Summer Learning

The rain won't stop.

It has rained here, off and on, for the past several weeks. Those of you who don't live in Texas have, no doubt, heard about the deluge, the flooding. Thankfully - well, for us - we don't live in the part of the state that has been hardest hit - that would be the area northwest of Austin. Here in Houston, it's just daily thunderstorms and showers. We sneak in a dip in the pool when we can.

And I didn't exactly panic about a fire hazard as we shot off fireworks on the fourth - nothing here is going to ignite. We were lucky to find a brief respite from the rain to start the grill, light a few sparklers.

Yet the children must be entertained. As a parent, it is my duty to enlighten them, engage their minds on issues of relevance. History, for example.

Last week we concentrated on mid-century history. Namely, we watched some Elvis Presley movies.

This week? We've turned the clock forward a bit and watched some classic television.

I've already introduced the girls to much-loved television like That Girl, Bewitched, Leave it to Beaver, and Andy Griffith. But it's time now to move to the next decade. Our show of choice?

The Partridge Family.

The girls love it. We discuss the fashions (which don't look as dated as you might think). The music and the way two adults and four talent-free kids sound like a chorus of 15. Even without rehearsal. We take note of the guest stars and who was on before they were famous: Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Vic Tayback, Pat Harrington. Or big stars, like Ray Bolger, Morey Amsterdam, Dick Clark, Johnny Cash.

(And it's a little scary how many of the songs I can sing along to ... I mean really, who can't sing "I
Think I Love You"? or that early one, "Together ... having a ball ..." or "I woke up in love this morning." Now those are some lyrics.)

Clearly education is a value we hold dearly in our family.

Well, that, and a penchant for kitschy television. I can hardly wait to do Get Smart.

Isn't parenting fun?