Tag Archives: portland

PCPO Conference: Building Lifelong Learners

Posted on by
1

Tower built with kids on my helper day at pre-school

I am on the board of Segundo’s Co-Op Preschool and one of my jobs is being the schools representative to the PCPO ( Parent Child Preschool of Oregon). The PCPO is a non-profit umbrella organization for more than 65 Co-operative Preschools in the North West and every year they have a conference for parents and teachers with workshops like Early Math Concepts, Positive discipline, and Enhance you Marriage, Improve you Parenting. You can see a full list of the workshops available this year by checking out the Conference Brochure.

This years conference is Saturday March 3, 2012 at Athey Creek Middle School in West Linn, OR. The day is broken down into three workshops, two in the morning and then one after lunch. For each of the workshop times there are a number of options to choose from and something there for everyone. The goal is to build lifelong learners with us as parents and with our kids. The Co-op model works on the principle that we learn as much as the kids do by participating in the class room and taking that out into our days.

If you are a parent or teacher with preschool to first grade age kids in the Portland area then I highly recommend this conference. The price of $50 if registered by February 24, or $60 at the door is an incredible deal for the wealth of knowledge in each of the workshops. Modeling lifelong learning starts with us as parents, and the opportunity to tap into all of these great sessions will keep us on that journey.

Popularity: 5%

Sunny day activities on Rainy Day afternoons

Posted on by
Reply

Frank has had a good effect on all of us early in the New year. We have been getting out and exercising a bit more that we normally do in the dead of Portland winter. That may have more to do with the unseasonably sunny days than his relentless passion for lifting things over his head and chanting at us, but either way it has been a nice winter. I write this  sitting in a coffee shop with a miserable cold sideways rain that makes umbrellas and previous plans silly, but the last week has been lovely. We have done the bike rides to the library, the play dates outside at friend’s houses, and explored some parks off the beaten trail while bundled against the cold but dry. It is almost disorienting how nice it has been here in Portland this winter. I feel like I don’t enough seasonal reasoning for my mild depression and might have to look into the issue as personal thing and not a reaction to outside forces. That’s just silly, we all know I’m the picture of confidence and mental health so it must be the boys that are causing it.

Now that the weather looks to be returning to normal I wondering how well our goal to get out and about is going to go. We have rain gear and the mud puddles have their own allure so it’s just a matter of overcoming the initial inertia and getting out of the house. These things seem to go much better when planned instead of being left to day of decision-making. Making plans with others make the problem of getting started a bit easier since it is harder to let someone else down then it is for me to just spin it with the boys. So anyone in Portland want to schedule a play date next week where we explore a trail or jump in some puddles?

Popularity: 6%

Bridge Walk Fundraiser For New Book

Posted on by
2

If you have spent any time in Portland you have noticed the bridges around the city. There are ten bridges over the Willamette with another in the process of being built, and two across the Columbia and another in the planning stages. Each bridge has it’s own story and one person seems to know most of those stories, Sharon Wood Wortman. Known as the Bridge lady here in Portland, for twenty years she lead walking tours for more than 10,000 people lucky enough to spend a couple hours with her. I heard her talk at The Moth and wished I had a chance to take one of her tours. Well now I will get that chance as The Bridge Lady is coming out of retirement to lead two walks to raise money for a book she is working on for Portland Schools 3rd grade bridge series. Check out the information below and if you are in the Portland area be sure to come to one of these great walks and learn a bit more about these fascinating bridges.

Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
1-4 p.m.
Meet at Floyd’s Coffee, NW First and Couch
Cost $55, includes a Portland-Vancouver Bridges poster
One Hundred percent of proceeds to Big & Awesome

Sharon Wood Wortman, author of three editions of The Portland Bridge Book, comes out of bridge walking retirement to lead two bridges walks to raise funds for creating and printing the first children’s book about the local bridges, The Big & Awesome Bridges of Portland & Vancouver—A Book for Young Readers. Participants are invited to bring a favorite bridge poem.

Visit the Oregon Department of Transportation Region 1 bridge museum and Traffic Management Operations Center. See several bridges along the downtown waterfront, then visit the Burnside Bridge and meet the bridge operator. Bridge mechanics and weather permitting, watch a test lift while standing mid-span or inside the bridge tower. Once the traffic is stopped and gates are down, participants are invited to walk mid-span to lie down and be “road kill” and live to tell about it. In another group exercise, participants build triangles with their bodies to feel tension and compression. Appropriate dress is recommended.

A project of PDX Bridge Festival, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Big & Awesome is the first bona fide book about the local bridges written for young readers. The goal is to donate free copies to PPS third grade classrooms and Vancouver School District fourth grade classrooms. To register, email sharon@bridgestories.com. Those who cannot walk but wish to make a donation may do so by visiting www.bridgefestival.org. All donations are tax deductible. Other questions? Call Sharon at 503.330.0900.

Partners as of October 13, 2011: Geotechnical Group of the American Society of Civil Engineers Oregon Section, THA Architecture, KPFF Engineering, TY Lin International, Portland Ironworkers Local 29, Society of American Military Engineers, Parsons Brinckerhoff Engineering, Nutter Family Foundation (Vancouver), Missionary Chocolates, and several individuals–every person, organization, and foundation to be acknowledged in Big & Awesome.

Popularity: 6%

Ickee Stikeez series 1 toys

Posted on by
Reply

I got an email recently asking if my boys wanted to a new toy, just released, called ickee Stickeez. Knowing nothing of these toys my original thought was they may want them but from that name alone I want nothing to do with them. The idea of another messy toy the boys can use to ruin my day seemed like a terrible idea but then I looked at the pictures in the email. Theses tiny little pods with funny looking creatures didn’t look messy at all so I agreed.

We got the package a couple weeks later and Primo was super excited to open them up while Segundo was still napping. There were seven in total, a triple pack and four single packs. We tore them open and Primo loved the look the small toys with creatures on a suction cup. He stuck them all to my laptop and then popped them on and off excited by the sound. He started telling stories about where each of the characters came from and loved the little plastic pods that they come in. When Segundo woke up he joined in with the fun and started seeing what the toys would stick to and how to share seven ickee stikeez between two kids.

Ickee Stikeez are from Zing Toys, a Portland Oregon company, and were just released in late September. Series 1 has 24 characters, some funny, other gross, but all of them unique. You can buy them in single packs or triple packs that also come with Koinz, little cardboard rounds with more information of the included toys. I like these toys and the boys love them, asking where we can get more. They are collectible, trying to get all 24 is Primo’s new obsession, and fun to play with in many ways. They can be stacked in the pods to make a chain, popped on and off windows, cell phones, or tables, and make for great story telling as the kids explain how these creatures came to be.

Popularity: 13%

Sunday Parkways in Portland

Posted on by
2

This past Sunday we went to a late morning movie to make up for not getting to the drive in on time Friday night. Cars 2 opened this weekend and our boys were anticipating this movie the way I anticipated the last Harry Potter book. I’m not gonna lie to you I went a little fanboy on that whole thing but did not dress up for the midnight release, I’m not a total dork. Anyway we were one car behind the last car let into the drive in and had to explain why we weren’t watching Matter and McQueen in their latest adventure. So Sunday we went to an early matinee and while this was not along the lines of the Oscar worthy Pixar movies, it was entertaining and now the front runner for Primo’s favorite movie. After the movie we came home with little motivation to much else but with North Portland Sunday Parkways going on we mustered the energy to hop on our bikes and join in. Sunday Parkways is a program to promote healthy active living through fun events at local parks partnering with businesses and blocking off an 8 mile loop for folks to ride bikes, walk, skate, ski, or hop around with most of the city. The loop was about a mile and half away so we hopped on our bikes and attached the trailer for when the boys get tired and waded into the fray.

It was an amazing day with so many people out riding in the streets. At the parks there was live music, food carts, and activity stations to get people moving. Primo rode the whole loop and the bike ride to and from for a total of over 10 miles. He’s 5 and was so great riding in traffic and staying safe by being aware of what others were doing. I was so proud at how well he did in the midst of some chaos with all the riders on the road. Again and again he shows how he makes good decisions in tough situations on his bike. When we were out for a bike ride a couple weeks ago his chain came off going down a hill and he didn’t panic he just steered into the tall grass and slowed down. A month ago when a car was backing out of a driveway without looking he saw it, stopped his bike, and backed up just missing getting bumped by the back of the car. The driver was apologetic and visibly shaken but Primo reassured them and us that he was OK. He is still 5 and absolutely needs adult supervision but he is a  5 year old that makes great decisions.

When we finally got home we were worn out but happy and finished the night off with dinner with our amazing new neighbors. It was one of those days where we loved living in Portland. Participating in a so many concentric circles of community from the global movie, to the city bike ride, to the neighborhood dinner. We felt an active part of our small world and that usually makes for a nice weekend.

Popularity: 4%

Family Fun in Portland: Lan Su Chinese Gardens

Posted on by
Reply

Today through Sunday January 9th admission at the Lan Su Chinese Gardens in Old Town Portland is free. Normally $8.50 a person this is not a great kid friendly deal because the kids will rush you through and these gardens should really be savored. But when it’s free it is a great family activity and one we took advantage of this afternoon with The Charge and his parents. It was burn your ears cold out but the garden’s were lovely and the kids were given a scavenger hunt card where they needed to find the items pictured on the card. It made the walk exciting, even in the freezing but sunny walled garden. The pond was half frozen over and the fish seemed to be stuck int he frozen area. I tired to get Primo to slow down and contemplate the garden but he was busy rushing around trying to stay warm. If you are in Portland this week make some time to check out this downtown treasure.

Popularity: 18%

Spirit and Place, or why I love Fountain Square

Posted on by
6

I love waiting for the train at our Overlook Park stop, Primo worried about the other boys and whether we are going to leave them on the platform. I love the food carts hidden in plain sight all over the city with divergent options like Peanut Butter and Jelly cart or The Sugar Cube. I love the bridges that link the East to the West and the North to the South, anchoring the city to itself so that no one neighborhood gets too far away. I love the city of Portland for many reasons but as I sit here at the dinning room table of close friends in the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana I realize that it is not so much relationships I have in the city as it is the city itself.

The boys and I drove down from North of Indianapolis to meet friends for Sunday Night dinner. I have talked about this before but Sunday night dinner is a gathering of a number of families in this close in neighborhood each Sunday night. There are about 8 families that participate and each Sunday dinner is at a different house. You host once every two months but when you host you make dinner for up to 40 people. You can grab your food and go or make a plate and join the conversation with more people choosing the later. Getting to come back to the city where Beautiful and I were married, and where Primo was born and we still have our first house is great because it means reconnecting with the people at Sunday Night Dinner. It is this connection with these people that makes me love Indianapolis, or more specifically Fountain Square. I feel like I have far too little time to spend with them, far too little time to measure up to the depth connection I feel to them.

Talking to Beautiful last night she said she was excited for me to get to see our friends. She knew that these people, more than this place, was important to me and she was glad that I got to be here with them and stay if even for one night. We had our Band of SAHD podcast tonight with one of those friends and I was reminded how great it was to be a stay at home dad with him next door. There is this thought that if you have a Dads group of other men that stay at home with kids that you will connect. That being a Stay at home dad is big enough connection for you to be friends but that isn’t necessarily true. But here in Fountain Square I had not only another Stay at home dad, but a friend that connected with and enjoyed hanging out with and I have yet to find that in Portland.

I will keep looking for that connection. Trying to find the people in the city that I love. But I love Fountain Square for the spirit of the people that I connected with and am still connected to.

Popularity: 5%

A day off with Beautiful and the boys

Posted on by
2

Beautiful and the chipmunks

For his fourth birthday Primo got a membership to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) from Grandma and with Beautiful between jobs for two days we decided to go see what kind of deal we got. I am pretty excited about this gift because we now have a place to bring the boys when it is too wet to go to the Zoo, and I wanted to see if it was something I could handle on my own like we do at the Zoo. One trip in I don’t think that I can handle the three boys in that chaotically fun space. I had the two littlest boys while Primo stayed with Beautiful while they explored the space. We went right to the play area and dressed up like animals, dug up bones in the sand pit, played in the water table, and watched ping pong balls hover on streams of air. It was so much fun for the boys and just as much fun for me. A number of the parents there were on their smart phones and using the space as babysitter while they checked in and I totally get that, not every moment needs to be dedicated to the kids. But for me that space was about getting down there and exploring with boys. Trying to explain how the air kept the ball afloat, or the mechanics of the wheel and gears that turn the windmill. It was a time play, and teach, and learn. I wonder how many times we will have to go before I am one of those phone checking parents too?

The Great thing about having the membership is feeling like you don’t have to over do it on one day to get you money’s worth. We were able to explore and play for two hours and then head to find lunch before we lost the boys to over stimulation. We left more to discover for the next trip and made our way through the rain to a great breakfast place in Hipsterville called Gravy. Really great food and a great time with Beautiful on a rare week day adventure.

Part of the Fatherhood Friday group of blogging Fathers and Mothers over at Dad Blogs. Please click on the image to the left to find more great writing from other bloggers trying to make sense of this whole parenting thing

Popularity: 5%