sign us up!

I have found that living in a small town, we attend more cultural events than we did living right outside of Washington, DC. For one thing, since there just aren't a great many people in Maine, I know that the activity won't be crowded. Seeing my clan come through the door, despite any wiggling and giggling, will bolster the host's tally of participants, which always seems to be appreciated. This past week we decided on the spur of the moment to scoop up the boys and take them to see the town's fire station as part of our tiny library's summer reading program. Charlie brought along his new fire engine his auntie sent for his birthday, though we had to shut off the siren as it competed for the kid's attention with the fire chief's description of the equipment.

Afterwards I traded off with Tim for the big kids and headed up to Bangor for a library program featuring a piano trio. The graduate student musicians studying in Blue Hill played parts of a piece by Hayden despite much wiggling and giggling (not from my children). Afterwards some of the children showed off their piano playing. I talked with another mother after listening to her children play a lovely duet and discovered that she belongs to a local homeschool group.

There might not be opportunities to see world-renowned musicals (thought there are many local theater productions), or huge orchestras, but if I look closely I can find all sorts of activities and events that would expand any child's cultural education, even in the smallest of towns.