I am feeling really good about where Z is right now.
I was chatting with a good friend recently about EPGY Math as her PG daughter is doing it too. My friend asked me if math is Z's best subject and I said no, that is was her second to the lowest subject, with spelling being her lowest. Everything else comes easier to her than math I think.
My friend commented then that it might be exhausting for Z to be at least four years ahead in all her subjects (except spelling). We had to leave right then so I didn't really get a chance to explain to her that it really isn't exhausting at all. She loves all her classes and she still has a lot of free time.
Everyone is different. What works for one family isn't best for everyone. This is obvious right? But still other's judge us by how what we do would work for them and we often do the same thing to ourselves. Unschooling works best for some. Others are finding their place being multi-grade skipped in public school.
What Z is doing is what works for us. There are a couple outstanding issues, like piano. Also I am not too happy with the langauge arts program I designed. But EPGY Math has been working so well for us that I am going to try their language arts program in the fall and I am excited about that.
Right now I am trusting myself and what I think is the right way to go about educating my daughter. It is a good feeling.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Oooh! domestic goodness!
The Secret Life of Mrs. Beeton on PBS
The Real Isabella Beeton
And the actual book onlinehere
I have a copy of her book. I was really into it back when I was reading Alexandra Stoddard and Sarah Ban Breathnach's Mrs. Sharpe's Traditions
I am definitely going to watching this PBS show!
The Real Isabella Beeton
And the actual book onlinehere
I have a copy of her book. I was really into it back when I was reading Alexandra Stoddard and Sarah Ban Breathnach's Mrs. Sharpe's Traditions
I am definitely going to watching this PBS show!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Summer Plans
What are your plans for the summer?
Usually we do what I call homeschooling-lite. But this week a plan has been germinating in my mind that doesn't include much formal schooling.
We have a good friend coming for a visit around Memorial Day and we are going to hit some of the theme parks and go to the American Girl store with them.
But summer really starts for us in late June. We are taking a trip to the mid-west to visit some friends and family. I am really looking forward to seeing my sister and parents. We might do some camping while we are there.
We are getting back in July and my plan is to live at the beach house for a week or two. Pere will still go to work but he can drive there after work. While Z and I are there we can go to the beach everyday, and ride our bikes around the marina, and at night we can eat on the deck and make a fire, roast marshmallow and look up at the stars.
The second week of July starts our six week concert series at the Hollywood Bowl.
It gets really really hot (like 110+) here in the summer. So my plans for the days we are not at the Bowl are to either be in our pool or spending the day inside the many wonderful (and air-conditioned) museums we are members of. I told Z that she could spend the whole day or multiple days at the Science Discovery Center and not have to rush at all.
I know we will also be having some pool parties, visiting the ice rink and perhaps camping up in the mountains on the weekends wth Pere.
I told Z about my plans and she gave me a big "Yip-pee!" for each one. :)
Usually we do what I call homeschooling-lite. But this week a plan has been germinating in my mind that doesn't include much formal schooling.
We have a good friend coming for a visit around Memorial Day and we are going to hit some of the theme parks and go to the American Girl store with them.
But summer really starts for us in late June. We are taking a trip to the mid-west to visit some friends and family. I am really looking forward to seeing my sister and parents. We might do some camping while we are there.
We are getting back in July and my plan is to live at the beach house for a week or two. Pere will still go to work but he can drive there after work. While Z and I are there we can go to the beach everyday, and ride our bikes around the marina, and at night we can eat on the deck and make a fire, roast marshmallow and look up at the stars.
The second week of July starts our six week concert series at the Hollywood Bowl.
It gets really really hot (like 110+) here in the summer. So my plans for the days we are not at the Bowl are to either be in our pool or spending the day inside the many wonderful (and air-conditioned) museums we are members of. I told Z that she could spend the whole day or multiple days at the Science Discovery Center and not have to rush at all.
I know we will also be having some pool parties, visiting the ice rink and perhaps camping up in the mountains on the weekends wth Pere.
I told Z about my plans and she gave me a big "Yip-pee!" for each one. :)
Girl stuff
Tuesday I was at the bookstore in line to buy Z a cool Nancy Drew book (in the style of Dragonology) and as I waited I noticed that Ricki Lake is on the cover of one magazine understandably proud to have lost weight. But, as I scan the other magazines, I see that all of the magazines that have women on the cover have the women on the cover because they are beautiful or thin and all the magazines with men on the cover are there because they are a CEO, or a politician, or they have accomplished something other than looking good.
It made me really sad. I know things have mostly changed but I do feel like the media is still telling women that the most important thing we have to offer to the world is our bodies (and they better be hot). And the small percentage of women who aren't beautiful and who do succeed often have to deal with a lot of ridicule for daring to be unattractive in public.
Not that I am in any way against being attractive. I think it is natural that people are drawn to those that are attractive. I think being attractive is a boon and I think people should take care of their physical form and display it appropriately.
But I am tired of the message women (and young girls) are getting from the media that seems to tell them that most important thing about a woman is her looks. Our girls are still getting the message that their main goal in life is to be attractive to men.
Men get to wear servicable clothes and have short managable hair. Women have aisles and aisles of ridiculous shoes, finger nail polish and many opportunities for painful waxing or laser surgery.
Again I am not saying women shouldn't dress up and be pretty, if it makes them feel good. But there is so much more that we can accomplish. And I don't want my daughter to get sidetracked from her dreams because society hasn't yet gotten past the idea that women really are more than just objects of desire.
It made me really sad. I know things have mostly changed but I do feel like the media is still telling women that the most important thing we have to offer to the world is our bodies (and they better be hot). And the small percentage of women who aren't beautiful and who do succeed often have to deal with a lot of ridicule for daring to be unattractive in public.
Not that I am in any way against being attractive. I think it is natural that people are drawn to those that are attractive. I think being attractive is a boon and I think people should take care of their physical form and display it appropriately.
But I am tired of the message women (and young girls) are getting from the media that seems to tell them that most important thing about a woman is her looks. Our girls are still getting the message that their main goal in life is to be attractive to men.
Men get to wear servicable clothes and have short managable hair. Women have aisles and aisles of ridiculous shoes, finger nail polish and many opportunities for painful waxing or laser surgery.
Again I am not saying women shouldn't dress up and be pretty, if it makes them feel good. But there is so much more that we can accomplish. And I don't want my daughter to get sidetracked from her dreams because society hasn't yet gotten past the idea that women really are more than just objects of desire.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
my morning
This morning when I was sitting in the rocking chair with Z she touched her pointy and prominent collar bone and wanted to know about it. She also wanted to know about the tendon she can feel going from her upper arm to her forearm. I said "I think that new human body book we got had good diagrams of bones and muscles. We can look at it later if you want."
She was already getting out of the chair. "I want to read it now." she said
I read to her about the muscles in her arms and I showed her the bones in her shoulder area and touched them so she could feel them.
Then she wanted to read about the bones in her arms and then count all the bones in her hand and check to make sure she has them all and then she wanted to check out her hips. And then read a bit in the back of the book about her spinal cord.
Then she asked "What about the mucus in my nose?"
And I said I know she has at least a couple books on that. So I went into her room and took out two books - one encyclopedia type book on the human body and one specifically about the body's battle against damaging germs. The latter was a favorite book when she was younger.
I started making breakfast, leaving her to her research. I could hear her in her room reading the book aloud turning the words into a song. She cried out to me "I think I like singing today."
And that is different from every other day how?
When breakfast was ready I called to her and she asked if she could bring the books to the table to read during breakfast. When she finished eating but has asked if she can finish her book before she leaves the table. Right now she is singing an musical about the immune system.
She was already getting out of the chair. "I want to read it now." she said
I read to her about the muscles in her arms and I showed her the bones in her shoulder area and touched them so she could feel them.
Then she wanted to read about the bones in her arms and then count all the bones in her hand and check to make sure she has them all and then she wanted to check out her hips. And then read a bit in the back of the book about her spinal cord.
Then she asked "What about the mucus in my nose?"
And I said I know she has at least a couple books on that. So I went into her room and took out two books - one encyclopedia type book on the human body and one specifically about the body's battle against damaging germs. The latter was a favorite book when she was younger.
I started making breakfast, leaving her to her research. I could hear her in her room reading the book aloud turning the words into a song. She cried out to me "I think I like singing today."
And that is different from every other day how?
When breakfast was ready I called to her and she asked if she could bring the books to the table to read during breakfast. When she finished eating but has asked if she can finish her book before she leaves the table. Right now she is singing an musical about the immune system.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
bragging
I am leaving soon to have lunch with Pere so I might not have time to write about this as well as I mean to. On a board for parents of gifted kids there is some talk about bragging about our kids. I had some thoughts on the subject but I don't want to get into it on that board so I thought it best if I just post about it here.
I do brag about Z on this blog. I know I do. I admit it. So sue me. *grin*
I sometimes say factual things about what she is doing on other gifted boards but I don't considering bragging, it is not out of the ordinary there.
And I don't talk about what she is doing or brag in my normal life (i.e. amoung people who do not have gifted kids where it would be considered bragging.) Well, maybe I do a little bit but only because I like to share funny stories with friends and sometimes it comes up then. But people I see regularly have no idea what Z is doing in math or music. They don't know what she is reading unless she has a book with her. They usually can tell she is gifted by talking to her but I don't talk about it.
But on my blog I do brag. I want to talk about how I am really feeling and truly and honestly I feel a lot of things - some of it is excitement and happiness and some of it is fear and concern. I think I am just as likely to write about something that is not going well with Z as I am about the good things. Just like any parent I am proud of her accomplishments and frustrated by a number of things and pleased with her sweetness and worried about the future and all the things that any parent might feel. And I share it all here.
I guess I have decided that I am free to brag here just as I am free to talk about all the other feelings I have as a parent. Try not to be offended and please understand I don't I talk about Z like this in my normal life. Really most of the people I see on a weekly basis have no idea what Z is really up to.
But other than wanting to be free to share my thoughts on my blog I am also writing it to be a resource to the gifted community and I feel like being honest about what she is doing is helpful to others who may be reading this blog for that purpose.
I do brag about Z on this blog. I know I do. I admit it. So sue me. *grin*
I sometimes say factual things about what she is doing on other gifted boards but I don't considering bragging, it is not out of the ordinary there.
And I don't talk about what she is doing or brag in my normal life (i.e. amoung people who do not have gifted kids where it would be considered bragging.) Well, maybe I do a little bit but only because I like to share funny stories with friends and sometimes it comes up then. But people I see regularly have no idea what Z is doing in math or music. They don't know what she is reading unless she has a book with her. They usually can tell she is gifted by talking to her but I don't talk about it.
But on my blog I do brag. I want to talk about how I am really feeling and truly and honestly I feel a lot of things - some of it is excitement and happiness and some of it is fear and concern. I think I am just as likely to write about something that is not going well with Z as I am about the good things. Just like any parent I am proud of her accomplishments and frustrated by a number of things and pleased with her sweetness and worried about the future and all the things that any parent might feel. And I share it all here.
I guess I have decided that I am free to brag here just as I am free to talk about all the other feelings I have as a parent. Try not to be offended and please understand I don't I talk about Z like this in my normal life. Really most of the people I see on a weekly basis have no idea what Z is really up to.
But other than wanting to be free to share my thoughts on my blog I am also writing it to be a resource to the gifted community and I feel like being honest about what she is doing is helpful to others who may be reading this blog for that purpose.
Monday, May 14, 2007
gadget girl, ting in your heart and math
Just call me Gadget Girl
Since Mother's Day I have added a digital voice recorder to my gadget belt - now I have a camera phone, a digital camera, a digital video recorder, an iPod, a laptop, and the digital voice recorder.
Today I used it to remind myself to bring a book to someone on Wednesday.
Z used it to record six original songs...
Here is the first one
A ting in your heart
When you sing
there is a little ting
in your heart
a ting that makes you feel excited
a ting that makes you feel good
when you sing you feel a ting in your heart
that it's right
that it's right for you
a ting that says
"Yes I do"
There's a ting in your head that makes you feel (makes you feel)
so good in your heart (in your heart)
it makes you feel like it's meant to be
it makes you feel al dazzling
cause you know it is good
it is right
to sing
with the ting
in your heart
*aww*
Also I am proud of my girl because she started her 4th grade math today. She finished 3rd grade (doing one 20 minute lesson 4 - 5 days a week) in 3 1/2 months.
Since Mother's Day I have added a digital voice recorder to my gadget belt - now I have a camera phone, a digital camera, a digital video recorder, an iPod, a laptop, and the digital voice recorder.
Today I used it to remind myself to bring a book to someone on Wednesday.
Z used it to record six original songs...
Here is the first one
A ting in your heart
When you sing
there is a little ting
in your heart
a ting that makes you feel excited
a ting that makes you feel good
when you sing you feel a ting in your heart
that it's right
that it's right for you
a ting that says
"Yes I do"
There's a ting in your head that makes you feel (makes you feel)
so good in your heart (in your heart)
it makes you feel like it's meant to be
it makes you feel al dazzling
cause you know it is good
it is right
to sing
with the ting
in your heart
*aww*
Also I am proud of my girl because she started her 4th grade math today. She finished 3rd grade (doing one 20 minute lesson 4 - 5 days a week) in 3 1/2 months.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Happy Mother's Day
so far...
This morning Pere and Tante Juliet served brunch for me and Z's grandmere.
We had baked French toast topped with cinnamon sugar apples, bacon, shrimp, hashbrowns, fruit, and cheese.
Then I got some very nice gifts - a box of chocolates, bath soaps and lotions, and, from Pere, a digital voice recorder that I had been wanting for a long time.
In the early afternoon the three of us went to Spiderman 3. It was very good! If you liked the first two then you will like this one. Z cried several times and maybe I did too.
Now I am going to hop into the tub and use my new bath soap and when I get out Pere will have dinner for me.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
My goose is cooked
and it is stuffed with a traditional French cassoulet stuffing (white beans, sausage, veggies) and covered with giblet gravy.
Pere spent much of the last 5 hours cook tonight's dinner. Ah... the joys of having a culinary husband.
Today I went clothes shopping in the morning. After lunch I read some to Z and we played a fun game called Doodle Dice
Then I watched two episodes of my favorite Belgian detective Poirot. Two episodes... ah, what a lazy day. *sigh*
I also did some mor thinking about the summer and next fall.
I collect this really great series from Brown Paper School books. I buy then whenever I can find them. I have been wondering if Z will be ready for them in the fall.
Math for Smarty Pants
I Hate Mathematics
Blood and Guts
Good for me
Making Cents
My Backyard History books
Maybe I should wait until she is 7...
I went through her non-fiction books last night and put them in order by age suitability. I wanted to see what she was liable to grow out of if I didn't get to it soon. That is always a problem with these kids.
Pere spent much of the last 5 hours cook tonight's dinner. Ah... the joys of having a culinary husband.
Today I went clothes shopping in the morning. After lunch I read some to Z and we played a fun game called Doodle Dice
Then I watched two episodes of my favorite Belgian detective Poirot. Two episodes... ah, what a lazy day. *sigh*
I also did some mor thinking about the summer and next fall.
I collect this really great series from Brown Paper School books. I buy then whenever I can find them. I have been wondering if Z will be ready for them in the fall.
Math for Smarty Pants
I Hate Mathematics
Blood and Guts
Good for me
Making Cents
My Backyard History books
Maybe I should wait until she is 7...
I went through her non-fiction books last night and put them in order by age suitability. I wanted to see what she was liable to grow out of if I didn't get to it soon. That is always a problem with these kids.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Friday
Every other Friday we drive down to our old neighborhood to visit some old friends.
After visiting with our friends we stop off at a great used bookstore. Today I bought her two science books and Bruno Bettelheim's Uses of Enchantment - The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales
Then Z went to a friend's birthday party and I got to hang out and chat with my friends.
It was a really nice day!
I also went through a lot of her non-fiction books and started thinking about next years curriculum. Is May to early to start hinking September?
After visiting with our friends we stop off at a great used bookstore. Today I bought her two science books and Bruno Bettelheim's Uses of Enchantment - The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales
Then Z went to a friend's birthday party and I got to hang out and chat with my friends.
It was a really nice day!
I also went through a lot of her non-fiction books and started thinking about next years curriculum. Is May to early to start hinking September?
Thursday, May 10, 2007
MacGyver
Today Z said she wants to be like MacGyver. She says when she goes to college she wants to study "that stuff" so she can be like McGyver.
I said, "Like physics and chemistry?"
She said "Well, he sets a lot of stuff on fire... and he like, blows things up."
Me, "So you want to go to college to learn to set things on fire and blow things up?"
Z, "Yeah!"
*omg*
Here are some cool MacGyver stuff :
destroys a laser array using binoculars and cigarettes
plugs a sulfuric acid leak with chocolate
creates a bomb to open a door using a gelatin cold capsule
makes an arc welder out of a generator, some jumper cables, and two half dollars
repairs a blown fuse using the aluminum wrapper of a stick of chewing gum
rigs a car battery, some jumper cables and the picture tube for a television into a crude bomb
uses the spring steel filament support wires from a light bulb as lock picks
*hee hee* she is such her father's daughter
Musette in D
The sheet music with sound
I was looking to find the sheet music of the song Z is playing for my friend PS and I ended up finding this site. Isn't this cool?
This is the piece Z is playing but her's has dynamic changes that this one doesn't seem to have.
I was looking to find the sheet music of the song Z is playing for my friend PS and I ended up finding this site. Isn't this cool?
This is the piece Z is playing but her's has dynamic changes that this one doesn't seem to have.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
shocking
Today Z had an extra piano lesson because she has a recital coming up in less then two weeks.
Near the end of her lesson another student arrived. I know this girl and her older sister. They are both at least highly gifted. The older sister is the one who wins all the piano competitions.
Well anyway, when the girl came in and she heard the Bach piece that Z was playing her mouth fell open in shock. "That is the piece my sister played last year at the Bach competition!"
Z's piano teacher acknowledged that it was the same song. The girl stood with her mouth hanging open, flabbergasted, and just stared at Z.
"How can she do that?" she asked.
"Because she is amazing." the teacher said with a smile.
And now I am amazed too.
The teacher originally wanted Z play this Bach piece for the Bach competition that is coming up but I told her a couple months ago that I didn't want Z to compete it in. It is hard to imagine that Z would play the same piece at six that this other girl played at nine.
Z was all beaming afterward (she had registered the other girl's awe at her playing that piece). Z said "That piece must be really hard if N played it."
And her teacher said "Yes it is a level four piece."
Now I am curious what level four is...
Near the end of her lesson another student arrived. I know this girl and her older sister. They are both at least highly gifted. The older sister is the one who wins all the piano competitions.
Well anyway, when the girl came in and she heard the Bach piece that Z was playing her mouth fell open in shock. "That is the piece my sister played last year at the Bach competition!"
Z's piano teacher acknowledged that it was the same song. The girl stood with her mouth hanging open, flabbergasted, and just stared at Z.
"How can she do that?" she asked.
"Because she is amazing." the teacher said with a smile.
And now I am amazed too.
The teacher originally wanted Z play this Bach piece for the Bach competition that is coming up but I told her a couple months ago that I didn't want Z to compete it in. It is hard to imagine that Z would play the same piece at six that this other girl played at nine.
Z was all beaming afterward (she had registered the other girl's awe at her playing that piece). Z said "That piece must be really hard if N played it."
And her teacher said "Yes it is a level four piece."
Now I am curious what level four is...
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Piano... again
So are you tired of hearing about my issues with Z's piano teacher? I hope not.
Yesterday I asked her about that whole Trinity College thing, I wanted to see if she had heard about it and if she had an opinion on it.
And I think she got jealous. She wants Z to do a similiar program that we have in the States, the Certificate of Merit. But since I have recently asked her to back off from pushing Z she had put that idea on hold. Apparently studying for the Certificate of Merit is a big commitment if you are going to take the A track and she would definitely want Z to take the A track.
So she presented another plea for me to let her "develop Z's potential." She says Z has ABILITY, and that now is the time and she is her teacher and she knows it is the time and Z can handle it and I just need to let her, etc, etc.
She was very convincing.
Z does have potential. But I want to be careful not to mess things up. So I stressed about it all night.
I am still kind of stressing - except that I am taking a break from that stress to watch the fire that is burning near our beloved Griffith Observatory
Yesterday I asked her about that whole Trinity College thing, I wanted to see if she had heard about it and if she had an opinion on it.
And I think she got jealous. She wants Z to do a similiar program that we have in the States, the Certificate of Merit. But since I have recently asked her to back off from pushing Z she had put that idea on hold. Apparently studying for the Certificate of Merit is a big commitment if you are going to take the A track and she would definitely want Z to take the A track.
So she presented another plea for me to let her "develop Z's potential." She says Z has ABILITY, and that now is the time and she is her teacher and she knows it is the time and Z can handle it and I just need to let her, etc, etc.
She was very convincing.
Z does have potential. But I want to be careful not to mess things up. So I stressed about it all night.
I am still kind of stressing - except that I am taking a break from that stress to watch the fire that is burning near our beloved Griffith Observatory
Monday, May 07, 2007
Oh boy
What a day!
today we rode our bikes to piano, on the way Z sang a song and I just had to pull over and write down some of the lyrics
It isn't fun
always being the smart one
I just wanna be a regular girl
I want to be cool
I want to go to parties
I want to funk out of town
and dance all around.
she rhymed fun with one and town with around. and she used the word funk.
What do you think? About the content I mean... Is this a cry for help?
That is what I thought at first... but then I gave myself a good smack in the face.
Z just wants to have fun? Yeah right... The poor girl... she is so starved for excitement. This weekend she only went to a birthday party with a bounce house, slip and slide, snow cones, and dancing and hung out with ten year olds. Saturday she saw a concert and met up with a friend... and Oh yeah, last week she went to New York City. Poor Girl..
I realized that she is just being a normal kid at the moment, wanting to spend all her time playing and getting her funk on.
Today she homeschooled for 3 hours, watched Looney Tunes for an hour, played in her room for half and hour and then went bike riding, had a 45 min piano lesson, rode home in the beautiful sunshine and then went swimming with her four girls friends for an hour and half before dinner. Poor sad overworked child... ;P
But anyway... I did talk to her about what she wants to do for "fun". But I also mentioned that most kids her age are going to school for 6 hours a day and they don't get most Wednesday's and every other Friday and well, any day they feel like it, off.
She also made a song about a brave boy whom she "couldn't resist to steal and kiss
and a song about dancing:
"It's dancing that puts you in the mood
a happy face and happy attitude.
today we rode our bikes to piano, on the way Z sang a song and I just had to pull over and write down some of the lyrics
It isn't fun
always being the smart one
I just wanna be a regular girl
I want to be cool
I want to go to parties
I want to funk out of town
and dance all around.
she rhymed fun with one and town with around. and she used the word funk.
What do you think? About the content I mean... Is this a cry for help?
That is what I thought at first... but then I gave myself a good smack in the face.
Z just wants to have fun? Yeah right... The poor girl... she is so starved for excitement. This weekend she only went to a birthday party with a bounce house, slip and slide, snow cones, and dancing and hung out with ten year olds. Saturday she saw a concert and met up with a friend... and Oh yeah, last week she went to New York City. Poor Girl..
I realized that she is just being a normal kid at the moment, wanting to spend all her time playing and getting her funk on.
Today she homeschooled for 3 hours, watched Looney Tunes for an hour, played in her room for half and hour and then went bike riding, had a 45 min piano lesson, rode home in the beautiful sunshine and then went swimming with her four girls friends for an hour and half before dinner. Poor sad overworked child... ;P
But anyway... I did talk to her about what she wants to do for "fun". But I also mentioned that most kids her age are going to school for 6 hours a day and they don't get most Wednesday's and every other Friday and well, any day they feel like it, off.
She also made a song about a brave boy whom she "couldn't resist to steal and kiss
and a song about dancing:
"It's dancing that puts you in the mood
a happy face and happy attitude.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
cell phone pictures
Today Z went to the 10th birthday party of a friend from our old neighborhood. Our families both hosted foreign exchange students from Belgium one summer.
This friend had so much in common with Z. When Z was 4 1/2 they went together for the midnight release of the 6th Harry Potter book. They both loved the musical Wicked and the Pirates movie. Now two years later when I look at the books this girl is reading I see all the same books Z has, like Eragon and Inkspell.
This girl is a homeschooler too with a young brother and an older brother so there were kids of all ages - they had a slip and slide, snow cones, a bounce house and water balloons. It was a really great party.
dancing
everyone likes to pick Z up
the slip and slide
Yesterday we went downtown to see a Mexican show at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Hey, that's pretty cool...
dancers - I wish I had remembered to bring my camera. The cell phone doesn't have good quality.
Mexican dancing
The rest of these pictures are one's I just happen to have on my phone.
Z doing a science experiment on topsoil
Humphrey the Robot (she put this together with Pere)
flying a kite on a windy day
and one of our cats :)
This friend had so much in common with Z. When Z was 4 1/2 they went together for the midnight release of the 6th Harry Potter book. They both loved the musical Wicked and the Pirates movie. Now two years later when I look at the books this girl is reading I see all the same books Z has, like Eragon and Inkspell.
This girl is a homeschooler too with a young brother and an older brother so there were kids of all ages - they had a slip and slide, snow cones, a bounce house and water balloons. It was a really great party.
dancing
everyone likes to pick Z up
the slip and slide
Yesterday we went downtown to see a Mexican show at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Hey, that's pretty cool...
dancers - I wish I had remembered to bring my camera. The cell phone doesn't have good quality.
Mexican dancing
The rest of these pictures are one's I just happen to have on my phone.
Z doing a science experiment on topsoil
Humphrey the Robot (she put this together with Pere)
flying a kite on a windy day
and one of our cats :)
our unschooling
Yesterday I think I felt what a true believer unschooler feels like.
We went to a musical event downtown. There was Aztec and Mexican music and dancing. As usual Z wanted to dance. At first she felt a little embarrassed to be the only one dancing but the music took her over and soon she really let go and was twirling and stepping and dancing with the rhythm.
All around people noticed and smiled at her.
Z has taken dance classes - when she was 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 she had a ballet class. She was very good and at the end of the year they promoted her and skipped her a "grade" so she could dance with older girls.
But Z didn't want to continue dancing. The school she went to spent months preparing for the big recital (it was a big and fancy recital) and Z had learned the dance very quickly and was bored and frustrated to have to practice the same thing over and over.
She told me that she liked to dance but she didn't want to have to practice the same things that she already knew for so long.
The next year we looked around for other schools and even tried one that was pretty good but I felt that it was too regimented for Z.
Z is a natural dancer. If she never took another dance lesson she could still dance very well. If she did take more lessons, the wrong lessons, I am afraid she might lose her inner drive and her confidence to dance the way her heart tells her to. Her dances are a wonderful expression of the music - she doesn't need someone to tell her how to dance.
But I think she would benefit from the opportunity to learn how to dance certain ways and certain styles.
I would love to find a dance hall that just played music where she could dance free form and also provided clinics on certain dances styles and moves that she could join if she chose to. And then later (she is only six) if she wanted to study dancing (like ballet or tap or jazz) more formally then she could make that decision. But I haven't found anything like that around here. It is all formal studying (mostly ballet for her age) or pee-wee type stuff that wouldn't interest her.
I feel very strongly about protecting her natural passion to dance. I think that if she took a dance class that she didn't choose herself and that wasn''t respectful of her passion, it could be damaging.
Isn't this what unschoolers are talking about? Do you have something you feel this way about for your child? Maybe art or a hobby?
We went to a musical event downtown. There was Aztec and Mexican music and dancing. As usual Z wanted to dance. At first she felt a little embarrassed to be the only one dancing but the music took her over and soon she really let go and was twirling and stepping and dancing with the rhythm.
All around people noticed and smiled at her.
Z has taken dance classes - when she was 3 1/2 - 4 1/2 she had a ballet class. She was very good and at the end of the year they promoted her and skipped her a "grade" so she could dance with older girls.
But Z didn't want to continue dancing. The school she went to spent months preparing for the big recital (it was a big and fancy recital) and Z had learned the dance very quickly and was bored and frustrated to have to practice the same thing over and over.
She told me that she liked to dance but she didn't want to have to practice the same things that she already knew for so long.
The next year we looked around for other schools and even tried one that was pretty good but I felt that it was too regimented for Z.
Z is a natural dancer. If she never took another dance lesson she could still dance very well. If she did take more lessons, the wrong lessons, I am afraid she might lose her inner drive and her confidence to dance the way her heart tells her to. Her dances are a wonderful expression of the music - she doesn't need someone to tell her how to dance.
But I think she would benefit from the opportunity to learn how to dance certain ways and certain styles.
I would love to find a dance hall that just played music where she could dance free form and also provided clinics on certain dances styles and moves that she could join if she chose to. And then later (she is only six) if she wanted to study dancing (like ballet or tap or jazz) more formally then she could make that decision. But I haven't found anything like that around here. It is all formal studying (mostly ballet for her age) or pee-wee type stuff that wouldn't interest her.
I feel very strongly about protecting her natural passion to dance. I think that if she took a dance class that she didn't choose herself and that wasn''t respectful of her passion, it could be damaging.
Isn't this what unschoolers are talking about? Do you have something you feel this way about for your child? Maybe art or a hobby?
Saturday, May 05, 2007
amazing article on PG kids
excerpts:
Profoundly gifted children are endowed with extraordinary, global, integrative mental capacities. This brings into being a multifaceted dynamic which includes but is certainly not limited to extraordinary intellect. Rather, this uncommon capacity manifests as a particular developmental reality that affects all aspects of their being including intellectual, social, emotional, moral, physical and spiritual dimensions.
and then
he field of integral psychology has identified over two dozen developmental lines central to human experience. These include but are not limited to morals, affects, self-identity, psychosexuality, cognition, ideas of the good, role taking, socio-emotional capacity, creativity, altruism, several lines that could be called spiritual (including care, openness, concern, religious faith, meditative stage) joy, communicative competence, modes of time and space, world-views, logicio-mathematical competence, kinesthetic skills, gender identity and empathy.
then
Asynchrony refers to being out of sync internally and/or externally. All things being equal, the brighter the child, the greater the potential there is for asynchrony to be at work. Asynchronous development accounts for the state of the profoundly gifted child who develops cognitively at a much faster rate than s/he does physically. If we broaden the scope of this definition beyond advanced cognitive abilities to include all two dozen lines of development we have an appropriate context to consider the social and emotional development of the PG child.
and
The PG child is compelled to reflect, to deliberate, to know, to question, to create, to connect, to penetrate, to challenge and to make manifest complex desires and deepest knowing. S/he may toil tirelessly to master a musical instrument, a mathematical theorem, the nuance of watercolor on clean canvas, the origins of a culture, codes in a complex program. On the communicative front some PG children may debate (endlessly), be moved to stillness by the language of poetry, respond to differences in verbal tone, in cadence, in emphasis, delight in complex language, and thirst for recognition of nonverbal nuances in the most basic of human exchanges. These are all attempts to develop aspects of their complex being, to make manifest his/her unique blueprint.
Here is the link.
I haven't read the whole article yet and I am not saying that I agree with everything in it.
Profoundly gifted children are endowed with extraordinary, global, integrative mental capacities. This brings into being a multifaceted dynamic which includes but is certainly not limited to extraordinary intellect. Rather, this uncommon capacity manifests as a particular developmental reality that affects all aspects of their being including intellectual, social, emotional, moral, physical and spiritual dimensions.
and then
he field of integral psychology has identified over two dozen developmental lines central to human experience. These include but are not limited to morals, affects, self-identity, psychosexuality, cognition, ideas of the good, role taking, socio-emotional capacity, creativity, altruism, several lines that could be called spiritual (including care, openness, concern, religious faith, meditative stage) joy, communicative competence, modes of time and space, world-views, logicio-mathematical competence, kinesthetic skills, gender identity and empathy.
then
Asynchrony refers to being out of sync internally and/or externally. All things being equal, the brighter the child, the greater the potential there is for asynchrony to be at work. Asynchronous development accounts for the state of the profoundly gifted child who develops cognitively at a much faster rate than s/he does physically. If we broaden the scope of this definition beyond advanced cognitive abilities to include all two dozen lines of development we have an appropriate context to consider the social and emotional development of the PG child.
and
The PG child is compelled to reflect, to deliberate, to know, to question, to create, to connect, to penetrate, to challenge and to make manifest complex desires and deepest knowing. S/he may toil tirelessly to master a musical instrument, a mathematical theorem, the nuance of watercolor on clean canvas, the origins of a culture, codes in a complex program. On the communicative front some PG children may debate (endlessly), be moved to stillness by the language of poetry, respond to differences in verbal tone, in cadence, in emphasis, delight in complex language, and thirst for recognition of nonverbal nuances in the most basic of human exchanges. These are all attempts to develop aspects of their complex being, to make manifest his/her unique blueprint.
Here is the link.
I haven't read the whole article yet and I am not saying that I agree with everything in it.
home
I have Z back home today.
The house is noisy again. :)
I know I won't be writing for hours during the day anymore. But that is okay.
Today has had it's tough moments. Moments where Z needed to be reminded that she is home and we will all be better off if she behaves like she is supposed to. But that is to be expected.
I saw one vision of what life could be like when Z heads off into the adult world. I know there are a myriad of others.
But now I am more than happy to be with my girl. I have known all along that this period of my life will never seem long enough.
The house is noisy again. :)
I know I won't be writing for hours during the day anymore. But that is okay.
Today has had it's tough moments. Moments where Z needed to be reminded that she is home and we will all be better off if she behaves like she is supposed to. But that is to be expected.
I saw one vision of what life could be like when Z heads off into the adult world. I know there are a myriad of others.
But now I am more than happy to be with my girl. I have known all along that this period of my life will never seem long enough.
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