Day +1238: Back to school!
It's been such a long time since the last update, it's hard to know where to start. I guess since everyone has been asking about Mina's school, I'll start there. After Keri and the kids returned from the Northwest, we finally got the letter we ha been hoping for, which was that Mina's school assignment had been switched from Rosa Parks to Rooftop Elementary. That was the school we had been hoping for. We've been told it has the most empathetic and helpful special needs staff, and they place a big emphasis on the performing arts which will be good for both Mina and Isaac. Best of all, it's about a 5-minute drive from our house, and in fact there's a school bus that Mina could catch from basically across the street.
BUT, after all that, we decided not to enroll her in public schools at all this year. She will continue to attend the Neighborhood Playgarden pre-school. Teacher Julie is going to offer a "fours and fives" program this year at a different location. There will be nine four-year-olds and nine five-year-olds, though only 14 will attend on any given day. There will be two teachers along with a parent helper in the classroom every day. Julie is great, the kids love her, and her focus on activities and having the kids do and experience things instead of book learning is exactly what we want for Mina at this age. Isaac will get to be in the same class, so that will be convenient for us and nice for the kids as well. It wasn't easy to give up that spot at Rooftop, because next year we'll have to go through the lottery again. But we are pretty confident that Mina's medical appeal will be approved again next year and that she will be able to get into Rooftop again. Julie thinks it would be nice if we could send Mina and Isaac to Rooftop together next year, although we'll have to see if Isaac is ready to enter kindergarten when he won't turn five until October 1.
Speaking of birthdays, Isaac's fourth is coming up and he is very excited. It's kind of hard to believe he's only three sometimes. He is so tall and he talks so well, plus we are used to dealing with both kids in the same way at the same time that sometimes we forget how much older Mina is. It will be nice to have some time to focus on Isaac. Mina had a sleepover at her friend Bliss's house the other day. Mina was excited about it, but Melissa says that Bliss was just bouncing off the walls all day long waiting for Mina to get there. It's very cute that they are such good friends. But that meant that Isaac and I got some alone time together on Saturday. We hung out in the house listening to music for most of the morning, then we took the bus down to Haight Street to go to the music store, ostensibly to have them fix a broken string on his music maker. He loves it there, just walking around looking at everything. They said it was OK for him to try out the instruments as long as he was careful, so he spent about 45 minutes trying out different guitars and hand drums. He even got to pluck the upright bass. Then we went and had lunch at a burrito place. We were mostly quiet while sitting at the table, but at one point he said with a big smile "Aren't me having fun!" Mina said she missed us when she woke up in the morning at Bliss's house, but since she was already there she figured she would just have to deal with it.
Isaac was showing a lot of interest in the CD player after they got back, and I figured he was probably old enough to learn how to operate it. It's a five-CD changer so it's a bit complicated, but it didn't take him very long to master the sequence of buttons required to replace a CD, start a new one, and fast-forward to his favorite song. I'm always amazed at how quickly he finds the song he wants, even if it's number 24 on the CD and he doesn't really know numbers past 10. We finally decided we had to retain control of the volume after a couple of false starts (Isaac couldn't seem to learn that it's very dangerous to keep turning up the volume hoping to hear the CD when the CD hasn't started yet). But we gave him a little basket to keep the CDs in and he's been extremely conscientious about putting them back every time and not touching the amplifier. It's been pretty fun to watch him -- he pretty much has the music going all the time and frequently he will just sit and listen with a smile on his face and pretend to play one of the instruments. His favorite album right now is "Choo Choo Boogaloo" by Buckwheat Zydeco, which is a very fun album of traditional songs sung in various styles: zydeco, jazz, blues, etc. His favorite part is at the very end where they demonstrate all the instruments that were used in making the album, though he is also fond of the gospel-style version of "Little Red Caboose" that comes right before it.
He will have a chance to listen to some live music this Sunday during the Cole Valley Street Fair! They shut down our little commercial area for the day and have lots of booths of hand-made jewelry and scarfs and things. Last year they had several acts performing accoustic music with no microphone. Isaac had a ball, and didn't want to leave the street fair even when I offered to take him to the playground. We have a big day on Saturday as well -- it's the BMT Reunion Picnic. Last year they called it the BMT Survivors' Picnic, but I guess they realized while that may have been the most accurate title, it wasn't probably the most appealing one. Anyway, we are excited to see Drs. Horn and Cowan again, as well as some of the nurses and other patients that we know. Mina has a friend named Annabella who is the same age and was in the hospital at the same time (though for chronic thrombocytopenia, not cancer). It will be fun for them to get together.
We've definitely been keeping busy since everyone returned from the summer. We also had our annual trip to Camp Mather, which is the camp just outside Yosemite that is run by the City of San Francisco, mostly for city residents. It's interesting, there are several other cities that have camps up in that same area as well. It's very near the site of the Hetch Hetchy Dam, which is a huge dam over the South Fork of the Tuolomne River and is the source of San Francisco's drinking water. They have very modest cabins, but this year we slept in our new tent and preferred that. There is a dining hall that serves great food (the last night our dinner was beef tri-tip), crafts like tie-dying shirts, and a lake with a sandy beach for digging and catching tadpoles and a pool for swimming lessons. During the summer the camps are week-long sessions, but after Labor Day they have weekend camps that are mostly attended by pre-schoolers. Keri and the kids went up from Thursday through Monday, but my work schedule wouldn't allow that much time so I borrowed a car and drove up later Friday and back late Sunday night. Julie was there and there was a pretty big group of kids from Neighborhood Playgarden. Julie said people commented to her about how well-behaved and how inclusive the NPG kids were, and I have to say that I noticed too how great the NPG kids were compared to some of the others. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the great group of parents, but I think it has a lot to do with Julie as well. She has the magic touch with those kids, and they all seem very secure and confident with her.
Quick funny stories:
- I was pushing Isaac in the swing, and I pushed him a little too high. He said "Not so high! I'm only three and a half, Dadda!" (By the way, Mina is now pumping her legs and can pretty much swing on her own, though she still likes Daddy to push her. She is also getting very proficient at the monkey bars, in keeping with her love of climbin.)
- Mina and Isaac watched part of a Spiderman movie at Bliss's house. They both liked it, but their reactions were totally different. Isaac all of a sudden started hitting peope, which is something he doesn't normally do. It reminded me of when he started choking people after watching The Jungle Book, which has a brief scene where the snake is choking Mowgli. It's amazing to think how impressionable their minds are. Mina *loved* Spiderman. When I asked her why, she said "It's because he *helps* people." Her favorite part was when Spiderman said, and she's so cute when she quotes this: "I'm going back -- for the PEOPLE!"
BUT, after all that, we decided not to enroll her in public schools at all this year. She will continue to attend the Neighborhood Playgarden pre-school. Teacher Julie is going to offer a "fours and fives" program this year at a different location. There will be nine four-year-olds and nine five-year-olds, though only 14 will attend on any given day. There will be two teachers along with a parent helper in the classroom every day. Julie is great, the kids love her, and her focus on activities and having the kids do and experience things instead of book learning is exactly what we want for Mina at this age. Isaac will get to be in the same class, so that will be convenient for us and nice for the kids as well. It wasn't easy to give up that spot at Rooftop, because next year we'll have to go through the lottery again. But we are pretty confident that Mina's medical appeal will be approved again next year and that she will be able to get into Rooftop again. Julie thinks it would be nice if we could send Mina and Isaac to Rooftop together next year, although we'll have to see if Isaac is ready to enter kindergarten when he won't turn five until October 1.
Speaking of birthdays, Isaac's fourth is coming up and he is very excited. It's kind of hard to believe he's only three sometimes. He is so tall and he talks so well, plus we are used to dealing with both kids in the same way at the same time that sometimes we forget how much older Mina is. It will be nice to have some time to focus on Isaac. Mina had a sleepover at her friend Bliss's house the other day. Mina was excited about it, but Melissa says that Bliss was just bouncing off the walls all day long waiting for Mina to get there. It's very cute that they are such good friends. But that meant that Isaac and I got some alone time together on Saturday. We hung out in the house listening to music for most of the morning, then we took the bus down to Haight Street to go to the music store, ostensibly to have them fix a broken string on his music maker. He loves it there, just walking around looking at everything. They said it was OK for him to try out the instruments as long as he was careful, so he spent about 45 minutes trying out different guitars and hand drums. He even got to pluck the upright bass. Then we went and had lunch at a burrito place. We were mostly quiet while sitting at the table, but at one point he said with a big smile "Aren't me having fun!" Mina said she missed us when she woke up in the morning at Bliss's house, but since she was already there she figured she would just have to deal with it.
Isaac was showing a lot of interest in the CD player after they got back, and I figured he was probably old enough to learn how to operate it. It's a five-CD changer so it's a bit complicated, but it didn't take him very long to master the sequence of buttons required to replace a CD, start a new one, and fast-forward to his favorite song. I'm always amazed at how quickly he finds the song he wants, even if it's number 24 on the CD and he doesn't really know numbers past 10. We finally decided we had to retain control of the volume after a couple of false starts (Isaac couldn't seem to learn that it's very dangerous to keep turning up the volume hoping to hear the CD when the CD hasn't started yet). But we gave him a little basket to keep the CDs in and he's been extremely conscientious about putting them back every time and not touching the amplifier. It's been pretty fun to watch him -- he pretty much has the music going all the time and frequently he will just sit and listen with a smile on his face and pretend to play one of the instruments. His favorite album right now is "Choo Choo Boogaloo" by Buckwheat Zydeco, which is a very fun album of traditional songs sung in various styles: zydeco, jazz, blues, etc. His favorite part is at the very end where they demonstrate all the instruments that were used in making the album, though he is also fond of the gospel-style version of "Little Red Caboose" that comes right before it.
He will have a chance to listen to some live music this Sunday during the Cole Valley Street Fair! They shut down our little commercial area for the day and have lots of booths of hand-made jewelry and scarfs and things. Last year they had several acts performing accoustic music with no microphone. Isaac had a ball, and didn't want to leave the street fair even when I offered to take him to the playground. We have a big day on Saturday as well -- it's the BMT Reunion Picnic. Last year they called it the BMT Survivors' Picnic, but I guess they realized while that may have been the most accurate title, it wasn't probably the most appealing one. Anyway, we are excited to see Drs. Horn and Cowan again, as well as some of the nurses and other patients that we know. Mina has a friend named Annabella who is the same age and was in the hospital at the same time (though for chronic thrombocytopenia, not cancer). It will be fun for them to get together.
We've definitely been keeping busy since everyone returned from the summer. We also had our annual trip to Camp Mather, which is the camp just outside Yosemite that is run by the City of San Francisco, mostly for city residents. It's interesting, there are several other cities that have camps up in that same area as well. It's very near the site of the Hetch Hetchy Dam, which is a huge dam over the South Fork of the Tuolomne River and is the source of San Francisco's drinking water. They have very modest cabins, but this year we slept in our new tent and preferred that. There is a dining hall that serves great food (the last night our dinner was beef tri-tip), crafts like tie-dying shirts, and a lake with a sandy beach for digging and catching tadpoles and a pool for swimming lessons. During the summer the camps are week-long sessions, but after Labor Day they have weekend camps that are mostly attended by pre-schoolers. Keri and the kids went up from Thursday through Monday, but my work schedule wouldn't allow that much time so I borrowed a car and drove up later Friday and back late Sunday night. Julie was there and there was a pretty big group of kids from Neighborhood Playgarden. Julie said people commented to her about how well-behaved and how inclusive the NPG kids were, and I have to say that I noticed too how great the NPG kids were compared to some of the others. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the great group of parents, but I think it has a lot to do with Julie as well. She has the magic touch with those kids, and they all seem very secure and confident with her.
Quick funny stories:
- I was pushing Isaac in the swing, and I pushed him a little too high. He said "Not so high! I'm only three and a half, Dadda!" (By the way, Mina is now pumping her legs and can pretty much swing on her own, though she still likes Daddy to push her. She is also getting very proficient at the monkey bars, in keeping with her love of climbin.)
- Mina and Isaac watched part of a Spiderman movie at Bliss's house. They both liked it, but their reactions were totally different. Isaac all of a sudden started hitting peope, which is something he doesn't normally do. It reminded me of when he started choking people after watching The Jungle Book, which has a brief scene where the snake is choking Mowgli. It's amazing to think how impressionable their minds are. Mina *loved* Spiderman. When I asked her why, she said "It's because he *helps* people." Her favorite part was when Spiderman said, and she's so cute when she quotes this: "I'm going back -- for the PEOPLE!"
posted by Arne Olson @ 10:00 PM
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