Well Dante’s fist day of school went very well indeed. He got his same teacher as preschool which he was very happy about. He only had class for one hour today and was also happy to inform me there were only a little bit of kids in his class. He will be in class full day by Friday, the school has a gradual transition for all kindergardeners. There were several kids I had expected to be in his class from preschool last year who were not which was a little bummer but he was just fine.Anika will have a full day and upon meeting her teacher this morning I knew she was going to love her, very sweet teacher. Anika was a little concerned her teacher might be mean. Most of the kids in her class were the same as last year so I am sure she will find much comfort in the familiarity of that.Well here goes….a new school year and a much anticipated year at that. I am besides myself…excited yet at the same time feeling an unusual amount of anxiety about this new season in life for myself. I wonder if this is similar to empty nest syndrome…i would guess in some minor way there are similarities.
So I ended up not getting the High School Musical shirts because the girl cut was just not working for Dante but here they are in the dressing room trying them on.Both kids are so totally into HSM I’m not sure if and when I should be concerned. Already the teenie bopper posters are on the wall and on their school notebooks, they know way more facts and trivia than I care to admit, and the fact that HSM2 comes out Friday has got us postponing cancelling cable….ay…ay…aySent from my iPhone 
at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. The museum is still under major renovation and what is there is not necessarily the greatest but this little stage made the trip completely worthwhile. Kids just go behind the curtain, dress up and make-up whatever they want (no adult direction whatsoever). It is total creative play all on their own and the longer we were there (hours) the more ideas they came up with and the more confident they became in their stage presence…even Dante. Also, it turns out, Anika is quite the director though she says acting is the best part. Lots of other kids came and went and Anika and Dante would somehow just work (play) with whoever happened to be around at the time. And to think they both started out as just wanting to be curtain opener and closers…
I am truly humbled…after all the ups and downs when it comes to school…i couldn’t ask for anything more… I knew Anika was doing well overall…but not this well:
We are so PROUD of you Anika!!!
Once again we celebrate another little accomplishment as Anika confidently presents her “All About Central Park” book to her class, teachers and parents. Truthfully I was torn and literally brought to tears as I thought about it later throughout the day. I’ll explain why. Anika was the third presenter of the day. Like I’ve said before, her class is made up kids with learning difficulties, ESL students who are totally new to the English language (not just that they had a different 1st language while all along speaking and being familiar with English as well, I’m talking new immigrants to the country), and the rest (a handful) are probably at grade level but in comparison (to Anika) seem like they are struggling with basic academics. The first child softly struggled through one sentence and then looked up to the teacher for confirmation that he was all done and was free to return to his place on the rug. The second child managed to get through about three sentences and joyfully thanked Anika for helping her with the assignment. Each child did their book on their topic of choice, this little girl had also picked Central Park.And then comes Anika…Melvin posted the video on his blog as well. (Allforces.com)Yes, Mel put the whole thing in there. Immediately there was a silence and an atmosphere of total awe. The were given free choice on how to present and Anika made up her mind that she was going to read her book dedicated to her “Titi Ari.” Yes, after the dedication she read the table of contents including all 17 entries! She is innocently unaware of the context around her and poised as can be and dauntlessly continues on. The sore throat that she woke up with that morning was not even an afterthought. The kids were alloted a total of 3 minutes per presentation. At about 6.5 minutes the teacher suggested she pick one last thing to to share that she thought was a must. Anika thought about it for a second and then poignantly stated three more parts of her book. Everyone broke out in cathartic laughter not that she was almost done but because her presentation was so noticeably above and beyond all expectations. Anika did not understand this laughter (she later confirmed) but nonetheless proceeded concluding with the sharing of her painting which again was a project that stood out like mount Kilimanjaro. When she brought the assignment home I really didn’t think a painting was all that, for us it was a great opportunity to teach Anika about photography and some basics in painting like shading and highlights, I really thought it was quite simple and I had all the materials taking up space in the back so why not? The thing is that several kids never completed their projects, many made simple drawings, and a few made dioramas one of which looked like a parent had a field day with. Like I said, there are just a handful of kids in what I would consider the average 2nd grade ability range. Well you get the picture (no pun intended).Now why am I torn…I am torn that as good as it was I know Anika’s can do so much more that what you saw there. I am torn because the classroom next to hers is full of kids who are Anika’s academic peers but there is a huge divide in the system and at this time it we are locked out of it. I am torn because I know this system is just a reflection society and the less fortunate always seem to end up at the bottom. I am torn because I empathize with the moms of the kids who are struggling. I empathize for those who have no hope of ever crossing that divide because they didn’t pass some “test”. I worry about Dante entering this system since he is so quiet at school though I have no doubt in his abilities or his intrinsic value for that matter. I think, how fortunate am I to have the troubles I do, yet I am still torn. I struggle being patient with the system or even the thought of being part of it yet I recognize this is life. I constantly remind myself that in the grand scheme of life this really is not that big a deal. People live through incredible dire circumstances (much more intense/significant than this) and not only survive, but thrive and go on to live amazing lives fulfilling each of their unique purposes. Not only that a great “formal” education guarantees nothing, I hear stories of the opposite happening all the time as well. Sometimes I loose perspective. I choose to trust God and be patient, but I struggle.You may wonder what Melvin thinks about all of this, he has a blog entry as well. You can see it here. Yes this is pretty reflective of our lives. Why do I make things so complicated? Ay ay ay….
A while back Anika announced that her favorite subject was science so in an effort to promote this positive interest we bought a little kit for her.
Today Melvin helped Anika complete the “spinning generator” and the “light flashing generator”. She was absolutely engrossed in the projects and it became a good chunk of quality time for father and daughter let alone all the “light bulbs that went on.”"spinning motor”
It’s school project time again. This time the kids had to do an artistic representation of an All About Book they are writing in class. Anika’s topic is Central Park thus our many walks and picture taking which led to a painting.This was the picture Anika picked for her painting— Belvedere Castle.
I walked her through sketching the general layout and painting the background and Melvin walked her through shadows and highlights and a couple of painting techniques like “dry brushing” for the reflection in the water. She did all of the work herself. Techniques were demonstrated on a scratch paper.
Here is the final product.
14×20 Acrylic