Rockin' 50s Show

Emmett's kindergarten class was part of a 50's singing and dancing extravanganza at Henry Elementary. It was amazing! The kids all dressed up and they sang and danced really well. This is a picture of the boys with E's kinder teacher, Ms. Woolen. And another during our walk to the school before the performance. Such cute, tough little guys!

Water Day at Henry!

They did a full water day at Henry today, with the Fire Department and major quirt guns and everything. The kids and faculty loved it!

The chicks hatched!

Emmett's kindergarten class obtained 17 fertilized chicken eggs in early March. They were meticulously maintained by his kinder teacher, Ms. Woolen, with Kirsten's supervision (as the community chicken expert). 16 of them hatched over Spring Break last week and they were so tiny and cute. We sold 8 of them to community members looking to start their own home flocks and gave 2 to another kindergarten family. SInce hatching, they have lived on/near our breakfast bar in a rubbermaid bin... until this morning. This morning, Kirsten built them a pen using some old shelving that was in our salvage pile. The 10 day old chicks got to spend their first time in the dirt and the sunshine. They are so cute!

That's our dog, Maxie, trying to figure out how she can catch and eat them. She hasn't been too happy about us having baby chicks in the house and out of her reach, but she's getting used to them slowly. Emmett is also sitting in the pen with them, he is proving to be a very good chicken Daddy.

Rodeo Days

In Tucson, there is a large celebration of the rodeo every February.
This includes two days off of school and a parade every year. Emmett and his classmates were encouraged to dress up as cowboys and cowgirls the day before their "Rodeo Vacation". Emmett got into it, along with quite a few other boys in his class (the one shown is Adam in the same kinder class)... the girls were more reticent. Harrison chose Kirsten's snow hat and a favorite sweatshirt in perfect three year old fashion :)

We missed the parade this year because I had too much work to do and the boys decided they didn't want to get up and get going that early on a special day off. I think we'll try harder to make it to the parade next year, Emmett seems particularly interested right now.

Supporting Henry Elementary

Our local elementray school is Henry Elementary. It is walking distance from our house and is located on a beautiful piece of land that is spacious and well-maintained. There are many devoted staff members at this school and a number of devoted families, as well. BUT... the school is struggling. Struggling with a limited funding pool that has to make the impossible decision between having a full-time principal, lower class sizes, and adequate supplies for the teachers and office requirements. Struggling with a number of children whose parents are unable or unwilling to support their children or the school. Struggling within a school district (TUSD) that has the worst $ to student ratio in Arizona due to declining enrollment and a slow to respond bureaucracy. Struggling within a state that is now coming in dead LAST in funding per pupil in the entire country... LAST (I'm so sad and embarrassed to live in a place that devalues children and education so much).

For the 2009-2010 school year, Emmett and Harrison started attending Henry Elementary. Emmett is in the kindergarten class with Ms. Woolen. Harrison is in the ABLE program with Mr. Bob, Ms. Donna, and Ms. Arlene. Our family has quickly become an integral part of the Henry community. This community is in an important transition time, looking to bring a smaller, near-by school into the fold. We are hopeful that the new resources, new devoted families, and new staff members will help revitalize Henry so it can reinvent itself. Kirsten and I are hoping to help with this by bringing energy, devotion, good ideas, steady attendance and attention, and most importantly a focus on the tenets of attachment parenting with all the children we encounter and all things sustainable. Please send us energy for this thankless and seemingly insurmountable effort. Also, please consider sending paper and glue sticks for the classrooms... we have three months left in this school year and are just about out, with no additional funding in sight for at least another 5 years.