Like Pioneers

The warm spring was but a harbinger of the hot summer to come.  Summers in Indiana tend toward mild humidity, and usually involve a fair amount of rain.  Not this year.  By the end of May, the weather was already unusually dry, averaging less than half the usual rainfall.  When June showed up, I could have sworn we were living in the west again.  Or I would have sworn it if anyone had watered their lawns.  If you live in the west, you may not actually realize that there are places where lawns grow without sprinklers--at least I never realized it until I moved east.  Certainly nobody has the underground timed sprinklers that popped out  in my childhood yard every morning.  Only a handful of people seem to have the sort that you can hook up to the hose outside--and those tend to be for birthday parties and hot summer playdates, not for watering lawns.  Which led to a lot of yellow and brown lawns in our neighborhood (including our own--no, we're not dedicated enough to go out and water our lawn daily, especially since the cost for water is well above the national average here).  Considering the fact that after years of talking about it, this was the year we finally actually planted things in our garden, we took the ensuing drought personally at times.  Our peas and spinach got scorched right off, though the tomatoes soldiered through, and the zucchini somehow managed to cling to life as well.

Despite the parched earth, summer still sprouted plenty of opportunities for fun, for relaxation, and a bit of work in the mix.  Theo's birthday always seems to land on a day that's special in one way or another.  This year it fell on the same day as his fifth-grade choir trip to Indiana Beach, a smaller-scale amusement park a couple of hours out of town.  I'm so glad he not only participated in choir this year, but also that he talked several of his friends into being a part of it with him.  It definitely made this trip more fun for all of them.  Aaron got to go along as a chaperone--something he doesn't often get to do--making Theo insanely happy, mainly because it meant that he got to play on the iPad on the way up, which was apparently a major highlight of the trip.  When the two of them got home, just in time for cake and presents, Theo declared it "the best day of his life," and enjoyed his baseball birthday cake and presents of a betta fish from Addy, an Angry Birds poster from Emerson, a pack of gum from Sera, a voice autotuner gadget from Aaron, and a new scooter (he wore his last one completely out) from me.

In an effort to direct the rest of the excess out-of-school energy, I introduced a "theme" for our summer: Pioneers. Not only the wagons-to-the-west Mormon pioneers, but other kinds of pioneers as well: space pioneers, explorers, political leaders--anyone who sees something that has never been done and does it, pretty much. We trekked down to the library for the summer reading program and walked out with bags full of books about pioneers, from American Girls to Buzz Aldrin to Steve Jobs. On a tip from a friend, I had stocked up on a bunch of books left over from school Scholastic book fairs this year, all discounted 50% or more. I told the kids that for every 10 books about pioneers that they read, they could choose a new book from my big box. They got straight to work, and launched us into some lovely and surprisingly quiet summer mornings (although we down-graded to 5 books/prize pretty quickly). 

After a week to cool off from the school year and reorient for the summer, I launched into a series of KinderKeys summer camps.  Though they were a lot of work to plan, put together, fill, and to carry off, they ended up being a lot of fun.  The preschool camps (ages 4-7) during the first week were so energetic, but the kids were enthusiastic and really seemed to gravitate toward the activities we did--making songs with water-filled jars, trying out different instruments, learning a bit at the keyboards, and exploring the music of different composers.  They were great, if exhausting.  The older camp (ages 6-9) was much easier to run, by comparison, and the kids were able to really get their hands dirty, learning to compose their own melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and sequences.  It was cool for me to get to teach some things more in-depth than I'm able to in regular piano classes, and I was so impressed with the songs that the children were composing by the end of the week.  Anyway, at the end of the week, I vowed not to do the camps again, because of how much work they required, but by a few weeks later I was already reconsidering.  There's just something wonderful about seeing kids really click with music, and it's such a blessing to be the one who gets to help that happen.  More likely I will just have to make the preschool camps a little shorter--2 1/2 hours can be longer than you think!  During camps, Theo got to spend a week at a cub scout camp (which he didn't particularly care for), and the other kids got a chance to spend a little quality time with their dad--he hasn't had as much opportunity as I have to take everyone to the park or spraypad, visit the library, and stop by McDonald's for 79 cent cones every summer, so I think it was a fun diversion for him--though he usually ended up glad to have his iPad to keep him company.

This year, Aaron even took on his first birthday party!  After fighting Theo on having a "themed" event for the last two years, I finally gave in this year and sent him with a few of his friends and Aaron to a bowling alley, where they had pizza and soda and bowled a couple of games.  Correction: they would have bowled a couple of games except that a gigantic storm blew in.  Gigantic.  I had taken the younger children shopping with me to a strip-mall store called Gordman's, and though we walked in under moderately cloudy skies, within moments, rain started pinging the top of the roof so hard it sounded like drums, and there was a terrifying crash overhead and rumbling thunder.  Just as I thought to myself "this is not a place I would want to be if a tornado ever blew in," there was a second loud crash and the lights all went out.  Since the store went pitch black except for a few emergency lights, all the shoppers worked their way to the front of the store, where we could see that outside it looked like 9 pm, and rain was pouring down in sheets.  The wind was blowing wildly, and I became increasingly unsure of whether in fact a tornado had touched down or was about to.  Taking stock of the circumstances, I decided that not many places could be worse equipped for this kind of emergency than the store I was in.  I ran to our van and pulled it up to the curb to let the kids (who got completely soaked in the three seconds it took to get from the doors to the van) hop in, and we headed home.  Almost immediately I began to doubt my judgement, as billboards had flown to the ground, large roofing panels had blown off several nearby stores, and more than one tree had split in two.  However, we said a quick prayer and drove home, as slowly and carefully as we dared.  I've never been quite so happy to drive into our nice, dry garage!  As soon as we made it safely into the house, we ran to the great big windows that overlook our backyard to watch the rest of the storm.  Already one of our huge willow trees (one that had been looking a bit sickly, thanks to the drought), had crashed to the ground--thankfully falling away from our house, rather than toward it.  Anxiously, we called Aaron, only to find out that he and the boys were on their way home as well, driving through the storm (which had settled down a bit).  A couple of moments later, our lights flickered, then went out.  Just as the storm (which dropped astonishingly little rain considering the disaster it wreaked) was clearing away, the parents of Theo's friends came to pick them up, and we all ogled the fallen tree in our back yard and wondered when the power might come back on.

Well, it didn't come back on.  However, you may recall our theme for the summer: pioneers.  We pulled out the board games and the books, and plunged into our very own pioneer experience.  What was it like before electricity?  We sure found out.  For one thing, there was definitely no refrigeration.  Luckily, power was only out in small sections of the city, and we happened to be in one of the ones they took their time getting around to.  That was unpleasant, of course, but it also meant that some friends were able to lend us their generator to plug our freezer, refrigerator, and a few lights into for a few hours every day.  Since we eat a lot of salad in the summer as it is, things weren't too bad on the food front, but we did rather long for a grill to cook on now and again.  Of course, restaurants were open, so we ate out a few times, but for the most part we stuck to our regular summer activities--getting outdoors as much as possible, and visiting the zoo and the botanical gardens and such.  It took nearly a week before we started to really really want the power back on again (mostly for computer reasons--our internet didn't work even with charged devices).  And, well, that's how we ended our month.  As pioneers.  As pioneers interested in the invention of electricity, to be quite honest.

Interview with Theo, age 11

What is your favorite color?
purple
What is your favorite food?
pizza
What is your favorite thing to wear?
nylon shorts and nylon shirt
What is your favorite thing to do?
act
If you could buy anything in the whole world you wanted, what would it be?
iPod Touch
What are you good at?
running, acting, eating, playing sports
What job would you like when you grow up?
actor
Where are you going to live when you grow up?
New York City
What games do you like to play?
Clue, Scrabble, and pretty much any computer game
What was your favorite thing about being 10?
having a sleepover, going to Indiana Beach
What is your favorite thing about being 11?
acting in the Harry Potter play and making new friends

May Pix

Fall KinderKeys recital

 

Field Trips!

 Emerson with one of his best friends from school and church who will be moving next month . . . and also Sera

 

 Emerson's class outside the Children's Zoo

 

 Addy's trip to the Embassy Theater, where they got to experience being on stage, and hear the amazing theater organ played

 

 Our next stop was Parkview Field, where we go to see the Tin Caps play as often as we can during the summer

Other Adventures

 A visit to the butterfly exhibit at the Botanical Gardens was a fun outing for the girls

 

 It took a while, but Sera learned to stand super-still and wait for butterflies to land on her

 

 My treasure trove of Mother's Day cards

 

 The boys chillin' with their dad at the Indy 500 post-day races

 

 Theo with his cub leader (and dad) after his Arrow of Light ceremony

 

 One last playdate for Sera with her best friend Celeste, who will be moving with her sister Ethnee (with Emerson, above) next month--we had so hoped they would be in kindergarten together

 

Easter outfits photo shoot



Theo

 



 Addy

 

Emer

 

 Sera

May Madness

The great thing about school getting out in May is launching into summer full-throttle right when it starts.  The not-so-great thing is that way too much gets packed into that one little month.  Holy cannoli was May ever busy!  The KinderKeys recital this year featured 14 of my little students, and they all played beautifully.  Even more than I enjoy watching those little fingers on the keys (and I really enjoy watching them), I love seeing the joy that making music brings into childhood.  The curriculum I am using for my classes is just so fun, and I love that from early ages, children are able to be independent about practicing and learning music.  I feel like they're learning to make music the way they learn to read books.  I teach them the letters and the sounds, and then they get to open the books and read them.  And it's even better as they start writing their own!

We finished out the year in Joy School with the individual confidence and uniqueness unit, which meant making my favorite "About Me" books.  I can't say things ever settled completely back into place after last month's upheaval, but we moms just banded together and made it through.  Sera even told me that she wants me to be her Kindergarten teacher next year, which totally made it all worth it in my book!  We had a lovely little graduation party at the spray-pad park nearby, and I loved getting one last round of hugs around my neck from my darling Joy School children.  I love that two of the little girls, Emma and Eva, call me "teacher Mitchell," and because I also teach them singing at church, I have heard recountings of their play in which they have pretended to be me more than once.  If that isn't the mark of a successful life, I really don't know what is.  My favorite story is the one where their mom was singing a song with them, and Eva told her she was doing it wrong--that teacher Mitchell did it differently.  Haha, at least I have authority with somebody's children, if not my own!

Emerson polished off a great year of first grade with Mrs. Martin.  I have loved his teacher and his class this year.  Mrs. Martin has just loved him up, and he's loved her right back.  Their class has apparently been brilliantly behaved as well as intensely curious and so interested in everything they've learned.  Mrs. Martin has told me that it has been one of her favorite classes, and I totally believe her.  I've been so impressed with the cameraderie between the children this year, and I feel like it has made that classroom such a fertile garden for knowledge growth!  One morning this month, Emerson invited me to come in to school early with him for "Muffins with Mom," which was a lovely little Mother's Day preview for all of us lucky mothers of first graders.  I do love first graders!  Even more fun was when I was able to accompany the class on their field trip to the zoo this month.  It was fascinating to hear all the little things the children had learned throughout the year, from their unit on penguins in the winter (they read Mr. Popper's Penguins together, and Emerson fell head-over-heels in love with it) to their unit on Australia just recently.  I learned a few things myself, like what makes a wallaby different from a kangaroo (size, habitat, and eating habits, mainly).  I also really enjoyed spending time with Emerson's classmates, who all seem to get along with each other beautifully.  I have a hard time imagining that there can be anything better awaiting Emerson at a different school, but he's really determined to give it a try, so we'll see how it goes down.

Addy has really enjoyed her teacher and class this year as well.  Seeing her take a real interest in books this year has been wonderful, as has watching her embrace her skills at cooking (which is just tasty science as far as I'm concerned) and organizing.  Every so often she'll come into the kitchen and say "mom, would you like me to organize this cabinet for you?"  As if any mother would ever reject that offer!  I was able to accompany her class as well on a field trip to Embassy Theater downtown, where they led us through the old hotel lobby, underground through the green rooms, up through the concert stage (where they trotted out the fabulous old theater organ), and finally up through the crumbling, out-of-order glam hotel rooms that are now piled with everything from old neon signs to Christmas decorations to sets and props.  I couldn't help thinking that a remodel could make the upper floors into a fantastic series of music studios, or even a residential music school!  Why don't they put me in charge of these things?  Addy also had her final dance recital, which was darling, and she did a great job.  She's enjoyed dance this year, but given that the classes are pricey and we're not seeing a ton of technique happening and Addy has never been the girl who only wants to do one thing, she's decided to do another year of assorted sports next year--some swimming and maybe some gymnastics.  She would also really love to start playing the violin, and I feel like I should spend some energy figuring out how to make that happen for her.  It's amazing how busy life gets once kids are in school!

Theo's year wrapped on a positive note as well, with his teacher expressing confidence that he'll do great in middle school (he, unlike me, is pretty excited about it, except for the times when he takes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series a little too seriously).  Between the play and the spelling bee and just having some really good friends, this year has been a great one for him, and has given him a strong base to build off of in the future.  I'm really proud of the work he has done in organizing himself, respecting boundaries, and turning in quality work.  I still sort of wish I could talk him into a year of home-school, but I feel like that's the kind of thing that wouldn't go well at all if he wasn't on-board with it.  He registered for his classes for next year, and will be starting band, which will be an interesting experience in this house of piano players.  Recently Theo and I were talking about his obsessions, and how they've come and gone pretty much since he was an infant.  We tried listing a bunch of them out, and came up with (in chronological order): remote controls, vacuum cleaners, presidents of the United States, trains (Thomas the Tank Engine), exhaust pipes on vehicles, Buzz Lightyear, Junie B. Jones, glasses, outer space, tops, Crazy Frog (music), This is Daniel Cook (Canadian television show), spies, computer keyboards/electronics, Harry Potter, shoes (specifically Converse high-tops), cell phones, and songs on the radio.  Some of my personal favorites from that list are the way he memorized all the presidents when he was 2 years old, the counting of exhaust pipes on every single vehicle we passed (I have no idea what spurred that one), the way he would spin everything he touched like a top, and most especially the way he used to strip down to a nylon tank top and shorts the second he got home from school and went downstairs to dance to his Crazy Frog CD.  Raising this "spirited child" of mine has been quite a trip!  What's crazy is that this part of the journey is drifting toward its close.  Theo is squarely in the pre-teen zone now, and as delighted as that makes me--he really has become so much more logical and reasonable lately--it's bittersweet to make the transition away from parent of a "child."

This flurry of activity all led up to the big day everyone had been waiting for: the last day of school!  It came (as usual) just a hair before I was completely ready.  Still, for once I managed to get the kids' rooms completely cleaned out before the summer started, which will hopefully keep me from going crazy during the first month.  I did manage to scrap together a summer theme, which is basically how I organize my life, and I've had fun coming up with ideas for family goals and travels for us all. If all goes according to plan, we will not only have a fun summer but an inexpensive and educational one as well!  More on that next month . . . .