Category: fun

The summer is coming. Since we will be free on Saturday mornings, I plan to take my daughter to all the farmers’ market in the area. We have been to Tower Grove before; Creve Coeur just opened the farmers market at the same time (Saturday morning) at the Parkway north middle school parking lot: 181 Coeur De Ville Drive (intersection of I-270 and Ladue Road). I heard Ellisville has a farmers market too, it’s Thursday 4 to 7:30 pm. Ferguson always has already a good one. Then there is Kirkwood.

Btw, I will update the “To Market” app once I got all the facts correct for the markets in the area.

(Update 05-24-2014) I submitted the 2014 update (v 1.2.4) to the app store a few days ago.

(Update 05-26-2014) I found stltoday has a google map for all the farmers market in the area. Here is the link.

(Update 06-03-2014) The update is available at the iTunes App store.

Serenity’s school usually have this Spring Musical, in which each class will take turns and sing two songs. Each year they have a theme. Last year it was about Season. In the May of St. Louis, the weather is almost like summer. Some classes picked Summer, Spring, or Fall, Serenity’s class picked two Winter songs, which I think is quite unique. Here are the two song: Winter Wonderland and A Marshmallow World.

Winter Wonderland

A Marshmallow World

This year’s theme is transportation. Next Wednesday evening, they will have the magic Spring Musical again. I know the songs their class will sing. “Life is a highway”. She has being sing that for a while.

And “on the road again” by Wille Nelson

Interestingly, both season (change) and road trip are metaphors of life path, or growing. They are all good picks. And last but not least, the song we all sung together last year is the Circle Game by Joni Michtell. Don’t know about this year’s pick.

Also, this time I asked Serenity how the teachers picked the song. She said the teachers googled it 🙂

She will ask a lot questions on the way to school, as the iPhone/iPad/work takes over my spare time these days, I did not get a lot quality time with Yoyo alone. Driving her to school and take her back to home provide good opportunities for communications. She will usually have a lot of questions on the way to school, probably because her mind is more active. She will ask questions on everything, e.g., cars, planet, plants, flowers, some of which I can not answer, and I will tell her to ask teachers. Sometimes she will say “grown ups don’t know everything, but teachers do”.

On the way to home, sometimes she will talk about things at school. Not always. Sometimes she will say “just sit there”. Obvious she was kidding, as I knew they do a lot things at school, and Serenity is busy most of the time. She will talk more sometimes before sleep.

Teach the right thing
Serenity likes to be the roles in the story these days. Here is what she usual says: I want to be everyone on this book except the one does not look nice. So today when she says this: I want to be everyone on this book because everyone is pretty. I was pleasantly surprised. Now I reflected a bit I know her teachers have told the kids the right thing 🙂

Saw quite a few articles on this topic lately. Basically parents focus their attention on their phone/tablet at dinner table, at fast food restaurant, etc., when they are supposed to talk to their kids. In some cases (fast food restaurant), it will increase the likely-hood of children misbehavior. We have all done that (I’ve done my share of it). Today, I saw this interesting behavior, my wife is asking Serenity to watch hand, while focusing her eye on iPad. I told her Serenity already washed her hand, or something like that. The thing is she was in the same room as Serenity, while I was in another room.

So, pay attention. Kids need attention.

Another way to ease parenting chores, is let kids watch TV or play with iPads. I’ve bought a screenful of iPad apps for Serenity. Good thing she did not play those all the time. She still like the traditional toys and goof around for the most part. Unless she wanted to drink milk (in bottle) and watch TV 🙂

It’s the ticket stub of Philly train, when I visited more than 3 years ago (Oct. 15, 2010) for Voice That Matters iPhone developer conference.