Barbara McVeigh

Marin Mommies presents an article by guest contributor Barbara McVeigh.

Rhythmic gymnastics is an Olympic sport that Americans often don’t talk about or even know about, in contrast to Europe where it’s one of the leading competitive sports for girls. Also known as gymnastique moderne, the athletes perform floor routines to musical accompaniment using rope, hoop, ball, club or ribbon. They practice rigorously for years to achieve a high level of grace, balance and flexibility.

Despite the lackluster of local mainstream appeal, there is a growing, devoted group of families who find great value in a fairly new coach with Rhythmic Academy of Marin (RAM). Six years ago Coach Natalia Makrushina arrived from Russia, and she has families driving their children from across the San Francisco Bay Area many times a week for multiple hour practices, including intense stretching and ballet study. And, they are competing around the state and country, winning lots of awards.

"She’s firm, but she’s fair,” the girls say.

And, clearly they respond well to her coaching.

Marin Mommies presents a book review by guest contributor Barbara McVeigh. Meet Me at the Moon will be available March 29, and Gianna Marino will be at Book Passage in Corte Madera April 20 at 10 am.

Local author Gianna Marino’s new children’s book Meet Me at the Moon honors the quintessential dance between a mother’s love and a child’s need for reassurance. Vibrant textured hues of reds, greys, oranges and greens set the tone while exquisite elephants, zebras and giraffes move along sun drenched landscapes, under starry skies, in rainstorms and more upon the African plain.

Mama Elephant tells Little One she must go away for a while. The land is dry and she will climb the highest mountain to ask the skies for rain. Little One is worried and grips Mama’s trunk “I don’t want you to go.” Will Mama return?

Presenting an Earth Day guest post by Marin mom and homeschooling parent Barbara McVeigh. Read more of her writings on her blog, Bsimplicity.com.

Our planet Earth, our home—it’s a spinning ball sustaining up to a 100 million life species and hanging suspended-like in a vast vacuum. It’s the ultimate marvelous concept when you really stop and think about it. And, lucky for us, we have a day marked to do just that.

Earth Day started as a grassroots effort over forty years ago by a small band of folks. Now the celebrated day is living proof that small efforts can grow tremendously into great changes. Last year over 500 million people and over 175 countries participated in Earth Day activities helping our planet, our home, be healthy.

Marin is offering lots of opportunities for families to participate in stewardship efforts, including those to help our watershed, wildlife habitats and community gardens or Earth Day again this year.

Guest contributor Barbara McVeigh shares her family mission for 2011.

Like many, after the holiday mania, gift giving, and Christmas tree disposing, I look forward to back-to-life normalcy. But, at the turn the New Year, angst has developed that I would not consider normal. The emerging grave concerns for the future health of our oceans and lands are outweighing a lot of my own jubilant, optimistic feelings.

This past holiday season I felt the mission to simplify, reuse, buy used and actually make most of our gifts. I refused to buy new ribbon or wrapping paper, and instead got very creative with leftover butcher paper, paper bags and pre-used ribbon or yarn. I asked my husband to make wooden stilts for our two children from reused wood, a simple project that helped encourage him to be part of the family activities. And, two weeks later, my children are still excited about playing with them.

San Francisco Bay is considered by many to be the best place to sail in the world! Guest contributor Barbara McVeigh shares her experiences in learning to sail with her children, and provides some resources for parents who want to get started in sailing.

When our sailboat capsized, I heard a loud shriek. It came from me. My six-year-old daughter was too busy laughing to be washed with worry. My giggles quickly followed. Fortunately we were in very protected waters, and we knew how to be safe and recover our capsized boat.

Ever wonder if homeschooling is right for you and your children? Marin mom and homeschooling parent Barbara McVeigh writes about her experiences, as well as local resources for homeschoolers, in this guest article.

Last August my daughter’s assigned first grade desk sat empty, and I felt a lump in my throat. Because instead of driving her to our local school, one noted for its academic achievements and containing her kindergarten friends from last year, we decided to take an alternative route. We went fishing that day where we got hooked… with a creative group of homeschoolers, a community growing in Marin. Our homeschooling journey began as we dived into a world filled with boundless schooling choices.

Making an educational decision for a child is such a personal one, and it can be a very sensitive topic. Reasons might be based on pedagogy, religion, health issues, logistics, or finances. We personally chose homeschooling for balance we could not find in private or public schools. And, living in Marin we’ve discovered extraordinary resources that make this journey for our child and family immensely memorable, rich and, of course, educational.