March 17, 2010

Where will your kids be this summer?

Spring Break is really the kick off season for summer camp, isn’t it? Sign up now, or be left with the crumbs. At least, that’s how it can feel. There’s still time to get in the first batch of applications for several camps. Some I’ve already talked about here and here.

And here are a few more that already have their schedules posted online (in no particular order):

Many more to come! What kind of a camp are you looking for this year? Let me know, and I’ll see if I can find one for you.

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March 16, 2010

Live blogging Spring Break 2010

Having so much fun live blogging over Spring Break! Can’t wait to do more. If you are interested, you can read it here…City Brights.

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March 14, 2010

Awed

No one is here except you and me. We are surrounded by people, but it’s as if they have all melted away. It’s difficult to see exactly what’s happened to your lip because it seems like everything is swelling up so quickly. The look in your eyes…a cross between fear and pain…expectant as you wait for mommy kisses – as gentle as a spring rain – to make it all better. Yet, there is little I can do other than gently washing your tears away, rocking you in my arms until your little heart calms itself.  When you tripped, the world momentarily stood still. One shoe came off and the fabric ripped a little at your knee, but your face took the brunt of the fall. It should never have happened. I should have been holding your hand, watching you more closely, warning you of the trip hazards, protecting you as a mother lion protects her cubs. I feel a little guilty, as if I’ve betrayed you somehow – falling short of my duty, feeling useless in my ability to keep you safe, fumbling to make things right again. But, even in my failure, you look at me with eyes full of trust.  In an instant, I’m swept back to the first time I held you, eight hours after your birth, smelling somewhere between hospital sterile and baby clean.  You seemed so content, so peaceful, not knowing that one day you would fall and bump your lip and it would hurt. You looked at me then as if I were the only person in the world.  I was awed then by your beauty as I am now – busted lip and all.

This blog is the result of a challenge by my friend Dawn on her blog, Not Going Postal. It’s a 15-sentence story. If you want to play along, directions are here: 15-sentences.

Fifteen too much? Try six here.

Update: There are several friends of Dawn’s who also did 15 sentence stories. Take a look at some of them. They are wonderful!

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March 6, 2010

Walk like an Egyptian

When we went to Iowa over the holidays, we stopped at the Putnam Museum and had the chance to see the newly-renovated Egyptian exhibit. It was fun trying to figure out hieroglyphs together, and while I was fascinated with the sarcophagus, it kind of freaked out the kids…especially the one who was reading a mystery novel where a mummy comes alive.

Inside the CAR Lab

And that is what I was reminded of when I opened my mail today and found the application for archaeology camp at UTSA’s Center for Archaeology Research (CAR). Because this year’s theme is Ancient Egypt…pyramids, mummies and King Tut.

I love this camp. Each year, they introduce the kids to the mysteries of the past and share their depth of knowledge about human existence, culture and society. That – and their lab is just really, really, really cool.

Only 15 campers are allowed in each session. It fills up fast, so if you want your kid in, now’s the time to sign up.

  • Dates: July 5-9, July 19-23, August 2-6 and August 16-20
  • Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Cost: $200 includes supplies, snacks and a t-shirt

The website hasn’t posted yet (not until March 15), but you can call Lynn Yakubik, 458-4462 or 458-4378 to request an application. Tell her King Tut sent you.

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February 27, 2010

Weekend math fun for teens

I love stumbling upon great resources – especially free ones. If you’ve got a child who loves math and you can spare a couple of hours in the car once a month, the Texas State University Department of Mathematics together with Texas Mathworks offers a free Saturday exploration for junior high and high school students, parents and teachers.

The Central Texas Math Circle runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first Saturday of each month through May at Derrick Hall on the campus of Texas State University.

It is free and open to everyone, including pizza!

Upcoming events include:

March 6: Dr. Alex White exploring concepts of randomness, independence and probability.

April 3: Dr. Nate Dean solving difficult puzzles using solution methods and mathematical ideas.

Want more info? Here’s the link.

While you’re poking around the Mathworks website, check out the summer math program. I can assure you, it was the most fun in summer camp my son has ever had. Then, again, he loves math. More importantly, he’s very good at it, and Texas Mathworks made it challenging enough that he had to actually engage his brain. Downside? The fourteen days of a daily drive to San Marcos for a half-day camp.

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February 20, 2010

Got gifted? Get money.

Photo source: SXC

If you have a child who is identified as “Gifted and Talented” and you live in Texas, you can apply for a Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented summer scholarship of up to $400.  You don’t have to be a member of TAGT, but you do need to have a TAGT member sponsor you and the camp has to be an academic or artistic one. Students are awarded scholarships strictly on the quality of the application. But you need to act fast because the deadline to submit is March 1.

Got questions? Find all the answers you need, plus some at TexasGifted.org.

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January 14, 2010

Top Tuesday: Summer Camp RoundUp

It’s about the time for summer camps to come calling. Already, we’ve gotten invites to sign up for Texas Mathworks, iD Tech and Camp Triton. But I’m just not ready. Here are my top four reasons…

1. Didn’t I just finish Christmas? And it’s not even Spring Break. My brain just isn’t wired for camp quite yet.

2. It’s during the first three months of the year that I start the savings account so we can actually afford some of these camps. Does it look like the prices went up again this year or is it my imagination?

3. As soon as I sign up on the dotted line for one camp, another camp my kids *have* to go to will show up in my mail box and it will be scheduled during that very same week.

4. No matter what we decide now, my children will change their minds at least six times before June.

So tell me…are you ready for camp?

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January 9, 2010

Speechless

Last night my daughter asked me to scratch her back. She said it is the thing I do best next to loving her.

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December 15, 2009

Top Tuesday: Favorite Holiday Traditions

My favorite holiday traditions

  1. Fudge made with eggnog and Mandel Bread (this is the only time of year I make it!)
  2. Music. Especially this Chanukah song:    “In the window, I can see the glow. Of my menorah on newly fallen snow. I will set you, my little candle, on this the first** night of Chanukah.
  3. And Chris Rice’s “Go Light Your World”
  4. Packing a goodie box for a military service member serving overseas and seeing my children get into the spirit with their sweet notes, pictures and appreciation for what these men and women have given up to serve our country.
  5. Picking out a special snowglobe for my son and a nutcracker for my daughter.
  6. Lighting the fire and listening to Christmas music specials on PBS.
  7. Designing our annual Year in Pictures book on iPhoto.
  8. Sitting on the stairs in the dark of night after the children go to sleep making sure they don’t wake up while Santa Baby does his thing downstairs.
  9. Listening at 3 a.m. to the kids rustling through their stockings and wishing they’d fall back asleep for just a few more hours.
  10. I’m leaving this one open for you to fill in. What’s your favorite holiday tradition?

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December 13, 2009

Did somebody say snow?

Some conversations are highly predictable when moms get together.

Me: “It’s such a busy time of year. I keep forgetting I’m supposed to be enjoying the holidays.”
Other mom: “I just have to stop and remind myself every so often.”
Still another mom: “I know…I’m so busy running around. I’m too tired to have fun.”

Oh, yeah. Must be the holiday season.

And even though I’m busy All. The. Time. it feels like I’m not making much headway on my to-do list. How about you?

Frankly, it doesn’t help when I get news of a not-to-miss activity. Like the holiday celebration at the Westin La Cantera. Festivities include ornament making, pine cone decorating and a Living Holiday tree. There’s storytelling and carolers. And real snow.

Insiders to the event tell me Mondays and Wednesdays, there’ll be a special opportunity to make snow globes using clean jars, figurines and non-toxic paint.

All this – totally free. But it’d be nice if you picked up a small toy for Toys for Tots and dropped it off  the donation station at the hotel.

Oh, wait. I think I found a small empty space on my to do list between stopping at the grocery store and running by the card shop. If I just write really, really small…..

Details, in case you want to join us…

Daily, December 13-24
Decorating, 1 – 3 p.m.
Holiday nature tree visit, 4 p.m.
Storytelling in the Esparza Library,  11 a.m. and 3 p.m. (see my note below)
Coloring activities in the lobby after the storytelling until 5 p.m.
Walking tour with cowboy storyteller “Makin’ Dust”, starts on the El Fortin Lawn at 5:25 p.m.
Ornament and snow glob making and the man himself, Santa Claus, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

For the 3 p.m. storytelling, show up a little early to enjoy some authentic Mexican hot chocolate “champurrado” and pastries in a cozy little nook beautifully decorated for the season. Adults can sample one of the hotel’s “Farm-to-Glass” grownup drinks, like the Jalapeno Bubbly, Pomegranate Arillus Real or Rio Grande Mimosa.

The Westin La Cantera Resort is located at 16641 La Cantera Parkway in San Antonio.

For more details on the holiday event, go
Here
and
Here

Photo source: SXC Photo

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