Archive for the 'Education' Category

Private School is Nice

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Yesterday and today, I volunteered at Kelly’s school. My contract has been held up ( I often fear, permanently), so I finally decided to take advantage of it and do what I’d done years previously–and work on my childrens’ education.
Understandably, I was nervous about volunteering. Going into the local neighborhood classroom to volunteer last year [...]

My Alice in Wonderland Year

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Personally, 2009 has been a year full of the unexpected. I got a job; Neil discovered a math community; Kelly went to private school; and Peter may be on the cusp of a new direction. I’m not quite sure what to make of it all, much less what to expect for 2010, but it has [...]

Emo Classical

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Yes, it has been 6 weeks since I last updated my blog–odd for someone who used to post multiple blog entries a day. Despite my best intentions, my job became became less optional–we depend on it now. That said, the job and I have grown to suit one another, I find the field I’m working [...]

Almaden Lake 2009

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

Neil and I finally got back into our PE routine, and took a bike ride around Almaden Lake, just like we had done last Fall.

Alice in Stanford Wonderland

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

Last week, Neil went to a full-day camp on the Stanford campus to learn how to do 3D modelling in Maya. He enjoyed the camp, but the week turned out to be an adventure not only about that, but beyond that as well.
For one thing, Neil’s friend Bill Gosper lives near Stanford, and he stopped [...]

Music in the Park and a Dream on the Square

Friday, June 12th, 2009

I was pleasantly surprised to find out, on a recent trip to the farmer’s market downtown, that one of the little theatres was going to be putting on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s been fun to insert Shakespeare plays into our history education, but the result has been hit or miss. The 1953 movie version [...]

A Visit to Star Route Farms

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Paul and Mary are visiting. Before they came, they told Peter Paul had reconnected with one of his college track team buddies who happened to own an organic farm in Marin, and that they planned to take a day to visit him. I turned it into a field trip for Charybdis and Scylla. Farms are [...]

A Visit from Bill Gosper

Monday, May 25th, 2009

A few weeks ago, Neil happened to meet famous mathematician Bill Gosper at the Julia Robinson Math Festival. Gosper and Neil kept in touch via email afterwards (both keeping me in the loop). Finally, Peter and I dared to invite Gosper over for dinner. He accepted, at which point Peter and I wondered whatever could [...]

Kelly Escapes Public School, Again

Monday, May 18th, 2009

On Saturday, Peter and I received the news that Kelly did not make it into Hacienda (the science magnet), and her spot on the waiting list to get in was #278. Peter, in particular, was crushed. Last year, when the waiting list had only 130 children, she was 3 up from the bottom of the [...]

Grumpy & Condescending at the Legion of Honor

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

This April has not been a good month for me, but I’m trying to make it work. In particular, field trips and parties make for nice diversions, and this month alone (among other fun adventures) we had a wonderful visit to the Exploratorium; found a lone banana slug in the remote Portola Redwoods; and had [...]

by Carolyn Bickford