Luke has Hat Trick in Win Against Defending Champions and Former Team

Luke had a soccer game yesterday at 5pm against his former team, The Revolution, and 2-time consecutive champion (they won once with him, and once after he changed teams).  It was tied at 0-0 in the 3rd period, and one of our kids finally scored.  Then moments later, Luke broke away and scored... Then again... The coach left him it at mid-center (his favorite position)... then he scored again.    Three goals against his undefeated former team.  It was a great game for him, and we won 4-2!!   

He has such great athletic instincts.  He's just a natural at whatever sport he tries.  I have him signed up for Wolfpack Boys Soccer camp this summer for 1 week.  It's a day camp at NC State taught by State coaches and players.  I hope that he will enjoy it, and will want to stick with soccer.  He says he doesn't really like it, but he's so fickle that that changes from month to month.  I'm sure he liked it yesterday!  I really think that if he were serious about it, that he could get a scholarship.  Right now, it's just fun.

Here's a picture I took LAST week...  (we won that one 2-0)...   I love this picture because Luke's eyes are looking ahead to where he's going with the ball...  towards the goal!

Not sure where he got his soccer skills... surely not from his parents!!

My First Junior Achievement Program Completed... It was a BLAST!

Last week, I wrapped up my first ever JA experience, where I spent 5 sessions in January delivering the Our City program to Mrs. Dubin's 3rd graders at Green Hope Elementary School in Cary, NC.  It was a BLAST!

Being that I've always had a passion for teaching and wanted to give back to some local schools in some way, I had been interested in JA since the intro breakfast I attended in 2011.  But when I attended an orientation session in November, and saw the quality of materials available for the program, my motivation and excitement kicked into a higher gear!  I wanted to get started!

The Our City program helps teach elementary school kids about how a city is created and operates.  Students learn basics about zones, construction concepts, opening a restaurant, publishing a newspaper, and how a bank operates.  The materials are all packaged in a "briefcase" and professionally designed and organized with a volunteer guide that tells exactly what to do in each session.  There are plenty of hands-on activities and the guide gives some latitude for the volunteer to bring his or her own experiences into the discussion.  The importance of education, study, and hard work are reinforced throughout the delivery of the program.

There is a colorful city map that is used for all of the sessions.  The map is divided into zones and we discuss why we have zones, and what the role of a city planner is.

Students build buildings using cutouts which form 3D figures, and also do some basic construction measurements and talk about the importance of quality in construction.

The restaurant session was my favorite, as I got out the dry-erase marker and conducted a pretty interactive discussion on different aspects of being an entrepreneur and restaurant owner.  The funniest moment came when the students had to name their restaurants.  One group wanted to have an Italian style restaurant like Maggiano's which also offered massages.  The ring leader of that group proclaimed it would be called Massagiano's!!  (By the way, that particular ring leader was my son Luke).  Other richly diverse teams compromised and decided to have mixed-culture menus, such as "Chinese-Mexican".  It was enlightening to see how well they worked together.  We were all pretty hungry after this session was over!

The newspaper journalism session was fun too.  Students crafted outlines to their own made-up stories, some of which included Mrs. Dubin opening her own restaurant, or other students becoming sports champions!

The banking session involved the students dividing into 2 groups - customers and workers - and demonstrating capitalism in action.  You earn money... you put it in the bank...  the bank stewards your money... you buy stuff using a variety of methods like checks and ATM cards, and at the end of the week, you reconcile your expenses.  Basic stuff, but we can all learn a lot by twenty 3rd graders standing up, walking around, and conducting business in a "city" called a classroom.

I prepared about 60-90 minutes for each session, and that was mainly because each was my first one.  I took notes and made highlights in the volunteer guide, and used that more as a general outline than a script.  The kit is truly "turn-key" and ready to use out the box.  Mrs. Dubin was helpful in making connections to what they were teaching in class, and rightfully so.  The JA programs are intentionally mapped to grade level subjects in the Department of Education's subject taxonomy.  Mrs. Dubin also helped keep the kids in order and helping with many of the activities.  She has a great class, and I will surely miss them!

It was truly a pleasure serving these kids.  I knew most of the names by the 3rd session, but the JA tent cards helped where my memory failed me.  As I got to know the students, I encouraged them more and more - helping the shy ones get engaged, helping the outgoing ones learn about humility, and helping everyone to act professionally, courteously, and speak up confidently when talking.  There's certainly more to this than just learning about "our city".

Before this session was complete, I had already booked my next Our City gig, to be done with some 5th graders later this spring.  I can't wait.  I encourage anyone with a passion for service to kids and our educational system to consider making an investment in Junior Achievement.  You'll have a blast, too!!

To volunteer for Junior Achievement, please contact your corporate volunteer coordinator, or if you are in the Triangle area, the JA of Eastern NC office.

And the Shirts Go to...

Well not everyone had the same answers as me (see comments in post below)... but some were close. To solve this riddle, we need to start with what we know about the boys.

Luke hoards money and is frequently making deals to get more money. He thinks he should be paid for getting out of bed in the morning. He will go to the store to buy a $30 item, and will leverage parental equity to pay for the sales taxes. He also is giving and has been known to give money to parents, grandparents, and brothers. B-School for Luke.

Caleb... Legos... Legos... Legos... Never concerned too much about money. Likes to read intricate Lego procedures in his spare time. A little eccentric and not concerned about what he wears. Focused on the task at hand (when it's something he wants to do). Strong in science in school - to heck with everything else. Likes to help people. Med School for Caleb.

Seth... Could do anything, I think, but there is a sense of justice and logic to him. Having two younger brothers who tend to cause him some issues on occasion, Seth has to argue his position often, and is usually pretty calm and level-headed. Often is able to identify how brothers have wronged him in some way, and convincingly proclaims his innocence in the matter. Law School for Seth.

Of course, I would not be disappointed if I have all this wrong. All of these are tough fields of study followed by time-consuming careers. I just want each of them discover God's will on their own, and to make the best of their lives by living that out.

So where's the engineer and jewelry designer in the family? I guess that is Dad and Mom! And I'm still thinking about opening that hot dog stand in the shallow waters of the Keys in Florida.

IBM Business Insights at Harvard

This week I am at the subject class in Boston. Today we got done a little early so I got over to the main campus - pictured here at Harvard Yard. This is a great experience, the likes of which I hope someday my boys can receive. Tonight, however, I have a lot of homework!

While at Harvard, I went to their "Harvard Coop" store which is where they have a bazillion shirts and other logo merchandise. I accomplished my mission buying shirts for my boys. Since I don't "really" go to Harvard, I guess it would be pretentious for me to wear their brand, especially since they are certainly not known for their sports teams. However, buying shirts for the kids allows me to live vicariously through them, as well as encourage them to strive for making the grades to go to such an extravagantly expensive, but distinguished, school. I guess every parent wants their kids to accomplish more than they did, so I guess I'm settling into that mode myself. So while I would shudder to think about paying for that sort of college for 1 to 3 children, I would try to find a way if that challenge ever presented itself.

So I bought 3 shirts... one was Harvard Business School, one was Harvard Law School, and the other Harvard Medical School - each one carefully selected to fit the personality of one of our boys, though perhaps not their bodies due to the lack of child sizes. So for those who know Seth, Caleb, and Luke: Who gets which shirt? Post a comment here with your guess (and why), and I'll answer later with my choices.

Day 4 at Disney World - Jedi Luke

Today we went to Hollywood Studios. The highlight was Luke's training as a Jedi. He got picked along with a few other kids, and got to learn a few light sabre moves. The trainer was really funny, and all the kids loved it. Then Darth Vader came out and each "youngling" got offer to join the Dark Side. Then they got to use their new moves on Vader. It really thrilled Luke, and his family as well.

Attention College Basketball Recruiters...

Please see the following video of my 10 year old son Seth. We will be accepting invitations to visit ACC schools offering full scholarships. There is also a teammate and 5 year old brother whom you will also want to consider to round out your back court. I'm sure they will provide you years of conference superiority, as well as raise your scholar-athlete rankings. Unlimited XBOX and PS/3 access will be required, as well as an account on iTunes paid for by your booster club. Their agent and deal-maker will be the 7 year old brother. He usually gets what he wants.

At the NC State Fair

Here we are at the NC State Fair. We just had some footlong dogs and now we are going to ride some more and see if we can get sick!

Backyard Campout

Tonight we bought a tent and had our first big campout in the backyard. I remember my dad camping out with me when I was about 6. The tent was green and canvas and had wooden stakes and room for I guess 2 small people. We didn't have power in the tent with a DVD player, lights, a cell phone with a camera, and room for 7 people, but I still remember it. I think my dad's feet stuck out of the tent and we went in before the night was over, but it was still memorable. Time for bed now. Good night.

Luke and Me at Lunch Last Week

This is a test from my cell phone directly to my blog. I like learning a new technical trick every weekend. Hopefully the picture will show. That is Luke and me at his lunch last week. He's in kindergarten now.

GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!

Until now, none of our kids have shown much interest in soccer. I remember entering Seth in a league at age 4, and he just stood on the field and looked around or cried. Caleb cried on the way to the first practice, after we had signed him up to play. At least he got a shirt out of it. Luke, on the other hand, has been through several soccer camps at age 4, and now at age 5 is on his first team, The Raptors. Each "game," they practice for about 20 minutes, then they play a 40-minute scrimmage game with the team on the other side of the field. There is no goalie in this league, so as to allow as much soccer self esteem to build as possible.

We are in soccer mecca for the U.S., where the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL) rules the schedules of many families. We also have the SAS Soccer Park, where the last several men's or women's NCAA Final Four championship games have been hosted. Other than hockey, soccer is probably the other main sport I've never really played, or enjoyed, though I do enjoy watching hockey.

In this particular game, Luke got to show off his offensive skills, scoring at least 4 goals. I think I missed 1-2 additional goals on the video footage I gathered this past Saturday. Others on his team scored about 4-5 combined goals. Though they don't "keep score" at this age, the other team scored one goal, I think. I don't think they had many shots on goal either. It was tough getting past The Raptor defensive wall.

In prior games, where the opponent has had more shots on goal, Luke typically does well to play defense and guard the goal by anticipating shots and sweeping around to block the shots, usually with a diving slide, much like in baseball. This day, he was all offense, though he was playing with a skinned knee from the day before. You will see that he injures the knee further on a slide into the goal, and then limps off towards the camera. He sat out a rotation while I bandaged him up, then he was back in the game, and did well.

I edited the video together, but then had fun adding in some audio clips from various international soccer matches. There are some audio problems at the 3 minute mark, and that goal was the one with the announcer saying "GOOOOOAAAAALLLL".... but I'll have to work on that problem another day. It's quite funny! Enjoy!

Funny Things... The Kiss

Last night at the dinner table, out of the blue, Luke proclaims, "I kissed Claire before." Claire is the adorable little 5 year old girl next door. They hang out, but we didn't know it was serious. An older woman. Go figure. Luke will be 5 next month. "When did that happen?" asked Mommy. "In 2006," replied Luke. So that would make you, uh, like 2? 3?

So then Caleb comes clean. "I've kissed someone too," he said. "Did you kiss Claire, too?" asked Mom. "Noooo," Caleb says with a grin, knowing Mom is one guess away from getting it right. "Anusha?" asks Mom. Bigger grinning Caleb says "Yes." Then after the laughter dies down... "We were watching Harry Potter..." More laughter. Caleb grinning even more. "at her house..." Pause. Grin. ".. under the blanket." Big laughter from everyone. Mommy and Daddy are wondering if their legs are being pulled.

So Mom asks, "Seth, have you kissed anyone?" "No," replies Seth, a little surprised he's such a ladies man but has been beat out by his younger brothers. Caleb gives him some fatherly advice, just as serious as can be... "Don't worry Seth... You will."

Funny Things My Kids Have Said #2

On the way to Danville yesterday, Luke kept asking "When are we going to be there?" I asked that he watch the clock (which said 11:20), and that when the 20 became a 55 then we would almost be there. I'm thinking he would watch the numbers increase, and learn to tell time through this exercise. Caleb then said to Luke in his usual animated, cut-to-the-chase way, "LUKE, look out your window. If you see a Wendy's and we're going up a big hill, we're almost there."

On the way home from Danville, which is mostly rural country roads, Luke asked, "Are we in the middle of somewhere?" That one was tough to answer. I think I said, "Yes, but not for long."

Today in Sunday School, Lori said they were naming animal sounds. What does a duck say? What does a dog say? Etc... When they were asked "What does a cow say?" Luke answered, "Eat mor chikin."

Today, Caleb had a "date" with a girl/friend in the neighborhood. I gave him the big lecture beforehand about being a gentleman, and using manners, etc. When Lori picked him up, the mother told her about how wonderful and nice Caleb was! Said he was much better than any other child who had visited before. As Lori was telling me this on the phone on the way home, Caleb heard the bragging about him, and promptly asked his mom, "Can I have a dollar?" (I guess he's considering an allowance again!)

Funny Things My Kids Have Said

This is one list I should have been documenting from the beginning. Here are some recent ones...
Caleb is my middle son, and is full of personality. He's the one in front in the beach picture. He's 6 and is not easily bribed. I have been offering him an allowance for over a year, but he never wants it. I have previously thought that he just didn't understand capitalism. Recently, we were at a store where Seth (behind Caleb at beach) was spending the allowance he had saved, and was buying things he wanted. Caleb wanted something too, but I told him that he didn't have any money. I asked him again if he wanted to receive an allowance like Seth. He agreed that time. So as we were driving home, he asked, "Dad, when do I start getting my allowance?" I said, "Well, the first thing you have to know is that in order to get your allowance every week, you are going to have to mind your mann-" Caleb interrupted, "That's OK," sensing the strings attached. In other words.... "Nevermind." To this day, he still doesn't receive an allowance. I have to give him some credit for not selling out to the man.

Tonight as I was putting Luke (photo of Luke eating taken by Caleb) to bed, he asked, "Did Jesus make everything?" "Yes," I said, and so I started to read the first few verses from Genesis 1 - as much as I could see from the ambiance of a night light and no reading glasses. A moment later he asked, "What does Jesus do when..." (and I'm thinking this is going to be a huge theological question) "... when I fall on the sidewalk?" "I figure he's probably sad when you fall and get hurt, but he knows you will get better," I answer. Then he says, "Does Jesus make costumes?" The key to answering this question is pointing out that people make costumes and God makes people, so for the purposes of this discussion, the answer is "yes." Then, "Does Jesus make... feet?" "Yes... Time for bed, Luke."