ladies under 5'3").  Yipee!   Tall friends, you need not feel short changed, as they sell tall sizes too.   It's very exciting for us girls who are abnormal in size.

They offer a nice variety of styles in their yoga pants and Lucy helps make yoga pants a bit more stylish.  My favorite are the Hatha style because of the way they hold in my tummy and the flare at the bottom of the leg.  They also have a special line down the sides of the pants that Tracy, my helpful salesperson, said are intended to make one appear taller.  I'll take that, for sure!

Hatha Pants

The little workout jackets fit perfectly too.  As I told Tracy the jackets hit right in the mid-bottom.  Oprah told me (over the TV) that your shirts should hit you mid-bottom because it cuts your bumpkin in half and makes it look smaller.  When you are wearing tight yoga pants, it's definitely good to have your bumpkin look as small as possible. This was a hard decision to make as there were multiple jackets I liked but this was the most universal looking. 


Vital Jacket

Now onto my FAVORITE thing.  Tracy found me a little tunic on the sales rack that she said everyone had loved and she thought would look cute on my body.  Well, she was right!  It's a sleeveless tunic in a beautiful shade of purple.  It hit me mid-thigh but wasn't too fitted.  The neck is a cowl and can be styled a variety of different ways.  Straight down, off one shoulder, pulled down off both shoulders.   I wore it yesterday and four strangers came up and told me how nice it looked and inquired as to where it was purchased.  My mom wanted to get one too but they were running low on their sizes. 

Body-Mind-Tunic

There are few things I try on that I feel I absolutely must buy,  This outfit at Lucy was one of those finds.  I turned to my mom and said "I have to have this".  The only other item in my wardrobe that fits that same bill is my navy blue, ruffled Tahari jacket.  My mom says you should only buys clothes that will cause you to cry when they are worn out. 

The clothes are pricey, don't get me wrong, but I am getting to the age where I would rather have less clothes.  My goal is to only add things to my closet that I absolutely love.   Plus, you can find things on sale that make Lucy clothes more affordable.  My tunic was $30 on sale. 

Tracy, at The Galleria location was helpful but not pushy.   I liked that she knew the product she was selling and was excited about it but was not trying to up-sell us into buying more items.  There is also a location at Roseville Mall.  

Happy shopping friends!

Fairies

You might think I am the creative parent in the family.  If you did, man, would you be wrong.  B-real has a pretty amazing imagination!  Who knew?  And yes, that's him wearing a beret while drawing with pastels!! The things he does to have fun with his girls. 

If you are the parent of a girl you are probably familiar with the Daisy Meadows fairy series of books; like the days of the week fairies, animal fairies, jewel fairies.  They really aren't my favorite books and I am glad neither girl has gotten too hooked on them.

 B-real, feeling a bit annoyed with the story lines, decided to amp it up a bit!  Instead of reading the books he volunteered to make up his own fairy stories.

His first series was entitled  "The Bad Smell Fairies" and included:
Patty the Port a Potty Fairy
Dolly the Diarrhea Fairy
Rita the Rotten Egg Fairy
Dani the Dog Poop fairy.

The girls adore his creations.

The most recent addition is "The Infectious Disease Fairy" series.  Included in this series are:
Hannah the H1N1 Fairy
Molly the MSRA Fairy
Susie the Swine Flu Fairy
Tammy the Typhoid Fairy
Emily the Ebola Fairy

Coming soon, the "Severe Injury Fairies"
Sally then Spinal Cord Injury Fairy
Brenda the blunt force trauma injury fairy
He still has a little work to do on this series....suggestions welcome.  


My mom told me to marry someone who makes you laugh and this guy keeps me laughing every day.  When I first met him I thought he was pretty darn serious but he's got a wicked sense of humor and he's witty to boot. 

B-real is available for birthday parties, just let me know what dates you need him and I'll check with his schedule!! 

Oh, and he does face painting too.  One year I suggested we hire a face painter and he said "How much will that cost? I'll do it instead".  The offerings were a bit limited, o.k. that's an understatement.  I was imagining butterflies painted across entire faces.  He told the boys he could do a football or soccer ball.  The girls got hearts or rainbows.  Amazingly, the kids still loved it and the line was long for the amazing face painter!

Mindfulness

Breathing is so simple, we actually don't even think about it, but I believe it's our bodies
most powerful tool.  Focusing on our breathing allows us to calm down, refocus, pause, lessen our nerves and reduce worries.  Mindfulness is beneficial for everyone but I want our girls to learn it at an earlier age than myself. 

My awesome dad, who practiced transcendental meditation in his twenties, took me to a doctor who taught me how to meditate.  Suffering from chronic headaches, which were probably stress related, this technique really changed my life. The power of my mind can make me feel separate from my physical body.  When I practice meditation I feel apart from my body; I feel as though I am floating above it.   My experience with mindfulness reaffirms my belief that we have a physical body and a soul, my physical body remains on the surface whereas my soul floats above it. 

My mind is just as powerful as a prescription headache medicine, if I have ample time to lay down and use the skills this doctor taught me.  Primarily I use a body scan technique that guides me through relaxing my body from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.

I think it's important for my girls to learn how to be still.  But how do you teach such a complex idea to two small children?

1.  The Candle Exercise

I light a candle and place it in the middle of our kitchen table.  Five, talk-free minutes are spent focusing on the candle and it's flame.

2.  The Be Still Exercise

I have the girls lay on the couches in the living room and be still for five minutes.  No talking is allowed.  I remind them at the beginning to focus on their breathing (in/out) and let any other thoughts float away (like clouds).



3.  The Body Scan Exercise

I have used this mostly with Big C.  She often has a hard time falling asleep at night so I lead her in a relaxation exercise.  I ask her to close her eyes and listen to my voice.  I begin with her feet and help he relax her body up to the top of her head.  Often she falls asleep before we finish.  A few times she has remained awake and told me that she feels like she is floating.  There are iTunes downloads you can use too. 

My favorite body scan offering is through this DVD.  One of the segments in the yoga DVD is a body scan. 

Body Scan DVD



4.  The Relaxation c.d.

 Indigo Dreams

Indigo Dreams is a guided c.d., told in story format, to help children calm down and prepare for sleep.   Unfortunately, it did not work very well for Big C but I have recommended it to friends who have found success using the c.d.