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Archive for the ‘Things to do’ Category

Oct
26

A Boy and His Fish

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family, Things to do

With a tug on a line, a surprised fish leaps out of the water without the faintest idea of how his little sacrifice has given my 8 year old Myles one of the greatest days of his life. Since beginning school this year, Myles has been enamored with the idea of fishing for classic northwest fish like salmon and trout. He checked out a book from the local library all about salmon and trout, sharing nuggets of fish facts to any willing listener….even to the man cleaning his catch (but we’ll get to that in a minute).

My husband and I couldn’t resist turning our son’s knowledge into first hand experiences. We loaded up the van and headed out onto highway 2 toward Gold Bar to visit the Wallace Falls Salmon Hatchery. There are other famous hatcheries, too, such as the one in Issaquah, which even sports Salmon Days during the fall. But as we live in Monroe, we decided to visit one more in our backyard.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by fishermen who were loading up their truck with glistening Silvers (a nickname for Coho Salmon). My three children, Myles (age 8), Colin (age 7) and Violette (age 3), all stared in awe at the large fish. Then my oldest declared that those fish would make a great lunch! The fishermen laughed and heartily agreed. Inside the hatchery, a man busy at work separating salmon eggs greeted us. He let the boys hold tiny salmon eggs with little black dots, which are the “eyes” of the developing baby salmons. My boys were in awe and Violette declared they were cute babies.

We finished our time at the hatchery watching the adult salmon swimming and jumping around. My oldest thought it was fun, like watching “Air Jaws” on the Discovery Channel….I am sure watching great white sharks leap from the water would be far more exciting (and terrifying), but in his eight year old mind, watching these salmon leap around was just as good.

We packed back up into the van and then traveled to Woodinville to round out the day visiting Gold Creek Trout Ponds. We kept this part of the trip a surprise, and the look on the boys’ faces when they realized they got to go fishing was a moment I will never forget. The owners gave them bamboo poles, bait, and showed them the ponds where they could catch their dinner!

Each boy caught two fish (around 6-10 inches each). It was a proud moment. Myles brought the bucket to the owner, who cleaned the fish right in front of them…four beautiful rainbow trout. Upon leaving, the man cleaning the fish told us to enjoy our dinner to which Myles replied, “They’ll be extra tasty because they are rainbow!”. I’m sure that fact is not found his library book, but Colin and Violette both agreed that rainbows make everything tastier, even fish.

-posted by Miss Jesikah, who was raised by a professional Bass Fisherman belonging to BassMasters, and fondly remembers her youth fishing whenever she could, catching many dinners for her family from the nearby lake where she grew up in Northern California.

Tags: Miss Jesikah, Things to do

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Oct
16

Worked out your intercostal muscles today?

Posted in Child Development, Education, Imagine That, Things to do

Every time you breathe, you are engaging 11 muscles – the big abdominal muscle sheath, your diaphragm, as well as the ones between your ribs. (Those are the intercostal ones.) You don’t even have to think about breathing.

What happens if you don’t work out your grownup body? You know the answer to that. But do you know what could happen if your child doesn’t work out those 11 muscles and their lungs? Their breath control will be affected. Why is that a big deal?

Breath control is directly related to the ability to speak, sing, or read a complete sentence. Poor breathing (mouth breathing or shallow breathing) can cause high blood pressure. Optimal breathing helps promote weight loss, as oxygen burns fat and calories. (Maybe that one is more for the grownups!)

Breathing well is the key to sleeping well and waking rested. Breathing provides 99% of your energy. When playing a wind instrument, a good tone is almost entirely dependent of good breath control, although a good instrument helps!

Only one third of lung capacity is used in normal breathing. Think about the Swiss freediver who held his breath underwater for 19 minutes and 21 seconds! I’ll bet he was using his full lung capacity.

Now that you understand that you need good breath control, here are a couple of ways to promote it with your preschooler this week.

Straw Painting

I was going to do a whole picture/explanation thing here, but I found a craft blog that did it beautifully, and who doesn’t like a linkback? So, here you go. Tons of fun. And I think that you grownups should try it, too. I’m going to.

Slide Whistle Play

If you have a Kindermusik Imagine That student at home (and you have a preschooler, you really should have them in Imagine That – shameless plug, here), then pull out your slide whistle. (Or, get thee a slide whistle if you don’t! Either plastic or metal works great.)
Learn the song Windy Weather. It’s #14 on your See What I Saw Home CD 2. Or, download it here. (But you really should be enrolled in class…)
Now, sing the song, rather than playing the music. That will allow you to control the tempo and change the words.
Start with the slide all of the way pulled out. Sing “Windy weather, windy weather, when the wind blows…” Then blow into the slide whistle, as you push the slide up.
Now change the last words to “We all fall down together.” Then blow into the slide whistle as you pull the slide down.
Now sing it slowly, sing it fast, sing it quietly, sing it loud. The loud and slow versions are where breath control really comes into play. You have to control your breathing by letting out a little air at a time, in order to make it through the louder blow, or the slower pull on the slide.

Now for a little bit of inspiration. Think that slide whistle is not a “real instrument”? Just watch Tom Goslin (a professional guitar player who is well known in the pit orchestra world) perform the Allegro from Sonata in C major for viola da gamba and Continuo by Carl Frederic Abel. (He played cello and viola in Bach’s court orchestra. Abel, I mean. Not Goslin.) You guessed it – on slide whistle.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, whose hero (because she’s a low brass player), is Arnold Jacobs, the one-lunged tuba player, who was the principle tubist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 44 years, and not surprisingly, was an expert on breath control.

Image: Worakit Sirijinda / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tags: kindermusik, Miss Analiisa, physical development, preschoolers, Things to do

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Oct
2

Why? How come? What’s next? Can I? What would happen if?

Posted in Child Development, Education, Imagine That, Things to do

Do you hear those questions at home? We hear them in Kindermusik Imagine That classes all the time! Your child is a discoverer, and loves comparing and categorizing things, conducting investigations, problem solving, and most of all, talking about what they learn from exercising their curiosity.

The things your preschooler naturally wants to do will boost their cognitive development – the growing of thinking skills, including problem solving and decision making. Cognitive development is not about the acquisition of information, though that might occur in the process.

What’s important about helping your child acquire cognitive skills now in the preschool years is that this aptitude can then be transferred to any other learning experiences in their life. For instance, take puzzles. There is a lot of thinking involved in completing a jigsaw puzzle. Sorting, organizing, categorizing, visual discrimination, remembering (Where did I see that piece I now need?), a plan of action (Do I do the outside or the inside first?)

Now fast forward 30 years. Your preschooler has become a successful research scientist. And puzzles have helped her become so. She learned the scientific method as a child. She observed the puzzle, she hypothesized how to solve the puzzle, she tested her solution and concluded if her solution worked!

All mistakes or problems are really opportunities for cognitive development. Here’s why: Children thrive on routine and familiarity. When something happens that thwarts their “normal”, they are required to come up with a solution that is outside of their box, and in doing so, cognitive development occurs.

Take the proverbial spilled milk. Your child dropped his cup of milk. You could get mad (especially if you just cleaned your kitchen floor), but don’t. Remember – all mistakes or problems are really opportunities for cognitive development.

Ask your child to look at the spill – Wow! That little mug of milk sure spread out all over the floor. Is the puddle going to keep growing, or stop? Is it a deep puddle? How can you tell? What should we do about all this milk on the floor? Oh, clean it up? How? What should we use to do that? Milk gets sticky when it’s dried, because it has a kind of sugar in it. What do you think could put on our washcloth to get the sticky off the floor? Why do you think you dropped the cup? How can you hold the cup differently next time so it doesn’t spill? Observing, hypothesizing, testing and concluding!

Here is a list of 10 cognitive skill-building activities to do with your child.

Play Hot and Cold. Hide an object and give your child clues as to where it is by saying hotter, colder, or warmer.
Games like Dominoes, Uno, Skip Bo or Battleship
Cooking. Let your child mix, pour, etc. Lots of mistakes or problems can occur to solve in this activity. (Just ask professional chefs.)
Play I Spy with shapes, colors, textures, etc.
Household chores like sorting laundry or putting away silverware.
Ask (sometimes very silly) thinking questions. Is an elephant purple? Which is bigger – our cat or our dog? What did you eat for dinner last night?
With your finger, draw a simple shape or picture on your child’s back. See if they can guess what it is. Give clues if necessary. (It’s something you find outside. It is very tall.)
Category games. What doesn’t belong – cat, mouse, frog, tree? Find me 3 things that are yellow.
Create an obstacle course.
Let them make mistakes and then allow them to figure out how to solve them.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who thinks she’s pretty cognitively savvy, until she plays the game Gobblet Gobblers with her children and loses!

Tags: games, kindermusik, language development, learning, Miss Analiisa, preschoolers, toddlers

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Sep
30

Brain Rules: Exercise Matters!

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Things to do

I’ve recently been absorbing a surprisingly interesting book on brain development. My beloved teaching coach recommended this book to me after listening to my frustrations with teaching my 10-year-old daughter, whose current dislike for school was baffling me. My goal was to engage her lively brain in a meaningful education experience. I needed help.

John Medina’s book, Brain Rules, to the rescue. Medina has an impressive and somewhat unusual resume for such a reader-friendly book. He is a developmental molecular biologist and research consultant. He is the director of the Brain Center for applied learning Research at Seattle Pacific University. He also teaches at the University of Washington School of Medicine, in its Department of Bioengineering. He is also a dad. Perhaps that is what makes his material feel like you’re chatting with someone who knows. He’s one of us.

I’ve decided to devote my next few blogs to giving you a taste of Brain Rules. I’m sure you’ll find Medina’s research interesting and helpful. I’d better let you know he’s an avid evolutionist. (I realize this topic can be a hot button.) Whether that is the camp you’re in or not, there’s a ton of good stuff to be gleaned from his “12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School,” the subtitle of the book.

Brain Rule # 1: The Brain Loves Exercise!

If this chapter doesn’t get you off the couch, there’s no hope for you. The relationship between exercise and mental alertness is incontrovertible. Medina tells us about his observations of two 83-year-old men, Frank Lloyd Wright and Jim. They shared the same number of years on the planet, but Jim was finishing life at a nursing home, staring into space, while Frank was doing television interviews with a wisdom, wit and vigor that would challenge a 30-year-old. While the details leading to Jim’s end-of-life frailty were not known, the fact is that researchers do know what can be done to increase the odds for aging with virility. Yep, it’s exercise.

While Medina deftly explains interesting details about the fascinating complexities of brain chemistry, the bottom line is exercise increases cardio-fitness, which significantly lowers risk for heart attacks and stroke. Simply put, through exercise, more blood is pumped to the brain which equals more brain health and strength. Exercise increases long term memory, reasoning, ability to focus, problem solving, and abstract thinking. Exercise increases production of chemicals in the brain that produce feelings of well-being and decrease stress. Bottom Line: Exercise—All Good!

Medina wanted to know if “couch potatoes” who began to exercise would see positive results. Exercise proved to increase their mental capacities unquestionably. He quotes Dr. Annette Yancey’s research on the effect of exercise on children. She discovered, “Kids pay better attention to their subjects and are less likely to be disruptive in terms of their classroom behavior when they’ve been active. Kids feel better about themselves, have higher self-esteem, less depression, less anxiety. All of those things can impair academic performance and attentiveness.” Whether younger or older, started sooner or later, exercise improved function.

The best part of the chapter on exercise is that it doesn’t take much to make the brain happier! Medina reports that research shows 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity 2-3 times a week gives significant results. He proposes treadmills in all offices and at least two recesses per day for school children. He figured out how to mount his laptop on his treadmill and reports that it took him 15 minutes to learn to type emails while walking 1.8 miles per hour.

I’m working at increasing the level of exercise in our lives and home school. My morning routine increasingly includes a 20-30 minute walk/run. Our learning environment is becoming more active. As I teach, I have my daughter interact with me and write on the white board. I give her recess as needed. I’m seeing improvement in her attitude and mine.

Next time—Brain Rule #4—We Don’t Pay Attention to Boring Things!

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who recommends you visit www.brainrules.net or buy the book for more detailed treatment of this topic.

Image: Andy Newson / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tags: books, brain, Donna Detweiler, learning

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Sep
22

Picking up my euphonium. And playing it.

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Things to do

This is my euphonium. And yes, it's heavy. I dropped it and my case on my foot in college and fractured my heel. 12 weeks in a boot.

I joined a high school band last week. No, not the garage rock band type. The one with clarinets and trumpets and trombones and drums. And yes, well, I did graduate high school in 1986, so you do the math. And it kind of horrifies me to realize that some of you weren’t even born in 1986.

I’m finally using my college degree. For the first time ever. (What else do you do with a BMUS in Euphonium Performance, but play in a high school band?) My son’s home school band director asked me to play this year, and work with the low brass. I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having. I haven’t played in a group since graduating college. Not even in a brass ensemble. Or sadly, even a duet.

One thing I had almost forgotten – what an indescribable sense of community and happiness comes from being a part of a group, making music together. I felt my soul come alive. The stress of my life, for that hour and a half on Monday afternoon, went away.

And I’m telling you this because I think you should make music with other people, too. You don’t play an instrument? Learn one! It’s a whole lot more fun to practice at 42 than 12. (Just ask my children.)

You don’t have time? You can make the time. I spend 50+ hours a week running a business, plus home school three children, write, volunteer, cook, clean, do too much laundry, and be a wife and mother. I know you can make the time if you want to. I encourage you to want to. You’ll be glad you did. I guarantee it.

Or, try singing. I know it sounds corny to have a “sing-along”, but have you tried singing with other people? It’s okay to sing at Christmas, why is it not okay in September? Why have we limited singing to the 7^th inning, at church, or when lighting birthday candles? People have been singing together since the beginning. Why in our western culture is doing that now “embarrassing”? Why have we stopped? You love to listen to music. Why don’t you love to make it? (And I’m not referring to Karaoke, unless you are singing with at least one other person!)

So, start with the music of your cultural heritage. I’m positive the people in the generations before you sang. Are you Welsh, Native American, Japanese? Somewhere, there is someone who would be delighted to teach you the music of your heritage.

And then, in turn, sing with your sister and your best friend. Or your spouse or neighbors. It’s not about having a great singing voice. That totally misses the point. Make music with your children. Find three other people you know and turn off the TV. Practice Christmas carols, even in September. Join a community choir. You don’t have to read music.

Teach your children how to make music with others. You have a responsibility to do so. What happens if you don’t? I’ll never forget listening to Dr. Barnwell from Sweet Honey in the Rock. She said that in Africa, music was always made in community. The elders taught the younger ones the rhythms, interval patterns, and words, and how they were layered on top of each other to form music. She demonstrated this to the audience, and we made traditional African music together. It was a powerful, moving, and beautiful experience.

Rap has its roots in African music. Why is much of it full of hate, and sex and f-bombs? In Africa, she said, everyone in the community participated in the music making, and the wise and experienced elders literally monitored the creation of music. Rap, she said, no longer falls under that pattern. It’s come out from under the guidance of the community leaders.

Something to think about. And then to DO.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who has recently reclaimed her chair in the row in front of the percussion. It’s time to teach a new generation of low brass what their rightful role in the band is.