Extracurricular

Because I work in college admissions, I use the word "extracurricular" A LOT. (I also don't usually encourage folks to start a sentence or essay with "Because," but since I have literary freedom and propriety over this blog, it's all good.) I would not, however, say that I often give a lot of thought to my own kids' extracurricular activities. Each child usually has one or two sports and piano...pretty simple. But as all parents know, after-school commitments take on a new level of importance during the doldrums of winter. Who doesn't like the chance to break up the monotony of the week and give kids a chance to get the wiggles out?! And, much to our school district's credit, we've had several wonderful extracurricular activities of late that have made our gray and cold January unusually fun.

For several winters in a row, Sammy has enjoyed indoor gymnastics classes...they're perfect on chilly, dark evenings. We hadn't planned to add another sport, but the district announced a 5-session water polo camp for 3rd grade and up, and Sam loved the idea, so we signed him up immediately. He has already had two sessions and loves it so far.

Last Friday was Culture Night at Maple Dale. I made homemade pasta sauce and six pounds of gnocchi to serve at our Italian food table. Yum!

And then Brie and buddy Macy sang the Japanese song, "一年生になったら" ("Ichinensei ni nattara," which translates to "When I become a first-grader") during the performance portion. The girls kept their composure despite the wrong song starting twice before theirs...and then mic difficulties throughout the show. Nonetheless, they sounded great and were very well-received. Here's a short clip:


I remember hearing this song for the first time while shopping at the 100-yen shop in Japan (way back in 2001) and thinking, "What a cute, catchy song!" (It's about how exciting it will be to become a first-grader and make one-hundred new friends, eat one-hundred rice balls with them at the top of Mt. Fuji, etc.) It was a real full-circle moment to hear Brie sing it on stage.

Then last Sunday, Sammy moved up the ladder to "Rockstar" status at his piano lessons. It's been awesome to watch him and Brie improve over the last year plus.

On Tuesday night, Brie and her friend Ellie participated in a dance clinic with the high school dance team. After two practices, they performed during halftime at the high school basketball game. They danced to Fitz and the Tantrums's "Handclap," which the audience loved. The girls had a blast!

 

Then today we ate at Taste of Belgium for the first time. It was delicious and fulfilled Sam's class assignment to take Findlay the pig to three Cincinnati landmarks (this restaurant chain was on the list). The food was delicious!

More this week? Sam and Brie are starting after-school enrichment on Monday....taekwondo and the variety show! And then we're headed out of town for our annual family retreat!

With all that fun, we're nearly into February. Spring is right around the corner, right? Right! ;-)

P.S. Does Sebastian have any extracurricular activities, you ask? Lately, he's majorly focused on perfecting toilet-training. We're very close! He even earned a special toy that he picked out last weekend. So much for the youngest doing things earlier to be like the older kids...Bas is in no hurry on this one!