Finer things: Going to The Ballet

Evening out enjoying the Dance Theatre of Harlem.   The Dance Theatre hasn't traveled for 15 years, so being able to experience the performance in our hometown was a big deal!!

Dance Theatre of Harlem is a leading dance institution of unparalleled global acclaim, encompassing a performing Ensemble, a leading arts education center and Dancing Through Barriers®, a national and international education and community outreach program. Each component of Dance Theatre of Harlem carries a solid commitment towards enriching the lives of young people and adults around the world through the arts.

Founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, Dance Theatre of Harlem was considered “one of ballet’s most exciting undertakings” (The New York Times, 1971). Shortly after the assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mitchell was inspired to start a school that would offer children — especially those in Harlem, the community in which he was born — the opportunity to learn about dance and the allied arts. Now in its fourth decade, Dance Theatre of Harlem has grown into a multi-cultural dance institution with an extraordinary legacy of providing opportunities for creative expression and artistic excellence that continues to set standards in the performing arts. Dance Theatre of Harlem has achieved unprecedented success, bringing innovative and bold new forms of artistic expression to audiences in New York City, across the country and around the world. 

Lawyer/Judge Haley?

 

Haley really enjoyed her experience with the attorneys and in court.  She loved dressing up in her power-suit, heels, and came ready to advocate for herself in the courtroom.

The judge spent time talking to her, and let her bang his gavel!!

She now...has decided that she wants to be a judge when she grows up!!

She *still* tells me "Mommy, I'll be an ER doctor (but I think she just says that because she thinks that's what I want to hear).

Doesn't she look to part in her power-suit?!

Curriculum Modifications

Slight modifications in the curriculum have included:

We have not started Latin yet.  The Spanish is more "difficult" to incorporate than anticipated (i.e. is taking more of our time).  Also, Haley's days are long enough (about 6.5 hours at home) just with the Hybrid School curriculum (Language, History, Science, Math, and Spanish).  Haley has quite a bit of reading expected of her in History/Language Arts - and she's not a fast reader yet.  So we've gotten audio books, and read to her to keep her caught up (for discussions, ability to use the information to write papers, AND to have the knowledge of the story in her intellect - which was the most important aspect to me, hence the reason we read it to her, or buy the audio book for her to follow along).  But this semester, we are weaning that a bit, but her reading speed has increased, so it's working out!!

Also, she's increasing her piano time because her teacher believes that if she's pushed a bit more the results will be phenomenal.  So the goal is 2 hours of practice per day on piano (and prepare for her *own* solo spring recital!!), and 30 minutes on harp.  PLUS she wants to run track this spring (starts next month) so...

...we have put Latin, Debate, additional music (choir/vocal), sign-language, vocabulary all on hold for now as we adjust to whats currently on our plate.  Instead we've extended piano, harp, added track.  We are allowing her to read on her own more, and she has started a blog all of which require time.

Plan:  After our immersion activity this Spring/Summer (May/June) we will revisit vocabulary and Latin.

For IAN
He has started guitar.  I'm toying with the idea of doing a Math Camp (like Mathnasium of some sort) with him.  He had a hip issue which limited his physical activity - so the afterschool PE had to be placed on hold.  Thinking about swimming - but if Ian isn't enthusiastic about it, that time may be better spent on an IT class (something he's asked about a couple of times recently).  He is also taking afterschool art class, as he enjoys art.

Plan:  Continue the spelling, handwriting, math, language, history and art being taught at school.  Add afterschool art.  Continue guitar for music.  Find IT/computer class.  Consider Mathnaisum.  Would like to add Spanish, but don't see how to do that right now.

For HANA
Great news with Hana is:

1) Kindergarten doesn't require much time outside of the 14 hours they're with the teachers.  And in class, shes doing phonics, handwriting, math, Spanish, and spelling.  At home, she practices math and handwriting.  I show them Spanish Sesame Street to help develop an ear for the language.

2)  We moved her from one gym to another gym (for gymnastics).  Now she's on the Team (level 2) and practices 9 hours/week.  So she's busy.  Haley is teaching her the piano.  Outside social is primarily Jack and Jill.

Overall, I'd like to start incorporating more "Spiritual Development" into the curriculum.  They get the Christianity spin in school, but I'd like for them to explore deeper spirituality (i.e. the meaning/purpose beyond the religions).   That'll be a summertime curriculum goal since the academic year has proven to be quite full.  Much of the "fullness" is due to the hands-on approach a transition requires.  As Haley becomes more independent, I can see the sun thru the clouds as clarity descends and more of my energy can be redirected from the "basics" to more "elaborate" homeschooling.

Update

So the first semester of this adventure is over, and what a whirlwind it has been!!

The children are VERY relaxed.  Getting ready for school used to be a cocktail of frantic anxiety, frustration, feelings of helplessness, and even sadness.  Waking up at 6:15s to be to school by 7:30a...everyone trying to get ready simultaneously...intermittent screams of "HURRY UP!!  We're going to be LATE!!" is just not a peaceful way to being EACH day!

Now the kids sleep until 9:30a, 5 days a week; sometimes as late as 11a.  I'm convinced the ability to rest their bodies is for effective in preventing illness than the annual flu vaccine.  On school days, the kids wake at 8a, so they can be at school by 9a.

They come home with assignments and can opt to split the work into homework and short subsequent "home-school day" or relax afterschool and wake up ready to work the next morning.

For Hana, the homeschool day consists of math, handwriting, and reading.  Total time spent doing this is MAYBE 2 hours.  Ian's schedule is similar, except he spends less time doing more subjects (math, language arts, spelling test, history/social studies, and some life-science).

Haley has had the most dramatic improvement.  She is a much better manager of her time.  She is more self-determining, and actually is vigilant in identifying assignments and completing them on time.  I help her organize her weekly schedule (and allow her to do it on her own about once every 5-6 weeks).

Haley will wake about 10am, and ready to work (after breakfast and morning routine activities) about 10:30a.  She does math first and finishes up about 12p.  Then she typically will do Language Arts.  That takes her about 30 minutes.  Then she takes a break.

About 1pm she does History.  2pm she's ready to move on to Life Science.  Life science has been difficult/detailed this semester - thus has required my supplemental teaching.  What I've managed to do is teach her how to take notes and pick out the most important points in the reading (i.e. how to highlight, how to outline, etc).  I am so proud that she seems to have learned this skill - which is far more important than the actual life-science material at this point!!

By 4pm she's ready for a break.

About 4:30p she does Spanish.  She actually enjoys Spanish (videos, flash-cards, etc) and does it until about 5pm.

So her homeschool day is about 6.5 hours (with breaks built-in).  And then she either moves on to her extracurricular music practice, or takes a "break" and does the music after dinner.

Not everyday is a 6.5 hour day.  And actually, when she's focused, she can finish up the math in 45 minutes, the history in 30, the Life-science in 45, and the Language in 30 for a total of 2.5 hours.  But, I don't push her, and she takes frequent "mini-mental breaks" during the day...and that adds time.  And pushing her to work more quickly, frustrates her.  It seems to add a layer of expectation for no real reason.  So I tend to avoid that - unless we have something to do!!

Harp teacher comes to the house mid-day on Wednesday.  And she has piano lessons on Wednesday evening.  Ian started guitar lessons on Monday afternoon which Haley watches.  But nonetheless, her days aren't longer (as she works more efficiently on the academic portion on those days).

If you think about it, Haley would be in school from 7:30a until 3p.  Home by 3:30p.  Then homework from 4p-6p.  Extracurricular piano (sports or whatever) would add an additonal 2 hours.  So the child isn't "done" with her day until 8p (and this is before dinner, and if homework is "only" 2 hours).  With the necessity to wake up at 6am, going to bed by 10p would be ideal.  After showers, dinner, and a few minutes of "family time" the day is gone!!

The way it is now, Haley is done with work by 6:30pm (on a long day, AFTER her 2 hours music practice, and/or additional music instruction).  She doesn't have to go to bed until midnight (which works for her internal rhythm) so that leaves 6 hours to do what she wants to do.

The increased productivity, combined with the removal of non-essential activities, allows the child to enjoy life outside of the classroom.

For us, this has been HUGE.  And a "successful" home-school hybrid situation.

Things to remember

THANK YOU Brianna West for this:  

Personal high-lights:

1. If there’s anything we should sculpt ourselves considering, it’s that we will never actually know the truth about most things. 

3. We find the most happiness in the little intricacies of everyday life. In them will be the memories that we hold of people we lose, the most intense bits of joy, our day-to-day reason to be. Waiting for big change is fruitless, because when it comes, it will once more fade into an overarching backdrop that becomes nearly invisible to us. But the little things will remain.

5. Nobody is thinking about you as much as you are thinking about you. 

6. Being busy is an excuse.

9. Change is the culmination of alterations so small you barely recognize them. 

11. Blaming your unhappiness and dissatisfaction on anything other than your sheer lack of will to change is not only erroneous, but it cheats you out of yourself. 

15. You do not have a guaranteed life span of another 60+ years. Though it feels that way, and to be cheated out of such feels like an offense to you, it’s not. You don’t necessarily even have tomorrow, and you’ll realize this with crippling suddenness when you lose someone you also thought was also guaranteed the same.

19. There are no “beginnings” or “ends” in life. It’s a constantly flowing, evolving experience. There is no waiting period and acting period. You kid yourself by thinking that “you just have to get through X period of time before you can do this and that.” It puts off the reality that you can’t enjoy yourself now, and the truth is, if you don’t learn to find happiness now, you never will. You will always be waiting for the next “tomorrow.”

21. Your best bet is to spend your money on experiences, not things, though the latter is grippingly tempting.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/brianna-wiest/2013/10/22-things-you-need-to-realize-while-you-still-have-the-chance-to-change-them/

Social time - dinner

Night out on the town with Moms and Babies!!  Nice opportunity to practice etiquette and socialization skills.

Piano tuning

Haley watches as the piano-tech tunes the piano!!  Very good occupation, indeed!!

The classroom progression

See how our home classroom has progressed:

BEFORE:

Cleaned, painted and some furniture.

 AFTER:  Room enclosed, fully decorated and furnished.

Ian begins GUITAR lessons!!!

Ian was so excited to learn the guitar!!

Kayaking Fun

The kids take a kayaking class with Jack and Jill Friends.  Time spent learning about personal flotation devices, water safety, and how to flip safely out of the kayak.

Cultural event: Book Signing

Book signing with Author Janice Littlejohn of the book Swirling at a cultural book-store.  Book discussion and question/answer period followed by a great fancy dinner.  

Using the classroom.

Mommy and Me Math Master Class

Hana art project!!

Ice storm made magnificent icicles!!!

Taylored Curriculum Winter Break

Taylored Curriculum steps in to cover winter break with some culture.

Kicking off Taylored Curriculum WINTER BREAK at the Southlake Christmas Tree Lighting Event.  Spanish storytime at the library. Thanksgiving and a visit from Uncle Marquis and Auntie Loron - plus a phenomenal Thanksgiving dinner and weekend of shopping.

We had a FANTASTIC Holiday GALA at the Piazza. Santa was there.  It was a fancy dinner with cocktails and ice-cream bar, lemonade stand and gift exchange.  "This was the BEST Jack and Jill EVER!!"  - Ian, age 8y.   "I LOVE dancing with my friends!!" - Hana, age 5y.  "I am so happy we did that Mommy!!  It was really fun!!" - Haley, age 11y.

Many opportunities to volunteer and offer charity donations this time of year.

Magician Party at Aidan's house.

Haley piano recital 2013 - pianist AND vocalist.  La Fête des Fleurs (Traditional).
Busy, busy time but she ROCKED her recital piece nonetheless!!  Woot woot!!!

Wisdom Clinic Christmas Dinner with the work crew at III Forks.

Christmas Eve Eve:  2 day Winter Holiday afternoons of art at Sunshine Glaze.

Christmas day is always magical!!

Taylored Curriculum for winter break kicks in with *culture* with a Live Stage Play (Disney Live)

Harlem Dance Theatre Ballet comes to town, and we decide to attend.  At the ballet, Haley saw a local prominent politician and introduced herself to him...and he subsequently commented on her poise and grace on Facebook!!

Modern Art Museum

Fine dining with family.