Signing

During dinner, my daughter made a sign with her hand and asked me what it was. She had her thumb, index finger, and little finger up. After I gave several incorrect answers, she told me it meant "I love you." I thought it was wonderful that she (and my son) are learning a little bit of sign language. People say learning a second language is a good thing. I agree, and sign language is that second language one could learn.

Good Dip

My son and daughter have taken a liking to Toby's Tofu Dip and Spread. They eat tortilla chips with this dip. Because this dip is organic and free of preservatives, this makes me more amenable to them eating some chips and dip. Besides, it is made from tofu, and tofu is good and healthy food, so I'm told. So I'm all for chips and dip, as long as it is good dip (and only a few chips).

Cut-Out Bread

During dinner, my son requested four pieces of flat bread because he wanted to show everyone something. My wife gave him two pieces, one for him and one for his sister. He took his piece of round flat bread, folded it up two times, and then took the food scissor and started cutting bits of flat bread, similar to cutting a piece of folded paper to create cut-out shapes. After cutting, he unfolded his flat bread to reveal--a piece of flat bread with cuts. We told him it looked great, gave him mayonnaise to spread over his bread, and he, and we, finished up with eating dinner.

Courthouse

Our family trip today was to the new federal courthouse in Eugene, named after the late Oregon Senator Wayne Morse. It is a state-of-the-art courthouse that combines aesthetic grace, energy efficiency, and technological functionality. One can tell the architects considered the needs of the judges, attorneys, jurors, court staff, and others when designing the courthouse.

Then we headed to the 5th Street Public Market for lunch and window shopping. Afterward, we visited friends and went for ice cream. After saying our good-byes, we drove back home but stopped off at the Wilsonville Family Fun Center to let the kids take a break from the drive. Once back on the road, it was nearing dinner time, so we stopped off at Sweet Tomatoes. After dinner, we finally got back home. This was another full day of family fun.

Beach

I thought our family Spring Break this year needed to include the Oregon coast, so we drove to Lincoln City for a day trip. At Lincoln City, we first stopped for a pizza lunch and then headed to the beach. Although it was cold, windy, and wet, we had fun just being on the beach and running around for a short while. When I got too cold, we left for the Lincoln City Community Center where the kids played basketball in the gym and perfected their rock-climbing skills on the Rock Climbing Wall. They were on the wall for hours. My wife finally left to walk around the outlet mall. We finally departed for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. After dinner, it was getting late, so we left for home. It was another wonderful Spring Break day with the whole family.

Family Time

My wife and I view Spring Break as a time for our family to do things together. Usually, I work late and get home when it is near the kids' bedtime, thus making family time that we can spend together all that more precious.

March 25/Wednesday:

We tried out a new play facility called Out of This World Pizza and Play located in Hillsboro. I liked it because the cost was quite reasonable with free admission for adults and no time limit after admission. The kids loved playing on the giant play gym, the little push bicycles, and the inflatable structures. My wife and I noticed that groups of parents met at Out of This World to chat and get together while their kids played. This seems like a good place for parents with kids to get together. We could see ourselves getting together with our friends and their kids just to find some time to catch up on our lives while the kids played.

March 26/Thursday:

The kids had a great time watching Rossini's retelling of Cinderella by Portland Opera To Go. This is Portland Opera's outreach program to Oregon students. It is an attempt to get young people interested in opera--a difficult task, I suspect, but a worthwhile task that Portland Opera should be applauded for attempting.

Spring Break

Spring Break is a busy time for parents. School is out and kids are home for a week, thus making the parents the ones who must fill the days with productive activities and projects for the kids.

Monday/March 23:

My wife went to lunch with a friend, so I had the kids for the entire day. Although tiring, I had a great time with the kids. We went to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) where the kids love playing in the ball room, making helicopters out of cups, and going onto the earthquake platform. Then it was off to grandma's house to visit grandma (on daddy's side). Next was seeing a kids movie at the local library. Then we went to the bowling alley where the kids had a great time rolling the bowling balls down lanes with bumper guards. After bowling, we picked up my wife and went to dinner at grandma's (on mommy's side) house.

Tuesday/March 24:

After waking up late (because Spring Break means no school for the kids) and eating breakfast, we headed for a short day-trip to Salem. We first visited the Mission Mill Museum to learn about Oregon's history of wool-making. It was wonderful learning about our history and seeing all the wool-making machinery involved. There was a kids-activity area where the kids could play with toys from the 1800s.

After lunch at the Mission Mill Cafe, we headed over to A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village where the kids had a lot of fun running around and within the huge outdoor wooden play structure that included several slides. The outdoor musical instruments were very popular, as was the outdoor dinosaur skeleton. Indoors, the kids loved playing in the soap bubble room and the "this is your body" room.

Then it was off to the Woodburn Outlet Mall to try to find some great deals on shoes for the kids. As all parents know, kids grow fast and it is a constant effort finding the next pair of proper-fitting shoes for the kids. My wife does a great job finding proper shoes for the kids.

Afterwards, we tried to do some bowling. But this was around 6:00 p.m., and we found out that there are bowling leagues that take up the entire bowling alley usually from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. This was not a major problem. We could always bowl another time. In any case, it was dinner time and so we headed home after another full Spring Break day.

TCBY

We went with a friend for some Sunday ice cream today, but instead of going to an "ice cream" place, we went to The Country's Best Yogurt (TCBY) for some yogurt treats. I think yogurt is probably a bit healthier than regular ice cream. The kids do not know the difference--they only care for sweets that taste good, and ice cream-like yogurt will do the trick for them. I recall about three decades ago when yogurt became a hit and yogurt sellers were everywhere. It seems the yogurt craze has faded, but there is still a sufficient customer base for restaurants such as TCBY. I'm glad because healthy eating alternatives are always good for the consumer.

Spaghetti

Today was spaghetti day. I cooked spaghetti for lunch (using brown rice pasta from Tinkyada). Then we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner for some more spaghetti. Our kids, and I'm sure kids everywhere, love spaghetti. The reason probably includes the fact that kids find it fun to use their forks to twirl the spaghetti, and then to suck the spaghetti strands into their mouths. Of course, one cannot eat spaghetti every day. But the tomatoes in the tomato sauce does mean the kids eat their share of vegetables, and brown rice pasta can replace wheat pasta for those allergic to gluten, so eating spaghetti every now and then can be part of a healthy diet.

Peanuts

This being a Friday night, I ordered take-out from a local Thai restaurant for tonight's dinner. I ordered Pad Thai noodles and at the last moment remembered to ask the server to omit the peanuts and peanut sauce. I am not sure if my kids have peanut allergies, but I always err on the side of safety by omitting peanuts from their diet. An additional reason is the current peanut scare. Peanuts are found in many foods, so parents have to be constantly alert.

Shapes

Because my four-year-old son missed preschool because of his cold, he received "homework" to complete. The homework consisted of gluing small-size paper triangles, circles, rectangles and other shapes on a piece of paper to create a person. The exercise teaches preschoolers how to recognize shapes. As an adult, I view this as a simple exercise. But I have to force myself to remember that these small steps form the foundation for future learning. Beginning basic lessons make possible the future development of a young person's potential.

Healthy Candy

My wife and I normally do not give our children candy such as lollipops (also known as suckers). But because my son has a cold, I gave him a Runny Rhino Cold Relief Pops lollipop that contains "zinc, pectin and vitamin C." With the cold making my son feel miserable, I thought a lollipop with vitamins would both help lift his spirits and provide him with some nutrients. Real nutrients, of course, are provided by food. So to get him to eat, I told him he could have the vitamin lollipop after he ate some food. He then proceeded to finish off eight frozen fish sticks that I heated up.

A Dictionary

My wife recently bought a kid's dictionary for my daughter. It was wonderful to see her use her dictionary on her own without our prompting. Now my son also wants a dictionary. "Of course," I said to my son. I plan on getting him one soon. With dictionaries, they can teach themselves and learn at their own pace. Also, I like the fact that they will be acquainted with the dictionary at an early age. Such a "head start" will serve them well in the future.

A Dot Thing

It seems my son's latest interest is completing "connect-the-dots" sheets. He will complete an entire connect-the-dots booklet in one setting. I had to get some free connect-the-dot sheets from the Internet today. One site with fun connect-the-dots sheets is PapaJan.com at http://www.activitypad.com/dot-to-dot.html. Other websites are available that provide connect-the-dots sheets ranging from the simple to the complex (for adults). I like connect-the-dots sheets because they help kids count. These sheets let the kids create something (a picture of some sort) while teaching them numbers. I am all for this type of synergistic teaching.

Geology

A while back, my daughter brought home a sandwich bag layered from top to bottom with baby marshmallows, crumbled graham crackers, chocolate chips, and white sugar. This represented the rock layers of the earth's crust. I forget which cookie recipe ingredients matched up with which rock layer, but I thought this was an effective way to teach geology. The instruction sheet attached to the sandwich bag said to heat the ingredients, pour it into a glass bottle, and then observe another type of rock layering. I tried this, but ended up burning the ingredients at the bottom of the pan. Nonetheless, the kids and I had a fun time with this geology lesson.

Another Auction

I attended another auction fundraiser, this time with my young son. He asked several times what an "auction" was, and my wife and I tried to explain that it was a place full of things people could bid on to buy. We also explained that a fundraiser tries to raise money to help other people. He then asked what was a "bid" and I had to come up with another answer. Eventually, we got to the auction. My son held the bid number board while we walked around during the silent auction placing bids on items such as books and tickets for children's events. We left before the live auction began because it was getting late. Maybe next year, we will stay longer so my son can see what a live auction entails.

Dem Bones

I was a bit hesitant in letting my kids watch a Scholastic DVD episode called "Dem Bones" that showed a bunch of skeletons. But as I watched, I saw that these animated dancing skeletons were singing and talking about the various bones in a person's body ("leg bone connected to the knee bone" and so on). I realized that this DVD was like a mini-Health Class being offered to kids and that the kids were learning something substantive about the human skeleton. The DVD was both entertaining and educational, something that I look for nowadays as a parent.

Selling And Buying

For some reason, the kids have begun making origami figures and planning on selling them. To help sell the items, the kids made for-sale signs. One sign reads, "Origami decorations each 24 cent and 25 cents--Origami!"

I am tracking their efforts and willing to help if they need it. I like their initiative and desire to work for their money. I think these types of activities help kids learn the value of money and the value of work. These humble money-earning efforts will set them on the right path of financial independence.

A Sense of Ownership

I became a bit distressed when my son took out the pencil shavings holder from the electric pencil sharpener because I thought he would spill the fine pencil shavings everywhere. I took the holder, dumped the shavings, and cleaned the holder all while fretting about the extra work I had to do to clean up after my son.

My son then took a new pencil and sharpened it using the electric pencil sharpener. I told him several times to stop because I did not want him to play with the pencil sharpener. When he was done sharpening the pencil, he used it on his "Dot to Dot" Buki Activity Book and completed several pages of dot-to-dot activities. I then realized that without my prompting, he took the initiative to sharpen a pencil to use on his own workbook and quietly worked on his activity book while his sister was practicing the violin. The fact that he could sharpen the pencil on his own made him feel that the pencil was "his" pencil, and that with his own pencil, he would assume responsibility for doing something with that pencil, which he did by working on his activity book. Accordingly, I will be more perceptive of future opportunities when I can give my kids more responsibilities so that they "own" that thing or action and thereby develop their own sense of responsibility.

The Cool Cow Dance

My wife and I and the kids were dancing together when we started doing the "Cool Cow" dance. My daughter used to do the Cool Cow dance all the time when she was younger. It merely involves a toddler bouncing on one foot and then the other while singing, "cool cow, cool cow, cool cow." We used to ask her where she learned this dance, and she always said she learned it from her preschool teacher. She doesn' t do the Cool Cow dance that often anymore, but it isn't entirely forgotten yet, it seems.

Nursery Rhymes

My son sang a nursery rhyme as I drove him to the library. When we got to Storytime, we sang the Baa Baa Black Sheep nursery rhyme. I recall as a child learning nursery rhymes including Jack and Jill, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, and others. These nursery rhymes are effective techniques that help children learn language skills. But in addition to being teaching tools, nursery rhymes are also historical artifacts. For example, Ring Around the Rosy refers to the Bubonic Plague, and Georgie Porgie refers to English courtier George Villiers, according to a U.K. website found at http://www.rhymes.org.uk/. So nursery rhymes are relevant not only to children, but also to adults.

Arm Wrestling

My son has been asking me to wrestle with him lately. To try something different, I asked him if he wanted to arm wrestle me. I thought he would know what I meant, but he gave me a puzzled look. I had to take his right hand and position it against my right hand before he finally understood. I guess he never arm wrestled at pre-school, which I suppose is a good thing because he should be following the teacher's instructions and not goofing off instead. But eventually, every kid learns to arm wrestle at some point, I think. I did when I grew up. As long as the arm wrestling is for fun and doesn't get too competitive, it can be another thing that kids do.

Peer Friends

We went to a friend's house today with the kids. The friend is also a colleague who works with me in my department. She and her husband have a young daughter and baby son. My kids had a wonderful time with their kids. My son had fun playing in his new friend's room, and my daughter had fun playing peek-a-boo with the baby. Kids need playtime with their peers to develop sharing and teamwork values. My kids didn't want to leave, but all good things must come to an end. As were were walking out the door, the kids said "good-bye" to each about twenty time before we finally departed and headed home for the night.

Mixing Words

To get my kids to eat their food and drink their milk, I again told them they were athletes and needed to eat. My daughter asked, "Is that someone who doesn't believe in God?" I laughed, and then explained that she was referring to an atheist. The "ath" beginning in both words tripped her up, I think. Such mistakes by kids are understandable. They are still developing their language skills and expanding their vocabulary. With time and practice, they will get better.

Being an Athlete.

I missed two days of blogging because my Internet "router" malfunctioned. After calling Verizon, the tech person was responsive by sending my new router within two days. Below are the blogs for the prior days and today.

March 3 (Tue.), 2009 {Fruit Salad}

We made fruit salad today. My daughter wanted to help make dinner, I think, and she suggested making a fruit salad. Even working with kids to make dinner usually involves more work on the parent's part, I agreed because I liked her initiative and her desire to help. So after the main meal, I peeled a banana for her to slice using a dull butter knife. My son wanted to help so I peeled orange slices for him to cut up also using a dull butter knife. He also scooped blueberries into the mix. We added apple slices last. The fruit salad was great. The kids ate a lot of the fruit salad because they helped make it.

March 4 (Wed.), 2009 {Compassion}

My wife told me she heard from Grandpa that my daughter had asked him how he was doing after being in the hospital for a short period. Then my daughter asked how Grandma (my mom, not my wife's mom) was doing because Grandma just came back from a dentist appointment. This revealed to Grandpa that his granddaughter had a caring heart and he was proud of her. My son also has a caring heart. But he, perhaps because he is a boy, expresses his caring in different ways. However young kids express their compassion, what matters is that they are compassionate towards others.

March 5 (Thu.), 2009

I have begun calling my kids "athletes" to try to get them to eat more. I feel that because they take swimming lessons, that I need to "bulk" them up with wholesome, filling food. So I call them "athletes" and explain that athletes need to eat to get the energy needed to do that sport. If they consider themselves "athletes," then they will eat sufficient amounts of food to be in tip-top shape, so I hope.

Read Across America

I took my son to the library's storytime hour today to listen to the librarian read several books by Dr. Seuss as part of Read Across America. Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday. I did not know this until my kids told me. Kids like Dr. Seuss's books because of their silliness, I think. I certainly enjoyed the books when I was a child because of their silliness. I liked the made-up words and the strange creatures within the books. According to Elizabeth Kennedy in her About.com article, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat because he was challenged by his publisher to write a book that would both entertain kids and have a controlled vocabulary. He met the challenge.

Cheetahs

After getting some EnviroKidz Crispy Rice Bars (by Nature's Path Foods) for my kids, I was about to recycle the cardboard box when I noticed something written on the inside of the box. I opened up the box and saw an article about cheetahs and a game (Spot-the-Difference!) for kids. I showed the inside of the box to the kids and we discussed cheetahs including the fact that they are "the fastest land animal on the planet." The Spot-the-Difference game was fun for the kids. They had to guess which of four spot patterns matched which species of cat.

Sadly, the cheetahs are endangered and becoming extinct. Nature's Path is attempting to do something by educating a new generation of kids about this problem. It is a worthwhile effort. Species extinction is not a good thing. A reduction in the diversity of life on this planet is not a good thing. If humans are indeed "stewards" of Earth, then we need to do a better job.