ReadySetMom

New family moving to SE Portland

We just got an email from Jennifer:

I hope you can help me.  My husband and I and our 13 month old daughter will be moving to Portland at the end of December, and I want to find out about activities that my daughter and I can do together -- music classes, playgroups, story-time, etc.  I can't seem to find this info on-line.  Also, are there any parent listserves in Portland that I can join as a source of local information.  We're going to be moving to Southeast.

There's tons to do in Portland, so hopefully the move will go well, and you'll quickly get settled. The Multnomah County Library offers storytimes in all of their branches, there's Music Together, Kindermusik, LadyBug Theater, Portland Metro Moms -- truly a wealth of things for moms and kids who like to keep busy. We also have a list of things to do broken out by days of the week on our right sidebar.

Any other SE-Portland ideas for Jennifer?

Letting an older child stay home alone

My 9-year-old has just started staying home by himself for short periods of time.

The decision to allow this didn't come easily. We live in a safe neighborhood and he generally has good judgment. But I still think of him as a small kid and I watch entirely too much scary TV news. Leaving him at home by himself felt irresponsible, even though he is about the age when it is considered appropriate.

Before his first home-alone experience, we had him take a Red Cross class called, "When I'm in Charge." It covers personal safety and first aid issues, how to correctly answer the door and phone, and gun and internet safety. It was a good class that involved a lot of role playing and went over written materials that were easy to follow. The class is designed for kids 8 to 11 years old.

The first opportunity for staying home alone presented itself on an afternoon when my daughter had soccer. My son didn't feel like coming along, and since it was just for an hour and I would be only five minutes away, I agreed he could stay home. But not before we pulled out the Red Cross book, went over key points (know my cell phone number, dad's cell phone number and 911) and agreed on a phone strategy (he could answer when he heard my voice on the answering machine).

Since then, he's been home alone a couple of times. He usually calls me a few times, which is fine, and all in all it's working out. I am a natural worrywart, so we are going to continue on this path with baby steps. But it is definitely a good thing that he's learning responsibility and gaining confidence in his own judgment and abilities.

What is your experience with leaving a child home alone? At what age do you feel it is appropriate? When would you allow your child to carry a house key?

My little gymnast shows promise -- now what?

You already know my daughter takes dance. What she loves more than dance these days is gymnastics. And apparently she's pretty good at it because her teachers are urging me to put her in a "developmental," or advanced, class.

Currently, we head over to the Oregon Gymnastics Academy on Thursday mornings for 50 minutes of balance beam walking, tumbling, swinging on bars and practice vaulting. Also a little socializing -- her with her little leotard-wearing classmates, me with the moms in the stands. My daughter loves the activities, shows a moderate amount of bravery on high equipment and is really good at pointing her toes.

But at age 4, does she need to be in advanced training?

I'm still getting all the facts on what this involves. What I do know is the classes go from being 50 minutes once a week to 90 minutes twice a week. Later on there may be competitions, more practice sessions, travel. This could evolve into a big commitment not just for her, but for our entire family. Entire books have been written about girls who become competitive gymnasts or dancers or ice skaters. It's not all pretty handsprings or pirouettes or triple Salchows. There are sacrifices, injuries, failures as well as successes.

On the other hand, if she has a real talent for the sport, shouldn't we nurture it?

Have any of you embarked on such a path with your child?

Free family self-defense class

The Tulen Center for Martial Arts and Wellness in Southwest Portland is offering a free Family Self-Defense Class on Saturday, along with other special programs for families to train together.

My son trains there in the Indonesian martial art called Poekoelan and loves it. The class is a great no-risk way to see if this is a sport for you and your family. The free Saturday class will be from noon to 1 pm. Contact the center to reserve a spot.

I want the cute pink tutu!

This is the costume that my 4-year-old and her dance classmates are going to wear in their June recital.

Not this one.

Or this one.

But this one.

 

The school recently posted pictures of the 20 or so costumes that dancers will be wearing. Lots of cute tutus and elegant ballet dresses. But I heard moms gasp when they discovered what our sweet little ballerina-wannabes will be wearing on stage. Let me just say that the description "hoochie" was uttered by more than several of them. (These pictures are from A Wish Come True, by the way.)

The 4- and 5-year-olds will be dancing to a song from "Tarzan," which explains the jungle print. But doesn't this outfit, with its hot pink fake fur and rhinestone embellishments, seem a little inappropriate for our young girls?

How would you feel about your preschool-age daughter wearing a costume like this?

Dads and girls: learning math together, and the kids do better

Somewhere a while ago my husband read something about how girls do better in math if they learn it with their dads. I couldn't find any resources to substantiate that, but thought I'd bring it up nevertheless. This knowledge has motivated my husband to take the lead in doing math with our kindergartner (whereas I usually help her with the majority of her other homework). What's really cool... they both seem to enjoy doing the math stuff together. Now, it's not that I don't like math. I think it's very useful, and back when I was a student, I was OK in math. Not gifted or anything, but OK.

You want them to do well, right? At everything. So while no one in our house would be considered a math genius, these two are having fun learning math together, bonding and creating something special that they have in common. This has led to some other creative games I never would have considered. My husband likes to play chess. It was something he learned from his dad, and also played with his siblings. I never learned the game. I enjoy watching my husband teach it to my girls, and hopefully I'll learn too along their journey. Or geography. My husband was playing blocks with the kids the other day, and they made an airport and a whole bunch of block airplanes. Then they started turning the playroom into the world, writing signs of the places the planes would fly to, then flying the planes to those places, which were placed north-south-east and west of us, based on where they really are in the world. Very cool game. Something I would never have thought of.

I don't know if your house is like our house. As the stay-at-home parent, my job, if you will, consists of most of the shopping, meal-planning, cooking, cleaning, child-rearing, homework-help, shuttles to swim lessons, etc. But I surely can't do it all. Nor do I have the creativity or different perspective that my husband brings. I realize there are all sorts of different families, not always your standard mom-dad-two-kids and the white picket fence. But I did want to acknowledge the great things dads bring to the mix. No special occasion (it's a long way 'til Fathers Days still).

What kinds of things do the dads teach the kids in your families?

Bike First helps kids learn to pedal on their own

"Biking is more than just exercise and transportation: it's a social activity of connection, a childhood rite of passage and a first taste of independence."        

My son was almost 8 before he was comfortable riding a bike. He whizzes around like a pro now, but there was a period when he tried to ride and I tried to help and we got nowhere fast.

If I had known about it, I might have considered Bike First, a one-day "quick start" camp for kids 6 and older who need extra help learning to ride. The Portland camp -- to be held June 21 at Concordia University in Northeast Portland -- is an affiliate of a national program called "Lose the Training Wheels." It uses adapted bicycles and trained spotters to teach kids to ride independently.

In addition to helping kids learn to ride, Bike First raises money to help send disabled kids to bike camps. For more information, check out the website at http://bikefirst.googlepages.com/home.

Summer camps: you gotta have a plan

Want to hear something really scary? It's mid-March, and I've done nothing about summer camps yet. Nothing. Nada. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah! Metro Parent and the Oregonian have both come out with their summer camp guides. Good friends have sent emails asking what my plans are, or if I'd like to coordinate schedules, even recommending great camps their kids have really liked -- but that fill up fast. What is wrong with me? I know the kids have to be in camp next summer. Lots and lots of camp. If we don't sign up for camps, I'm not sure if our family will survive from all that quality time. Last year was a close one.

I think part of the problem is I know it's going to be tough to schedule. Swim lessons are in those 2-week blocks, and it starts to seem like Groundhog Day: get up, find towel and swim suit, slog to the pool for 30-minute lesson, then back home. And that's it. If you sign up for swim, most of the other camps are all morning, so you can't do anything else for those whole two weeks!! The other thing is I do want to coordinate with friends, since my kids thrive if they have their best buddies with them, but turn into wall-flowers if they are meeting all new kids for the first time. Like you, I also have to schedule around family vacations, etc., so I know this is going to be as big a chore as doing the taxes. Calendars, spreadsheet, phone lists, summer camp guides, stretched out a mile wide on my desk...

Do you have your camps all lined up? Do you have a summer camp strategy, such as one week on, one week off? Or are you in total and utter complete panic mode regarding summer camps the way I am?

Yoga for kids?

Ever since I joined a yoga class a few weeks ago my kids have been fascinated by downward facing dog and other fun poses you can twist your body into on a yoga mat. Tricia wonders if she can find a class for her kids or the whole family:

Does anyone know of a yoga studio in Portland that offers classes for parents with children, not just babies.  I have a 4 1/2 and a 1 1/2 year old.  When we lived on the East Coast, we had a wonderful class that we all could do together.  It was terrific.  I would also be interested in a class that my 4 1/2 year old could do on her own.  She's been begging me to do yoga again.

Ready, set, climb

My previous experience with a rock-climbing wall was when my son was 7 and we were at a neighborhood Oktoberfest. We waited what seemed like hours for his turn to climb the behemoth wall, which was as high as some of the trees in the park. He started up enthusiastically enough. Then he looked down. Then he froze. Then he asked for help in a panicky voice. He's never tried again.

So I didn't know what to expect when I heard they were installing a rock-climbing wall at Hillside Community Center, where my daughter attends preschool.

Now I can't stop gushing about it.

My 4-year-old's class got an hour of supervised climbing time last Friday and my little climber loved it. Unlike the wall that sent my son scrambling for terra firma, the Hillside one is more of a horizontal challenge. The colorful wall is probably about seven feet tall and wraps around a corner of the gym. It seems great for building strength and confidence, and is ideal for younger kids (though I think older kids will like it, too).

I loved watching the preschoolers move their bodies in new and deliberate ways, and could imagine their brains processing the information: "If I put my right foot here, will I be able to reach that red thing with my left hand? Can I fit both of my feet on this yellow piece? Am I going to get another turn????"

My son is 9 now and I'm eager to reintroduce him to the sport. I think the Hillside wall fits the bill.