calming down

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the responsibility I feel to make the right decisions for Z. Last night after talking to Z's teacher I was feeling kind of stressed in that regard.

But this evening I had more time to think about some things her teacher said and also talk to a mom with a focused kid and I have more confidence in what I am doing.

Last night Z's piano teacher said that a "super talented" kid would want to spend hours at the piano. We both agreed that Z does not want to do that.

Then today I was talking to a woman who's daughter is an ice skater. She skates 3 -4 hours everyday. The girl is 12 and has been skating seriously since she was 9 and she started skating at 5. I asked the mom how she felt about letting her daughter make the choice to practice so much and to focus on this one thing and she said "My daughter never really wanted to do anything except skate. So it wasn't a hard decision. That is all she really wanted to do."

Some kids are like that.

Z does not have just one thing she loves. She has so many things she likes (reading, science, foreign languages, gymnastics) but I think the thing she does most is sing and make up stories that turn into songs.

Sometimes I can image that she will be a singer/songwriter when she grows up (or earlier) but it is not all she wants to do. She has a lot of things that interest and inspire her.

It is interesting too that singing is not something I do with Z. I don't have a class for it. The only thing I do is make sure she has enough down time every day so she can make up her songs. Actually I also listen to them and record them and sometimes transcribe them. And, oh yeah, I also help her get ready for talent shows and get her voice lessons.

But there is nothing I can teach her at this point. All I can do is protect and encourage.

homeschool fair part II

So the talent show went very well.

Lots of people came up to me or Z afterwards to compliment her. One lady came up and asked if Z took singing lessons and suggested we try the Colburn School for her. It is a very highly regarded performing arts school in the city, so that was a nice compliment.


I don't know how her trans fats research project went over. I don't think that many people read it. No one else did a science project. Everyone else did an art project for Show and Tell.


(if you are interested you can click on the picture to see it up close - not shown in the picture are two tubes, one clean and one clogged up.)


But I think doing the research project was a great experience for Z. So it was definitely worthwhile.

I have a video but I have to figure out how to get it online.

Homeschool Faire

Soon we will be leaving for our Homeschool End-of-the-Year Faire.

Z is preforming two songs in the talent show (I'm nervous!) and also presenting her research project on Trans Fats and a Show and Tell poster board with examples of her songs lyrics, Japanese writing, piano sheet music, drawing of a horse and the picture from her recent magazine article.

Wish her Luck or Break a Leg.

six

I just had the longest conversation I ever had with Z's piano teacher. I called her about what time to do Z's class this week and ended up describing our curriculum, talking about my background, talking about gifted issues, Z's I.Q level, and even about the book Indigo Children.

Nothing really changed that I can tell. Her teacher was happy to learn more about what Z was doing in the rest of her life.

Still she wants me to be more committed to Z's piano. She said Z could be doing so much more than she is doing.

But I don't think it is right to make that decision for Z. She is only six and she is good at a lot of things. She has a full academic schedule most of the year at home as well as classes in Japanese, piano, voice, Shakespearean theatre and gymnasics. And all of her teacher in those classes would love for her to focus on their subject.

I want to keep her options open and I want her to have down time.

Our Memorial Day

Yesterday we went to see the 3rd Pirates movie. It was fun and I am glad we saw it.

Then we went for a hike in the hills near Pere's work. There is a neighborhood of townhouses near there. I am thinking it would be nice to buy one but we aren't ready yet.


I was silly and tried to run up this hill. I got to the top but I almost passed out. *wry grin*


"take a picture of me, Mommy!"


views from above


we went higher but I couldn't get a good picture from the top

gymnastics

Hello Anonymous

Have you seen this with your gifted daughter?

In gymnastics Z does not enjoy herself as much nor will she try very hard if the class material is too easy. When she can coast, at least in that class, she does.

But when she is challanged she gets really energized. She was given the choice to be in an easier class with a friend or go into a more difficult class where she would be behind everyone else but where she would be expected to catch up and she easily chose the harder class.

Another example of her "rage to learn" in gymnastics is that last year she was taking a one hour class twice a week and after each class she would be so upset that it was over. She would complain "That wasn't an hour! That only felt like 15 minutes!"
So I changed and let her take the two classes back to back, so she was doing gymnastics for two hours straight (she was also with kids two year older than her then). She was really happy with that arrangement.

We took a break over the summer last year and when we came back I only put her in for one hour a week. But she would love to be there three days a week if she could.

fear of failure

This morning Z was practicing her song for the talent show. She was trying to sing to the music on karaoke and in certain areas she would either go too slow or too fast. Soon she was getting frustrated and teary eyed.

Z is used to getting things right quickly. Sometimes when she doesn't get things right quickly she feels like giving up. She doesn't believe in herself at that moment. She should.

This is a big hurdle in Z's way. So far I have always been there for her and I have given her a boost up. But today I realized that Z really needs to find the strength in herself and I have to figure out how to help her find it. That means she needs to have more practice failing. She might need to do some bibliotherapy. She needs to learn this life lesson. It is a very important one. If she lets little hurdles turn her away from what she wants to do then she won't get very far in life.

I see that my job as a parent is to help hone my child's intellect and willpower so she can face and triumph over her weaknesses and find the courage to use her strengths.

I don't think it helps my child to shield her from her weaknesses. I have heard many parents say "It is hard for my child to do this. So I don't make him."

But I ask myself why is it hard for my child? Is it something she could overcome through the virtues of hardwork and diligence? Would her life be better off if she had some power over the weakness rather than it holding the power over her? Would she have a better understanding of herself and/or human nature if she confronted her weakness?

I have also seen parent's treat a child's strength like it doesn't matter. Some see a strength like nail head sticking out that needs to be pounded back in for the sake of confirmity. But everyone has a gift to bring to this world and, to me, it only makes sense to support the unique strengths of your child.

Don't be hard. Don't push. Don't turn her off. Have faith in her. Believe she can do it. Hold her hand and support her. That is my job.

You might think it is weird but I keep thinking of a quote from the Rocky movie I just saw.

Rocky Balboa: The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place It will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!

weird

So I took this book quiz and out of 64 books it gave me my favorite book. Isn't that strange? I read this book in 9th grade and I have considered it my favorite or one of my favorite's since then.

You're A Prayer for Owen Meany!

by John Irving

Despite humble and perhaps literally small beginnings, you inspire
faith in almost everyone you know. You are an agent of higher powers, and you manifest
this fact in mysterious and loud ways. A sense of destiny pervades your every waking
moment, and you prepare with great detail for destiny fulfilled. When you speak, IT
SOUNDS LIKE THIS!


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

party

I run a local board for parents of gifted kids and today we had our second gathering (the 1st was in the fall.) We had thirty-three people over. Our apartment was crowded!!

It was loud, and somewhat chaotic but it was really fun too! The kids seemed to all have a great time. And I think all the parents enjoyed themselves as well.

We offered a lot of food (homemade mac and cheese, veggies, fruit, cookies, naan, hummus, tapanade, chips and dip, deviled eggs, homemade pizzas,) and our friends brought stuff too (like steamed lentil cakes... yummy!)

Z had all her toys in her room plus we made the library into a LEGO room (the Dad's all liked playing in there.) The first guest came at 1:45 and then last left about 6:15.

My hope, when I host a party like this, is that the people coming have a good time and get some validation (as a gifted parent), hear about some useful resource and make the local gifted community more cohesive.

picture pages (saturday)

I got this pretty shirt at the consignment store for four dollars. It is white eyelet on the sides and back and very soft and feminine.


After breakfast Z did a mock-up of her research project on Trans-fats


After lunch we made some pizza dough.


We really had fun.


I think Z might take afte her Tante Juliet - the baker


Z enjoyed the whole process.


Then after dinner (Pere made scrumptious fried calamari strips) we took a family walk.


and ended up at the ice cream shop. :)

Rocky and Physics

I wanted to post about this last night but I figured I had already posted three times...

Last night I watched the newest Rocky movie - Rocky Balboa. It was REALLY good. I even cried. And at the end I was so excited!
If you liked the first two Rocky movies I highly recommend this one.

Secondly, using my Cartoon Guide to Physics, I figured out how to calculate v (velocity) and d (distance) with the formula d = 1/2 at² (accleration x time squared)

I knew what distance and time and acceleration was but I wasn't totally clear on velocity. And now, or example, I can figure out how high the cliff I am standing on is by dropping a rock and counting how long it takes it to land. Because of gravity things fall at 10 m/s (actually 9.8 m/s) and if the rock takes four second to hit the bottom I have the acceleration x time.

I am so proud of myself for working on this! (and thankful for my husabnd forexplaining things and giving me extra problems to work on) I like to know that at 33 I can still learn something hard.

Who we are

Cher Mere

Lover of information, favors the written word but also quite friendly with television and movies. She hopes to write another book some day and to have a work of fiction published. She has had a ridiculous number of ridiculous jobs including selling role-playing games, comics and anime, working for a private detective agency, writing for a sports website, owning a used bookstore, and mostly notoriously, pro-wrestling. Collects books on etiquette, Japan, Victorian homekeeping.



Pere

Keywords: Java, C++, basketball, napping, hiking, MacGyver, gourmet, a capella, science-fiction, and physics.
This debonair man of science has traveled the world but found his true home to be with his family. He excels in the hard world of facts, codes and science yet also amazes in his relaxing pastime of cooking - from traditional French countryside to the spicy exotic foods cuisine of Thailand.



Current fairy princess, future Doctor, astronaut, spy and homeschooling mum. Z is the star and the magic third. Her parents are enourmously proud of their dear sweet girl. They are pleased to see they are succeeding in their efforts to raise a person who is enjoyable company, not only for her charm and sparkling wit but also for the intelligent obervations she brings to the conversation [editor's note: some familial bias observed here]

Z is an expert in spinning in bell shaped dresses, staying up too late reading in her bed, skipping whilst humming, recalling the names of T.V. show episodes, and speaking in a British accent. She is continuing her training in singing, piano, Japanese, gymnastics, Shakespearean theatre, geology, criminology, and demolitions.


Mandy, Merry and Pippin

Mandy - tortoise shell, curious, narcissistic, a bit mental
Merry - grey and white tabby, persistent, daredevil, once lost outside for two weeks
Pippin - grey and white patches, cuddly, immature, fat, a bit stupid

Successful day at the used bookstore

After coffee Z and I took our biweekly trip to the used bookstore.

The first one here is a sticker biography book. Each page has a famous American and there are sticker portraits for each one. I love when I find a fully intact sticker book at a used book store. The second book is a beautifully illustrated picture book of American presidents

Here is an example of the American president's book The Buck Stops Here.

This book cost me the most today, at $3.00. Most of the other's were $1.00 or less. Z has a few books on rocks and minerals but this one has experiments and is laid out in a way that I know would appeal to Z.


I am surprised I couldn't find a review of the Mr. Wizard book online. It is full of all kinds of experiments from quick and easy to ones that require more time and effort on a many different topics. I am sure we will use this book and I will post how the experiments go.


This is an inside view of the Invention and Discoveries book from the picture above. Each double page spread is on a different type of invention or inventor. This one is Leonardo DiVinci. Each topic has experiments for the kids to do themselves. For example go around the house and look at all the things that need to be repaired and then write how you would try to repair it. Another asked the reader to design a hat or headwear with three different uses.


Z picked out these two books (she is reading one of them now and figuring out the mysteries)


I got these for myself. I LOVE the Tightwad Gazette. And I need to brush up on my Physics so I can teach it to Z. I know this is a popular series amoung gifted homeschoolers so I thought it was worth it for $2.50.

Last day?

So today is kind of our last day of formal schooling for the summer.

Except that I am still paying for EPGY through June, and she still has Japanese, and piano, and voice. And she wants to study forensics and microbiology. Oh, and of course she wants to finish King Arthur.

So I am not really sure if we can consider school to be over...

Two big things

Today my friend Nina told me that she saw Z's Neosporin ad in the back inside cover of the new Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I told Z and she started jumping up and down. She was so excited! So we rushed out to Target and I bought three copies (for posterity).

The second cool thing is that Z has been promoted in gymnastics to a 7 - 8 year old class for advanced students.

I didn't ask for Z to be put in that class. I just asked her teacher which would be the best for her to be in now that it summer is here and Z's schedule is more opened up. I was surprised the teacher said that one because Z tried that class last week and it is pretty difficult and they were doing a lot of things Z didn't know how to do. But her teacher said that Z is very athletic and that she will catch up to the other kids quickly.

Z wont be the youngest though in the class though - there is this one tiny girl who is some kind of gymnastics prodigy. She looks like she might be 4 or 5 and she was doing back flips and stuff!

Otherwise I was very very tired today. The cats got me up at five in the morning... *yawn*

Our science class

For O's Mom

Yes, it is a homeschool science class. There are 5 kids in it. It is an interesting set up because the kids take turns researching a topic and then they themselves present it to the class along with an activity. This year Zoe presented on the Human Body, Rocks and Minerals, and the Moon.

This last cycle the parents have taken over for the kids.

Tuesday was my turn and I did a presentation with activities on liquids and more specifically water.

We did an experiment on surface tension where the kids tried to float a straight pin on top of water.

Then we put fluffy paint brushes into clear jars of water and then I explained how water is attracted to itself, which is why the paint brush's bristles stick to each other when we take it out of the water.

We did an experiment on capillary attraction by putting the bottom of a strip of a paper towel in some water and watched the water climb up the rest of the paper towel.

Next we added colored dye to the water to see how liquid molecules disperse and expand to fill up the space they are contained in.

We did another on the changing states of liquid by using a kettle and observing the steam.

And lastly I showed them how clouds work by spraying water on a cookie sheet and then covering some of it with a glass. They saw that the unexposed droplets evaporated into the air but the water trapped in the glass remained droplets.

I got the ideas from a beautiful photo book called A Drop Of Water by Walter Wick.

It was really fun. But I don't know if I could teach science to a group every week. ;)

10 things about us

10 things about Z

1. She is a very academic kid who doesn't feel there is much difference between learning and playing.
2. She didn't start playing with dolls until she was 5 1/2.
3. Her favorite lunch is a peanut butter and honey sandwich.
4. She will not eat transfats and she keeps me honest about it.
5. As a baby she wanted books in her crib not stuffed animals or toys and she still has a pile of 5 -1 2 on her bed every night.
6. She is not really into drawing. If she has a piece of paper she is more likely to write words on it than draw a picture. Even when she was a toddler this was the case.
7. She wants to be a mommy, doctor, astronaut, singer, and a fairy princess.
8. She has a lot of what people think of as "guy" interests - role-playing games, comic books, martial arts, action movies, robotics, catching bugs, and the science of blowing things up
9. She has a lot of what people think of as "girl" interests - fairies, princesses, cute Japanese things like Hello Kitty, the color pink, dressing up, and having tea parties.
10. Her favorite books are the Harry Potter series.

10 things about me

1. I started dying my hair in 8th grade. It has been red, black, platnium blonde, honey blonde, brown, and reddish brown. My natural hair color is light ash brown.
2. I am addicted to information.
3. My favorite food is my mother's gumbo.
4. I do not like to take medicine.
5. I started reading Stephen King at age 10. Did the scar me? A better question would be, What didn't scar me? ;P
6. I want to be a mommy, a writer and an detective.
7. I enjoy a good debate.
8. I have a lot of what people think of as "guy" interests - role-playing games, comic books, martial arts, action movies, and juvenile humor
9. I have a lot of what people think of as "girl" interests - romanic stories, Jane Austen, cute Japanese things like Hello Kitty, decorating, having "tea" and eating little pretty sandwiches.
10. My favorite band is the Beatles.

our day in pictures

Today I thought I would show a typical Tuesday at Gray's Academy. Obviously since I am taking the pictures I am not shown actually homeschooling her... *grin*.

Yoga in the morning


Reading a book of her choice


Doing math on the computer


Doing her language arts workbook at the ottoman



Reading a story from Arabian Nights


Science Class


Playing in the yard at a friends house


Playing Uno with me


Now she is in her room playing.

Homeschooling example

Every month I have to report to Z's charter school what she has been working on. Below is what I turned in today. It really only covers about 2 weeks because Z spent a week in Philly and took over a few days off here and there.

But here is an example of Z's homeschooling

Math
EPGY: multiples of 10, Units of measurement (inches, feet, yards, rods, and miles), word problems with multiplying by 10, subtracting money, describing sets, adding and subtracting fractions, radii and segments, construction of equilateral triangles – scalene and isosceles, geometry, multiplication by 10’s and 100s, set operations, bisecting segments, division, multiplying and adding in the same problem, distributive law of multiplication, multiplying by 8 - 12’s, dividing by 6 – 12’s, multiplying by double digits – ex: 9 x 42
Filled out 12 x 12 Multiplication Table
Games: SET, Uno, Doodle Dice, Chess
Read: The Number Devil, The House that Math Built

Science
Brainpop (movies and quizzes) : Renewable and Nonrenewable resources (10/10) Humans and the Environment (9/10), Biomes (9/10), Arctic Tundra (9/10), Bacteria (10/10), and Spiders (10/10)
Read : Rock Collecting, Crystals and Gems, Sky and Earth Children’s Encyclopedia, Body Battles, Human Body(bones, muscles, spinal cord), Forensics
Hands-on: Snap Circuits – light bulb, helicopter, and radio, Levers, Hydroponic garden
Science Class: Made Butter – discussed change in molecules, State of Matter – solids, liquids, and gases
T.V.: Planet Earth: Caves, and Rivers
Computer: Forensics online seminar

Language Arts
Wrote 1st draft, 2nd Draft and typed Final Draft of article “Highlights of My Day”
Wrote pretend resume
Wrote definitions of nouns, verbs, prefixes and suffixes, Looked up words in dictionary
Grammar Workbook: apostrophes, contractions came and come, ran and run, and rewrote sentences with correct punctuation
Books Read:
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (still reading)
The Invention of Hugo Caberet
The Secret World of Mermaids
The Nancy Drew Files(still reading)
Nellie’s Promise
Bats at the Beach
The Miraculous Pitcher
Nancy Drew and the Secret of the Old Clock(still reading)
The Story of Tristam and Isolde
The Secret Fairy of Fairyland
Children’s Treasury of Rhymes, Songs, and Stories
The American Girl Club Handbook
Eragon(still reading)
Pirates of the Caribbean story book
Robin Hood (still reading)
The Jungle Book
The Frog Prince
The Ant in the Parking Lot
Goops and How to be them
The House that Math Built
The Number Devil (still reading)
Return to Brookmere
The Dutch boy and the dike
What the Apple taught Newton
A Child’s Garden of Verses
+ various picture books

Social Studies
Read: King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, The Story of William Tell, King Canute and the Courtier, Life in the Middles Ages, Middle Ages
Brainpop (movies and quizzes): Taiga (10/10), Latitude and Longitude (9/10), The Black Death (10/10)
Geography Workbook: Used Map to label and find geographic areas in Asia and South America


Life Skills
Physical Education: Yoga and Pilates 5 x week, gymnastics 1 x week, Bike riding 9 miles 1 x week, Ice Skating, Swimming, and Dance Dance Revolution

Responsibilities: Read 32 pages of Everyday Life Book (ex: How does a light bulb make light, how does a key turn a lock), Filled out calendar for self for next 3 months, helped cook, did chores.

Field Trips: Recycling Center, Colburn Performing Arts School, Benefit for Pediatric AIDs, Cinco De Mayo Celebration at Walt Disney Concert Hall – musicians, singers, dancers, and art), Trip to Philadelphia – saw Liberty Bell, Trip to New York, New York – saw Broadway Show Tarzan

Computer: Researched Spiders, Played math games on Cyberchase, Played at Music Lab on the San Francisco Symphony site, Researched Homonyms, Typed article on Word document, Participated in online Forensics seminar, and Brainpop

Community Involvement – Cinco De Mayo Celebration, participated in weekly Girl’s Club which included a Mother’s Day Tea

Special Skills
Arts/Crafts: Studied the art of collage, made an Earth Day collage using 3D texture, Made and decorated magazine holder, painted a color wheel, Studied color, Studied artists Whistler and O’Keefe, Studied composition, symmetry, asymmetry, create original asymmetrical composition, made pressed flower window hanging, painted a seashell from a model

Music: Participated in Spring Music Festival, practiced piano (45 – 60 minutes a day), practiced singing for voice, recorded original songs

Japanese:
Wrote in hirgana in journal 5 x week, practiced telling date and time, changed verbs to formal (okiru – okimasu), changed verbs to past tense, practiced songs in Japanese, practiced using particles (to, de, e, and wo)

Piano recital

Z had her piano recital today.

She was one of 15 students playing at the Spring Festival. I think she was the youngest. She did very well!

For my part I thought it was the best recital I have been to so far. All the kids were really good and the whole thing wasn't to long.

practicing


bowing


playing


dancing

Background on the Japanese

We have a private tutor for Japanese. Z has a class with her for one hour every week and about 20 minutes of homework on weekdays. It has been working out really well.

Z was always interested in foreign languages ad originally I tried teaching her Spanish since that is what I took in highschool and college and also it seems very practical.

But our family is also very into Japanese culture. I used to take karate and help my dad teach it. I also used to collect manga and I really love anime. Z watched a lot of Japanese anime with subtitles before she could read. (I think watching Sailormoon in Japanese with English subtitles brought her reading speed up very quickly when she was four.)

We also used to host Japanese foreign exchange students. The last one we had, before we moved, was a very young teenager that Z spent a lot of time connecting with. Z was heartbroken when she left.


Though it wasn't all tears :)





(She also has quite a collection of Japanese things)


So after we moved when Z asked if she could start learning Japanese I did what I could to find her a tutor. I ended up finding one on craigslist. This fall Z will have been studying with her for two years.

Last winter I asked Z if she still wanted to study Japanese and she chose to do so. Since she has invested so much time into learning the language I would like her to keep it up. But it is not something she has to do.

My plan is to start on a third language in two years. Z is interested in more langauges. She studied French on her own before we went to France and then tried to get her aunt to teach her while we were there. So maybe she'll have an interest in French or maybe she'll want to go back to Spanish.

Recent pictures

Working on her Japanese Journal


Doing some writing in her nightgown (like how she "sits" on her chair)


Drawing the "asymmetrical" pile of stuff on her floor


Working with flowers at the park


Waiting for her voice lesson


Doing gymnastics