Who says that Sid is only for preschoolers? I know for sure that Sid has universal appeal because I had a chance to talk with middle school students last week. One of the middle schools in my town was hosting a "Writing in the World" day in conjunction with their annual books fair. The goal of the event was to show middle school students the importance of good writing for their future employment opportunities. The school wanted to showcase people who write for a living: a novelist, a police detective, a college professor, a singer songwriter, and a blogger. Through a mysterious series of events that sometimes happen in small towns, I was referred to the chairperson of the event through a friend in my book club, because I am a professional writer with a blog. They asked me to come talk with students about professional blogging.

Who, ME? Yes, I am a writer and yes, I am lucky enough to write a blog for Sid the Science Kid...but I wasn't sure about talking to groups of 12-15 years olds about a blog for preschoolers. I agreed and then I stressed about it for a couple of weeks. My challenge was to teach them what a blog is all about, get them interested in a preschool show and a blog for parents, and then somehow make connections to their tween lives.

I do my best work when I think (obsess) about a topic for a while. I like to think of it as percolating. (Which, by the way, middle schoolers would know nothing about since percolators are ancient coffee machines.) So, I devised a plan in my head and only put it into an outline the night before the big event. I decided to talk about myself, talk about Sid, and then take them to a blog that might peak their interest. I picked Rick Riordan's blog since most kids have read The Lightening Thief or at least seen the movie.

So early one Friday morning, I found myself at the middle school. To say I was nervous isn't quite right. I definitely felt uneasy, but it as more a feeling of being out of my element. The kids walking around were so very BIG. Some girls had make up on and some boys were a head taller than me. I am so used to the preschool environment. And it hit me...someday Henry and Leo are going to be in middle school! I am already panicking about Leo in Kindergarten and here I was faced with my future: big boys who are a head taller than me.

My first class was a 6th grade Honors Language Arts class. I started by explaining that when I was their age I didn't have any idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I only knew that I loved to read and I loved to write. Then I asked the class if anyone knew what they wanted to be in the future. Their answers were wonderful: architects, vets, doctors, nurses, police officers, firemen, and professional ball players. A room full of dreams. From then on, it was easy. The most shocking moments for me were when the kids did not know who Jim Henson was. They all knew the Muppets and the Sesame gang, but not The Jim Henson Company. (They do now.)

When I linked to Sid up on the screen many of the kids DID recognize him and his friends. They claimed to have younger siblings who watched, but I know that these big kids liked Sid too. We talked about blogging and social media and the significance of communication. I tried to explain how important it is in today's world to express yourself with concise writing, perfect grammar, and clean spelling. And I wanted them to know that anyone can write and anyone can tell a story.

Sid the Science Kid has opened many doors for me in the past two years through the blog and podcast. But a door to the middle school was not one I was expecting. I had a great day talking to different classes and I was proud to show them the fun things that happen over at Sid the Science Kid.

Have you let yourself imagine your little preschooler in his or her middle school years? How do you think Sid will turn out? It's fun to think about.

I really shouldn't be too surprised anymore when the Sid the Science Sid weekly topic parallels my life as a mom. I think we can all relate to teaching our children about the functions of our lungs, heart, bones, and stomach. As parents, we see those body parts as the heart, breath, limbs, and health of our children. And I mean that literally and metaphorically. I want Henry and Leo to understand how precious their organs and body systems are. I want them to make the connections between exercise and nutrition to their hearts, lungs, bones, and bodies. We've begun learning by watching Sid the Science Kid and completing all of the investigations in this cycle. As always, the activities are fun and informative.

But it's not enough. I believe that it is my job as a parent to model the behaviors I want Henry and Leo to carry through life. Believe me, I am a work in progress. But I have made some recent changes that I hope will be positive. And they happen to fall in line with this week's topics about the body...just in time for Mother's Day!

Lungs
I bought a new pair of sneakers. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I had Henry with me. We went on a "date" to buy him new sneakers. Henry blows through sneakers faster than his feet grow, but I don't mind. He is in constant motion. Leo is the runner in the family, with dreams of taking off on his own someday to "have a run around the neighborhood." I haven't bought a new pair of sneakers in six years. And one of my favorite phrases has always been "I only run when I am being chased." But when Henry and I were at the New Balance outlet (love these shoes for kids) I decided to do some positive modeling and get myself a pair of sneakers. Pink ones.

The next day I found myself at the park with the boys in my new pink kicks. And I wanted to run. I ran all around with the boys until I thought my lungs would burst. Henry and Leo laughed and laughed. That night when we talked about the day, my boys were grateful for ME and for playing at the park. Totally worth the price of a pair of sneakers.

Muscles
So, now I have a new pair of sneakers and lungs that are out of shape. In search of help I called a friend who is an EMT and a firefighter. Basically, I called a friend who is in shape. She asked me to think of one form of exercise from my life that I enjoyed. No matter what age. That was easy...I like to swim. I used to swim at the community pool on a team from ages 10 to 14. I swam a lot and I loved it. With that revelation, I got a membership at the gym with a big pool. Just like that.

I have been swimming 3 times. It is quiet and cool and totally alone. Afterwards my muscles ache. My muscles ache in a way that they haven't in many many years. It is a familiar pain that doesn't bother me. I want to feel stronger and I want to make my muscles work. The payoff comes with the boys. Henry and Leo are impressed by the gym and the Olympic sized pool. They like my new goggles and ask when I am going again. I am modeling for them and it feels good.

Bones
I am in my 40s and I need to think about my bones. The boys are both having "growing pains" that keep them up at night in tears. I feel awful for them but I am also in awe of the way the human body is constructed. They are literally growing right before my eyes. Yesterday Leo asked me "Mommy, how tall will you be when you are finished growing?" The question took me aback with its simplicity. I explained that my bones were done growing but that someday he would be taller than me. Leo was astounded. Then, I explained that even though my bones weren't growing, I needed to care for my bones and my joints by eating the right kinds of foods and exercising. I also told Leo that we never ever stop growing in our hearts, even if our bones don't get longer. My wise boy seemed to get that.

Digestion
I have written a lot about nutrition on this blog but I haven't shared our latest challenge as a family. I believe, based on observation, charting, and dietary tracking, that Henry is highly sensitive to processed sugar. Sugar deeply affects Henry's mood, ability to focus, and impulse control. So, I am committed to eliminating as much sugar as I can from his diet. Or should I say OUR FAMILY'S diet. It can only benefit us all if we work together to help Henry and model the behavior we want him to learn. Some of us really like sweets (DAD) and chocolate (MOM). It is a sacrifice to give a lot of it up. But Henry understands how the body uses the foods we put into our digestive system. I have a concrete way to explain our lifestyle change via Sid and he seems to be okay with it ... for now. But as a mom, I have never felt more sure about something I can do to help my child be successful.

The least I can do in honor of Mother's Day is to take better care of my children's only mom: ME. I am blessed with two amazing boys and every day they model for me the kind of person I want to be when I grow up.

Happy Mother's Day!

Time is flying by. We are staring right at May this week and Leo only has 6 more weeks of preschool. How is that even possible? At the end of May Leo will be 5 and in the fall we will wave to him as he marches into Kindergarten. I am feeling very nostalgic and a little panicked. We are all looking forward to summertime fun, but in the meantime I am savoring and treasuring my days with Leo.

Wednesday is our "together" day. I try not to schedule too many activities. We alternate between story time at the library, play dates with friends, errands, and at home hang outs. I have been leaning more towards the at home hang out days where we cuddle on the couch for PBS TV watching, cook in the kitchen, fold laundry, create art, dig in the garden, or have an adventure.

This Wednesday I really wanted to roll up our sleeves and jump into a great Sid the Science Kid investigation - just like the old days when preschool began. With that in mind, I consulted the activities tab on the Sid site and found Wing It!

Leo and Henry have both recently become interested in planes and paper airplanes. This activity, along with the accompanying episode, is perfect for them. Leo and I watched the video clip for the episode and set off on our own adventure. We learned that the first designs for the airplane came from observing birds and learning about how birds fly.

Our first step was to head outside and search for airplanes and birds. We could hear planes overhead (we are on the long descent flight path for LAX) but the cloudy skies made it difficult to see the planes. After much searching Leo spotted a small plane flying very high in the sky.

We watched little birds swoop from tree to tree up our street. Their small wings allowed the birds to glide and dive. We wanted to stay outside longer, but the misty weather wasn't cooperating so we went inside to conduct our research. On our way in we stopped to examine a birds' nest our neighbor had found while trimming a tree in our front yard. It is lovely and delicate. Leo loves to hold it gently in his hands and imagine the bird family that called the nest home. It is so cute.

Once inside we pulled out a sketchpad and the "good" colored pencils to start recording our ideas. I wrote "Birds" at the top while Leo drew a picture of a bird. We talked about the parts of a bird and how those parts help birds fly. We made labels too. When I asked him what a feather was he said: "Little extra wings."

Next we pulled out the iPad and got a little side tracked. I looked up tutorials for drawing a bird. So, the next thing I knew, there we were, drawing a real bird step by step. I was as engaged as Leo and I am quite proud of my little drawing. I am usually so art challenged!

It was a great exercise to draw the bird. It really helped us see the different part and lead us into the next step of our investigation. Planes.

Leo could have spent the next two hours on the iPad looking at images of airplanes. We clicked on thousands and thousands of images. (Okay, maybe only 50 or so.) We discussed the similarities and differences between birds and airplanes. I was interested to hear what Leo had to say because his teacher commented recently that Leo had trouble with comparisons. I was proud to discover that he could generate the similarities (wings, nose/beak, tail) and differences (birds are animals, planes have motors) quite readily. We wrote down our observations and continued to browse through pictures of airplanes.

I see a trip to the local airfield in our future. This investigation flowed so well for us and concluded in such an organic way. It felt like a seamless part of our time together as opposed to an "organized" activity. I am really looking forward to next Wednesday. And time just keeps flying by!