view from Navy Pier

Downtown Chicago has a beautiful skyline, as seen from the Toy and Game Fair at Navy Pier.

more nanowrimo news

All our National Novel Writing Month participating authors have now met (and exceeded) their word count goals. Hooray for all involved! Congratulations on writing extended fiction -- and on meeting your goal -- and on beating the deadline by days!!

Young Inventor Challenge

Last weekend was the Chicago Toy and Game Fair at Navy Pier. It was an exciting and inspirational experience to accompany a student participating in the Young Inventor Challenge. The entries were high quality and very impressive. The Young Inventor Challenge was sponsored by Lund and Company -- inventors and believers in the vital importance of play.

The Chicago Toy and Game Fair was well attended by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable public.

Commercial vendors played games, demonstrated games, and sold games direct to the public. Costumed characters roam the show floor, including characters from Star Wars, Spot, and Santa Claus.

This was a completely delightful experience! We got home Monday and have been in an ecstasy of invention ever since.

nanowrimo update

Today one of our students officially met her goal for National November Writing Month! Hooray! This young writer says, "It is only a first draft."

November Novel writing opportunity

A really cool opportunity for aspiring novelists of all ages is www.nanowrimo.org

The companion site for writers under the age of 13 is www.ywp.nanowrimo.org

November is the month to write a novel. Yep! No time to procrastinate -- or to edit for that matter. Just sign up, jump in, and write. (Young writers name their own target word count.) For adults, the target goal is 50,000 words. Meet your goal by midnight November 30, and you win!

drivers ed

It was sort of cold and rainy today, but we had a good time watching Boo learn to change a tire -- an important part of the Driver's Ed course.

great education in economics

The last two weeks have been unavoidable opportunities to get familiar with economics -- and what a learning curve it has been:

• witnessing partisan politics in action,

with late night, backroom deals and public hand-wringing and arm-twisting,

• the so-called "urgent" $700 billion bailout,
  

• the historic stock market plummet after the rescue bailout was a done deal
  

• Add to that, the excitement and distress in international markets;
  

• commodity prices dropping the limit day after day

(of great concern in this county where agriculture is the main industry.)

• And crude oil --
  

prices on crude oil falling so fast local gas stations post new, lower prices daily.

***

We have discussed the workings of USA capitalism, especially methods of raising capital, the stock exchange, commodities markets, and proper use of credit; of globalization and its effects on our daily life; and looked for opportunities to cut personal expenditures . . .