Fall Science Experiments and a Trip to the Art Museum

We are beginning to get into our school routine, finally. We are "hybrid" homeschoolers - Gabriel goes to an alternative school in our district for part of his learning, and I take care of the rest. It is working out well for us, and Gabriel has some really neat classes this year.

Last week we tried a science experiment out at home. It had mild success - I think it needs some tweaking, but I'm not sure we'll do that this year. First we read the book Why Do Leaves Change Color? by Betsy Maestro and Loretta Krupinski. It does a good job explaining the scientific reasons for the brilliant colors of autumn leaves. Then we went for a walk in the beautiful afternoon sunshine. We collected a few leaves, and found some other treasures, too.

Annika examines the remains of a paper wasp nest

Tracks in the mud - raccoon or possum?

Most leaves in our area are just starting to change; perhaps in a few weeks we would be able to get more to use for our experiment. Then we came home and prepared the experiment, using the instructions from this website.

Leaf Chromatography Experiment

The next day, we were able to see some faint lines where the pigments from the leaves separated out. The kids thought this was interesting, but Gabriel had a hard time destroying the leaves. He is so sensitive!

On Saturday I took the kids to the Seattle Art Museum. It has been years since I have been there. Gabriel has been asking to go for some time. We enjoyed some of the crazy stuff we saw there. Gabriel is into abstract art, and enjoyed the sections of the museum covering the more modern art. He also liked the cars hanging from the ceiling in the lobby.

I was inspired by the ancient glass objects on display. It is hard to believe that people 2000 years ago had the skill and technology to be able to blow glass into such delicate bottles.

Annika found it too boring, though, and 2 hours was a bit too long for her taste. Thankfully they have a nice play area for children, and that helped to make the trip worthwhile for her.

We ended the day at a birthday party for a friend. Legos everywhere! What a great idea!

Owl Pellets and Book Review of The Barn Owls

I remember watching the owl. It was twilight, almost dark, that summer evening. We waited at the living room window at my parents' home, eagerly scanning the yard and the tree. Suddenly, there it was, coming out of the tree, a ghostly white shape floating up into the air, past the window and out into the neighbor's field. Mom thought it was a barn owl. They had kept track of when it came out every night; just after sunset.

The next day we went out and poked around under the owl tree. I found two owl pellets, which I picked up and kept safe until the kids were old enough to appreciate the activity. This week it was time: time to get them out and see what was inside. What had this owl eaten? Gabriel already knew what an owl pellet was, but we needed to explain to Annika that an owl can't digest the fur and bones of its prey, so it regurgitates those pieces in oval-shaped packets, or pellets. We can pick those pellets apart and look at the bones to see what the owl's meal was.

Preparation. The kids thought they wanted to use latex gloves to do the dissection, but the gloves were too unwieldy.

We found two skulls among the bug droppings.

One of our pellets had been discovered by bugs who had eaten all the fur and left only bones covered in bug droppings. That actually made it easier to dissect it. The one still covered in fur took quite awhile to pick apart. Both the kids were interested in this activity. Gabriel actually knew some of the bones, and we had a sheet we had gotten online that helped us identify most of what we found. We're not sure exactly what we had; we narrowed it down to some kind of rodent. There were two skulls and lots of tiny bones between the two pellets. Now I'm wishing I had picked up more pellets for our research.

When we were done we had a pile of fur and a plate full of tiny bones.

Lower jaw bone, pelvic bone, and two vertebrae.

Tibia and fibula.

Rodent skull and teeth. Notice the large eye sockets.

Pile o' bones.

The owl did not appear last summer in the owl tree. We hope it will come back again, but if it doesn't we have fond memories of waiting for it on a summer evening and figuring out what it ate.

We paired this activity with a lovely book called The Barn Owls by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray. It is written in poem form, sometimes rhyming, sometimes rhythmic, but either way fun to read. My favorite page goes:

"Where owls hunted,

spiders spun

to hold the barn

to earth.

Where owls hunted,

long snakes sunned

and split their skins

like chaff

and left.

And bees hummed

their hymn

of wheat."

The illustrations are done in watercolor and watercolor pencil. The colors are saturated and mellow, golden and deep. The whole book makes me wish we lived next to a field with a hundred-year-old barn that is home to barn owls. But at least we can have a thin thread of connection to one through our owl pellet findings.

Love of Libraries, whaledreamers, and Meaningful Stories

One of the best things about homeschooling is that we get to go to the library and check out all kinds of books about whatever we are interested in. While we were browsing among the whale section, I cam across a video that looked intriguing. It is called whaledreamers, and was produced by Julian Lennon. It talks about the connection between a tribal culture in Australia and the whales they had a special relationship with. It follows this tribe as they host a gathering of other indigenous tribes from around the world and share their stories of their connections with whales. The respect and closeness they developed between cultures was inspiring. The video also brought up issues of genocide and forced migration from ancient tribal lands. These topics were explained well, but would be best for older children. This video was over the head of my two children, and parts were more intense than I would like them to see, but the video and its message made an impact on me.

I started thinking again about the power of story. I have put my writing on hold for awhile after Aaron's cancer and job loss and beginning homeschooling and having surgery. But I started getting that "itch" again, remembering why I write and how meaningful writing can be. I thought also about the power of stories in our own home, on a more personal level. We begin our days with story time - snuggles, warm and cuddly, the two children sleepy on my lap, letting them gently wake up to begin the day. Stories later in the morning when we all need a break. Stories before nap to get Annika ready for sleep. Stories at bedtime, snuggling again with a child on either side, warm pajamas and blankets. Books for one of them when emotions overflow, helping them to calm down and become grounded again. Children loving reading and learning, asking questions and soaking up all kinds of information without even trying. Children hearing stories from all kinds of cultures and genres, looking at pictures and illustrations from wonderful photographers and talented artists, as well as creating images in their own heads with their imaginations.

What would we do without stories and books? Have you had any experiences with the power of story or books? I'd love to hear them!

Vacation

I have spent the last week in quiet luxury. Well, sort of. I had surgery on my ankle and foot, and have been spending all day, every day, in my special chair (except when I am napping). My parents took the kids for a whole week, and they spent two days with hubby's sister and her husband. I had the whole week to recover in peace and quiet, waited on hand and foot by my dear hubby. I worked on some knitting projects, spent a lot of time on the internet finding all kinds of cool stuff, and watched tons of TV. I worked on my website a bit, took naps whenever I wanted. Heaven, I tell you! I got so spoiled. But I did miss my kids. They came back yesterday, and today we tried to catch up on cuddles and stories.

One of the things I knit was a toe hat to keep my toes warm with my cast on.

I've also been working on Christmas gifts for people. I got some mittens made for the kids.

I have some other projects I've done, too, but don't want to post them because they are going to people who read this blog. I love knitting. I think I have 6 or 7 projects going on now. I am trying to finish a few of them before starting new ones. I don't want to have to buy new, duplicate needles.

A few days before my surgery I took the kids to the Aquarium. It was so wonderful to go when there weren't very many other visitors. There were mostly tourists and a few moms with toddlers. We got unfettered access to all the interpreters, and didn't have to get pushed around by the exhibits.
The kids fed sea urchins, observed the octopus, watched the otters and seals, and checked out the coral reef exhibit. My favorite part was that Gabriel got to put some water from the Sound under a powerful microscope.

It showed up on a TV so everyone could see it. The interpreter told us what we were looking at. He spent several minutes with Gabriel answering questions and showing him how the microscope worked. It was so nice to have that much attention. The kids loved having this outing and I was glad to spend that much fun time with them before my surgery.

I've been discovering all kinds of cool stuff on the internet to use for our homeschooling, but I'll save that for another post.

Big Helpers

The kids have been involved in some projects around the house in the past week. We are making a wood shed in the back yard. I should say, my husband and Dad are making the shed, I am supervising. We have lived here for over 6 years and are finally going to have a winter without blue tarps in the back yard. Yay!!!

Gabriel and Annika both helped move part of a load of gravel to the construction area, and then spread the remaining rocks in the driveway.



Happily, we will also have a winter without mud from the driveway getting tracked into the house. Wow, I feel so grown up. Today Dad came up with some panels he had put together this week for us, and a friend joined the men to help start raising the walls. Gabriel was out there with them for a bit, learning how to use the level to make sure the foundation blocks were level and true. We talked about the process at the dinner table this evening, filling in the blanks of understanding for him.





That's one of the coolest things about homeschooling for me. I love the conversations we have, just by living life. I have some more ideas about how to build some math lessons into this project, too. Math is one of the harder subjects for me to figure out how to teach my son. He is decidedly not a worksheet type of person, but I want to make sure he gets a good foundation in math so he can be successful in science or engineering or architecture or whatever he decides to pursue in life. It's also really good to see my boy out there working hard along the men. He needs that!

A Dragonfly in the Hand

Yesterday we went on a short safari to a small lake a few blocks away. I am embarrassed that I have never explored this little area. I think I have been reluctant because I wasn't sure what kind of people would be hiding in the bushes, but it really is a sweet little pond in the middle of the city. It is a peat bog, one of the last in the area, and thus swampy and humid. We've had such a dry summer, though, that the trails were fine to walk, and we were able to walk the paths all the way around. There is a section that has some boardwalk over the lake, and we spent several minutes there, trying to find the frogs among the grasses, watching the ducks and dragonflies, and enjoying the sunshine.

My goal for the outing was to collect some pond water to take home and see what was in it (if anything), but the kids really weren't interested in that, so I nixed the idea. But the trip wasn't a waste, because we found a dead dragonfly in the middle of the trail, just before we got back to the car. We took the thing home, and today we spent some time drawing it.


The brilliant colors were already starting to fade, and it was pretty fragile, but I was surprised how long both the kids spent working on their illustrations. We also watched a video on YouTube about the dragonfly life cycle - it has some great footage. From there we watched other videos about different insects, all of them from the same producers.

Otherwise, we have been trying to figure out a schedule and routines for our new way of life. I am encountering some resistance from my free-spirited son, but I know he needs some structure and there are just some things (like math) a kid's gotta learn in life, whatever schooling method he chooses. I am praying he will relax into accepting my authority, and keep in mind that he has more freedom than some of his friends.

I do like how he chooses to spend his free time. He has been busy this week with a new book from Grandma and Papa, building paper airplanes and flying them.

He has also been building forts with Annika, reading books, and building with Lego and K'Nex. I hope I can relax some more and enjoy this time, and try to keep in mind what's important.

Engineering and Art

We've been trying some different things with our homeschooling this week. I got the kids an abacus to help with math concepts, and we took a few minutes to work with it yesterday. I'm not sure exactly how this will fit into our daily plan, but I know it will help the kids visualize problem solving.

Today Gabriel got out one of his special Lego kits that he got a while back as a gift. It has some gears in it and some instructions to make a few simple creations. Gabriel experimented with the pieces in the kit, not bothering to look at the instructions too much. He made a gear assembly, and then told me that the top gear goes faster than the end gear. He was learning about basic gear stuff on his own, just by observing. That's what I like to see!

We did a fun art project today, from one of the recent issues of Living Crafts magazine. We dyed wool with food coloring. We used plain, white wool (Cascade 220) and soaked it in vinegar water for about half the day. Then we squeezed the excess water out, and made little dishes of dye using food coloring and water. The kids used spoons to drop the dye onto the wool.

It was a good review on color mixing and both the kids enjoyed the process. Annika sweetly said she was making some wool so she could knit a shawl for Gabriel. I guess I'm rubbing off on her a bit.

The wool turned out bright and cheerful; it is steaming in the kitchen at this moment. Later I will rinse it out and let it dry. I have some ideas for what to do with the finished project. Stay tuned!

Canning Applesauce

When we went to Grandma's on Monday, we picked a large box of apples from one of her trees. I wanted to make applesauce, since we go through so much here with the kids. Yesterday I started on the project. A lovely friend loaned me her fancy apple slicer/corer/peeler gadget. It was fun to work and more interesting and quicker than doing it by hand. Plus I got to sit down for that part of the work. This was my first time canning by myself (not counting helping my mom when I was younger) and things took longer than they would have because I had to read instructions and call my parents, and of course I had to deal with dinner and bedtime too. But I finished with 5 1/2 quarts of golden sauce to go in the pantry. I still have some apples to do up, so I might get another couple of quarts.

I had one issue with some of the jars, when the applesauce bubbled out through the lids and out into the water. They seemed to seal OK, so I think they'll be all right, but if anyone has any advice about this, could you leave me a comment? Thanks!

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I had my first class at the Homeschool Resource Center. They are going to help us figure out how to plan curricula and studies and stuff. I look forward to making new friends and getting help. I brought some things home from their library to try out. I feel better today than two days ago. Tomorrow is a field trip to enjoy the sunshine and nature.

School Starts

Today was our "official" starting day for homeschooling. We never really stopped learning over the summer, but I had to give my son a beginning date so he would stop bugging me about when we were starting. I've made up a general schedule and some basic curriculum plans for the next week or so, but am otherwise gingerly stepping into the waters of homeschooling. We started with a bit of math from the workbooks Gabriel brought home from first grade. We'll review in those until I figure out if we'll use a curriculum and which one. Then we worked on some chemistry experiments. Gabriel really wants to learn chemistry, so I looked up a few simple exercises in our science books. We did some oil and water plus soap and salt experiments, and I had him write down in a new science notebook what happened. He's a tricky kid, because he wants to do real science, but doesn't like me pushing him to do things he doesn't want to do. I'm sure this is just the beginning of our struggles to find the balance between me being mom and teacher.

I also had Annika do some simple sorting activities; she loved that she was "doing math". She wants to be right up there with us while we do things. I'll have to make sure I'm planning stuff for her to do, too. The kids also listened to two books on CD and played a lot together. We worked in the yard this afternoon, enjoying the autumn sunshine.

Last Friday we joined some friends downtown at the sculpture park. What a beautiful day it was, with the warm sun and the clear air, the views of the water and the city skyline, and the freshness. It kind of surprises me that the kids were so excited about the park, since there aren't really traditional kid activities there, like a playground. But there is something about the art and the surroundings that captures their interest.

I have to share a photo of my kids at an event we went to recently. Gabriel chose his outfit, including the top hat from the costume box. He got several comments about how well he was dressed!

I'm off now to do more homeschool planning. I really feel like I don't know what I'm doing, but I am trying not to panic. At least tomorrow is a new day!

Rain and Hope

We buried one of our cats today, in the rain. We've had such a wonderful summer, but the change of seasons is beginning here. Our poor kitty Jaz was sick for some time, and finally succumbed. We had a little funeral for her, which was helpful for the children to connect with what had happened. Then I went back to bed. I'm going to miss her sleeping on my legs every night. We feel a hole in our family.

School starts in our district this week. We will begin our "official" homeschooling then. We've been easing into it over the past month, trying to figure out a schedule and routines that will work for our family. I really like having my son home all day. I am excited about what we will be learning (he wants to start with chemistry!). I am nervous about the commitment, and about all the areas I need to grow in to make this work. I hope I will know how to find the help I need and get the time to myself I need. Wish us luck!

Almost Official

I finally defeated my procrastination and turned in our paperwork to homeschool Gabriel next year. We are signing up for our district's Homeschool Resource Center, at least in the beginning, to get a feel for what options we have and to build a support network for ourselves. I had a strange feeling dogging me all day, and it took me awhile to figure out what was wrong. I think I was panicking. I know most new homeschooling parents feel this way, but the daunting responsibility combined with my lack of confidence and knowledge of what I am doing filled me with anxiety. School doesn't even officially start until after Labor Day, but Gabriel is begging me to start already. I think I need to work out a plan and some simple routines for our days. I'll try to keep you posted on our progress. Should be interesting!