From a basic taco truck to a full-on English double decker bus, I am happy to try them all.  How fantastic is it that practically every empty lot in Austin is packed with an amazing variety of mobile eatery?  With names like Bananarchy, Coat & Thai, and Me So Hungry?   Cheap, fast, kid tolerant, and delicious?  It’s like all these hidden nooks of the city contain a mall food court, except without the horror of the mall.  And without the horror of mall food.

Okay, it’s not like a mall food court at all.

Thankfully.

but last night was the first time we attended Luminations.

Lights, snacks, crafts, carols, puppet shows, and more lights?  Yes, please.

Thanks Ladybird.

It rained again today.  All.  Day.  Cool and drizzly.  It was wonderful.  We’ve had maybe 3 inches so far this year?  Not enough for this Northwest girl.  The drought has made me feel like I’ve been strapped to The Machine for the past two years.  So I’ll enjoy every little drop we get.

This morning Graham and I walked around the neighborhood for an hour in our winter coats.  (I haven’t bought rain coats for fear of further  jinxing us.)

We tasted rain and saved worms and stomped in puddles and drank cocoa.

I could get used to this.

Hansel & Gretel

Rumplestitlskin

Jack and the Beanstalk

Their new show is starting soon!  Mark your calendars for Thumbelina.

P.S.  One day I’ll be as cool as Nancy.  Keep checking back with the theater.  Many exciting projects are in the works.

This year we had a lot working for us: Graham is in a regular bed, the kids are expert travelers, missing a nap doesn’t lead to the apocalypse.  But it was still a million trillion degrees.

So when the boy woke up at 1:30 a.m. he was hot.  Very hot.  And pissed.  And confused.  There was a lot of screaming and rearranging and screaming and changing tents and screaming and offers to leave and screaming and peeing in the woods and screaming.  Things finally settled down around 2:30.

At 7 a.m. the mamas and kids were back home eating breakfast.  The dads, thankfully, cleaned up camp.  All in all it was an improvement.  And we learned that camping can be done.  It will just NEVER be done during the Texas summer again.  As with gardening, I’ve learned my lesson.

But all of this has made me homesick; homesick for “real” camping.  I mean the camping I remember as a kid: smelling the pine forests, following deer trails, throwing lava rocks into clear streams to see if they float, actually needing a fire during the chilly evenings.  But here we have Texas camping; getting stabbed by pointy plants, unable to veer off the path for fear of scorpions and poisonous snakes (we’ve got them all!), watching for water moccasins in murky streams, no campfire because of drought-induced burn bans.  It’s just not what I’m used to growing up in the Northwest.  And I wish I could experience NW camping with Violet and Graham.

So we’ll try winter camping here in Texas.  Or spring camping.  I’m sure it has its charms.  And maybe my kids will love their own camping memories:  hiding cactus in each other’s sleeping bags, snake scavenger hunts, tossing scorpions in the river to see if they float, etc…

Violet is starting dual language kindergarten this fall!  This is the culmination of three years of hard work and, while it didn’t turn out exactly how I’d hoped, I am SO excited.  And terrified.  And relieved.  And… well… let’s just say there is a lot to think about.

Here’s our journey in a nutshell:

We moved to Austin after teaching English in Korea for 3 years.  I got into the Foreign Language Education Master’s program at UT.  After Violet was born I wondered what dual language program she would attend, only to realize that there isn’t one here.

So I started my own website to to to mobilize like-minded locals.  Then I joined forces with Austin Community School, a proposed dual language charter, and eventually became board secretary.  This was the only DL game in town.  What happened for the next 3 years was a lesson in how ridiculous, frustrating, and scary bureaucracy and educational politics can be, especially in Texas.   Add this to the usual strains of recruiting and working with volunteers in the world of non-profits and the result is a lot of work for not a lot of reward.

So ACS is not open… yet.  But what about Violet and Graham?  The way dual language education works is that kids start in kinder or 1st grade and stick with the program for at least 5 years.  If Violet misses that window she’s out of luck.

Thankfully a new superintendent swept into Austin, turning the district’s long held belief about bilingual education on its head.  ACS joined in the effort to get a DL program started in AISD.  Their board eventually voted to start 4 pilot programs this fall.

They held a lottery for the limited number of slots, and we won a spot!  Unfortunately, the program isn’t in our neighborhood school.  But it is in a school close to Rob’s work.  He’ll drop Violet off every morning.

So this is the end of the beginning.  Now we see exactly what we’ve gotten ourselves into.  I have ridiculous amounts to say on the subject.  And you know what that means…  a New Blog!  Yes, I’ll be pontificating about dual language immersion and our journey towards becoming a bilingual family.   It’s called “¿Y Ahora Que?” and so far there is absolutely nothing on it.  But put it in your feed reader anyway.

Here’s the deal:  I’ve spent the past two years working on opening this dual language immersion school.  To say it has been an uphill battle is an understatement.  Along with the usual personality conflicts, we’ve got the “You’re in America!  Speak American!” attitude to contend with.  (To which I have to say, “DUH.  Of course we want everyone to speak English.  We just want Americans to catch up with the rest of the world and learn another language when it’s easy: as a kid!  If you’d stop thinking the U.S.A. is at the center of the universe for one flipping second you’d realize that we’re putting the ourselves and the country at a huge disadvantage.”)

Well, the good news is that on July 16th, we may have our last chance to win a charter for Austin Community dual language school.  For those of you not in Texas, the government here puts a cap on the number of charters (don’t even get me started on the idiocy of that policy).  The only way we can get a charter is to wait for another one to fail.  The problem for us is that the dual language programs really only let kids join in kindergarten or first grade.  Violet starts kinder next year.  So the clock is ticking.  She may not get another shot at this.

To me, this issue is so important we’ve considered moving from Austin to somewhere that offers a dual language immersion education.  It just boggles my mind that every parent in the country isn’t beating down the school board doors to demand this.

But I digress.  I could digress all day.  So I’ll stop and ask you to help Violet and Graham have the chance to learn another language so they’ll be able to tell secrets right in front of my face.  Or get really really good jobs in the future. Here are 4 ways to do it:

1. Donate $10. The State Board wants to see money in the bank. Just ten dollars from all of our supporters would boost our bottom line quickly. Keep in mind that a) we are a non-profit, so your donations are tax deductible and b) many companies match non-profit donations, so check with your employer. (Paypal button here)
2. Spread the word. Send 2 people (or more) information about ACS. Link them to our website, our Facebook & Twitter accounts, or give them our flyer. Keep in mind that our content is in Spanish and English, so don’t hesitate to contact Spanish speakers.
3. Send the State Board a letter. Tell them you want this school. Use our form letter or, better yet, your own words. (see below)
4. Come to our presentation! July 16th at 1 p.m. in the Room 1-111 of the William B. Travis Building. We need to show the Board that ACS has community support. Having a group behind us during our 10 minutes will tip the decision in our favor. (click here for the map).

Thank you Thank you!!

————————————————————————————–
(send the following to sboesupport@tea.state.tx.us)

Dear State Board of Education Members,

I am very interested in having Austin Community School improve our educational choices in Austin. This dual language (DL) and international baccalaureate (IB) school brings two highly effective educational programs together to develop all students—regardless of their home language and economic status– into English- and Spanish-speakers who can read, write, and work in both languages. The IB curriculum supports DL by equipping students with the skills to learn and acquire knowledge, individually or collaboratively, and to apply these skills and knowledge across a broad range of areas. ACS students become life-long learners, who are well prepared for college and our changing global workplace. Many universities require the ability to think creatively and problem-solve but also call for a second language. In addition, multiple language fluency is increasingly required to work in business, the military, the government, or education.

Children from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and races will work together in the same classroom at ACS, becoming resources for each other. This program is based on the ideal 50/50 enrollment of Spanish- and English-speaking students. Research proves that African-American, Latino, and Caucasians from all demographics who have completed dual language programs become academically and conversationally fluent in Spanish and English, graduate, and go on to college at high rates.

Facts About Dual Language (DL) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs:

• DL and IB schools employ specially trained high quality teachers
• ACS replicates long-successful European and Canadian DL and IB programs
• Public DL programs are now offered and successful in most major cities in the USA including San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, El Paso
• DL students exhibit increased cognitive skills and self-esteem
• Longitudinal studies show DL dramatically increases state test scores
• Only DL closes the achievement gap for 2nd language English-learners
• DL is more effective for students below grade level than remedial ESL programs
• DL is structured to accommodate the fact that we learn languages best as children

I want a DL IB program for the future of my family, Austin and Texas.  Please vote for Austin Community School on July 16th.

Sincerely,

______________

I got to see the dress rehearsal for “Jack and the Beanstalk”.  The kids were part of a test audience.  They were completely thrilled and (incredibly) sat still for 45 minutes, thanks to a fast pace and lots of audience participation.

My good friend Nancy has put together this community theater and produced their first play.  She has been slaving away for months and brought together a great group of people.  How she accomplished this with two little kids is beyond me.

The premier is this Saturday, May 30th at 5pm at Brentwood park.  Come, bring a blanket, a picnic dinner and enjoy the show.  There are also performances at the Triangle farmer’s market Wednesday, June 3rd at 7 p.m. and the downtown farmer’s market Saturday at 11 a.m. on June 6th.

Support local theater!

But maybe I should make it more exciting for whomever wants to shop for me.  And by exciting, I mean Auction.  Yes, I have been drooling over a lot of stuff at the Ike-a-saurus on-line auction.  Mostly the photography page.  Since I’m often the one behind the camera, pictures of me are few and far between; especially ones that I like.  So to have a professional follow me and the family around to get some good shots of all four of us would be awesome.

And on that same auction page is the Trek Pod GO, a generous donation to the Baby Ike cause from my Dad’s company.  I have the original Trek Pod and I can’t tell you how often it has come in handy over the years.  As I’ve said before, it’s a walking staff that transforms into a tripod in about ten seconds.  For us, that means I use it to keep from falling to my death while hiking with a 30+ pound kid on my back.  Then when I want to snap a picture I flip open the tripod, pop on the camera and click the shutter before the kids can even start to whine.  Nice.  If you loose your chance for a Trek Pod in the auction, go on over to the site and plug in the code “HIIDEA” for a 25% discount.

Meanwhile, keep in mind the Ike-a-saurus auction for your Mothers’ day shopping excitement.  Either on-line or the super fun live event on May 2nd (I will be there!).  A gift to your mama could help another mama.  How great is that?

Happy Mother’s Day… from my family to yours.