On the Radio

Since late January, Will has been going to school every Tuesday at 7:00a to practice with the 4th grade choir for 45 minutes before classes begin. Their Spring choral presentation was a musical number that required quite a bit of practice.

By mid-March, the 4th grade choir joined the 5th grade choir for joint rehearsals. They practiced every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Finally on April 29th, we got to see the finished product.

Parents & students crowded into the cafe/auditorium for a history of radio music presented by KYDZ Radio.

Here is a picture of the entire stage from my viewpoint. There were tons of kids in this production. Some had speaking or dancing parts.



Jacob was sitting down front so the video is filmed from a "Will-cam" point-of-view. Some of the microphones were malfunctioning so I edited out the portions where the dialogue isn't audible. Will worked really hard on this project and we're very proud of him.

Part One


Part Two

My Birthday by Charlie

On my birthday I went to a hockey game with my dad. I got to meet Chubby the Polar Bear. He’s the team mascot. I really liked the Eyeball Race. It’s where people dressed in eyeball suits. I love hockey!

After that I went to Dunkin Donuts. I got an éclair.

Let's Dance

Will and Charlie started taking hip-hop dance lessons last September. By November, Will was asked to join a dance team of 7 - 9 year olds for the purpose of competing in regional dance meets. We originally chose Studio1 Talent because it is a relaxed environment for the kids to learn dance, so I wasn't immediately sold on the idea of competition. But the instructor assured us that she wanted them to have fun and not get stressed-out. Will, ever the optimist, wanted to give it a try.

He spent his Saturday mornings rehearsing with his group -- sometimes just the boys & sometimes the whole gang. It was only for an hour so it wasn't too hard on our schedule. Since November they've done two exhibition shows. One was for parents of the dance studio and the other was at a Dance4Haiti fundraiser.

This past weekend was their first time performing in competition. We spent the day in Lexington, South Carolina where they competed against hundreds of other kids from other studios. Luckily there was a "recreational" dance category for teams who only meet once a week. Some of the other groups were considered true "competition" teams. They meet 4 or more times each week and have costumes worth $200+. Their routines were extremely refined and their dancers looked pageant-ready. It was a little unsettling for me. And it was fairly intimidating for our kids.

Overall, I think it was a good learning experience for the team. While they waited, they got to sit in the audience and watch some of the other routines. Their instructor gave them a pep talk before they went onstage and reminded them that they didn't have to be the best, they just needed to do their best.

I got some video of the routine. I apologize for the quality -- it was filmed in stealth-mode. Video cameras weren't allowed in the auditorium. The tournament sponsors want us to buy an official DVD. Oops, oh well.



All the hard work paid off. Not only did they win a 1st place trophy for their routine, they were also picked as best overall team in the "Recreational" category for their age group. I believe that is a credit to their enthusiasm, positive attitude and teamwork.

Weird Science

April 9th (Friday) was our Spring Break Science Day. The theme was chosen by Charlie and he was anxiously anticipating this day all week. I had prepared several experiments for them from ideas I found in Family Fun magazine and from education.com.

Our first concoction was Homemade Hair Gel with Glitter. The water had to boil, then once the gelatin was added, had to cool for 2 hours before adding the glitter. Our first attempt failed when old gelatin clumped together instead of mixing smoothly. No worries -- our 2nd attempt worked perfectly. We put the bowl in the refrigerator and moved on to experiment #2 -- Lava Lamp.



We put cooking oil, water & food coloring in an old juice bottle. Instead of heat, we used Alka-Seltzer tablets to propel the water through the oil. This turned out to be their favorite experiment of the day. Next I had planned to show them how the carbon dioxide created by fermenting yeast would fill up a balloon. Only I couldn't find the dang balloons! The boys were disappointed. And when a neighbor invited them over to watch a movie, they bailed out. Meanwhile I searched high & low for those balloons (never found them, though).

After a movie break, they were ready for more science. Using online instructions, I had set up a pile of pennies, washers and lemon-juice soaked paper towels. The idea was that if they were stacked up properly, it would create a battery and make the boys' fingers tingle. It was a good idea in theory, but it didn't work for us. I'm not sure if our washers weren't zinc-coated like I thought or if there wasn't enough copper in our pennies (though I did use coins pre-1948). Regardless, we moved our operation outside for experiment #4 - Baking Soda Volcano



This is the experiment that Will was most anticipating. He had heard about spectacular science fair volcano demonstrations and wanted to re-create one himself. I even got them safety glasses in case things got out-of-hand. Following the directions from the magazine, I let them load up the container on their own. The ensuing reaction wasn't so much an eruption as it was a sizzle. The boys were underwhelmed. They theorized that perhaps they didn't use enough vinegar. And so they tried a few more times to produce a catastrophic reaction -- to no avail. And they used up the rest of the vinegar which was needed for experiment #5 -- Acidic & Base Indicator. So our experiments concluded for the day. The hair gel was cooled so we added the glitter and I fashioned them both a new hairdo.

Spring Break - Lazy Day

The boys wanted one day of Spring Break to be a day of rest. On Thursday, we stayed inside the house all morning and most of the afternoon. We played a lively game of Scrabble. The boys spent some time playing Lego Indiana Jones & NHL Hockey on the Playstation. We didn't get out of our pajamas until it was time for violin lessons at 3p. Once we grabbed dinner from Earth Fare, we came back to the house and resumed our lazy ways. I was even too lazy to pick up the camera & take a picture. So relaxing.

Spring Break - Park Day

April 7th (Wednesday) was designated "Park Day". We intended to visit every playground in Rock Hill and a couple in Fort Mill too, if time permitted.
We started the day at our local Earth Fare market. They have a free kids' cooking class that the boys have been dying to try. And as an added bonus, some friends of ours came along too. The Crafton girls are 7 & 4 years old and we don't get to see them nearly as much as we'd like. The "cooking" project for the morning was to experiment with different fruit and see which made the best tasting smoothie. While the kids were blending, I sat with the girls' mom in the cafe area. It was so nice to eat breakfast, drink a big cup of coffee and chat with a friend -- uninterrupted!
Once the class was finished and their bellies were full of fruit, we said goodbye to the Craftons & headed out for our first park. Some early recon last week made us realize that Fewell Park had undergone so many changes that it wasn't much fun anymore. We crossed that one off our list and went straight to playground #2 -- Cedar Crest. It's been refurbished recently and the kids like it even more than they used to. The weather was beautiful and there were plenty of folks who had the same idea as us. I nabbed the last parking space!



There were lots of toddlers at the park and the boys did a great job of avoiding collisions (while racing down the slide). Parks are a great place to play -- not just on the playground equipment -- so we brought along other "recreational items". I brought out our baseball gloves and we had a game of catch. After almost an hour, the boys were ready to move on.



Our next stop was a tiny playground near the Winthrop Coliseum. I don't even know if it has a name. There is one piece of equipment, some swings, and absolutely NO seats or benches for parents. I was hoping their interest in this location would be short-lived. The kids spent some time on the swings -- something that had been removed from the previous park. But, luckily, a bathroom emergency made it necessary to go quickly to our next destination -- Cherry Park.

Cherry Park is arguably the largest park in town. In addition to a rather large playground, it has a baseball and soccer complex, indoor and outdoor picnic pavilions, foot & bike trails, and a bathroom! (several bathrooms, actually)

We took the chance to sit down and eat our picnic lunch before the boys joined the throngs & throngs of other children who were also enjoying a beautiful day at the park. Cherry Park was a little more enjoyable for Will and Charlie because there were busloads of elementary school children from local daycare centers. So they were able to join in with children their own age. They waited patiently for a turn on the swings and helped other kids gather up hundreds of caterpillars. I was the one who eventually had to insist that we move forward with our plans.



There was an older playground about 1/2 mile from Cherry Park, but once again the boys opted to skip it. They were eager to visit Rock Hill's newest park, Manchester Meadows. The soccer complex there is gorgeous. And the clubhouse is headquarters for Rock Hill Parks & Rec so the bathrooms are always clean. They have level, paved paths throughout the complex which are perfect for biking, skating, etc. The boys had chosen their preferred mode of "wheeled transportation" and were ready to get going. But you can tell from the picture that they were already running out of steam. I decided to stick with my sneakers and walked the path. But I had no trouble keeping up with my two tired little boys. After a few laps around the field, they played a while on the playground. It's the newest one in town and is equipped with a climbing wall and gymnastic rings. It has approximately 6 slides and plenty of room for kids of all ages. The boys always have fun at Manchester.

We finally headed home at 4:00p. After 5 hours at various parks we were all sweaty and I was sunburned. The boys, though exhausted, were still hoping to visit the parks in Fort Mill before Will's taekwondo class at 6:30p. But I was afraid that using up their last bit of energy would turn their moods sour & ruin our fun day. I made them a deal -- I would take them out for dinner instead. Ha! My kids can't resist food.

We went to the new Bat's BBQ next to the Food Lion on Celanese. The kids pigged out -- they were starving! If any of you locals go, I highly recommend the smoked sausage and sweet potato fries. They had just enough energy to make it through taekwondo class and get home for bed.

Sports Day

The boys & I decided to have a theme for every day of Spring Break. Yesterday (Monday) was Sports Day. We vowed to spend a big chunk of our day playing sports. The idea was to have fun but to also practice fundamental skills of each. The boys picked basketball, tennis, skateboarding, boxing and gymnastics. Their friend, Sarah, who lives nearby joined us.
We started by shooting baskets at our kid-sized goal in the driveway. I had a feeling it would be less frustrating for Charlie who isn't quite ready for regulation size.



Then we packed the car with gear and headed down the street to our neighborhood sports area. It is a combination tennis/basketball court. It's in utter disrepair but was sufficient for our needs. We played tennis for the first 45 minutes. But the court was in full-sunlight and I soon realized we had forgotten sunblock. So we opted for basketball & skating (in the shade). Luckily I did remember the water bottles and allergy pills. We may have gotten a touch of sunburn. But even with the heavy layer of pollen on every surface, we didn't have a single sneeze or asthma attack. Yay!




Once we were home & had a snack, the boys brought out their boxing gloves & sparring helmets. I thought Sarah was awfully brave to agree to get in "the ring" with my rough & tumble gang. But she's a martial arts student, just like Will, and held her own just fine. I showed them how to protect their heads & asked them to punch "respectfully". But they didn't hear a word of it. They all did their best to obliterate each other. As a result, everyone got their bell rung, got mad, and quit. So, to summarize, boxing did not go well.



We took a break for dinner and a bath. Surprisingly, the boys didn't harbor any ill feelings about the boxing row. I guess that's just part of being a kid. We had intended to make gymnastics our last sport of the evening. The boys were going to practice their handstands & backbends. But it became clear halfway through dinner that Charlie's day was coming to a close. By the end of dinner he was in full meltdown mode. He went to bed crying, with a sore behind.

Tantrums aside, it was a great day. I found out that Will can now skate like a champ -- and that he enjoys tricks that make a mom's heart stop. I was also pleasantly surprised that Charlie has fairly decent basketball skills. Enough so that I offered to send him to camp to improve them. The kids improved at all of their sports, exercised good sportsmanship and had a lot of fun (so did I).