Brownies are the Best!

This year marked another of Hallie’s 1st grade rites of passage (besides loosing the first tooth) - becoming a Brownie Girl Scout. She was too young to join as a Daisy because she started kindergarten at 4 so this year she joined a troop filled with many of her friends. It was a perfect fit since last year they had asked her last year when she would be in their troop.

She had meetings every other week beginning in September and participated in lots of fun activities besides. The Brownie troop cooked, crafted and crazied their way into earning a variety of badges (Try-its for those of you out of the scout loop) and had so much fun together.They made s’mores, saw High School Musical 3, went Christmas Caroling at the convalescent hospital (the same one mom visited as a scout) and celebrated International Night.

They marched in a parade, sold cookies, and had a sleepover. They went camping (due to a variety of circumstances, the least of which being a overly comfortable bear, Hallie has yet to spend the night but we did everything up until bedtime). They tied knots, learned knife safety and cooked yummy meals in a dutch over over coals (for which Hallie was really the only one to taste, eat and not complain. They performed skits, sang camp songs (where is that squeegie anyway?)
Hallie loves the scouting so much that she is signed up for 2 weeks of Girl Scout day camp at the local campsite. She was willing to go even though she knows she won’t have any girls she knows at one of the sessions. That would not have been either of her parents, that’s for sure. Our guess though is that, she’ll like it so much, she’ll want to go back for more.

All Done!

So, as promised by Azusa Pacific University, 15 months of hard work and all but physical attachment to the computer, has resulted in a new line item for Mom’s resume. Master of Arts in Educational Technology

I am definitely impressed and humbled by the quality and quantity of instruction and information given to my cadre mates and I throughout the program. This is a topic and a field of study that faces the extreme challenge of staying current in a world in which technology and our use of it is changing and expanding by the hour. I will also admit that, for a s much as I use online resources on a daily basis, I have turned my nose up at online degrees. This program was of interest and the thought of not having to try to make it through 5 hour classes after a full work day was a big draw. I also would not have to miss seeing my girls between school and bedtime - I wasn’t willing to lose that time on a regular basis. That combined with the facts that the school was willing to accept my previously acquired advanced education units (which was like a tuition coupon) and my classroom is equipped with much technology made this the time to log on. Still skeptical, I was able to justify it because it made absolute sense for this program to be delivered and participated in digitally. So, now having experienced it, I can tell you. I worked hard and really had to earn it.

I’m sure there are weak, online Master’s factory programs out there that still outnumber the quality ones but since high schools and even middle schools are providing online course offerings, it’s time to pay attention. Now, I absolutely do not believe that online is the way to go to school overall. There are far too many experiential benefits of a campus/live interaction experience. But, to really create a complete program, and provide for all the differing learning styles and especially for a focused area of study - a web based course or series of courses should be considered. The design of a program such as the one I joined at APU is exemplary and should serve as a model for others who are interested in designing an online learning environment. Thanks to APU for a great experience and a valuable piece of my education.

Splish, Splash!

This year we were particularly excited about swimming lessons because it meant that Hallie would be improving on her skills and Anna would officially get to go in the pool with her own teacher. We signed them up ASAP for both 2 week sessions. We were very lucky this year where weather was concerned as well. We only had one day of thunderstorms - they were HUGE - but only one day and make-ups were arranged. The girls’ teachers were both amazing and did a great job. They worked really well with the girls, knew how to get them motivated and could really teach the skills. They also were sweet to let them have a few minutes at the end of each session to let them be sisters and play together. In addition, they encouraged them show each other what they learned or practiced that day.

Here are the details about swimming in the girls’ own words.

Anna - “I love playing on the stairs. I was kicking. My teacher was Mackenzie. She was helping me kick and go under. She swam with me and went under by herself. I jumped into my teacher’s arms. I liked it. Next time when I’m bigger I will go under.”

Hallie - “I like swimming lessons a real lot and I like dunking my head under a lot. I like swimming and jumping off in the deep end and doing the pencil dive. When I’m done with all the work I have some fun time with my swimming teacher who is Courtney this year. I learned to jump off the diving boards and she taught me how to swim with my head under the water and helped me twirl. Each year when I get a swimming teacher I like whoever they are a real lot.

JPL

It's been crunch time for Mom with her seemingly endless homework and projects so each Saturday has been a day for Dad to take the girls on adventures. Thanks to the chatter on Facebook, we were alerted to the annual Open House at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena.

JPL is and amazing place that, apparently, is not only a great place to work but a great place to play. What an incredible community service event this open house was! Fantastic equipment and artifacts on display, scientists and engineers around every corner to answer questions, simulations and free goodies for the kids. Experiences ranged from having a ‘moon rover’ run over you to visiting Mars and having the 3D image emailed to you. Dad and girls had a wonderful time becoming ‘space-experts’ and were excited about bringing Mom back with them next year.

Renaissance Faire

We went to the Renaissance Faire
the lizards and snakes were there?

You never know what or who you are going to find at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. We’ve seen celebrities, run into friends and had the joy (or horror) of meeting some of the people who travel from faire to faire. And yes, we also have to put extra ‘e’s on everything. (This whole thing could be written in ye olde style so be content because I can do it, if pressed)

It seems a bit more tame since moving to the new location and the more family geared atmosphere and distance of about 10 minutes makes it hard to miss. Especially when a nice grandma gives you free adult tickets. It might just be that we paid more for parking than for admission since Anna was sill free.

The change in location drops the average temperature by about 15 degrees too which makes for a much more pleasant experience. Beautiful, clear sky, cool breeze and early enough for a very little crowd made it pretty near perfect. It had been two years since the girls’ first visit and they were too small to remember much so there was a great deal to amaze and interest them. Other than two men who talked like pirates and sent Anna scurrying, there was nothing too scary. Well, some of the attire scared mom, but that’s different.

A snack of soft pretzels and lemonade (pink, thank you very much) gave us the energy we needed to explore. Hallie tried her hand at doing medieval laundry with the washer women and both girls played with bubbles, swung the mallet to ring the bell and rode on the giant swing.



After exploring the rest of the wares, tableaus and activities, the girls decided to befriend some exotic creatures. Anna was first and chose lizards. She was fine with them until one tickled her so that was removed and more sedentary scalies were brought out. Passersby were amazed by such a tiny person being brave enough to balance the collection of reptiles. A bit later it was Hallie’s turn and she chose snakes - the max which was 7. She did very well and, considering, the amount of movement on her neck and arms, it was impressive for someone of any age. Dad chose to be proud of her along with Anna and the rest of the crowd outside the fence.







There wasn’t much left to top that and, as we wound our way out of the faire, the girls were talking about which things they would chooses next time. And of course, for bravery beyond their years, the girls had to be rewarded with lunch after the faire.