Overall, I think we do a good job of mixing it up - and though it saddens me to let some really great opportunities go by, sometimes it's what the cards call for.
Last Saturday was the National Math Festival. Over the years, many people have told me how great the event is, but I've never managed to get myself or a child there. Often, I feel overwhelmed at the thought of dragging into DC on the weekend, or there's a playdate arranged, or I decide the kids need less, not more, academic enrichment. (Though they get basically no suitable enrichment at their highly rated public schools - despite honest effort by the teachers, in most cases.)
In any case, the day was drizzly, Helen had softball midday and Connor had baseball in the late afternoon. Helen had a playdate with a friend in the morning, opening up the opportunity for some one-on-one time with Connor. I floated the idea of the math festival, and he was game.
To compensate for my dread of riding the subway on the weekend (I seriously love having the option of metro during the week, but the weekend comes with the risk of very long delays, which make me nuts), I decided to risk driving. (Driving comes with its own problems, almost all revolving around traffic that's out of my control.) The drive in was not only smooth (thank you, Waze, for the excellent directions) but thanks to a second app on my phone (Parking Panda), I was able to easily find a cheap parking spot within a few blocks of the festival. (At this point, I had basically won the day because Connor is convinced I can't use my phone, but I had already used it TWICE to make our trip easier.)
The Math Festival was fantastic. We opted to attend a few lectures - one of which was mind blowing, and the other of which hit the sweet spot of Connor's interests AND the level of difficulty was perfect. He left with great questions, thoughts that kept coming up throughout the weekend, and a set of SOMA cubes - which are pretty fun to play with.
Most of all, we spent the better part of the day hanging out with each other, and I am all too aware that this is a state that won't last long.
This piece of art is crocheted, and was on display at the festival. Connor not only indulged my desire to go into this room, he struck up a conversation with an artist who had made a portrait using only two shapes in a non-repeating pattern. I felt a little weird snapping a photo of that piece of art - so I give you this one instead. I love it because I love when traditional women's crafts are elevated to art.
I am a little disappointed that I didn't go back with Helen later in the day. I hate the idea of reinforcing that math is for Connor and not her. But, I wanted to attend with just one child at a time since they have very different math abilities at this time. And, she had played one of two scheduled softball games, was wet, and a friend invited her over to play. She was excited about that offer, so I figured that's where she should go. About the time that playdate ended, another friend invited her over for a sleep over, which she was very excited about - so heading back at night wasn't an option. This did allow the rest of us to sneak over to Mussel Bar for dinner - which, if you are wondering, is a horrible place to eat the day before a 10 mile race.
Elaine
Elaine
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