NYCHEA Math Carnival

One of our homeschool groups held a wonderful Math Carnival on Presidents' Day. (Thanks, Leah, and all the other organizers and volunteers!)

Some of the highlights, for Mikro:

Making an abacus and learning how to use it.



Making an origami whale.



Hanging out with friends and learning from talented teens and parents.



Making Presidents' Day Fortune Tellers/Cootie Catchers:





Fun Workshops!

Music, Math & Movement:



Math Journals:



And a Math Poetry Slam, for which Mikro wrote and read (and later sang) a poem:

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Lunar New Year Celebration

We spent the day at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens Lunar New Year Celebration today. BBG is one of my all time favorite places (dating back to school fieldtrips when I was a kid). Especially the Japanese Garden. Mikro loved watching the Koi and having a picnic overlooking the water. They had craft workshops for kids (and a Chinese Brushpainting class I really wanted to take, but gave up in favor of having dinner with one of my oldest dearest friends, who I consider family, but haven't seen in way too long. Mikro loved Vicky, and made her day by telling her he wanted to stay at her house forever. He had fun with her two boys, and he shamelessly hogged her attention. A great day!

At the BBG, we enjoyed the kid's programs and the live music and dance performances greatly. But Mikro's favorite part was probably wandering the beautiful Japanese garden... and he loves his lucky bamboo plant, which he potted himself.

Dinosaurs and Origami

We were off to Manhattan to revisit the dinosaurs at the AMNH. Mikro even paid attention to some of the hands-on learning stations. He's definitely growing up and exploring the world around him more. Of course, he came home with some new Schliech dinosaurs to play with...





The origami tree was amazing and inspiring. I bought the 2008 Origami a Day calendar, and am going to try to teach myself some simple folding. Mikro really doesn't have the fine motor skills for this yet, but when he's a little older, I'd like to be able to do this with him...