Great Falls

Every so often, I think I am taking time off from home schooling, but it never seems to happen.

Yesterday, with the sun shining and highs in the 70s, I thought we'd take the day off and go to Great Falls.

We did go to Great Falls, and we had a wonderful time... but the kids were curious about the rocks: were they igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic?

I guessed sedimentary because I could see the layers - wrong! They were mostly metamorphic.

And then they climbed all over the place, which was too much like PE (at least it got my heart rate up), and then we found the ranger station and it had all kinds of exhibits...

But I guess it's OK because we did have a nice time, and, after all, they are such deer children...

Zoomlians at the Zoo

With the sudden turn to nice weather (a 25 degree drop), I wanted to go out and do something before it gets hot and humid again.

Since we had missed the zoo on Oob's birthday, I thought we'd give it another try.

We had a fabulous time! I had brought the sketch pads, and I asked the kids to draw three things. It's funny how some kids can barely manage three drawings, while others go crazy.

Zorg went crazy! Here you have his pictures from the reptile and invertebrate collections.

I particularly like the gharial, komodo dragon (who looks like he's eating a crab), the ape (whose hair really did look like that), and the nautilus (bottom right).

I am always amazed at how accurately Zorg draws from life.

I think the nautilus were my favorites this time, and not just because they are tentacled cephalopods. There were maybe a dozen in the tank and about five of them were clustered at the glass on one side, clearly watching us. It was actually a little creepy, but fun!

My usual favorites, the elephant shrews, were napping.

On the other hand, the reptiles were more active than I have ever seen. Every single snake was moving around doing interesting things. OK, that was creepy too, but we had gone to the National Zoo specifically so that Choclo could see a cobra. Ironically, they no longer had a cobra, but they did have a false water cobra which slithered about satisfactorily.

It was a great visit, except that I broke the two hour rule (we stayed 2 1/2) so things started to break down on the way back to the car. I patched things up by sharing a cotton candy. Actually, that much cotton candy is about right for 6 kids (and $4 for a treat for 6 was a great price!)... but I was wiped out for the rest of the day. I guess two hours is right for me, too!

Happy End of Easter

The Easter Season ended last Sunday with the feast of Pentecost.

But the day before Pentecost, as I was excavating the homeschool room, I ran across the egg dying kits I had bought on clearance the week after Easter.

Oh yeah, we never dyed Easter eggs this year. Hey! It's not too late, it's still Easter!!!

So we had a great time dying, and then ate the eggs for lunch.

I thought no more about it until the Emperor asked at dinner, "Why are Choclo's hands green?"

Umm, would you believe last ditch Easter celebration?

Lunchtime Conversation

Leena: Mom, who first discovered that cows make milk?

Me: Baby cows. (pause) Come on, that was funny!

Klenda (with an absolutely straight face): I am just barely restraining my amusement.

Seven Quick Takes: Excavation of the Homeschool Room

1. Following up on last week's success with the basement, I am attempting to sort out the homeschool room. It's not quite ready for prime time, but at least I've cleared out our museum again.

Plus, now you can walk into the room!! To be fair, a lot got dumped in here from the basement, but still, who knew there were all these narrow wooden planks at the bottom of it all?

It's almost like there was once a floor there.

Our collection of Things -the-Kids-Have-Found-or-Made continues to grow.

Klenda and I put together the Visible Woman over the course of several Girls' Nights.

Mxyl found the deer skull while on a scouting expedition.



Not that it has anything to do with wanting to get the homeschool room in order, but did I mention I'm doing my portfolio review at my house in a few weeks?

2. The best part of excavating is the rediscovery of new and exciting things I can use. I found a ton of stuff that Choclo and Oob can do while the older kids and I are doing homeschool blocks.

It's such a happy thought that they are productively occupied instead of, I don't know, mixing random ingredients and then cleaning up with toilet paper and fruit.

I know in this picture, Choclo looks like he'd rather be smashing more eggs, but I'm confident that he's really happier playing the Noah's Ark balancing game with Firelord.


3. We also discovered the crystal growing kit that Zorg had gotten for Christmas. Perfect timing! Zorg, ever happy to slip on a lab coat, was able to do the whole thing (except for the boiling water). The crystals will be full grown in a few more days.


4. And then I found these beautiful blank books for Klenda and Leena, as well as some cool pad and pen sets for Mxyl and Zorg.

What is it about beautiful stationary? I found these pretty little books absolutely swoon-worthy, and I am not really one for swooning.





5. I found a Foxtail ball and book which someone gave us a long time ago. I tucked it into Zorg's homeschool drawer. I love tucking things into the drawers and waiting for them to be found.

Zorg found it this morning after all his work was done and went out and played it with Oob for a long time.


6. This is the bear Klenda made for a friend's baby brother. She hand sewed the whole thing by herself!

The baby loved it and started kissing it as soon as she gave it to him. How's that for a reward for your labor?





7. Not in the homeschool room, but Zorg graduated from Cub Scouts! Congratulations, buddy, and welcome to the world of the big Boys!

More with Jen!

Busy Busy

After a mere 10 years of living in this house, we finally cleaned out the entire back basement!!!
The before photos are above each after photo.













Missing are about 25 contractor sized garbage bags of trash or donations!!!


This was our big summer project, so getting it done two weeks before the Emperor gets out of school feels like a major coup!

US History: Roaring 20s

We are having a great time with the roaring 20s (and I'm hoping we don't crash at the end!).

The kids favorite aspect is the music and dance. Six Zoomlians trying to do the Charleston, how fun is that? They look almost exactly like this:



They were also quite interested in Prohibition, especially in the idea that alcoholism went up because hard liquor was the only drink available (as opposed to the less alcoholic beer and wine).

We went down to our "wine cellar" (under the stairs in the back basement) and took a look at the alcohol concentrations in beer (3-6%), wine (12%), and brandy (40%). So they learned how to tell the alcohol concentration in a drink, the dangers of drinking too fast, the relationship of alcoholic effect to body mass, how the body removes alcohol, and why it's against the law to drink before 21. The things you learn in home school!

It's been so fun to do a period of time where we have so much primary documentation (movies!).
We watched Duke Ellington, Lucky Lindy, and Mary Pickford. Mostly we gawked at the clothes, cars, hair, hats, and swim suits of a bygone era.

Which reminds me, we also talked about women getting the vote (and how that related to the short hair, short skirts, smoking, and so forth) and the Harlem Renaissance (as the beginning of a wider acceptance of African Americans and as an enrichment of American culture).

Horsing Around

Our dear friend invited us to her barn to let the kids do a little bareback riding - how fun!

Mxyl shows off his balance.
Choclo and Oob were a little less stable, so to speak, but they loved it!

For the rest of the day, all I heard about was their love for Pumpkin Pie (the pony's name).

He was the most sweet and patient pony ever.


Zorg and Lena rode Chico.

I think Leena's smile says it all!






Klenda and Mxyl rode Sugar.

Klenda's doting grandmother gave her riding lessons for Christmas and is sending her to a riding camp in a few weeks. I think the lessons are paying off already, she looked really comfortable, even without a saddle.

Thank you so much Becky!!!

Before and After

Before.














After.

Ready for Summer!

How to Fight Your Evil Clone

How to Fight Your Evil Clone in Three Easy Steps
by Mxyl

1. Duel him with light sabers.

2. Realize that you are too evenly matched.

3. Finish him off with a Force blast.

Any questions?