School 180

Thanks to the Google Earth Blog I was alerted to tonight's lunar eclipse, and I was excited to get some use out of the ol' telescope.

So, with the eclipse already underway as I drove home from work, I ran into the house and said to Big K, "Are you excited about the lunar eclipse?!"
"Lunar WHAT?" she said.
"You know, the eclipse!?!"
"What are you talking about?"
Obviously this wasn't covered in school today. : (

So - over dinner we covered the basic facts of an eclipse and then ran upstairs to see the moon just as it came over the hills. We had a perfect - dare I say - stunning view of the whole event. A great day for my young astronomers!






In case you missed it, this is what it looked like. Absolutely spectacular!


Photo Credit: Asociación Argentina "Amigos de la Astronomía"

It's science project time! And Little K did his first science project on music. Pretty cool. He followed the tried and true formula for making a rock band:

1. Make your own instruments (guitar, flute, drums, maraca, xylophone)

2. Give your band a cool name like "Picachu!"

3. Produce a cool music video like the one above

I don't know how much "science" was involved, but he sure had fun! And that's the most important thing. Anyone else have cool science project stories?

Sorry no new videos for the last few months... we've been a little busy. ; )

Speaking of which... please welcome the latest member of the Fitzgerald-Walsh Clan: Baby Q!

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Just getting back to things after a nice long Thanksgiving break... While I was trying to stay awake at work, Big K and her Brownie troop were visiting the local police station learning how to keep our community safe - one muffin at a time.

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In the grand tradition of Thanksgiving, we spent our day on the hunt for turkeys! Ok - it was at the zoo. But these birds were formidable opponents, often disguising themselves as other animals just to throw us off their track.

DISCLAIMER: No actual turkey's were harmed in the filming of this video. But what happens off camera - stays off camera. Gobble! Gobble!

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What do you get when you cross a local fundraiser with an late night ice cream run? Gooey Dewey!


What are some other creative flavor ideas for our new national education fundraiser? And who should be our celebrity spokesperson?

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A few random moments from the school's Halloween Carnival. The event is run entirely by parents. Doesn't make a whole lot of money for the school, but everyone seems to have fun. A nice, community event. A great example of how schools really are at the heart of our communities.

P.S. A shout out to Mrs. L! How many other principals would dress up as a bag of Jelly Belly's and lead the parade with the kindergartners?! Good stuff, even if she is a Cal fan. : ) Go Bruins!

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Dr. Noize rocks! The kids and I went to see our good friend Dr. Noize today, and he was mega-fantastic. This bootleg video of the concert doesn't do him justice (sorry), but it does give you a sense of the kind of energy he puts into his shows.

One of my favorite things about Dr. N (yes - we're actually that close) is that he seamlessly weaves music education into his concerts. You can't help but walk away feeling more musically inclined, and he even let's the kids rock-out with his equipment at the end of the show.

We predict that Dr. Noize is going to be B-I-G, BIG! And we hope everyone spreads the word. Rock on, Dr.

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Went to Yahoo today for a summit on "Cyber Citizenship." It was organized by my good friends at CTAP Region 5, and it featured speakers and panelists discussing a wide-range of issues related to child safety on the Internet.

While I think this is an important issue, it should come as no surprise that I think most of it comes down to common sense: know what your kids are doing on the Net, teach them to be respectful to others, and teach them how to deal with inappropriate content. Duh.

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As a native Californian, I think I'm on safe ground saying that most Californian's don't know how to deal with rain or bad weather. Nowhere is this more apparent than during morning drop-off at the school - where a little sprinkle leads to a huge traffic jam. Parents would rather have their kids be a little late to school than run the risk of getting a little wet.

The irony is that most kids LOVE getting wet. So, in our house, we can't wait until the rainy season is here. We whip out the bright rain coats and rain boots and stomp around like Gene Kelly. Of course, Gene didn't have to contend with oversized SUV's during the school rush hour, so we need to be a little more careful as we dance into school. Today's video doesn't show the kids in their rain gear - but I'm certain we'll have plenty of opportunities in the coming months.

Thanks for helping me survive the rain, Jeff! Where can I get a MONSTER umbrella like that?