NUMERO UNO

Little Cate is one of the most competitive people whom I have ever met.  Her killer instinct shines on the soccer field, but it shines even brighter every other night when she and I play Uno prior to reading bedtime stories.

She and I go for the jugular, and we call putting down a draw two or a draw four card drawing blood. The games get pretty heated, but each of us is a good loser.  I always congratulate her when she wins, and she does not (often) cry when she loses.

The instructions state if a certain card color is in play, a player must play a card of that color if he/she has it.  The other night I said Uno and had just one card left in my hand after playing a green card. I waited to see what Cate would do.  Truth be told, I knew that she had green cards in her hand.  Cate proceeded to draw a card- presumably with the hope that she would get a draw two or draw four that she could play against me to stop me from winning.  To no avail, she did not get one of these cards.  I played my last card and won.

However, afterwards I asked Cate if I could see her cards.  Cate must have sensed that she was about to be busted for not playing a green card because she proceeded to sit on her cards.  I told her that if she wanted to play again that night, I needed to have her cards back so I could shuffle the deck.  She still held back.  Finally, I handed her a stack of cards and asked her to mix her cards in.  It just so happened that the cards I gave her did not have any greens.  She mixed in her cards carefully while I closed my eyes.  Afterwards, I sifted through them and asked her about the new greens that had appeared.  I was smiling and cracking up.  She smiled, too, but was obviously embarrassed because she kept saying, "Dad, don't laugh!"

I shuffled the cards up and we played again.  This time, she won fair and square, and I gave her a big hug. That's my girl!

INDEPENDENTS' DAY

Every year, each student at Arbor from K through 8 is in charge of picking an independent project.  This year topics in Nicholas' class ranged from omelets, finches, skiing, and rock candy.

This year, Nicholas and I began to closely follow the English Premier League.  Many consider this to be the world's best club soccer league, and this year is considered the greatest season of that greatest keague. Nicholas and I could not agree more.

I asked Nicholas why he picked the Premier League for his project.  He said he loved the team names, the crests, and the players. Enough said.

One and a half weeks before the project was due, we went to the art store and picked up a posterboard, ruler, fancy markers, a Pentel mechanical pencil, and Staedtler erasers.  The last two items reminded me of my own childhood and my love of fancy office supplies.  My dad used to be me many pencils, erasers, and pens.  Collecting these was one of my early obsessions and compulsions, and buying those items brought back a flood of good memories.

Each night, we spent about one hour working on the poster. First, Nicholas used a ruler to mark straight lines on the poster so the writing would be straight. Then, he wrote out all the text in pencil with his best handwriting. Next, he wrote over the pencil with markers and erased the pencil marks.  For the table, he drew all the teams' crest, and he filled in facts about the teams.

Here are the crests of the 20 teams. Click on the picture for a closer view of Nicholas' handiwork!

Then, we found pictures to put on the poster and organized them with topics of his choosing.

To put such a poster together is quite a feat, but the students also present their work in front of their classmates and take questions and comments.  Nicholas' presentation is below.



Here is the Q and A.



I was so impressed by this young man. Let me remind you he is six years old currently.

I was tough on him when he was working on his poster because I knew how good he was capable of making it.  There was a lot of erasing, concentration, and a few tears of fatigue and frustration.

After the presentation, Nicholas and I reflected on what he had accomplished.  I asked him if the hard work was worth it.  He did not hesitate and said, "Definitely!" I could not agree more.

Atta boy!

I LOVE THE GREEKS

Nicholas' class has been learning about the Ancient Greeks.  This is one of the favorite subjects in the Primary classroom, and it is for good reason.  The students learn about Greek Mythology. They sample Greek food. They learn the Greek alphabet. Finally, they also put on a Greek play.  For many students, like Nicholas, this is their first chance to act and perform in a play.

After several weeks of practice, the big day finally arrived to perform "The Golden Apple."  We picked up our programs, which had info about all of the actors and their interests.

Nicholas' bio is shown below.

Then, the performance began.



As you might have figured out, our little guy played Paris and married Helen played by the adorable Harper. Afterwards, we joked with Harper's family that we were glad that these two kids had found each other and that we awaited the dowry.  They said the farm animals were en route.

What an amazing and early introduction to the arts and literature.  I look forward to many more plays and many more years of watching Nicholas do his thing. Also, let's hope his eventual marriage is more calm than Paris' and Helen's- that one spawned the Trojan War!

BITS AND PIECES

Every few months, Arbor invites its students to perform in front of all the students, staff, teachers, and parents who are able to break away in the middle of the day. The event is called "Bits and Pieces," and Nicholas played his ukulele once before and did a great job.

When, the school announced this was coming up again, neither Kathleen nor I mentioned it because we wanted Nicholas to decide for himself whether to play a piece.  One week before the latest installment, Nicholas' music teacher Laura told us she was excited to hear his new piece and wondered if we would be able to make it.  Kathleen told her we were not even aware he would be playing, but that we would make every effort to come (i.e. Joshi will be there).

We asked Nicholas what he intended to play that night, and he said "Hedwig's Theme" from Harry Potter.  He had learned that songs several months prior, and he thought his classmates would appreciate it since many of them are Harry fanatics.  As I have said previously, Arbor is an eco-friendly Hogwarts without the house of Slytherin!

On the day of the performance, several older students played along with their personal music teachers.  Nicholas was one of the youngest performers, and he confidently strode up to the stage all by himself.  He set up his music, got out his pick, and announced that he would be playing "Hedwig's Theme."  He then proceeded to give it his all.  You can see for yourself below.



As you can tell from the applause, it was a big hit. When Nicholas returned to his seat, his fifth-grade "buddy" Norris and all of the kids sitting nearby gave him big high fives and words of congratulations.
Every single performer receives this type of reception regardless of the number of missed notes or pauses.

For me, the bravery of the performers and the grace of the audience is what exemplifies the Arbor School- character, intellect, and curiosity.  Here's to Nicholas and to many more Bits and Pieces.

COOLING OFF

We have been experiencing a mini heat wave in Portland with temps in the (oh my God) 80s.  To cool off, we set up the sprinkler for the kids.  As you can see, they are hoping for more warm weather!

DRINK IT IN!

Today, I witnessed the most remarkable and dramatic sports comeback of my life.  Going into today's game, Manchester City (aka City) were on the top of the table by a whisker over their cross-town rivals Manchester United (aka United).

I use the term rivals, but until recently these two clubs have been orbiting different galaxies with United in the Milky Way and City far off in some distant, unheralded galaxy.  United has won 14 of the 20 Premier League titles in England's first division since 1992 when that league was created.  City, on the other hand, had not won a league title in 44 years.

Today, none of that history mattered as both club were resolutely playing for the moment.  All City had to do was win, and the title was theirs.  They faced the fourth worst team in the league Queens Park Rangers (QPR). That might sound like an easy win for City and no contest, but in English football the three worst teams are relegated, or banished, to a lesser league. Relegation means far fewer TV revenues and much less prestige.  Therefore, QPR came looking to fight, and fight they did.

City, like United, took an early lead in their match. However, unlike United, City gave away a goal.  This meant that they had to score one more or they would lose the match and the Premier League title on this last day of the season.  City were handed a gift, albeit a just gift, when the QPR midfielder Joey Barton was dismissed with a red card for elbowing a City player in the face.  It was crass and deliberate.  However, despite being down to 10 men, QPR continued to fight, and they scored another goal to take a lead 2-1.

This is where things stood at the end of 90 minutes of regulation. In football, unlike other sports, there is added time to account for stoppages or delays during the match.  Five extra minutes were added to this match- the majority of which were due to that elbow incident.  By this time, United had won their game and had every reason to believe that City would lose and that they, United, would retain the title.

Yet, sometimes in sport, like in life, the unexpected and the impossible happens.  Today was one of those days.

In the 92nd minute, City dramatically equalized the score on a header to give themselves a lifeline. At about that time, QPR heard word that the third worst team, Bolton, had lost and that Bolton and not they would be relegated.  The QPR players on the sideline began to celebrate, but City remained resolute and showed no sign of wavering.

Belief plus talent is a dangerous combination.  Would it be be enough? Would their be enough time?

Within seconds, the Argentinian forward Sergio "Kun" Aguero scored again to give City the lead.  The entire stadium and every "noisy neighbor" as the United coach Sir Alex Ferguson previously dubbed the City faithful erupted in joy.  You can witness this moment for yourself below.



While neither United nor City are my team, City are my favorite squad in the Premier League due to their attacking and aggressive style of play. I was overjoyed and overwhelmed by their victory and by how they won it.  I brought down Nicholas to watch the replays, and we discussed the match much of the day. What a moment!

He and I will surely remember this day, this win, and this season in the Premier League.  Nicholas will discuss this League for his independent project at school sometime in the next few weeks, and he will have a lot to share about what many are calling the greatest season in the history of the greatest football league in the world.

To City and to believers everywhere, let's all raise a glass.  As the great Martin Tyler said in the commentary above. Drink it in, City!

A MODERN DAY SIDDHARTHA

Just when Barca fans thought that things could not get any worse, our coach Pep Guardiola announced that he was leaving the club last Friday.  This announcement did not come as a complete surprise since Pep has stipulated that he have one-year contracts with the club since he became coach.  This season, in recent weeks, Pep has shown particular strain .

Guardiola's record in four years at Barcelona is unrivaled. In 243 games during his era, Barca won 176, tied 46, and lost just 21. During that time, the team won 13 trophies out of 16 competitions in which they participated.  These trophies include three consecutive Spanish League titles, two European Championships in three years, and two Club World Cup Championships in three years.   Despite (or rather because) of that success, the pressure to win every single game became enormous.  When one plays a game every three days each year because one is vying for so many titles in so many competitions, such expectations become even more untenable.

Guardiola cited the stress of his position rather than failures in several of this year's competitions as the reason for his departure, and one cannot begrudge him.  His joy had left him despite being surrounded by the world's best players, a supportive front office, and a generous salary.  His break is well-deserved.

However, despite leaving the club, Guardiola's legacy will endure.  His assistant coach Tito Villanova has been named the new coach, and these men share the same love of the game and philosophy of play.  

The Barca style is so distinctive - it looks like a symphony on grass.  I was drawn to this sweet music the very first time when I watched Spain play in the World Cup.  Only later would I realize that Barca was the inspiration for this quick-passing, fluid style of play and that Guardiola was its composer.  While this style of play began under his Guardiola's coach at Barca, Johan Cruyff, it is said that Guardiola perfected it.  

Results speak volumes, and it is hard to disagree with Pep's record and the number of soccer acolytes whom he has inspired. However, Pep's take was decidely non-teleological at his press conference announcing his departure. When he described his tenure as coach, he said, "‘I don’t remember any single title, rather the emotion I shared with my players... more than about the results, I'm satisfied about the way we have done it." 

Well said, maestro. Spoken like a modern day Siddhartha.