Category: Caitlyn

Caitlyn

Artistic Endeavors

Caitlyn received a new box of colored pencils and a pad of quality sketch paper for Christmas. This is one of her first creations: She took her time with this drawing and chose not to fill in the sky, both of which are historically unusual. She told me she’d decided not to color in the sky since she didn’t want to totally use up her new blue pencil. I told her it was a perfectly valid artistic choice and that sometimes what leave uncolored is as significant as what you do. At least, that’s what I tried to say. I …

Caitlyn, Seasons

Christmas Eve Snow

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When we finally got around to marking the winter solstice last month, Caitlyn greeted it with the largest pout imaginable. “No snow!” I suppose she’s got it in her head that it snows regularly in Seattle because we’ve had snow for three years running, at least. We had snow in 2010, lots in 2009, and more in 2008. That’s three years in which enough snow for local sledding has come to Seattle at least once. Of course, there’s still the rest of January and February before the possibility of local snow gets so slim as to be essentially zero. So, …

Caitlyn

Bedtime Philosophy

After last night’s bedtime stories, Caitlyn rather randomly asked about seasons. Something like, “Why is it cold in the winter and hot in the summer?” So I did a quick overview of the Earth’s axis being tipped off of vertical and the resulting annual wobble as the planet revolves around the sun. I’m always pleased with myself when I review this topic with Caitlyn since I inevitably try to illustrate the not-vertical nature of the axis by physically leaning to the left. Maybe I’m 23 degrees off vertical, maybe not. But thus far, I’ve managed to not fall down. That …

Caitlyn

She’s a teacup!

 

Caitlyn danced on stage for the first time this weekend, performing with her pre-ballet class in Spectrum Dance Theater‘s holiday production of Alice in Wonderland. It was a dance-school showcase with 134 students, ages 5-20, a variety of dance styles (ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary), and plot that pulled from both the new and classic Alice movies and the book. Caitlyn’s class danced the part of the Tea Cups after the tea party scene with the Mad Hatter (acted by a young man doing his darnedest to channel Johnny Depp), the March Hare and the Doormouse (who got to stand on …

Caitlyn, Seasons

Our Thanksgiving

 

We spent our Thanksgiving with our local family, spreading the over-eating over two days. I must admit I really liked how that turned out. There are enough strong preferences for what we eat at family gatherings that we tend to fall back on potlucks, so everyone can have what they want. This can result in a over-full table with a variety of dishes that may or may not compliment each other. But when you spread it over two days, then you can have the salmon and the ravioli and the mixed vegetables in one sitting and the turkey and potatoes …

Caitlyn, homeschooling, Seasons

A Little Autumn Craftness

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The school district sent me an email yesterday (Wednesday) reminding me that there will be no school last Friday. I realize that sentence makes no sense, but neither did their email. But it did remind me that Caitlyn and I spent some project time together last Friday, at her request, with somewhat mixed results. Our first project was a kind of leaf printing. I’d done a search for crafts with fall leaves and found this. Note for next time: it could be significant if there are no photos with the instructions. Without pictures, my imagination provides the expected result, which, …