neat playgrounds

I came across this link on my friend Jennie's blog - it shows unusual playgrounds from around the world.

I can really appreciate some of the creative directions taken in their playstructures! It was a mental feast as I imagined my kids playing on some of them (the rooftop one LOOKS neat, but I really don't like the idea of a ROOFTOP playground... at all!)

I'll throw in a little review of the Bethel playgrounds. The best kept secret is the one out in FAA Sub near the airport. Great for the 2-5 year olds. I could take Rosalie, Perpetua and Andrew there and not have a problem with unsafe situations. It's enclosed, trash free and has nice wood chips for the ground.

There's the well known and ever popular Owl Park. It's the place to be for older kids (including some who have nowhere else to go and are really too old for the playground). If you get there early, chances are there will be less trash and fewer unattended children/stray dogs. We try to get there early. It's not fabulous for those with exuberant toddlers, who will want to test their mettle against the equipment which offers several ways for them to endanger themselves- but it's great for the 4+ set. The elementary school holds an end-of-school field trip each year where they walk to and have lunch at Owl Park. There's a NICE system of boardwalks (nice scenery) behind it that links up with City Sub.

For some quiet fun, go find Wally's Park by KUC in City Sub. My kids know it as "the train park" and the 7 and 8 year olds like the trains, while they actually have an infant swing (only one, and the only one I've seen in Bethel), and a nice slide.

In City Sub out near the Log Cabin there are a couple of new-ish play areas. There's the skate park (nice, again, in the mornings) for the older kids to ride bikes on; we've taken the kids there and rollerskated as well. There's a rope climbing structure. And there are several very old, very well loved (ie, not in the best shape) spring riding animals, a board that jiggles, a log rolling contraption... probably not the safest but my kids have enjoyed it when we're out that way.

There's a random "park" over in Tundra Ridge - we've never played there, it looks pretty neglected (anyone, help me out, is that actually a city maintained park?) and I do know one friend whose son impaled their leg on a pipe there - if I'm remembering correctly. We've avoided that one. Not only do we not live in TR, but it's really nothing to look at...

So yeah. Someday, I will live in a community with awesome playstructures. And until that time, my kids will appreciate the heck out of any we happen to encounter in the meantime!

all the monsters are smiling...

I'm in the process of printing off coloring pages for the kids. Right now, it's the girls - pictures of puppies.

However, I'm thinking ahead for when Aaron comes home. He's been drawing some fantastic pictures of many eyed, tentacled monsters or aliens... so I figured I'd print off some for him to color.

I do a google search for 'monster coloring page' and the overwhelming majority of the pictures are smiling, sesame-street type things. What I want is ferocious, the more eyes the better, if it has more or less than the standard two-arms-two-legs fare, the better.

I realize most people who are looking for coloring sheets are probably in the toddler-to-preschool age range, but what kid doesn't like coloring? Is it too much to ask that a monster not smile and look cuddly? I did find some ferocious dragon pictures that are old favorites for the boys that are printing now, but let's branch out a bit.

Surely I can't be the only parent whose children are interested in these things!

family on the way

We welcomed Allen back to Bethel (with temps of -14 yesterday) Wednesday morning. He brought 150+ lbs of luggage back. Arrived at the luggage scales to find he had 3 58 lb bags, so he took 24 lbs out and put it in his carryon. I'm glad he had the room. This is after he gave my dad a 50 lb bag to bring out tonight.

Which brings us to item two on the agenda... My dad is going to arrive this evening (Alaska Airlines permitting) for a couple days of visiting before he heads home to Ketchikan. The children are very excited. I wish the weather were warmer for our visit but I'm sure it will be filled with good times anyway.

Parent-teacher conferences last night went well. There are plans afoot to step up Aaron's curriculum a little, which we are very pleased with. It was noted that instead of restating a story, Aaron would write it down verbatim. They are going to offer him some more challenging material to see if that will give him more leeway to think creatively (I am very happy about this too!).

The kids don't have school tomorrow, so we plan on a nice relaxing day, visiting with my dad and hanging out at the house...

UPS "2nd Day Air" and rural Alaska

I ordered something from a photo shop on the East Coast and was given numerous (surprisingly reasonably priced) shipping options. Through some silly coincidence of pricing, UPS 2nd Day Air was actually within $5 of the USPS Priority Mail cost. Given that this is a large item and prone to damage, I opted to pay the extra $5 and have it sent 2nd Day Air.

I knew going into it that 2nd Day Air didn't mean I'd see it "soon". Here's the breakdown right now:

Location	Date	Local Time	DescriptionWhat's This?
ANCHORAGE, AK, US	11/16/2009	7:03 A.M.	THE ADDRESS IS IN A REMOTE AREA AND DELIVERIES ARE NOT MADE DAILY
	11/16/2009	7:03 A.M.	DESTINATION SCAN
ANCHORAGE, AK, US	11/13/2009	6:58 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE, KY, US	11/13/2009	4:07 P.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	11/13/2009	11:07 A.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
JAMAICA, NY, US	11/13/2009	8:51 A.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	11/13/2009	6:03 A.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
SECAUCUS, NJ, US	11/13/2009	2:20 A.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
SECAUCUS, NJ, US	11/12/2009	10:03 P.M.	ARRIVAL SCAN
MASPETH, NY, US	11/12/2009	8:52 P.M.	DEPARTURE SCAN
	11/12/2009	7:53 P.M.	ORIGIN SCAN
US	11/12/2009	6:15 P.M.	BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

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Still reasonable, and sooner than I'd have seen it otherwise (and there's a weekend thrown in there) if it was sent USPS. However, I happen to know the UPS lady (she's my neighbor) and she does indeed make deliveries daily. Maybe they mean that items in the Anchorage receiving point aren't shipped out to Bethel on a daily basis (??)

The only reason I looked it up is that I was hoping/expecting it'd be here today, but no dice. Says ETA tomorrow. We'll see! I can only hope it made it on the plane sometime today and will be in my hot little hands tomorrow. I find it impressive, and amusing, that a large item can make it from New York state to Anchorage, Alaska in 23 hours and then it takes an additional 84-96 hours to get from Anchorage to Bethel (assuming it shows up tomorrow).

here's what happy looks like!

in case you ever wondered. She blew out the candles before we finished singing and found that very amusing. Her official 5th birthday is in exactly 2 weeks!



Her party was hopping, a lot of fun! Several of the girls in the picture above she has "grown up" with. Even with the transient nature of residence in this town you see a lot of people who have been here at least 5 years!

Hello, Kitty!

Here's Perpetua Genevieve's birthday cake. Her party is tomorrow (she will be 5 on the 27th, but has a host of friends with late November & early December birthdays, so we bumped hers up). It still needs some whiskers, but I hope to find some black licorice in town to do that.

another letter home from Gladys Jung School

I received a letter from my 8 year old 3rd grader this afternoon sent by the principal of the Gladys Jung School.

It elaborates that:

"Our school has not made AYP for 5 years. Because of this, our school is designated as being in School Improvement. This means the school will be doing extra planning to find ways to improve student achievement, asking for more participation by parents to help your students succeed, and directing some resources specifically towards school improvement efforts.

School Improvement also means that your child is eligible to receive free tutoring outside of regular school hours under a program called Supplemental Educational Services, or SES. All students who qualify for free and reduced lunch are eligible for this program."

Attached is a second piece of paper with a sign up sheet listing two options:

___ Yes: Enroll my child in the program for free supplemental educational services
___ No: I decline these supplemental educational services for my child

Now here comes the reason for my writing this post.

1. We are not, and never have been, eligible for free or reduced lunches. Save the paper and don't send it home with my child.

2. Aren't ALL the students in the school subject to the same learning environment while at school? It chaps my hide to no end that my child, who could benefit from learning enrichment like any other child, is disqualified from these taxpayer funded "services" on the basis of income level. My son sits next to any number of children in the same classroom who could take advantage of this program, but he cannot - because of my husband's earning potential. (Please note: I love his teacher, and this is in no way a reflection on her - we always have, and will continue to, supplement our children's education outside of school because that's the way we work.)

I would not begrudge a 'disadvantaged' person extra help if they need it. But in the arena of taxpayer funded public education, if you are aiming to improve learning environments (or... shhh... TEST SCORES!), every child deserves an equal opportunity for access to academic enrichment. If there's a limited amount of funding to go around, let interested parents submit their children's names in a lottery and draw based on that. Public schools are all about "giving everyone a chance", right?

One might argue that with our income level, we should go buy our own educational services if we want them. It's true we have the option to. I already do spend a portion of our money on supplemental educational material for all of our children. However, when the taxpayer-funded pie gets doled out - it's putting children of parents whose income is above a certain level at an arbitrary disadvantage. Economically disadvantaged students are not "more worthy" of their slice of the pie than children whose families happen to earn more - they are ALL at the same school, in the same learning environment, from 8:45-3:15 Monday through Friday.

I checked the "NO" box, and then crossed out the part that states "I decline these supplemental educational services for my child" and wrote in "we do not qualify for free/reduced lunches and are therefore not eligible, but we do not 'decline'. We aren't offered an option to accept".*

I'm sure it'll get filed away with the others, not noticed, and things will carry on without a blip on the radar.

*as for why I filled it out - there is an incentive of "goal slips" for tomorrow, and that's been offered for bringing back the paperwork filled out. At least those are awareded on the basis of an action taken.