Filipino by Marriage

When Dylan, Riley, and I had - largely - mastered the tinikling, Riley announced, "Daddy, time for you to learn. You are Filipino by marriage, you know." Jake dutifully shut down his computer, came over to the living room, and looked dubiously at the sticks on the ground.

I don't know why I'm so scared of those sticks, but I am!

But he finally got the hang of it and was tiniklinging with the rest of us Filipinos! One hundred percent participation from the Mann Clan. Love it! Next up...sungka.

The Sting of Bamboo

It all started with a challenge for the boys' school Fall Festival and a trip to the Filipino store. Then we stopped at the craft store to get cardstock and Riley found some bamboo sticks. "Mom," he gushed, excitedly, "I want to learn how to do the tinikling. Can we get these for the Festival?" Ummm...

As always, if my kids want to learn something, I support it. So, the sticks went into the shopping cart. And when we got home, he logged into YouTube and found different clips of actual Filipino people doing the dance. There were some that were incredibly complex; I told him to stick to the basics.

After a little while, he handed me this... In case you can't tell what it is, it's a foot diagram of where I'm supposed to put my feet so they don't get smacked by the bamboo. Yeah, right. I can't read that!

Then he demonstrated the steps with stationary sticks...

Then he showed us the rhythm of the sticks...without any dancers...

Dylan practiced, under Riley's watchful eye...

And, then, we had some fun with it. The funniest thing ever: Riley, declared, as I danced between the sticks, avoided the sting of the bamboo, and swirled my dress around as I moved, "Mom, you really are Filipino!"

I think we're just about ready for next weekend. Stay tuned.

Dylan's Responsibilities

Dylan's first project of the year involves discovering his learning style and exploring his responsibilities - to his family, to his school, to his community, and to his world.

And because he's the second child, he - for the most part - fends for himself. Sad, but true. Parents can say that they treat their kids the same. They're lying...or they are super-heroes that have my complete and utter admiration.

So, I didn't take a look at his planning sheet until he was all done. I have to admit, my heart swelled with pride, when I read what he had written. For his responsibilities to his community...

• CSA box
• beach clean up
• support local parks

I love that he sees these as his responsibility to his community! Hopefully that means that he'll walk the walk, even when he's away from our watchful eyes.

Who is Riley?

Riley's first (six-week) unit in school explores culture. They began by answering the question: Who am I? And they answered that question by creating and decorating a plaster mask. The kids helped each other make a plaster mold of each student's face. Then they planned and executed a plan to answer...

 

What kind of person are you (public and private side)?
How are you smart?
What you love to do?
Your family, home, and culture
Your hopes/dreams for the future

 

Riley turned this in today. Here's his public side...with a propellor, some redwood needles, a eucalyptus leaf, an eagle, a jack, a testtube, a mandolin. What else is on here? And what does that all mean?!? I asked him if I could read what he wrote about those things; he told me, "I didn't write anything, Mom. We just have to present it to the class. We don't have to write an essay about it!" Okay. Fine.

 

And here's the private side...a darker green. I see mountain peaks. I see a book. I see musical notes. I see random letters that I am certain are not random. Interesting.

Here's a photo that his teacher posted from the in-class presentation. I still have no idea what he said, but he reported that all went well.

 

Photo by TSpedding 

A Spaghetti-Marshmallow Challenge

Riley has only been in 5th grade for three days and already I am smitten with the teaching team and their über-cool homework projects. Last night one of his optional assignments was to recreate their Spaghetti-Marshmallow Challenge at home with their families. Build something? With food??! Oh, yeah. That was a must, though I didn't have any "real marshmallows." I had homemade - square - agave syrup marshmallows that Riley scoffed at. "Mom, those are perfect for hot chocolate, but not my project." Fine. So, off I went to Safeway with an hour before bedtime...to get "marshmallows that other people have in their homes."

The challenge: use 20 spaghetti noodles, 1 meter of tape, 1 meter of string and - in 30 minutes - build the tallest structure you can that will support the weight of a marshmallow.

Riley and I both went for a tripod method, though I reinforced the frame by utilizing multiple noodles in each leg. Dylan started off with a four-pronged base. And Jake went for a helix-style structure.

In a house full of LEGO-crazed boys and a truly handy husband, I am thrilled to say that my structure won. I built a tower that was 28-1/2" tall. Both Riley and Jake's were 28". So I just barely squeaked past them with half an inch, but I'll take the victory. Girl power! Dylan participated but really was only interested in eating the marshmallow afterwards.

Looking forward to lots more learning and fun!

*UPDATE*
Whoops! After watching this, Jake said, "the exercise is about cooperation and teamwork more then building a marshmallow and spaghetti hut." Cooperation and teamwork? Team Mann?!? Ha! We don't do teamwork. Maybe that's something to work on this year.

A Pumpkin Sloth

Dylan has an unusual Fall Break project: make a character pumpkin. He decided to do the sloth from Eric Carle's Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth. Truth be told, it became a family project. Dylan designed the figure and painstakingly drew the sloth's face.

 I burned my fingers more than once on the glue gun wrapping the frame with fur.

And Jake cut out the claws. What a fun project!

Something New

Riley received his first project assignment for 4th grade for his 6-week unit on "Discovering California": create a brochure or poster advertising a region of California.

He drew me a rough diagram of the state with circles for the regions. We discussed his options - desert, coastal, central, and mountains. I, simply because we've traveled all along the California coast, suggested that he choose the coastal region. I have tons of photos he can use.

One leveled glance and a single sentence made this mommy feel about 1" tall. And I was reminded that getting projects done is not about getting a project done.

"Mom," he said, "if I write about something I am already familiar with I won't learn anything new."

Very true. It's about learning. How could I have forgotten that?

He decided to study the California desert. So we are all going to be learning about the desert in the next couple of weeks.