Monday, July 21, 2014

Summer in the City

Today was our first official day at Camp Mommy. I spend the time researching good trips in the area, making sure I have the ingredients on hand for our favorite snacks and dinners,and having a well stocked craft closet. I sit down and made a rough daily schedule, which the kids take apart as soon as we begin.
I have one inviolable rule for camp:"We do what works."
We tried to make these Star Rockets, but the frustration-to-enjoyment ratio was high. I think it was beyond the skill set of some of the kids, and they did NOT want to wait for me to do it for them. We muddled through for a bit, until the Professor professed his distaste for all things Camp, and Sporty had a full on meltdown.
So we scrapped this for a Gak session, and that was good gooey fun. It was so simple to make; the Princess put it together on her own, with a little mixing help from Big Boy. I started to explain about polymer chains and weak links, but gave it up so the kids could just get on with experimenting with our creation. The Professor flattened his and put it out in the sun, hanging over the porch railing. We watched it from below as it stretched, squealing over the prospect of getting plastered with a drip of Gak. Careful dunked his in a cup of water, and planned to let it sit. Unfortunately, the stuff was just calling his name,and it only remained in the cup for a minute or two.
After cleaning up, we piled into the car for our weekly visit to the library. I am very strict about what books the children may read (a little surprising, I know), so I only take them with me when there is a Children's event. Whilst they participate in the event, I take one of them at a time and steer him or her to something appropriate that they may enjoy. Of course, I have secretly read oooodles of  books ahead of time to be able to give them a nice approved selection.
Today the volunteer running the event read some books about musical instruments and introduced the violin. It was all very hands on and exciting, followed by a coloring and stickering project. Careful and Big Boy especially enjoy these programs, and I love that they can make a mess that I don't have to clean up. Another highlight of today's visit it being our third participation in this particular program (yeah, I notice the alliteration). This translates into a free book from a limited collection. I have realized before that when the library offers free book incentives the reading level of the books is rock bottom, and this selection was no exception. The books with the biggest words and most intense plots were Lego comics.
This is supposed to instill reading,'riting and 'rithmatic skills? A few pictures of a Lego man and his opposite with speech and thought bubbles like "ooof, I felt that" or "gaaaaahhhh!". Watering down our beautiful language by its very champions is just senseless.
I'll step down from this soap box now, before I drive my entire readership off.

I thought I could steal some time for this blog now, but the Princess needs her mama . . . So I will post this unfinished work and try again some other time!

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