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Poem of the Week: Lost

Lost


 Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.
-- David Wagoner
(1999)


 HT: Best American Poetry

Awesome Modern History: WWI and the Great Depression

These were chapters 84 and 85 in  A Child's History of the World.

For our active activity, we looked at the difficulty of dropping bombs.  Dropping bombs is easy, of course, but dropping them in the right spot is harder, as they discovered when they first started using airplanes in combat in WWI.

We had them stand over a cup and drop in a "bomb." Pretty simple.

Then we had them try to drop it in while walking past the cup without slowing down or stopping!  Very tricky!




 For our art activity, we dug little trenches and manned them with an assortment of little plastic "army guys."

We used curly ribbon for the barbed wire, and a few boulders that the kids came up with.

Then the two sides walked by, using black or white go chip "bombs" to bomb the other side's trench!

This collapsed the trenches, knocked over the plastic people, and convinced everyone they were glad they weren't in WWI!

 I did bring out my Dad's WWI helmet. 

I should clarify that he didn't fight in WWI (in fact, he was a small child in WWII), but when he was stationed in Germany, he and my Mom visited Verdun and found the helmet, as well as a pierced belt buckle.

We talked about how unfun life in the trenches was, then brought up the Red Cross, and it's service to wounded, and even healthy GIs.

In honor of the Red Cross, we had the snacks they served:

Coffee (for the grown ups!) and doughnuts!

A snack approved by all!

Wordless Wednesday: All Souls

Happy All Saints Day!

 Oob was St. Michael.


Choclo was St. Patrick.

And Zorg (not pictured) and  Leena (dressed as a Bionicle),  took them around the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, Mxyl and Klenda manned the front door. 


Klenda threw together a last minute sari, so as to distribute candy in style.

And I sat down to catch up on some blogging!

Happy Halloween!

 Random costumes that aren't actually their Halloween costumes but were rediscovered in the dress up box? Check.

Pumpkins carved? Yup.

 Sister photobombed? Sure.

 LED candles have batteries? Yes!

All ready, have a great All Hallows Eve, and we'll see you tomorrow with costumes!

Poem of the Week: Death

Death

By George Herbert

Death, thou wast once an uncouth hideous thing,

                           Nothing but bones,

      The sad effect of sadder groans:

Thy mouth was open, but thou couldst not sing.

For we considered thee as at some six

                           Or ten years hence,

      After the loss of life and sense,

Flesh being turned to dust, and bones to sticks.

We looked on this side of thee, shooting short;

                         Where we did find

      The shells of fledge souls left behind,

Dry dust, which sheds no tears, but may extort.

But since our Savior’s death did put some blood

                           Into thy face,

      Thou art grown fair and full of grace,

Much in request, much sought for as a good.

For we do now behold thee gay and glad,

                           As at Doomsday;

      When souls shall wear their new array,

And all thy bones with beauty shall be clad.

Therefore we can go die as sleep, and trust

                           Half that we have

      Unto an honest faithful grave;

Making our pillows either down, or dust.

Seven Quick Takes: Leaf Trees, Autumn Fun and Good News

1. We have been collecting leaves on all our  rambles, and we used them to make a tree out of leaves.

We used contact paper as the base this time, and it looked great for a few days, but the leaves peeled off as they dried.  Next time I would add a top layer of contact paper, or go back to taping individual leaves as we've done in the past.

2. And we have candy corn art and math.

Actually, I teach long division with a Halloween story any  time of the year:

The amount in the "house" is the amount of candy in the house.
The amount outside the "door" is the number of trick-or-treaters.
The amount on the "roof" is how much candy each trick-or treater got. 

Any remainder, as any child knows,  gets eaten by the parents.

3. And we have had 6 birthdays in the last two weeks!

My dear Father in Law was one.

 And The Redoubtable Bill was another!





4. In Bill's case, we gave him this fine shirt of Dr. Dinosaur examining a computer, painted by our very own Klenda!

Why, yes, her drawing/painting skills are amazing!

If you have not been reading Atomic Robo, it's the worlds best webcomic.

5. Puff war!  I'm not sure what this plant is, but it makes long brown pods in the fall. 

They look like vanilla beans, but they crack open to reveal a surprising amount of milkweed like puffs.

Which I suppose could be blown at other people if you were so inclined!

6.My biggest surprise lately has been that the job of organizing the Altar Flower Guild, which I thought was just a matter of getting people to do occasional flower arrangements, actually includes...a bit more.

I got a call that I needed to order all the Christmas flowers by the end of the month.

I looked at the blank sanctuary and wondered exactly how many poinsettias were needed...

Two thoughts occurred: I was  never good at the "guess how many jelly beans in the jar" thing, and I wish I had paid more attention last Christmas!

As it turns out, previous organizers were ready and willing to show me the ropes.  A very good thing!

7. Saving the best for last: the very best news this week is that my Dad is out of the hospital, in much less pain, and is doing really well with physical and occupational therapy - he's even walking a bit on his own already!Thanks to all those who prayed!  Considering that two weeks ago we were looking at hospice,  it really feels like a miraculous recovery.  So, thank you, and keep praying! I also pray for the intentions of everyone praying for my Dad.

Have a lovely weekend, and stop by Kelly for more 7QT fun!

Wordless Wedesday: Autumn Arboretum