We are proud to announce the launch of a new meetup… South Florida Babywearing.
[Update 11/16/08]
Here is the link to the new SOUTH FLORIDA BABYWEARING meetup.com group. If you live in South Florida and have ANY interest in babywearing (using a baby carrier to keep your baby close, and still remain hands-free) please check out this group. It is a clearing house for the babywearing activities that are happening in the Greater Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. We have several members in Palm Beach county as well. We are working to establish a babywearing meeting in Boca Raton for those people.
We had our first meetup Friday. There were 2 other cool families that showed up! (2x – Mom, Dad & baby girl) It was great to meet other young, hip parents with their beautiful babies! We turned quite a few heads walking down the Hollywood Beach Boardwalk! lol
Well, I must say that homeschool has definitely been an adjustment! But we are sinking into the groove of it, and meeting some other cool homeschooling families in the area.
Au-Teen recently joined the South Florida Homeschool Key Club (a service-oriented social club). He says all the teens there are cool. He was SO RELIEVED to find others that “feel his pain”. lol (He’s referring to the solitude, which he finds nicer than dealing with standard public school hooligan issues, but is still new and different.)
We are signed up for some core classes through Florida Virtual School – FLVS. FLVS is a FREE, state-run online school in which students may study full-time or part-time. The students are assigned to a virtual class. The teachers are available for questions from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
I have subscribed to several local homeschool Yahoo! groups. I have learned about all types of social activities that the kids can participate in. They all have weekly or bi-monthly park days, field trips, etc.
We also went to a meeting, lecture, and ice cream social put on by the Broward Christian Homeschoolers (BCH) group. The Key Club volunteered to setup, conduct the ice cream and concessions sale/fundraiser, and clean up afterward. Au-Teen met another teen guy that had circumstances that were uncannily parallel to his own. So they really hit it off.
And the BEST part is that I’m now “required” to spend even more QUALITY time with my son. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own thing, while our teens are doing THEIR own thing. This is proving to be a beautiful opportunity for both of us! And it also legitimizes many of the otherwise mundane and seemingly “pointless” household chores… they count as “LIFE SKILLS” in school!
I will continue to post updates as we get even more plugged into this new and wonderful world of homeschool!
Please LEAVE A COMMENT about your experience (or exposure) to homeschool, or ways that you have connected with your teen.
As I’ve mentioned before, I LOVE Meetup.com! And I love it even more now that someone local started a new Attachment Parenting Meetup Group. (There has been another one in the area, but for some reason, I never managed to meet up with them. I think it is mostly because their kids are older toddlers.)
Anyway, I went to my first Meetup with this new group. We had a GREAT TIME! This park is devoted to the Arts, and shows it! Architecturally, it is phenomenal! (My hat’s off to Glavovic Studio.) The playground fixtures are actually sculptural! I want to get Elliott to do a photo series that showcases the lovely design of Young Circle Park!
Twilli LOVES the water now. So this was right up her alley. I didn’t think to bring her bathing suit, as I thought it was just a park. So please excuse her diaper-only attire.
Oh yeah! The boys had fun too! I think ALL of the little tykes slept well that night!
Please LEAVE A COMMENT about your favorite play place. And if you know some good file compression techniques for YouTube (via iMovie), please TWEET ME.
Baby Loves Disco is a new trend that I’ve heard a lot about lately. Basically it’s a chance for families to come hang out in a nightclub, with child-friendly environment, with cool music, snacks and even a chill-out room. (I’m flashing back to my days as a rave dj. I’m sure it won’t be quite THAT crazy… but hey, I haven’t been “out” in a LONG time!)
I’m glad that the Baby Loves Disco wave is sweeping over Fort Lauderdale! I’m surprised we don’t have to drive to Miami to catch something like this. (I know Twilli would LOVE some good Salsa dancing. But I’m not able to move that way! hehehe)
Also, a super cool chic from one of our local Meetup playgroups, is one of the sponsors. (Maybe we’ll bring home some cool SWAG!) Nicole is the head chef and chief bpa-free bottle washer for Rockin Mamaz – for Moms who ROCK the Cradle with the Flyest Gear and Coolest Clothes. Bringing you Hip and Funky Maternity and Infants to Big Kids Apparel. Unique toys, BPA- Free Glass Bottles, Sippy Cups and so much more. I immediately resonated with Nicole when we first met. I can’t wait to see what she’s put together for her shop!
Twilli LOVES music! And she loves to dance! Right now, it looks more like HEAD-BANGIN’ than anything else. Actually, that’s part of the humor! Twilli looks too sweet to be a head-banger! But she loves when Au-teen plays metal on guitar, too! I guess she inherited some of her daddy’s taste in music. Oh, and she looks great in black! lol
Hopefully, Elliott will shoot LOTS of photos of everyone shakin’ it to the Village People! lol And maybe we’ll post a video or two of head-bangin’ Twilli!
It’s Dad’s turn to write “Wears The Baby Wednesday” this week. I’m between daytime gigs right now, so my schedule opened up to attend a Broward Babywearing Meeting this past Monday, where Renee attends regularly.
Mothers of varying experience levels gather to share tips, and allow each other to try out the myriad baby carriers available today. You can try out ring slings, soft structured carriers, mei tais and other Asian-inspired carriers, and mobi wraps.
Due to the large turnout (yay!), Kimberley decided that we would do introductions then have a few demonstrations. The back carry was demonstrated with a few different carriers. After the formal demonstrations of the back carry, the curious to paired up with the experienced for some one-on-one instruction.
The next meeting is tentative for this Saturday, April 26th, at Volunteer Park, in Plantation. Check in with the Broward Babywearing site to find out more.
Today I went to my first playgroup meeting at a local playgroup on Meetup.com in Fort Lauderdale. The organizer of the group, Jordanna, planned a Valentine’s Day party at Chick-Fil-A for the kids to play and exchange cards. There was a turnout of around 35 people. In attendance were parents with kids aged 3 months, up to a couple of teen girls, who came to help.
Everyone I met was GREAT! There are some really cool families out there. Face it, everyone ultimately wants the same thing. Right? We all need fellowship with peers. I can’t believe I didn’t go to one of these meetings before.
For a long time I’ve been saying, “I want to meet like-minded people in the community.” But I haven’t followed up with action until lately. It is definitely worth the effort.
Meetup.com is an EXCELLENT resource for finding people in YOUR community. (And no, I am not getting any kickbacks for this.)
How have you met other parents and families? Please LEAVE A COMMENT and share your experience.
We have seen many positive changes in my 13 year old son this year. One of the best ones has been his recent involvement in the Civil Air Patrol, aka CAP. My husband explains more about Civil Air Patrol on 21stCenturyDad.com.
Last weekend, they took a field trip to the Coast Guard Station. At yesterday’s meeting, they learned about the parts of an airplane, and how these parts allow the plane to fly.
This coming weekend, the Cadets will be marching in the Candy Cane Parade – Hollywood Beach, FL. If you are interested, and in the Fort Lauderdale area, the parade is free. It starts at 7:00 p.m., on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk & A1A at the Beach Theater.
This is the first time Au-teen has been in a parade. I assume they will be showcasing their marching drills and cadences. It’s wonderful to see my son getting involved with an organization that instills discipline and responsibility. And it’s not every day that he gets to march in a parade!
