Dolphin Valley Academy: Catch-up post

It was a busy week - this is a long post!

Monday night, Big Sister had a Cookie Rally to attend. One of the other Junior girl scout troops was hosting the rally, where different stations were set up for the girls to participate in a variety of activities to get excited for site sales. They role-played selling cookies to difficult customers, decorated signs for their tables, learned about the history of girl scout cookie sales, and sampled actual cookies. And earned a badge and patch. Only one other girl from Sister's troop attended (most have sold cookies before and earned the badge), but the two of them enjoyed doing the activities together.

Tuesday was our annual Valentine's party with our homeschool group. This has become a favorite with all the kids. I didn't realize just what a favorite it was until I neglected to RSVP, and then had Big Sister telling me about how "all of her friends" were going to be there. Fortunately I was able to get her on the list, and she was right: all her friends were there (except for our friends that are off exploring Mexico). There were around 45 kids in attendance, and they delivered valentines, made crafts, and ate treats from the potluck. Like the chaos of a class party, but doubled, LOL!

Friends drove Big Sister to the party so that I could pick Little Brother up after school. We headed across town to get Sister from the party, then loaded us back into the van. The kids scarfed down lunch I had packed because we were on our way to The Dentist! Nothing like going to the dentist immediately following a sugar-laden valentine's party. Actually, the hygenists had nothing but great compliments for Sister and her dental care, and Brother looked good, too. We do now have an official referral for Sister to see an orthodontist, so I need to get hopping on that.

Wednesday was Sister's last dress rehearsal before their first performance in drama. I was not responsible for the carpool this week because I was scheduled to volunteer in Brother's class. I go during "centers", where the kids rotate through in their assigned groups and do whatever it is their teacher wants them to work on. This particular week there was: a center for decorating valentine's boxes (thankfully I wasn't the parent in charge of that); another for completing a patterns worksheet (doing AB and ABC color patterns - that's where I was); Independent Work Folder (where the kids go get their folder, and work through their worksheets independently until they're all done (with an adult at the table to provide guidance, since they're each working at a different pace and requiring different help); and the last was some parent-led game on the carpet. Depending on the activity, it can get pretty challenging to help six 5-6 year olds complete a task without messing it up.

Inevitably I'll have:
1). one kid who knows what they're doing and finishes in under three minutes,
2). another that wants to talk about what they ate for breakfast, what toy they received for Christmas two years ago, and what they're going to do afterschool today - and somehow can't seem to get started on the activity (usually my son),
3 and 4). are sitting too close to each other, and are both annoyed about the lack of personal workspace, but haven't realized they can solve the problem by sliding their chairs apart four inches. They are both trying to complete their individual tasks, and have cut out all their shapes to glue down, but the pieces have now all intermingled and they're fighting/whining over whose is whose. By this time, half the pieces have scattered on the floor under the table.
5). another that thinks they know what they're supposed to do, then quietly works ahead and glues everything down in the wrong place while I am...
6). helping the child that really doesn't understand how to make a pattern, and is requring my direct assistance.
At about this point the teacher will walk by, smile, and make a comment about how this is "like homeschooling, times 5". I can't help but agree. It's frustrating, fun, and interesting, all at the same time.

Thursday night was Sister's first performance in front of a large audience. She played the parts of Yingtai, the red parrot, and a puppeteer in "Seagirl: A Chinese Folktale". During their dress rehearsal they did get to perform in front of a kindergarten class from a local private school, but this was their first run with a ticket-holding audience. We invited some of Sister's friends and their moms to come see the show, and afterwards the girls asked for her autograph, and then hoisted her up on their shoulders (or tried to - they carried her down the hallway). The play was great - the cast had the roles down well, and worked together seamlessly.

Friday I took Sister back to Studio East to watch the musical "Willy Wonka" that her friends were performing in. Another great show, with fun costumes, and some very talented kids.

On Saturday, Grammy came up on the train from Portland. She was in town for the Sunday matinee performance of Seagirl... and to pick-up her girl scout cookies... and to watch the kids so that Hubby and I could go out. It was a gorgeous day, so he and I went mountain biking together for about an hour - something we haven't done in years. Usually he goes out alone, or we go out with the kids as a family, but it's different riding together at an adult pace. I was pleased with how I did out there, and it was fun to do an activity that we always used to do as a couple before kids. The trails were muddy and snowy, and we'd gotten covered in a lot of mud splatter, so we came home to change before going out for dinner. We headed to McMenamins, a place we used to frequent when we were in college down in Eugene and Corvallis (we get started on good microbrews early out here in the northwest, lol). Good food and drink, and (taking advantage of our childless evening) we sat on the grown-up side of the restaurant!

Sunday was a little crazy. Our troop's cookies were set to be delivered at the same time that Big Sister was in her play. We worked out the logistics of making sure other adult volunteers from the troop could be here to sort cookies and leave me with the remainders (our overstock for site sales). After the play, we came home to 60 cases of cookies stacked along our living room wall. This is going to be a long month.

The final performace went well. Big Sister handled some slight costume issues with ease. Her headpiece slipped off while she was in the part of Yingtai and she casually caught it and slid it back on, continuing her dialogue, never missing a beat. Later the boa/belt that cinched up her red parrot costume kept coming untied and falling off, but she didn't let it phase her. She really enjoys acting and being on stage, and I'll be curious to see where this interest takes her. Afterward we all went out for ice cream with Grammy, Auntie Zebra, and cousin J. Nice way to wrap-up a great weekend.

We weren't allowed to take pictures with flash during the performances, but I did get a few photos. I'm hoping to get more from one of the parents who was taking shots with a better camera, and actually has some photography skills. Another parent is creating dvds, which I also plan to get ahold of. For now, here are some pictures...

Yingtai - Seagirl's friend...