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Tide Pool Study Field Trip

June 9, 2008 By Laura 4 Comments

The kids recently went on their Tide Pool Study Field Trip, and this one was also a Mass Audubon program, lead by their nature experts as well. We were really looking forward this study, as the ocean and shores are such a big part of our life. The day sure did not disappoint in any way! It was perfect weather wise, it was such an educational experience, and we just had so-much-fun! I could not take enough photos, and believe it our not, what’s in this post are only some of them. Recording my children’s lives, and ultimately memories, in detail, is just what I do. So there are LOTS I am sharing in this post, because I hope you too can enjoy seeing all of the interesting and amazing things we did this day. As if you were there with us! : )

For a good part of the study, the kids broke up into 2 groups: the older kids, and the little ones. They basically did the same things, but it just made the large group more manageable, and the kids could explore and learn more on their levels.

Throughout the day, we saw some really amazing stuff, up close, and got to hear more about what we found or saw, from the experts. They were really so very informative.

One of the first things the kids learned about sand. Sand in New England started out as rocks, boulders, etc., being moved from the mountains, to the ocean in glaciers. As the glacier moves, rocks are being ground into smaller rocks, and smaller pieces. Rocks get here the same way. When the glaciers stopped at as far as the ocean, the climate warmed, they melted, and receded back to the mountains, leaving recessional moraine – which is the sand, stones, rocks and boulders. Now the stones and rocks at the shoreline, are constantly being moved by the waves of the ocean, causing them to bang together and chip. These chips are known as sand. Interesting, huh??

As shown below by {O}, they dug deep into the sand, to explore the difference between top sand and deep sand. The deeper sand is more course and wet, where the top sand is finer and dry.

They also discovered how the two levels smell differently. So yes, that is {A} below, sniffing the sand. lol. The top sand is easily dried by the sun, evaporating the water and leaving the salt, so it has a salty smell. The deeper sand smells more like damp mud. The deeper you dig, the wetter it is.

Here are some other things the kids happened to see at the ocean, and learned more about as they were spotted and observed:

Horseshoe Crabs….

Here are two that are….ummm….very close? Self explanatory.

Here is one of my favorite shots of the day. This is an eggshell we found, that most likely was of a baby Least Tern, or possibly a Piping Plover. Sadly, it looks like a predator, probably a crow, got to the egg of the developing bird. It made us so sad! But isn’t it’s shell just beautiful?

All of the kids, both big and small, spent a lot of time exploring, and as they did and brought their findings to the experts, the experts taught them all about what they found.

Seaweed particles….{O} and {S} just loved collecting these things. They are so interesting, with different patterns and colors. Some almost seem to glow, and are a little translucent. They made me think of Christmas ornaments in royal colors.

Below, {A} shows her little siblings all of the treasures of the sea that she found. Some of it is just junk, but to her, it’s all exciting treasures. Trust me on that.

Shown below is a sea snail one of the leader experts was showing us and telling us all about.

It’s amazes us to think that all of these fascinating things of nature, big and small, were created by God. What a wild and incomprehensible imagination He has, and how it is represented in so many ways throughout His Creation. I know I talk about it on this blog all of the time, but it really is a very powerful realization, when you really stop to think about the details and cycle of it all, and how it all works together in such a perfect way. There is no end to the amazement of what He has done.

Anyway, somehow, our kids managed to get some real one-on-one time with the experts too, as the rest of the group were exploring or doing other things. They just had lots of questions and wanted to see and hear about all they could, and the experts were happy and eager to teach them.

{J} had 2 big rocks in his hands, and when he clunked them together, one of them broke into 3 pieces! The look of surprise on his face was priceless. He was feeling pretty strong that day!

What we then had was a 3 piece rock puzzle, to take home! As you can see below, {J} spent some more time playing with it later. It’s pretty cool, and he’s pretty fascinated in the 3 parts and how they fit together, and still kind of in disbelief that he broke it! This is one of those things that we’ll keep in our sun room. These are the kind of things I love to have around our home. Special momentos that remind us of special times together. Our days of learning, laughter and happiness.

At the end of the exploring and learning, we all gathered together as one big group, and were read a story about a sand piper. It was a really nice way to wind down and close such a great, great day by the sea. We all were smiling in the van all the way home, talking and laughing about all of the fun we had, and the great new things we had learned. Hands full of treasures, of course.

We are so grateful to live by the sea, where we can return for new exploring, new adventures, or just hanging out, anytime we want. (Photo taken by Daddy, who is always just another kid at the sea shore!)

Baltimore Oriole Bribery…

June 6, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

Once I really saw the Baltimore Orioles this year, I got my heart set on wanting them to nest in OUR yard. But I think I learned the tricks of the trade a little too late this year. I know I did. Surely they were already building nests, if not settled in already, by the time I heard about using Baltimore Oriole bribery, of leaving string and such to help them along in building their nests. They’d been around for a couple of weeks by then. The Baltimore Orioles do come to visit in our yard quite a bit throughout the day, though. I think they realize by now, by the abundance of other birds and critters who hang out here, that our yard is the place to be! But the Orioles do seem to be nesting in neighboring yards, and frankly, I’m jealous!

Nonetheless, I’m still desperate enough to hope that, like people, the Orioles might decide to move! To our yard, of course. At the very least, I am showing them that this is where all of the GOOD STUFF is, and maybe they’ll remember that next year, when they fly in from South America. I’ll be ready for them, and on time. Meanwhile, this year they are welcome to come over and perch, sing, play and feast, anytime they’d like.

Waitin’ on the Next Storm – Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

June 4, 2008 By Laura 1 Comment

thunder-cake-image

The kids and I have continued to enjoy the works of children’s author Patricia Polacco. We’ve read quite a few titles by now, but have many more to look forward to. The next featured author has actually been announced (and we’re really excited about her too!), but since we have all of June and July to study the new author and her works, we are going to stick with Patricia Polacco for another week or two.

We’ve enjoyed each and every story book we’ve read so far, as they each offer their own messages, values and amusement. The characters in all of them are interesting, especially knowing each of them are someone real in Patricia’s life, as are the stories, which are pretty closely based on some of her own childhood experiences.

One story in particular that we especially enjoyed, and the kids could really relate to, was Thunder Cake. It’s the tale of Patricia’s childhood fear of thunder. In it, her Grandmother helped her overcome her fear, by teaching her how to make Thunder Cake in the midst of the coming storm, which must be in the oven baking before the storm actually arrives! In doing so, her Grandmother taught her how she is braver than she realized.

Our little ones are no longer afraid of the thunder, but they remember well when they were. We always counted slowly, from the flash of lightening, to the boom of thunder, to determine how many miles away the storm still was, and when it was getting closer. It helped the kids to know just when that big boom was going to happen, and kept them more focused on the game than their fear. Patricia’s Grandmother used the same tactics in the story, to gauge just how much time they have left, to get that cake in the oven!

Making cake would have been a great distraction too, although we’d have been doing quite a bit of baking in the middle of many nights! But it seems we’ll still get to experience the rush and reward of baking a Thunder Cake, for when we turned the very last page of the story, there was the recipe. My kids all started jumping up and down when they saw that! So we’re getting all of the ingredients on hand in the house, and we’re just waiting on the next storm.

Thunder cake

Aside from enjoying our snuggley, cuddly story time, the kids are also writing and creating drawings based on the Polacco stories they have heard thus far. They have done some copy work, written their own sentences about this or that, and drawn and colored pictures, which all go into their own Author Fiesta 3 ring binder, which they are so excited to have. {J} especially has been excited about having his own notebook, and just wanted to keep working on one thing after another, to put in it. I finally slowed him down a little with the promise that I have a new notebook assignment the next day. {A} is researching and gathering info to first write an outline, and then a report, on Patricia Polacco and her works. She did a beautiful drawing today based on Thunder Cake, as did {O}. {S} chose The Lemonade Club for his artwork, while {J} chose The Keeping Quilt, because he really, really wanted to make a picture of that quilt! (And it really, really made me want one of my own even more!)

The more they fill their notebooks, with the pages of writing or drawing that they worked so hard on, the more they treasure them. I know I wouldn’t have had an ounce of trouble keeping these kiddos from reading, writing and being creative through the summer, as it’s things they just love to do (for which I give praise to God for) — but what an exciting way to keep it going. We have truly been enjoying this exploration through children’s literature! And we’ll keep doing it, in our own leisurely way, for as long as we are.

kids-with-binders

What Kids Don’t Love (P)Inchworms?

June 3, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

I’m not sure what you and your kids call them. Most probably refer to them as inchworms, some may call them ‘loopers’, but technically, they are ‘cankerworms‘, which probably explains why their name has been changed by so many to something more fun, and seemingly more fitting. In our family, they have come to be known as ‘pinchworms’. This term came from our youngest daughter {O}, when she was really little and mistaken about their name- and it stuck.

So I ask you, are there any kids out there who DO NOT love these inchworms? Because if statistics are any indication, on a very small scale, 4/4 love them at our house. Our kids just hold them and play with them for the longest time.

Recently, they gathered a whole bunch, and created this little ‘playground’ for them, in the base dish of a plant pot. Of course, they spent a of time keeping any of them from escaping. Those little buggers may be small, but they’re pretty quick!

My husband doesn’t mind them much, but I’m not all THAT fond of them. They are on the cute side, but I don’t appreciate their little games of dropping out of nowhere unexpectedly, on their little silk swings, right in front of my face, or worse, on me. Because what I don’t like most about them, is that they smoosh, accidentally. I don’t know about you, but when I feel something suddenly creeping on me, my initial reflex is to swat off the creepy-crawly area before I even look. That has gotten messy with surprise (p) inchworms who just drop by on me without calling first. What I really detest even more though, again because of their smoosh-factor on a grander scale, are gypsy moth caterpillars. Ugh. I hope we don’t get invaded with those things in large quantities as we have some years. The kids love to play with the species that have a turquoise back with chestnut brown spots. They avoid holding or playing with the ones with the red and blue bumps, because when they poop on you, you get a rash. (Sorry if that’s TMI. lol) Personally, I don’t care for any of them doing their business on me, rash-risky or not.

And then of course is the fact that (p)inchworms and caterpillars alike, eat the leaves on the trees everywhere! As I am sure so many of you have noticed, a large posse can really destroy a tree. It’s so sad to see otherwise healthy trees, loaded with leaves so tattered with holes. I suppose they need to eat something but….

I know God has purpose for every creature, big and small, (yes even those nasty Black Racer snakes, Kate). It really is amazing how in the big picture, everyone has a job that keeps nature and all of Creation, in balance. I don’t always really need to know all of the details of who eats who and what-not, but I can appreciate how it all works together for the good of Creation, in a more general way.

I suppose pinchworms are food for birds, and perhaps have some other impressive purpose. At the very least (and I can tell you it is the very least…lol), I can be grateful for the fact that their existence gives my children hours of enjoyment.

Re-potting Our 6 Tiny Potted Plants

June 1, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

potting soil on garden shovel

If you’ve been visiting us here at our blog for awhile, you may remember when we planted these 6 tiny-potted plants, and later when we gave an update on their sprouts growth. Well the time came re-potting our 6 tiny potted plants.

We initially thought when that time came for transplanting, it would be outdoors into the ground, but we don’t think their quite ready for THAT yet. The thing is, they kind of seemed to stop growing pretty much after that growth update, and we decided they must be root-bound. So we bought some cheap (but pretty!) pots and got to work.

First, the kids gathered some rocks from the driveway and put them in the bottom of each pot, to ensure proper drainage when watering. Then they put in some potting soil, some plant food, and a little more soil. Then they transferred their plants from their tiny pots to their new pots.

tiny-potted-plants

Below, {O} transplants hers.

child re-potting plant

{J} transplants his.

boy re-potting plant

{A} shows {J} all of the roots bound up at the bottom of her plant.

kids-looking-at-plant-roots

{S} makes sure his plant is all snug and pressed down into the new soil, after the transfer.

boy re-potting-plant

(O} gets hers in there just right.

little girl re-potting plant

{A} had to 2 of hers to re-pot; one being not of the 6, but another she had from awhile ago.

older girl re-potting plant

Just a shot I had to take. : )

potting soil on garden shovel

Here they are all done! You can kind of tell they’ve just been through a bit of a traumatic journey, but we know they will settle in and thrive in their new pot homes, once they get comfortable and used to their new surroundings. We hope eventually they will be big and strong enough to go into the ground, but for now they are lined up along the windows of our kitchen sink.

re-potting-little-plants

Did you notice we transferred our initial letters too? Where competitions go, it’s never over until there is no hope of winning, and none of us lose hope very easily! We’ll let you know if they really start to grow and thrive, and be in need of being transplanted again. Who knows…they may just make it to God’s rich earth someday! At least we’re all hoping so.

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