performance

Z performance went well. Her piano playing was technically sound but somewhat wooden which I chalk up to her only having three days to practice before the show. Her singing was quite cute and good. My bias opinion was that her song was the most appealing performance out of the 20 kids performing. *grin*

Z was the youngest. Then there was a handful of kids 9 - 11 and the rest were teenagers. We left before the last 3 violinists and since they were the oldest they were probably really really good.

I have wanted Z to volunteer to perform at old folks homes for a long time. I have an idea that she and Pere could perform together. And now that I see how welcoming and appreciative the audience there is I think I will try to set something up for them.

Z is very comfortable with older people. There was a lady sitting next to her last night who was in really bad shape, extremely thin, couldn't speak, etc and Z was very concerned about her and asked me a couple times if there was something we could do for her. I also remember her visiting my grandfather at his home and how she just jumped right up on his lap and brought him back from a lonely place. :)

It is harder for me because I am very sensitive and I get to feeling worried and sometime outraged for them if they are not taking care of well. And then I feel loneliness for them if I see them sitting all alone... well, I am sure you can image.

not so posty

I haven't been posting as much recently because I have a big life changing decision I am trying to work out (something good, don't worry) but I can't really post about it yet and since that is all I am really thinking about I am having a hard time coming up with topics.

********************************************************

But today was good.

We just had some good friends over that have a 10 yo PG daughter. Z loves her friend E and I just love talking with her mom, my friend, A and Pere gets along well with the father/husband. We have been inviting them over for Pere 5 hour chili for a couple years now. It is so good to have some local friends who actually like to eat our food. :)

Anyway we had a great dinner and evening with them and set up plans to have Z have her first sleepover with E in a couple weeks.

*********************************************************

Earlier this week Z's piano teacher invited her to play at a concert at the Jewish Home for the Aging. None of us were sure that Z would be prepared because she went three weeks without even touching the piano. But Z really wanted to do it so she practiced a lot the last two days and then today she went and played for her teacher to see if she was ready. And, yay, she was.

So tomorrow evening she will be playing two songs on the piano and singing to an audience besides judges or parents of other piano students. :)

Summer Sounds

Today I took Z to the Hollywood Bowl for a children's music and art program called Summer Sounds. Today's theme was Mexico.

First she colored a skull in the theme of the Mexican holiday The Day of the Dead.


I really like it.


Then we watched a show with a Mariachi band and traditional Mexican dancing.




Z (in the yellow shirt) dancing with her favorite senorita.


After we had a picnic and playtime at the park with our homeschool friends. I think Z was putting on her own show.

first in line

Yesterday we all went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

We went to the movie theatre that is within walking distance of our apartment. I brought a back-pack with books for reading, an activity book, crayons, modeling clay, and snacks.

When "Goblet" came out I got to the theatre something like two hours early and I was still like 50th in line. Yesterday I was determined to be closer, much closer. I figured Z and I would at least be in the first ten. You might have guessed by the title though that we were first (and second.)

Yeah, we waited for a long time but we had a really good time. Z and I made tiny models of Harry Potter, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Voldemort, Scabber, Crookshanks, and some dragons. We met people that we knew and hung out with them a bit. We met the people in line with us and one little girl came over to color with Z.

I know it is probably going to be almost two years before we see another HP movie and I wanted it to be more of an "event" rather than just a movie. I think sitting in line for it makes it seems more special. And, of course, we got the best seats in the theatre. *grin*.

It was a very good movie. A lot was changed, of course. But I expect that so it doesn't really bother me. Z was very sad at the end and I was too! But I don't think it was any more scary than "Goblet" and perhaps even less so.

She didn't finish reading the first HP book. We got too caught up in playing with the modeling clay. But when we got home she took out Goblet of Fire and started re-reading that... *sigh*

homeschooling lite

Yesterday was another day set to homeschooling lite. She did piano, math, Japanese, Reading (King Arthur) and typing.

Then we also played some board games and card games. In the afternoon I worked in my room, preparing my books to be sold and Z played in her room drawing, reading and, of course, singing.

I wanted to share what I think of as a good example of limiting TV and computer time. Yesterday after lunch Z asked if she could play on her computer. I said "No, you played on it a lot yesterday. I want you to find something else to do today." So instead she went to her piano and composed some of her own songs and sang along to them for awhile.

In the late afternoon we walked over to the park. At six she is starting to be the oldest kid at the playground. :(

Last night she asked if she could spend all day today reading the first Harry Potter book. Her goal is to read the whole book in one day. I figure she will have plenty of time to read while we are sitting in line for the movie of the 5th book for hours this afternoon. I told her she still needed to practice piano but otherwise she could read all day. I wonder if she will really want to.

Back home

Yesterday it really seemed like we were back home. Z practiced piano for the first time in almost 3 weeks (boy, she had gotten rusty!). Then she did math for half an hour and then I read to her a chapter from our King Arthur book.

After those three things I just let her do what she wanted. She chose to read a science book about human anatomy. We also walked to the market and watched a Poirot episode.

She had her piano lesson in the afternoon. That went pretty well.

After that I asked her to practice some typing with her Spongebob computer typing program. And then she went swimming with some of the neighbor girls until dinner.

At bedtime we took turns reading a new book on arthropods that she got from her Aunt. It is really an awesome book. I had the idea that we might make a trivia game on arthropods using the book. Z wants to start on that today.

My goals for her this summer are to finish King Arthur (almost there), be better at cursive and typing, keep up with piano and Japanese, and memorize her multiplication tables.

Sewing

Today Z went to a sewing birthday party at Jo Anne's Fabrics


The girls each had their own sewing machines and sewed denium bags and then added embellishments.



I was really happy to see Z handling the sewing machine. It got me inspired to take out my machine and sew with her.


Here is the (mostly) finished product. She wants me to hand-sew a pocket onto it on at home.

back home

So we are finally back home from our trips.

It has been almost three weeks. Z somehow seems older, like she had one of those jumps in vocabulary and thought proceessing. You know what I mean.

I also noticed that she finally seems secure in all those skills that kids are supposed to have. She can now ride her bike with confidence and ease (and enjoyment.) She can do a cartwheel. She can catch and kick and dodge a ball with some accuracy. She can jump in a pool and swim all around and she she can jump rope. I am happy for her.

When we got home the first thing she asked was if she could go into her room and read. She went in and read some non-fiction geography books... Then a book of poetry that she memorized a poem out of and then came out to recite it to us. She had said "Yay! Something to read besides Harry Potter!" That was the book we brought with us on the trip - book six. And she did finish it.

yet? no, not yet.

I have a lot of noises going on inside my head these days. Where to live is probably the loudest.

Pere said last night that buying a house is the biggest decision we will make until we buy another house. That, of course, just makes me want to put my head in the sand. I am an impatient girl but if I can't make a decision now then I would rather not even think about it.

Part of me really wants to Just Settle Down Somewhere Finally (!!!), because Pere and I have lived in six places since I was pregnant with Z.

Another part of me wishes we could just travel around the world, and stay, at least a year, in France. *grin*

A third part of me is afraid to commit to buying a house. There are so many things that can go wrong. I shiver at the thought of them. Yet, I tell myself, many people less capable buy houses. And then I try not to think of the people I know who are having forclosures or getting upside on their mortgage.

I really don't know what I want yet. I am not ready to really figure it out because I know that when I figure out what I want I WILL make it happen. That is just how things go with me. I think it is one part planning, on part willpower, and one part magic. But, in the past, when I have really wanted something... wanted something enough to write it down and image it and then work towards it, I get it. But when you have that kind of power you have to accept the responsibility that comes along with "be careful what you wish for".

So right now I am planning but I am planning for a lot of different things. I am also writing some dreams down (that is where the magic comes in) but I am not lending my will towards anything in particular... not yet.

Friends in Santa Barbara

Today we went with some friends to a park in Santa Barbara

The playground was huge and had a cool castle theme


Z practiced her Ninja Warrior skills


The girls


Walking hand and hand


We went to the pond and all these turtles came over and wanted to be fed


Aren't they sweet together?


Z and C and S tromping through the path

Bicycling and the 4th

Tuesday Z and I went to the park at the beach to ride our bicycles

On our way



At the Park


This is her taking a break to run across the park


At the Beach


This is a good example of what I mean when I said "We make our own fun." Z didn't have a toy so she used her croc to make a "waterfall of sand"


On the 4th we had some friends over. We all walked down to Fisherman's Wharf for a little fair.


The girls were sweet.



They had a lot of fun on the bounce house maze



They did a lot of fun things at the fair.


We went home and cooked-out for dinner. But then walked back to the marina to see the fireworks.

The big finale.

Some things I wish

Sometimes I wish I could just put Z into a good public school and she was just smart enough to get all A's and be at the head of her class and get be editor of the school newspaper and become the valedictorian and win a scholarship and be voted "most likely to succeed."

But research shows that those kids are usually MG or at most HG. There is a socially optimal intelligence. It is those who would be a bit challenged to do the above.

But can a kid really be happy, and appropriately stimulated and challenged working several grade levels below their true ability? Should they "coast" even if they had the temperament to be satisfied by that? Do you really think that is the right thing to do?

Sometimes I look a schools with beautiful campuses and interesting course catalogs and think "Wouldn't it be nice...?"

But then I look at the end of year standards for the grade that Z would be entering this fall. It has stuff like:

blend two to four sounds into a recognizable word (e.g., /c/a/t/ = cat; /f/l/a/t/=flat)
read common word families (spill, fill, gill, etc.)
understand, count, read, write, and use numbers up to 100
demonstrate the meaning of addition and subtraction and use these operations to solve problems
Count by 2s, 5s, and 10s to 100

And I just know that Z is not going to be satisfied being at the head of that class. It is not just a matter of boredom either. Spending twelve years in a woefully inadequate environment can do all sorts of things to you emotionally not to mention academically.

Not that I would ever want to change Z. The storybook school life is not for her, she will have a totally different story to tell.

Channel Islands house

We made it to the Channel Islands house last night. It is so nice we have this place to escape to. It was about 114 degrees in our town yesterday

The water was really still this morning. (I took this picture from the deck.)


We have a rocking chair here so Z and I were able to do our normal morning snuggle. :)


Today we don't really have any plans beyond going to the beach. Z and I are without a car today but pretty much everything we need can be reached with our bikes.

Last Day in Indiana

We said by to our family.


Then we went to an art museum in Chicago. We came specifically to see this picture.


Otherwise my favorite was the art.


Pere's was the armour


Z's was the minitures


We got in pretty late. Today I am just doing laundry and ironing and this evening we will go to the beach house.

Update in trip

Friday we drove about an hour and a half to another town where our good friends H and P live. H was Z's librarian when we lived at the Channel Islands house. Two years ago they made the move to Indiana and they really love it here.

Here is a picture of Z reading to their daughter, 3 yo, HS. Such, a grown up girl moment!. They had a good time together.


Here is a pic of the new baby AS. She let me hold her a lot. That was really nice!


Here is P playing his mandolin for Z.


We also visited H's library, which is should have taken pictures of because it was the best children's library I have ever seen!
It was really nice to see H and P and their growing family and their nice house and town. I am really happy for them!

Yesterday I didn't feel good so Pere and Tante Suzette took Z to the park.

They fed the ducks.


Z loves tire swings.


Z's favorite was this huge steep rickety slide.


Look at those dirty feet. Those are the feet of a happy child. *wink*


In the afternoon I was feeling better so we checked out the local library. It was pretty nice! They had a good homeschooling section and their children's section is bigger than my local library. The children's section has a train theme and this corridor of luggage is the entrance.


In the evening we had a cook-out at my sister's house. She lives right on a park - the one that we have been going to every night to catch fireflies. Here Z and her cousin Alex are playing soccer.


She asked me to take this picture of her enjoying at hotdog.


Here is Z and Alex playing soccer with some neighbor boys. They also played dodgeball and caught fireflies together.


South Bend is a real neighborly place. My sister has been here almost ten years and she knows everyone. When we went out to the bar I think she knew like ten people there. Then yesterday at her cook-out two neighbors and a friend stopped by.

Z was so sad to leave their house last night because that was the last time she would be seeing her cousins and uncle on this trip. They have to travel to Indy for a soccer game today. After we said our good-byes and started walking she broke down crying, so we went back. Then my sister suggested that Alex and his friends walk us home. :)

She cried again several times before bed. She really loves her family and I know it is hard for her to leave.

We are leaving this evening, first stopping off in Chicago to go to an at museum. I think I won't be able to post until tomorrow.

babysat

Tonight Z's cousin Alex babysat her so Pere and I could go out with my sister, brother-in-law, mom and dad. We went out to dinner and then to an outdoor bar with live music.

Z got to do all her favorite things with her 16 yo cousin. They watched Spongebob, played Mexican Train dominos, played soccer and played croquet. They had pizza and ice cream with sprinkles and chocolate sauce.

Then they walked over to the park to catch fireflies.

My mother left the bar first and drove by the park to check on Alex and Z. She said that when she pulled up Alex and Z were sitting with their backs against a big tree and looking up at the sky. Z told her grandmere that they were watching the sunset.

When I came up just after that my nephew said "Look at the sunset!"

It was quite beautiful. :)

I am so happy that Z is getting to spend time with her cousins. I only wish she could have spent more time with them sooner.

Our firefly summer

Wednesday night's jar full of fireflies


Thursday morning we drove to an Amish/Mennonite Farmer's Market
She got her first balloon hat

Hugging her Tante Suzette
Sometimes I feel like a horse would be more fun than a car


We took Z to a local children's museum
She hung from this for 40 seconds
She enjoyed playing shop


Then she played a fairy game with the Ent in grandmere's backyard


And joined in a game of croquet with her cousins.