High Achievers

December was a banner month for the children. Aside from enjoying a Cambridge Christmas, they've been busy with some interests of their own. Mike and I are very proud of them.

Timmy has taken great pride in learning to ride a bike. He was the least interested in getting a bike and now he's the most enthusiastic about riding. He had a similar experience with ice skating. His school arranged a field trip and Timmy begged me to deny him permission to go. When that didn't work, he insisted that he would be sick with fever on the day of the trip. Mom didn't budge and school staff assured him that he wouldn't be forced to skate, although he would have to go with his class. I went too, as a chaperone, helping other children and waving to Timmy through the window as I went around. Imagine my surprise when he approached me and coolly asked for a pair of skates. He went right out there and did it. He was so excited that he wanted to go back the next day! Earlier in the month, Timmy was invested into the local scouting group called Cubs. He is now officially a member of two scout groups, one in England and one in the US. He's been earning badges from both groups. Finally, Timmy has taken an interest in comic book writing, using computer software to facilitate the process. For a school talent demonstration, he and Mike made a video to demonstrate how he creates comic books.

Annie has had several firsts this month. In addition to her stage debut in the Nutcracker, Annie has also learned to ride a bike and ice skate. Additionally, she lost her first two teeth. Annie has rejected the popular practice of leaving her teeth for the tooth fairy. She just doesn't want to part with them. After finding her softly weeping over the prospect, we struck a deal that she could keep the teeth and Mom would just give her a little money instead of the tooth fairy. Fair, right?

Colin's big accomplishment has been learning to read. For a kid who claims he hates his school and complains daily about going, he's doing remarkably well. I volunteer in the classroom about once a week and I can see that he is completely comfortable and adjusted there. He is really soaking up the literacy instruction, which incorporates a wide varieties of techniques to teach the children "funics", as Colin calls phonics. It is very exciting to see the lights turning on for him. He doesn't want to sit with me and read the books his teacher sends home, but he's very curious about words and tries to read signs in the community and books we have at home. He's writing words and sentences too. It's great to see him working out the puzzle of how to put his thoughts on paper. Maybe he'll be writing blog entries before our year is up!

Happy New Year to all.

A visit from a Monk

My brother, Boniface Hicks, a Benedictine Monk (hard to miss his vocation when you see his getup) came to visit us for a few days in early December. He was at the halfway point of a trip to India to give a conference paper (in Hyderabad) and visit and work with Mother Theresa's Missionaries of Charity, in Kolkata (a.k.a., Calcutta). We were all very pleased to receive our first visitor from the States, and we very certainly hope he is the first of many!

The visit was just a couple of days, but fun-filled. Kim and I spent a half day with Boniface wandering around Cambridge, and visiting some of the historic places. We visited Trinity College which boasts many famous alumni. The picture to the left is the ante-chapel of the Trinity Chapel, and it contains statues of many famous "Trinitarians," including Newton, Francis Bacon, and Lord Byron.

We also visited King's College chapel (again), but this time had our cameras with us! The stained glass windows are just beautiful, particularly when the sun outside reflects the colors into the chapel interior.

We also took the occasion of a visiting Benedictine as an opportunity to visit St. Benedict's Church (a.k.a., St. Bene't's), the oldest building in Cambridge, dating from 1025, in Saxon times. It's modest, and nestled away off of King's Parade.

No visit is complete, of course, without a trip to the pub! We went to our family favorite, the Salisbury Arms. Many pubs in Cambridge are gastro-pubs, which is to say they try to cook fancy food. The Salisbury Arms sticks to traditional fare, which is more appealing to the youngsters -- fish 'n chips all around! And nothing goes so well with chips as "brown sauce" (more properly HP Sauce). It reminds me of the McDonalds' Bar-B-Que sauce that they serve with their chicken nuggets.

The kids were very glad to see their Uncle and sorry to see him go. Christmas was on full display in Cambridge during the visit. Soon it shall be here!

Our new favorite hymn

We are growing to love Gabriel's Message.

It's a traditional European hymn (Basque), translated to English by Sabine Baring-Gould in the late 19th century.  I've heard the school kids sing it with great gusto on the walk to school, and Year 6 at St. Albans sang it during the Advent service.  We sang it during Mass today.  So moved were we that we ran out to Heffer's to buy a CD that includes it.

The first time I'd heard it was Sting's version.  This version is closer to the one on our new CD.

Cycling on Argyle St.

As this picture shows, Anne had a big moment today -- she started riding her bicycle without stabilizers! At first, we just raised them up a bit, so she could get used to riding without relying on them. But after 15 minutes or so, she was getting pretty good at it, so I suggested we just take them off. "Okay" she says, without any trepidation. And off she goes!

Tim saw this and must have thought: "If Anne can do it, I can do it!" So he asked me to take his stabilizers off, too. Pretty quickly he was also doing quite well. Here's what he has to say about the experience:

''Hello,
Well it was very fun. I quite enjoyed myself most of the time.

But not always.

If you want to see me in action please watch the handy movie below.''



Perhaps we'll be riding to school by the time next term rolls around ...

Benjamin, Clara, and the Kung Fu Fighter

Christmas is a time for...family, giving, peace. Well, yes, but here in England, it's also a time for theater. All of the children participated in Christmas productions at their schools this month. Timmy's Year 4 class joined 3 other grades in presenting a series of Biblical plays, similar to Passion plays in format. We all gathered at the school and moved around to different areas of the grounds for performances in song, poetry and drama. Timmy's group related the Old Testament stories of the the twelve sons of Jacob and the plagues in Egypt. Since the plays were held outdoors, costumes had to accommodate the weather. Here is Timmy in costume as Benjamin, son of Jacob.

The plays covered the highlights of the Old Testament, ending with the Nativity story. They were beautifully done. It was cold, dark, and past bedtime when we finished. On the walk home, Colin said, "Mom, I wish I was already in my bed and snuggled up." At least he went to bed easily that night.

Annie's Year 2 class worked with Year 1 on an abridged version of the Nutcracker, omitting the ballet, and inserting a few songs from other settings. Annie played the part of Clara. She was brilliant, as was the rest of the ensemble. When Annie first came home and told us about her role, I think I was the only person in the family who realized that she was playing one of the lead characters. But I didn't let on so she wouldn't get too nervous about it. And she didn't: she memorized all her lines and performed with aplomb, cool as a cucumber.

Now you're thinking, "OK, I get Benjamin and Clara, but what about the Kung Fu Fighter?" Colin's school presented an original production titled "The Three Kings Get Fit for Christmas". It had a lot of not so subtle messages about eating right and getting exercise. There were a cameo appearances by Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus. Colin was among a group demonstrating Kung Fu to the Kings. They did a little choreography to the music from Kung Fu Panda (appealing to the younger audience members) and additional steps to that Christmas classic "I Want to Ride My Bicycle" by Queen (an obvious nod to the parents in the crowd).

We'll end this month by attending a professional theater (or theatre) production of Jack and the Beanstalk, a pantomime. Panto, as it is called, is a British holiday tradition in which a classic tale is performed. As I understand it, the female characters are played by men in outrageous costume and the male characters are played by women in less outrageous costume. The whole affair involves audience participation and is supposed to be a delight for the entire family. We are looking forward to it.