KidsOutAndAbout.com newsletter

Sent March 7, 2008

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Dear KOA readers:

Wow, that virus that's zipping around the area chose our house this week. What a doozy. It affected all of us in different ways: headache, congestion, exhaustion, no desire to eat, and, in Madison's case, particularly ugly bronchitis and fevers. It's so hard watching one's child suffer like that, knowing that the best one can do is Tylenol, a humidifier, and running the shower to fill the bathroom with steam so she can sit there and breathe easier for a little while. One comfort to a mom, though, is the fact that one's *very presence* is actually the best kind of care--Madison told me several times, "I'm so glad you're here, there's nothing like a mom for making a sick person feel better." I felt a kind of paradoxical exhilaration in this, as though I was fulfilling the exact role nature intended (or maybe it was just the lack of sleep affecting my brain!). I remember feeling similarly while breast feeding. I guess this emotion must be evolutionarily beneficial; why else would a parent positively *want* to be up with a sick child night after night? Of course, I thought, as one does, "I wish it was me rather than her"--and hey, I got my wish! Sort of. I got it too, though not nearly as bad as poor Madison. We're all better now, it seems. Knock wood. David snapped that photo of me and Ella above -- while not particularly flattering, it kind of expresses what we were busy doing this week.

Anyway, that is my excuse for having been a little late this week in posting new giveaways, additions to the Parent-Recommended Preschool List, Summer Camps, etc. Sorry about that!

2) Speaking of giveaways, there are several new live ones on the Giveaway page at http://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/city-articles/giveaways.html:

Marie Avallone, of Salon Hermitage, is offering a gift certificate for $15 toward an adult haircut or an adult hair service. That drawing is Sunday.

Greece Athena Middle School Theatre is giving away Director’s Row tickets for a family of four to the Thursday, March 27 performance of Peter Pan at the Athena Performing Art Center. Drawing is Monday, March 17.

Leslie Tomanovich, a professional papercrafter and Close To My Heart Independent Consultant, is offering the chance to win a "My Acrylix" stamp set worth $22.95. That drawing is also Monday, March 17.

The Bach Children's Chorus is giving away a family four-pack of tickets to their annual Gala at the RIT Inn & Conference Center on April 5 at 6:30pm. After a concert by Bach Children's Chorus and the Mozart Children's Chorus, kids go to their own set of rooms for a pizza party and entertainment while the parents enjoy food, wine, music, and a fundraising auction.

Last but not least, I am offering a drawing for a set of books from Footprint Press, great family guides to our great Rochester outdoors. The reason I am offering this is because they sent me a set to offer for the Bach Children's Chorus auction (see above), and one for me to offer on KOA.

See the Giveaway page at http://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/city-articles/giveaways.html for information on how to enter all of these giveaways.

3) Speaking of giveaways, congratulations to Tom from Rochester and Gillian from Rochester, the two winners of a season's worth of produce for 2008 from Windy Meadow Farms in Walworth. If you are interested in subscribing to their service ($10 per week for produce picked up from one of many Rochester-area locations, or $15 per week for produce delivered directly to your home), see their web site at www.windymeadowfarms.com. They will be receiving free membership for pick-up for the 2008 Season.

4) Speaking (above) of the Bach Children's Chorus, those of you who read the newsletter regularly know that my daughter Madison sings in the Chorus, and my younger daughter Ella sings in their little-sister group, the Mozart Children's Chorus. Can you guess why they elected me head of the Auction Donation Committee for their fundraising Gala? If any of you has a Rochester-area business or organization that would like some visibility to several hundred people that evening, please consider donating an item or service for the auction. Contact me at ross@kidsoutandabout.com if you have an idea for a donation.

5) Geva Theatre Center Conservatory announces auditions for its annual Summer Academy. Auditions are open to area students, ages 12 - 18, of all levels of experience. This year's theme is Musical Theatre, and students selected for the program will take classes in acting, rehearsal/production, song preparation, ensemble singing, monologues, voice and diction, movement and expansions. Auditions will be held at Geva Theatre Center, 75 Woodbury Blvd, on Thursday, March 27 and Friday, March 28 from 3-6pm and Saturday, March 29 from 10am - 6pm. Enrollment is limited to thirty students. Tuition for the program is $850. Full and partial scholarships are available. To schedule an appointment, phone (585)232-1366, ext 3035. You can find more information about the Academy at http://gevatheatre.org/education/theatre.php.

6) My husband David is a math professor at RIT, and he just finished the winter quarter, teaching Calculus III, which was for him a sobering and somewhat discouraging experience. His impression that students' abilities in mathematics have declined dramatically in recent years is shared by most of the other professors in that department: The math that students tend to be taught in high school does not prepare them for what they will need in college if they want to have a career in any kind of science. "A" students are often shocked that what they were taught isn't what they need to know, he says. He has a very interesting article on the way math is taught, which is even more relevant today than when he wrote it a few years ago. That is at http://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/main-articles/MathWars.html.

Coincidentally, a KOA reader, Carolyn (thanks, Carolyn!), sent me a link to this article from yesterday's Wall Street Journal that showed that students' declining math abilities were the subject of a presidential study commissioned in 2006. The conclusions that the committee reached are related to those that David lays out in that article on the Math Wars. The WSJ article, called Education Panel Lays Out Truce In Math Wars, is at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120465579132610785-email.html.

David says that the most important thing you can do to prime kids to do math well is to "make numbers their friends" from a very early age. Never act as though math is a spooky monster--even if you yourself weren't well taught, and therefore feel insecure about your own abilities. Ask questions like "How many? How long? How much? What would happen if?" Find math games to play at the dinner table, in the car, out on a hike. I will be gathering math game resources and putting them together in an article, so if you have favorite books or games, please send them to me at ross@kidsoutandabout.com and I'll add them to the list I'm compiling.

6)What's going on this weekend?

There is a Fancy Nancy Party tonight at the Webster Barnes & Noble at 7pm.

A bunch of Easter events:

Easter Basket Drive/Dance Camp at JP Dance Academy on Saturday, free with donation of a filled Easter basket.

Breakfast with Mr. E. Bunny Saturday morning at Gates Recreation & Parks.

Bunnicula: A Children's Mystery Musical performances March 8 (Sat), 14, and 15.

There is a Winter Carnival at Christ the King School on Saturday from 10-4.

The New Airplay with Jeff and Loopy will be at the Pittsford Community Library Saturday at 2pm.

Both days this weekend there will be a special Moms and Tots Consignment Event at Medley Centre in Irondequoit.

Speaking of shopping, the Rochester Retailers Association is having a shopping event to benefit the Breast Cancer Coalition, "Rochester Retailers' Show & Sale/What Women Really Want Adventure Weekend. It will be at the Woodcliff (off Route 96 in Fairport), with 35 local stores all with great discounts. It's Sunday, from 10am-4pm.

Bay View YMCA is having their monthly Youth Night for ages 8-12 at 7pm Saturday evening.

The 2pm Sunday weekly nature hike out at Genesee Country Nature Center in Mumford is entitled "Naturalist's Choice". Their annual Sap, Syrup, and Sugar event starts next Sunday, March 16, by the way, and runs three weekends through March 30.

Gardenscape 2008! is NEXT weekend, Thursday March 13 to Sunday, March 16. I'm up for a little green, aren't you?

Remember, to view the whole calendar (there's a lot more than just the highlights), go to http://rochester.kidsoutandabout.com/calendar-search-display.php?dr=tw&EventCity=1

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