Picasso art projects

This month we had a teacher from the Seattle Art Museum come and do a Picasso drawing class with the children. I was a volunteer in the class that day and it was so fun to watch the kids learn about how to draw a face and how to explore perspective and to just let go. It was so inspiring. The teacher started out by explaining perspective. Then she walked us through how to position the features of a face, eyes, nose, ears, mouth. And then the fun part was to do a profile of a face on tracing paper which was then superimposed on the first drawing. So cool!

When You Are Happy

This is a no brainer for adults but fascinating to see in a child....

I have noticed that when Ryden is happy he becomes incredibly creative. Today he said he had his best day ever at school (he mentioned that they sang in music class) and then we had a great time playing soccer in the playground until very late and a nice walk home. We prepped dough for making gingerbread men and then Ryden disappeared over to his LEGO table. About half an hour later, he called me over to show me his creation. It is this very cool elevator that leads perfectly up to a ramp at top. I was very impressed.

Farting sounds....

Oh yes, Ryden is fascinated with potty talk. Here you can see his creative ways to weave it into the normal day.

Farting sounds....

Oh yes, Ryden is fascinated with potty talk. Here you can see his creative ways to weave it into the normal day.

Play dates and other after school activities

Ryden has really enjoyed making new friends from school. This is Kei and Jun who live just down the street from school. They have a very large guinea pig (forgot name) that Ryden gets to hold every time he visits.

 

Ryden often asks me, "How many more days til I see dad?" So I decided to make paper chain for each day til he would see dad. Each day Ryden can tear off a link. He took it to school with him the next day. I really think it helped him to understand the time frame. I also felt better that at least I could help him solve the frustrating concept of time.

 

Ryden running around the playground at school. He loves to just run non-stop, round and round.

Thanksgiving dinner in Sonoma

We had a very nice Thanksgiving dinner and Janie and Poppy's in Sonoma.

Ryden at Kidspace preschool

https://youtu.be/c6CXdoq3rRs

Visiting old friends

Last friday we had a nice visit with Emily and VK Gadi at their home. Jen Mesot was also there with her son Freddy. It was so nice to see them all. Ryden didn't remember these baby era and toddler-hood friends, but he hit it off with Freddy. We decided to visit Jen and Freddy on Saturday afternoon. It was great to hang out with Jen and catch up. She had been living with her husband in Croatia for 19 months and we hadn't really talked since she had returned. They are scheduled to go the UK next year.

Playing Squash at SAC

Ryden loved hitting the ball around for a good hour. Yes, you are right, he has no shoes on, but that didn't stop him.

Dylan drawing

Dylan drew this very nice illustration of Ryden and himself playing at Windemere park, by his grandparents house.

Max the meerkat visits

Max the meerkat is a kindergarden class mascot that travels from home to home. This time around Max was at our home. We had a lot of fun feeding him, brushing his teeth and just showing him around our living room. He was very well behaved.

Ryden and Dylan at issaquah pumpkin patch

JSIS; Ms Kathleen Wong's notes

I thought it would be helpful to have this posted for family and close friends to read. It is nice to know what is happening in the classroom.


--
Parents,

Recap of past week - We worked on the letter Gg and Hh, sounding them out and using best guess writing to think up words starting with that sound.  The morning class started their writing journals - drawing a story, using labels, and speech or thought bubbles to describe the story - a small moment.  This helps narrow down broad thoughts and starts adding context.  We finished introducing all components of the Reading Workshop Choices where they learn about reading at their own pace.  I am encouraging kids to bring home A level books to read to you at home.  Let them read to you. These are very simple books with pictures to aid in decoding the sentences.  Those who did are excited they could readJ We started another poem "5 little pumpkins".  We also discussed "Words are not for Hurting" and "Hands are not for Hitting" as the social interactions component of Kindergarten.  We are finished with MAP Testing! 

Forecast for next week - We will start the Brown Bear project where we read the book and key off a project based on that book.  We will focus on color, memorization, abstracting from book to self, sequencing, watercolor, hand eye coordination.  I hope to work add the letter Ii and Jj to our repertoire.  I'll introduce writing in the writing journals to the afternoon class and we'll all continue with reading workshop.  If time permits, we will start on Second Step Socialization Program with formal modeling and class discussions on problem solving behaviors.  Thank you, parents, for your help with the water coloring next week.

Celebrations - Their positive behavior the past few weeks earned both classes a celebration!  The AM class decided on a Toy day where they bring ONE toy from home to play with during choice time and the PM class decided on costume day where they dress up for the afternoon.  Tuesday, October 12th will be the day for both classes.  Please make sure they bring ONE toy that is not too fragile and a costume that allows for freedom of movement.  Note the costume day does not replace the Monster Mash at the end of them month.

Ryden gets his first buzz cut!

He looks so young!

Noodles for dinner

Bath time

We went to the Golden Gardens beach again, but this time it was pretty windy and cold out. We decided to take a bath before going to bed.

Balloon Drop at JSIS

Hi Ryden 

Here is the video and some photos. The experiment was for each student to invent a special capsule or packaging for their precious water balloon to protect it on its journey from the top of the school roof all the way down to the playground. It was so much fun to see all the creative ways students had protected their water balloons. I hope you enjoy watching. The first photo is a view from the roof of your school.

Sunday Playdate at Soren's House

Ryden disappeared as soon as we got there. He was super happy to hang out with Soren. I'm not sure who's idea it was, but it was very cute when I came around the corner into their backyard to find the two of them more than half buried in the sandbox!

Seattle Gymnastics class with John

There was only one other child in Ryden's class so Ryden got a lot of attention. He really enjoys gymnastics.

 

 

Afternoon at Golden Gardens

So I want to preface the below photos with an explanation that Ryden and I had a conversation about this little experiment with the magnifying glass. He knows that fire is very dangerous and this should only be done in a safe environment and under the supervision of an adult. Did he make fire? Yes he did! With the help of some wood shavings and moss. Very exciting. We ended the day at Coney Island restaurant for fish and chips and a cheeseburger! yum.

Making fire.

Roasting marshmallows

My MINI made a friend!

Cooking with Ryden

Ryden has set up his own work area in the kitchen and has been busy concocting all sorts of dishes! Here he is working on a breakfast shake.

 

Ryden describes his ingredients;

Ryden's tool bench and projects

Ryden has been very busy making boats, rafts, bath tub warmer, ocean warmers. "Key carrier attached to heater system explanation. The other one are cargo carriers for fishing. The other one has an anchor, makes the boat so it doesn't move around. The gold one is to carry gold around and is attached to the heater system too."
Hopefully this little movie explanation works for everyone.

Another cold swim at Pop Mounger Pool

We played at the park next door and at the soccor field for a few hours before the pool opened for evening swimming at 6:30. We ran into Clara Lansor at the pool. They were so excited to see each other, they gave each other big hugs.

At the zoo

Taking a break on the bleachers by the outdoor bird exhibit.

Elias, Ryden, Stella

Kidspace; Aspen's Graduation

Even though Ryden was unable to attend his graduation, I decided it would be fun to attend anyway. I was glad I did. It was so cute watching the children sing their songs with Sandy their music teacher and to watch the skits performed by some of the children.

Their teacher Pat had prepared a short series of comments about each child and without naming who he was talking about, the children had to guess who he was talking about. I went up to receive Ryden's flowers, award pendant and certificate for him. This also gave me the opportunity to tell the parents that we were staying in Seattle and to reconnect with the parents. There was a potluck dinner and a graduation sheet cake for dessert.

Green Lake wading pool with Tommy

We met Tommy and his mom at the Green Lake wading pool on this very hot day. We played freeze tag outside the pool and inside the pool. Ryden is a very fast runner.

JSIS bike skills and BBQ

Today Ryden got to visit his new school for the first time! This was an event organized by Kidical Mass. Unfortunately we didn't have any of Ryden's bikes up here in Seattle, but he still had a lot of fun playing with squirt guns, running through the water spray tower and watching the trials race for families.

Afterwards we went to the BBQ at Kevin and Melissa's. It was nice to meet new families with kids who will also be attending the Japanese program at John Stanford International School.

A Fire Garden

You can't see it in these photos, but this water and metal sculpture also has a fire element to it. Ryden and I met Chris Kurjan at this blacksmith in South Seattle and got a tour of their facilities and how they made the beautifully twisted metal pieces. This sculpture will appear at the crossroad at Burning Man this year.

Monger Pool

On Thursday evening we went to Monger Pool to meet with Melissa and Kim and their kids. Ryden was enthusiastic. He had on arm wings, but wasn't ready to swim on his own. We will keep going  so he can get mored used to it all.

Ryden's last day at Kidspace