CSO Dinner with Our Neighbor Ms. Valerie

This month's Community Self-Organizing Dinner featured our neighbor, Ms. Valerie Buchand.  Ms. Valerie has been a long-time resident leader in the Janie Poe public housing development at the north end of our neighborhood.  Her advocacy led to the mixed-income and mixed-use redevelopment of the area - now called Janie's Gardens.  One of the new streets in our neighborhood is named after her -- Valerie Way!

As neighborkids served pizza they had baked, Ms. Valerie told us about the kids of Janie Poe and Janie's Gardens who come to her house to make dinner together and play games.  They have named themselves the Mighty Mights, and they are figuring out how to organize themselves as a formal group, with officers and official meetings.

Ms. Valerie suggested that someday soon the two groups of kids could connect and work together as fellow neighbors.  Then I bet we'll be able to see all sorts of natural connections that already exist among the kids of Central-Cocoanut!

Naturalists on the Block

These days spring is busting out all over, which means there are lots of opportunities to check out nature here on the block.  Today when I got home, Da'Sean, Holly and Dareeona proudly showed me the bug box they created, and their latest insect discoveries:

Later, I heard some excitement out front -- this time it was a bunch of kids figuring out together how to investigate a slug they just found:

The wild hibiscus is now flowering, too, so Amorie and Holly are tracking the ways the blossoms change colors over time.

Neighborkids are everyday scientists, making the most of nature on the block.  

Neighborkids Start Microlending On the Block

The kids who will be honored at this month's Neighborkid Dinner are Dalisha and DuShun.  Dalisha is already thinking about what outfit she wants to wear, and concluded that she really wants a new pair of fancy shoes.  She asked if she could borrow some money, and this led to the impromptu invention of a neighborkid loan option using the money in the scavenger hunters' cash box, which is money that the neighborhood scavenger hunters made at the yard sale a few months back.

Since the money belongs to the Neighborhood Scavenger Hunters as a group, Dalisha called a meeting of scavenger hunters to discuss the possibility of establishing the loan option.  It took some time to explain the concept, with a little help from me, but finally everybody got it, and said yes, let's start with one person and see how it goes!

Dalisha wrote down how much money she is borrowing, on what date, for what purpose, to be paid back by what date.

With $20 in hand, she was ready for shoe shopping!  Here's Dalisha trying on an especially fancy pair.

Who would have thought that the neighborkids would be the first folks to start up micro-lending here in Central-Cocoanut!  

Rest in Peace, Snickers

A sad day here on the block -- Gus' best buddy Snickers died.  These two were the closest of neighbor-pups ever since they were tiny.

The D's are especially sad, as Snickers was their dog.  Here are Darry and Dalisha reading the sympathy card that neighborkids gave them:

When pets die, neighbors are close enough to notice, close enough to grieve together, and close enough to comfort one another.  Kids really seem to get this.

Rest in peace, Snickers.

A School Visit with Neighbors

Since different parts of our 50-block neighborhood are zoned for different elementary schools, not all the kids go to the same school.  Kids play together everyday on the block, though, so they hear about each other's schools.  This weekend, when the D's invited us to come to the spring fair at their school, Fruitville Elementary, Holly and I were eager to check it out.  Once we arrived, Holly quickly spotted Dalisha, and hopped in line with her so they could get their hair spray painted. 

Later we snapped pics of one another in these classic carnival poses:

 

Later, while Dalisha was playing with her school friends, Holly checked out the playground:

Before we headed home, Dalisha showed us a few more neat features of the fair.

 Often, people with the Department of Education talk about the importance of "community engagement" in schools.  What if we were to pay closer attention to the ways kids are able to drum up enthusiasm about the schools they attend, and the schools their friends and neighbors attend?  We all might learn a lot.

Beauty on the Block

When I got home today I was greeted by neighborkids Dareeona, Holly and Chunk Chunk, who had decorated our street with delightful "expressions of affection" -- chalk drawings of hearts, suns, and all sorts of creatures.  Sarasota hosts an annual chalk festival downtown -- we are fortunate here in Central-Cocoanut to have chalk artists in the neighborhood all year long!

The light was beautiful this afternoon, so we decided to walk the three blocks from our houses to the bay and watch the sun set. 

Wow, we live in such a beautiful place.

Neighborkid Pool Party

Today was the birthday celebration for neighborkid brother/sister duo Amorie and Shyya.  Their parents and extended family hosted a pool party for them at the La Quinta Inn, on the other side of Route 41, across the street from our neighborhood.  Gus and I were lucky enough to be invited, so we showed up with a few noodles to join in the fun.  While Gus hung out in the shade under a jasmine bush, I snapped some pictures of the festivities.  I didn't realize how many of our neighborkids are talented swimmers!

       

To top it all off, there was a hotdog-eating contest.

I can just imagine all the great memories everybody will have of this celebration.

Thanks and happy birthday, Amorie and Shyya!