Our scheduled lesson for today was cancelled, so our kids went bowling and then hung out at Georgetown Waterfront. Today was a great excuse to slow down and just hang out with friends on a sunny day. Our kids have a busy schedule, and even though we build in lots of breaks, it's nice to have a surprise day off. Happy Spring, everyone!

Continuing with our lessons on Jazz, as part of our Exploring Arts program, the kids took a trip to The National Gallery of Art; they talked about Jazz as an American cultural phenomenon and looked at some works of art that incorporate elements of Jazz aesthetic and method.

We continued our lessons on Jazz during our writing class this week; we read books about Jazz music, lyrics, and scatting. And, of course, we listened to Jazz! Following, the kids wrote their own lyrics and music, inspired by what they read and listened to. They used their drums from Capoeira class to compose their music, and when they finished, they presented their Jazz tunes to the class. We have some budding composers!

True story: City Kids has the BEST Capoeira instructor! At the beginning of class this week, our kids were excited and full of chatter. Rather than using negative reinforcement for the kids excitable behavior, our instructor encouraged the kids to try to communicate silently. For an hour, our instructor communicated with our kids, and our kids with each other, through body language. They had one of their best classes! They also had their first Roda, all through silent co

For our World Cultures & Geography unit on North America, our kids had a lesson on Jazz, an original American art form! Kenny Rittenhouse, one of our parents, is a professional Jazz trumpeter, and he gave the kids a Jazz appreciation lesson that included some of the Jazz greats, a brief intro into the history of Jazz, and improvisation. They also had an hour long interactive jam session with a Jazz quartet; the musicians answered the kids' questions through demonstration, w

City Kids has been doing a lot of music this year, so we thought it would be fun to teach the kids how vinyl technology worked. They also had a chance to record a live record together. City Kids' band is coming to a park near you!

Today was an especially nice day because one of our families came back from a long trip. The kids miss each other when they are gone, and lots of hugging happens at reunions. These friendships are what make our little group so special--the kids truly love each other. :)