Art Vandalay

The name comes from Seinfeld. George Costanza's occassional alias, made up author, or fictitious importer/exporter. And so on. I love that George Costanza.

Bad, bad blogger is making up for lost time.

March 12, 2011 GI Joe and Madonna on scooters

Oh the guilt.   The year is almost over and I have much to share.   Zoë will finish her first year at Finucane elementary in less than a month.  There are many pictures to share.

Field trips were an integral part of our experience although some our favorite days were Tuesdays because they were more or less pajama days.  A full academic calendar, probably our most intense day in that respect, but no rush to be somewhere.  No deadlines.  Just home, comfortable and content to be hanging out together.  An occasional Moe's day thrown in there for variety.   How we love our Moe's days.  We usually sit at the same table, face the same way, and eat the same meals:  MooMoo cow (bean and rice burrito), chips, salsa, chocolate chip cookie and sweet tea for Zoë and an Art Vandalay for me.   Who is Art Vandalay anyway?  Just the mention makes my mouth water.

Sometimes, we had visitors at Finucane Elementary.  Namely, one cute Eagles fan and sailboat artist extraordinaire, Hank Finucane.

He takes full advantage of the chalk board when he's home from school pretending to be sick for a day.   His sailboat scenes usually include a rescue operation where I'm the damsel in distress and he's my knight in shining armor coming to rescue me from the fierce winds.  It's always a pleasure to have Hank in the classroom.  Zoë might disagree with that statement.  I think she would say it's nice to have him home from time to time, but let's not get carried away.  

It would be unfair to not show another builder at Finucane Elementary.  Haleigh likes the legos.  This is what we did one afternoon at the dining room table.  It's the White House.  And that's a giant pink monkey about to crush it.  Just kidding.  



Zoë made a few of her own creations.  

After learning about fairy houses from the girls at her science club,  she decided to create a few fairy homes in the backyard.   The idea is you're supposed to build houses made entirely out of things you find in nature.  I added the Fisher Price horse.  He was in the sandbox.  I just felt this ranch needed a horse, too.  She wanted me to tell you that.  She's a purist.  There is no way she'd put that horse there.  It doesn't count.

Zoë and Alex 

She was just getting to know this fine fellow before he left town.  Something tells me they had a really good time at goodbye party we threw for his family and they'll see one another again.   I think he might be her first real crush.  Oh, I'm so dead for that one.

To be continued...

Rain Haiku

Rain

Pitter, patter, SPLAT!


Just me and the rain.  Flowing. 


Grab your boots and hat.



  

Field trips in March: NC State Animal Farm Days and Jordan Lake Dam

And then there was one.

Just born

Jordan Lake Dam:
Hydropower site

Cute chicks

Delaney and Zoë and the baby chick

Zoë takes in the amazing view

Zoe looks at the Hydropower site

Poetry Contest

Zoë's poem

Zoe wrote this poem a few weeks ago.  We decided to submit it to Cricket magazine.   They're running a poetry contest about nature and we thought this was the perfect choice.   Ironically, she had a poem called "Nature".  

If her poem is chosen, it will be in the July/August 20011 issue.

Animal Grossology

Science Club crew

Today we went to the Animal Grossology exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown  Raleigh.  with a few of the girls from Zoë's Science Club.  I know how to identify a venomous snake from a nonvenomous snake although that has nothing to do with the exhibit, but I'm hugely thankful for Vardell's identification lesson since our backyard seems to be a breeding ground for brown snakes.  I bought a great book, too: "A Guide to the Snakes of North Carolina, by Michal E. Dorcas.  I also bought his other book "The Frogs and Toads of North Carolina.  It's a field guide and contains a good CD narrated by Dorcas.  Vardell says he has both and highly recommends them.  We listened to it on the way home and loved hearing the different calls.  That poor bullfrog in distress!  It's the first one on the CD and it's a little alarming.    Turns out they make this screeching sound when they're being eaten by a water snake.  Dorcas says it to alert other predators who will then see the snake and want to eat it, causing the snake to drop the frog.


The exhibit was based on Sylvia Branzei's books called "Animal Grossology".  Really clever exhibit.  Lots of facts about flies, slugs, slime, smells and of course, poo.  I told Donna I loved the smell of skunk after she whiffed the hole where you smell it.   Then I sniffed it and almost felt ill. I like it from a distance.  The cockroach emits a maraschino cherry smell.  Pleasant surprise there.

How a cow burps. 

Zoë really enjoyed herself.  She wrote this summary:

"Today I went to a Grossology exhibit.  I went with Delaney, Cassidy and Amey.  When I went inside the exhibit I saw lots of games and kids!  My favorite game was....Animal Grossology!  It is a game that tests you on what you've learned from the other games.  Two things I've learned today are: Cats cough up furballs because of grooming themselves and dogs sniff each others' butts to find out who they are. "

Might have to make these one day. 

Brazil

So we're sitting in the classroom.  I'm folding laundry and Zoë's just finished up a bunch of math work and now she's redesigning a Calico Critters house.   We're listening to Brazilian Girls Radio on Pandora because Zoë's has just entered a Geography Fair and Brazil is her country of study.   Massive Attack from Moby comes on and I mention how that's interesting this song is on a Brazilian radio station, too.  I love the song and play it often.   Apparently it's big in Brazil, too.

As usual, Zoë has something to say about the music.

"I like this song and I kind of like listening to other kinds of music other than the stuff on the radio.   I mean, American music is all about about a ton of people falling in love, getting drunk and going to clubs.  Don't include the Black Eyed Peas though.  Except for "Humps." Brazil's music is smooth and kind of jazzy, she says.

Thanks, Zoë.  I think you've got something there.  Funny, but a little disturbing, too.  I think about explaining to her that Kesha's songs are not good ones to follow, but Zoë already knows this.  She's just sharing an observation like she always does.   I have no worries.

 We're now listening to "Your Love" by Pancha Massive.   So glad she chose Brazil.   I can see the unit study possibilities: brazilian food, videos, music, art, dance, science, math, geography and history.  There's a Brazilian steakhouse in Raleigh and Durham...

I really love teaching and learning along with her.

Welcome to Zoë's Room

The Art Section

The Signature Section. 

The Poetry Section

Zoë's poem: "If I could be a Bird"

Zoë tries on her flower Valentine from Delaney

The Girls' Science Club on Valentine's Day

Fridays are the best.

Zoë is turning a shoebox into a Valentine's Day box to hold the cards she'll get from her Science Club friends this Monday.  I'm cutting out words for the Bingo Grammar game I'm making.  The rabbit is eating some hay in the cage next to my desk.  The guinea pigs are in the cage next to Zoe and they're snoozing after eating this morning's kale, carrots and apples.  Max is lying on the rug in the exact place where the sun shines through.  He's fast asleep.  It's a very nice morning, and I'm grateful.

Zoë as a Roman girl in Ancient Rome.

Today's Poem

Snail
by Maxine Kumin

No one writes a letter to the snail.
He does not have a mailbox for his mail.
He does not have a bathtub or a rug.
There's no one in his house that he can hug.
There isn't any room when he's inside.

And yet they say the snail is satisfied.


We liked this one and wanted to share.

Confession

Homeschooling, house cleaning and hygiene...can they all get along?

We wear pajamas until 11:00 sometimes.  I won't say how long I stayed in PJs yesterday.   I will say I got dressed.  Before dark.  I think homeschooling has something to do with it.  I like the privilege getting more cosy and comfortable in my clothes, but I think Paul Bunyan's relatives are trying to kidnap me and maybe that's not a good thing.  "Wear flannel, buy a mountain retreat," they whisper.  Is this my new mantra?   I think I'm on day seven of the ponytail.  

I'm not going down that easy.

I just cut a deal with Zoë.  We can do the pajama deal every other week, but she has to be dressed for the day before noon and the same goes with me.  I do not want to sacrifice the rite of dressing, cleaning up, etc.  no more than I want a messy house.    It is as important as keeping my surrounding clean and uncluttered.    I know it's just me and Zoë many days so it's easy to go casual, but there's a fine line between casual and unkempt.  

Homeschooling, house cleaning and hygiene:   Shake and be nice to each other.



Classroom update:

Zoe and Lenny.  Oliver is in hiding.

We welcome Lenny and Butterscotch, our new guinea pigs, to Finucane Elementary.

Correction on the name Butterscotch.  Zoë has changed his name to Oliver (as in Oliver Twist).

Happy New Year and we love you, Norman Rockwell.

We're off to a slow start at Finucane Elementary this week, but I think it's safe to say neither one of us really mind that much.   For Zoë, she's simply tired and having difficulty getting back to our routine after Christmas break.  She stayed up late and slept in almost everyday.  And I did the same.  Sleep is such a welcome, but often neglected friend so I relished the opportunity to catch up on some of it.

The break also gave me some time to reflect on our schedule and make some changes.  For starters,  I decided to cut back our time at the Learning Arbor Cooperative this semester and opted for Gym/Game day with the Cary Homeschoolers at Middlecreek Elementary.   There was a conflict, so one had to go.  Truth be told,  I'm still learning to balance our family life now that homeschooling is in the equation.   The coop requires the parents teach the classes.  Maybe next year, but definitely not ready to add more to the pot.

On that note, I signed Zoë up for a girl's Science Club.  Now THAT is way cool.  She went to her first meeting yesterday.  It's a two-hour class taught by a retired professor from UNC.   Just eight girls and they'll spend every Monday from now until May working together.  Zoë was once again, smiling ear to ear after the class.  That's when I know I did right.  I'm also happy because I get a  two hour window to catch up on my reading and writing.  I went to the Cameron Village Regional Library, about three miles away.   There's a coffee shop and Wifi.  Perfect.

I'm tired as I write this.  It was supposed to be about our field trip to the NC Museum of Art today.    The docent handed Zoë a piece of paper and asked her to draw a stick figure of the above painting.   I love that painting.  She told the kids that Norman Rockwell started drawing at a very early age.  He drew his hands.  If you can draw your hand really well, then you're on to something.  I'm going to try that out, but I'm thinking  it will still look like the ones I traced in school and turned into turkeys.  Zoë, on the other hand, nailed it.

Dinner....oops.   Hungry children await.