Earth Science Museum

We spend some time today at the Earth Science Museum at the local University with a group of friends. What a great combination of a guided 'tour', and free time for the kids to explore on their own. It always amazes me to watch the boys explore a new place - to see what they look at, the focus on their faces when they find something that interests them, and how much information they ask for or figure out on their own.

Days like this always remind me that one of the best parts of homeschooling, at least for our family, is the time. Having time to look, listen, touch, and explore at their own pace. Having time available during the day to go to all of these wonderful places when there are no crowds or line ups. Having time to stay until we are ready to go, and not have to rush back to 'school' by a certain time. And, of course, time for Charlie to stop and play in the puddle on the way back to the car.

What we are reading today

Here's what our family is reading today....

Joanna:
*Lost in the Barrens by Farley Mowat ( what a great, truly Canadian adventure story. I can't wait until the boys are a little bit older to read it again with them!)
*Just Because It's Not Wrong Doesn't Make It Right by Barbara Coloroso (I have just started this one, but I am really enjoying it already. It is wonderful to find a book dedicated to helping children learn how to make truly ethical decisions, not just teaching them a list of "always do this" and "never do this".)

William:
*Hilarious Canadian Histories: First Folks and Vile Voyageurs by Claire Mackay (William has been loving all of the books and audios in this series - history and science geared to all of the funny, gross and weird stuff that little boys love)
*The King At The Door by Brock Cole (This was a great thrift store find - a cute story about a little boy who greets a 'king' dressed in rags at the door)

Charlie:
*Love You Forever by Robert Munsch (This is on everyone's favorite list, isn't it? We have been reading it so much lately that I can almost get through it without crying. Almost.)
*I love You, Little One by Nancy Tafuri (Another wonderful Mommy - Baby story with beautiful illustrations of all sorts of cute animal babies.)

Best Pumpkin Bread

This is the best, homiest, most wonderfully sweet and spicy smelling recipe that I could find for such a cold winter-ish day. It is almost worth baking just for how it makes the house smell! The recipe makes 3 loaves - if you don't eat them all right away, they freeze well and are great to share. Enjoy!

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread (from Allrecipe.com)

1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

3 cups white sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and sugar. In another bowl combine the rest of the ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into 3 greased 7 x 3 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for approx 50 minutes. Loaves are done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Wonderful!

April....

Ahhhhh April. In like a *!#$#!* lion, right? The boys woke up this morning, looked outside, and declared this "The worst day ever!!!". I am not sure that I would go that far, but I do admit to being somewhat irritated that all of our nice almost-green grass is now buried under 15 cm of snow!! Oh well. It will add some nice variety to the weather chart we have been working on, and the boys were wonderfully sweet in their concern about the robins, who now have a smorgasbord of bird seed scattered throughout the yard. Happy Spring, Everyone!

The Two Magic Coins

Nothing warms my heart more than the stories that childen write. Here is William's latest masterpiece - Enjoy!

The Two Magic Coins

Once there was a poor shepherd boy. He was mostly poor except for his sheep. One day when he was selling some of his sheep, an old man came up beside him and said “I would like one of your sheep, please. I will give you two gold medallions. They only work once, so use them wisely. Never let them out of your sight and never sell them. Be aware of the rain – never go outside in the rain with your coins, or they will vanish”. The boy said yes to the old mans warnings.

The man quietly went over with the shepherd boy and showed him the sheep that he wanted. It was a quiet little lamb grazing in a field near the shepherds fathers old tree. The shepherd boy gave him the sheep and then he bent down on the ground and he took one of the coins from his little leather sack. He thought of a happy thought, and thought of what he wanted at the same time. He looked up and saw what he had wished for right in front of him. It was a little house with some furniture – one bed and a coffee table, and one pen with all of his sheep in it behind the house. He heard a storm and ran inside. He waved to the old man as he walked away.

The next day an old lady came to the door and asked if she could have one of his coins. He forgot that they were not just regular coins and gave her both of them. She did the exact same thing that he had done – she put the coins on the ground and took some dark magic from her pocket and sprinkled it over both of the coins and then she went away.

The next day the man was there again and he said “How have you been doing with the special coins?” Finally it came back to the shepherd boy – he remembered that they were magic coins. He said sorry and bowed his head. The old man said “It is ok about those coins. Those coins only work once. I wanted you to try them out. Here are some more coins. The little shepherd boy said thank you and the man walked away.

The old man sometimes walked by the shepherd’s little cottage, and sometimes he winked, and sometimes he walked up to the door and gave the little boy some wool that his sheep had made.

By: William (Age 6)

The First Climb of the Year

The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is Imagination itself.- William Blake, 1799, The Letters

This is the first spring that William is really big enough to climb the maple tree in the front yard (although he has been eyeing it longingly for several years now). As I was standing outside trying not to interfere with his experience (he's still not big enough to be up there without a 'spotter') I began to really appreciate how lucky we are to have something as simple as trees that are part of our daily lives. When I drive through some of the cities nearby, particularly the new subdivisions, I am struck by the lack of trees. If new home owners there are lucky, they may get one newly planted tree on their 30 foot lot, a tree that will certainly not be able to support a child's weight, or provide much shade, for many years to come. What a sad state of affairs that for so many families and because of so many reasons, trees have become a luxury - something of note, that you drive elsewhere see. What a loss not to be able to run your hands over the smooth bark of a Birch tree, to gather pockets full of acorns under the branches of an ancient Oak, or experience the magical transformations of Maple leaves in the fall. What a loss that as a society, trees are seen as things of lower importance than parking lots and Seven-Elevens. What a legacy to leave for our children.

Throwing Marshmallows

What could be more fun than an afternoon spent with friends turning PCV pipe into super-high-tech-launch'm-across-the-yard marshmallow guns?????? This idea came from the instructables site (http://www.instructables.com/id/Marshmallow-Shooter/) and kept the boys busy for ever. After lots of elbow grease cutting the pipes to length, they could pull them apart again and again to make different models, try for a better launch, more speed, one handle or two....you get the picture. Definitely a worth while investment of $4. And, of course, anything that provides a reason to bring a bag of little colored marshmallows into the house is good in my books!

Thanks for the great day!