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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!)

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.

Bullfrog Tadpoles Progress Report . . . . . . by {A}

May 30, 2008 By A 2 Comments

The other day, I cleaned the bullfrog-tadpoles habitat and added fresh pond water. They are continuing to grow and develop, although slowly, when you consider that their whole cycle takes 14 months. This big guy below has developed quite the pair of legs since I have had him.(Or her! I am not sure yet.) You can see the front leg bump too!

The picture below shows where the habitat is kept. It is in the window well that has a convenient observatory window from Mama’s studio. I’ve used it as a habitat to observe other reptiles and amphibians over the years, and once there was even a mole in there.

See all those papers? One of them I use to record their growth and behavior in the sun and shade. The rest are guides to caring for my tadpoles. I feed them boiled lettuce and tropical fish food.

This is one of the little ones I have. Doesn’t he camouflage in with the water very well? The water is a little more murky than usual, because the sediment was trying to settle after I changed the water. I have mud in the bottom of the habitat, because the tadpoles like to hide in mud when it is cold out.

I hope you enjoyed this tadpole report!!!

We Went to the Children’s Library and Took Out a Few Books – Elementary Reading

May 27, 2008 By Laura 3 Comments

I’m about to talk about children’s books, so I can guess right now that this will probably get long.

First of all, can I just tell you how much I have always loved books?? Like…really love books. Picture books especially. I love the smell of them, and the noise that thick plastic cover makes, or the slickness of those big glossy jacket covers. I always have. I recall as a child, the butterflies of excitement I would feel just walking into our town’s or school’s Children’s Library. Just knowing just about anything you wanted to learn about, was possible to find in that room. Shelves upon shelves of books, filled with pages, which were filled with words, that when read, could take you to places you’ve never dreamed, or never even heard of, or may or may not ever want to go! In the pages of the most well written books, are where imaginations are poked and put into high gear. And oohhh……the illustrations! As a little budding artist, the pictures were almost the best part to me.

Now, I have developed a little germ-a- phobia of library books over the years,,,,as I am a little germ-a-phobic. Of many things, that make perfect sense to be germ-y. : ) Not irrationally so. I just really feel the need to wash my hands right away, and thankfully, so do my kids!

To feed the fire for my love of books, was my beloved Godmother — a 1st grade teacher for a ridiculous amount of years. When she retired, her former students from all over the country (in college, with their own families, etc) came back, or sent notes and gifts, thanking her for the love and beliefs in themselves that she had planted in their hearts as their 1st grade teacher. She was never forgotten by any student who was ever blessed enough to land in her classroom. Truly…she is a remarkable woman, with deep seated faith, a passion for teaching, and a such a gentle and patient way with children. She truly lived her vocation a a teacher. So she was a big part of giving me such a love for books, but also truly fed the fire of my faith from a very young age….through ALL of my stages…with her powerful examples of living, her gentle words of guidance, and always unconditional love. Anyway….I have such a vivid memory of being at her home as a high-schooler one day, when our discussion led her to the discovery that I had never read The Velveteen Rabbit. WELL……she could NOT let that be. She quickly disappeared into the other room, to her vast collection of children’s books, and pulled that storybook from the shelves. She ushered me right to her kitchen table, handed me that large storybook, and instructed me to sit down and read it, and not get up until I was done. And there I sat…..16 years old, reading The Velveteen Rabbit. It’s one of my children’s favorite stories now too. Of course the memory attached to the story must play a part too.

When my first daughter was born, my urge to buy every picture book I picked up and loved, kicked in. I gave in quite a bit too, but tried to look in the discount book stores the most, knowing how weak I was around such things. She and I cuddled and read a lot, and she became a book lover at a very young age, and to this day spends oodles and oodles of time, reading. My next 3 children became huge book lovers much the same way, and just sitting for hours surrounded by piles of books. Or, sometimes, all sitting on me, under me, and around me…as we all huddled and cuddled together enjoying a good story. (Oh how I love that!) Now that they are reading, they love books even more! As so many of you mothers know, there isn’t anything much sweeter than hearing your little child read a book, in those little voices that are so familiar to our hearts. But for home schooling mothers, it has to be just a tad sweeter. As a Mama of 3 kindergartners I am very blessed quite a few times a day, to hear 3 little voices reading different books, from there own little places in the house. Sometimes too, they take turns reading to each other, or help each other on a word someone is stuck on. Boy does all of it tug on my heart strings!

So all of this backstory leads to a point. Imagine our EXCITEMENT when I discovered that a wonderful woman, homeschooling mother and author of A Picture Perfect Childhood, named Cay Gibson, decided to organize a way to feature, study and celebrate one children’s author a month. It’s called an Author Fiesta! During that month, we find as many books by that author as we’d like, and read them to, or with our children, or even let them read them on their own. Cay also will be providing wonderful printables for each author, so the kids each have their own 3 ring binder. Should I tell you how ECSTATIC the kids are to have their own notebook to keep their stuff in?? It has a cover of the beautiful bookworm too. I’m even thrilled to have my own notebook. lol. Our little ones will each have a list of the books they’ve read, they’ll be doing some copywork from the printables as well as whatever books they choose, drawings they’ve done based on the stories, and life-aiding quotes to learn. {A} will be studying the author’s works, writing author research papers, and anything else creative she would like to add to her notebook. I asked all of the kids if this was something they’d like to do together and all 4 were all for it and couldn’t wait to get started! In think there will be a new author featured every month for a year, but can be done at your very own pace. In the end, the kids will have a very informative collection of various children authors for keeping, treasuring as their own childhood work, and perhaps as a reference to use for great books to enjoy one day with their own children. (But we won’t go there now. I’m just saying. lol)

The kids have all been loving this book journey so far. Any time is a good time for another story you know! It isn’t anything we HAVE to do, and we can take or leave anything we want to along the way. This is just another thing we consider FUN, that happens to be so educational. And did I say, FUN?!

So the first month of May featured the child author Patricia Polacco. We’ve discovered she writes from the heart, in a way that really reaches her readers hearts and minds as well. Her works are based true stories, sprinkled with lots of fun imagination, based on her own family members, or other people she knows. Each story is very interesting. We have really loved the ones we have read so far. Below are just some of the titles we have at the moment.

I was not familiar with this author before. So the very first book we happened to grab and read (almost as soon as we got home from the library) was The Lemonade Club.

OH MY!! Maybe not the best one to start off with. Very, very good, but very sad. It’s about 2 little girls who are very good friends, and one gets Leukemia. Very touching and it did lead to wonderful discussion with the kids. It ends well, and there are beautiful life lessons to take from the it, including the gift of friendship, expressions of compassion and support, the celebration of life itself, and the encouragement to make lemonade, when life hands you lemons. But there was a point in the story where the knot in my throat was so tight, as the tears spilled over my eyelids, that I couldn’t get the next word out. My children were very patient while I gained my composure.

The kids and I talked openly after about how sometimes people get sick, and how we get through these things. (With our faith in God’s greater plan, prayers, support of family and friends, etc.) I love that they are able to learn about these things, with ME (or us), so I have the opportunity to help them sort their questions and fears. My youngest daughter is the most inquisitive of them all, and likes to truly ponder and absorb these things thoroughly. So she spent some extra time with the book.

We’ve read quite a few titles by now. I’ve read a few to them, and {A} has always loved reading to them as well, so she took it upon herself to do that. I’ll be blogging more about them. None have been nearly as sad, but all very entertaining and very well written, filled with wonderful life lessons and messages for the children, and us! And naturally, amazing illustrations grace the pages. What I admire so much about Patricia Polacco too, is that not only does she write the story, but she also illustrates of all her own books as well! What gifts God has given her to be so talented, and reach the hearts and minds of so many children through her work!

It won’t be long before June’s author is announced, but we’re in no rush. We were late in the game joining, but are enjoying the ride at our own pace. I am sure I will blog about this book or that as I am inspired, and keep you updated on this wonderful journey of our Author Fiesta!

Have you read a good book today?? : )

The REAL Science Field Trip – Mass Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary

May 19, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

The kids finally had their real science field trip, to the Mass Audubon Society Wildlife Sanctuary, on the RIGHT day. Michael and I were not as excited to go anymore, feeling like we’ve ‘been there, done that‘. But the point was to meet and experience a homeschool co-op that was having a day there, and the kids were all for going again. So we went, and were all really glad we did. I must say, the weather wasn’t quite as nice as the mistaken day, which was so warm and sunny. This time it was on the cool side, and pretty cloudy and grey out. Rain was expected later that day. (And it indeed started sprinkling before we left.)

But what a great field trip it was anyway! As I mentioned in the post about our accidental trip, the place consists of tons of conservation land, which includes various kinds of habitats: grass plains, marshland, and ponds. These habitats are home to all kinds of birds, animals, reptiles and amphibians. There were experts there from Mass Audubon, who took us in groups and taught us and showed us so much.

I didn’t really get any great photos. Again, I would have needed that big tele-photo lense for some really fascinating shots. But also, our kids were always in groups with other people who may have not wanted their photos taken, and it wouldn’t be right to post them on my blog with their faces showing, (without permission either)…..so my camera did a lot of resting. Although I did get a few simple photos, one of course of the boardwalk bridge, which I probably took one similar last time too.

boardwalk bridge

The first thing we did was go out on a tractor-pulled wagon hayride with a group, and a very nice and informative woman who was a wildlife expert, right out into the grasslands, where she taught us much about the birds that habitat there. The little ones enjoyed the ride, and learned quite a bit just listening to the talk. {A} brought along her notebook and sketchpad. Remember I told you {A} was ‘a bird expert as far as I could tell’? Well, she’s a bird expert as far as a bird expert can tell, too! lol. The woman had large laminated cards of various kinds of birds, not all the kind we see every day in our own yards. The woman often started with ‘Does anyone know what kind of bird this is?’, and {A} always did. She also knows more about their behaviors than I even knew she knew. The woman was impressed! Some of the birds we saw and/or learned all about were Osprey, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Swallows, Bluebirds, Flycatchers, Bobolinks, and Orioles, as well as red and grey fox, raccoons, and some rodent of which I forget the name of or what it really looks like. (Maybe on purpose. lol) ) We saw LOTS of Bobolinks darting around, there was an Osprey there as well, and we learned that Orioles fly all the way to and from South America every year! (Wow!). We have seen them in our yard several times in the past couple of weeks, and I just LOVE them. The woman said if we put a string out on our deck, the Orioles will take it to build a nest. If we put one out every day for them, they just may build there nest in your yard and stick around for the whole season! I definitely want to keep them around….so we did just what she said today. But it was still there last I checked.

When we got back from the hayride, we learned about bird-banding Tree Swallows. The woman explained how they catch the birds, how they harmlessly band them, measure their wing span, weigh them, record all of that info, where they send, and why. She had different strings of leg bands, as shown below, each of all the same size, but with different identification numbers on them. It was fascinating to hear the woman tell us how some years she would have birds she had banned the year before come back, or get notice in the mail from another sanctuary that a bird she had banned had been at their habitat thousands of miles away.

After that little information session, the kids moved on to learn more about bugs and insects. They even went into the tall grasses to catch some in fabric nets, put them in containers, and learn more about exactly what they caught. (You can bet I did a tick check after that little activity!) After {A} transferred what she had in her net, into a container, she discovered she caught syphrid flies, aphids, a spider, beetles, and ants. Did you know there is a difference between bugs and insects?

There were games to play, a bubble blowing table, and a little craft table as well. The kids made these dragonflies out of pipe-cleaners, beads and tinfoil. Pretty cute, huh? I don’t think they’ve much put them down since.

All in all it was a fantastic day. We all learned LOTS, had FUN doing it, and met so many wonderful people. There’s another co-op field trip coming up soon too…….a tide-pool study at the ocean, with more Mass Audubon experts there! We have a few of our own field trips planned as well, but I am sure we’ll be sure not to miss the co-op tide-pool study! The kids will really, really LOVE that, and so will us big kids! We love the beach and ocean, and feel so blessed to have a private beach within walking distance of our home.

The next day, {A} had a parish youth group activity planned. They were having a beach clean-up, and then gathering at the parish center for a cookout and some volleyball. It initially was cancelled that morning because it had been raining and was still drizzly. But some kids showed up anyway, so the leader called {A}, and she was happy to go and help. I did not take photos activity either, because I didn’t go. Michael took her. But I did some shots of her ready to go (one of which is below) with her own trash poker stick, and one to share. She had a really great time, despite how the weather was less than ideal at first. Of course she makes everything she does fun. The sun did break out once they were done cleaning up. As if God was pleased with their work. : )

The rest of our weekend was spent doing some work, some house-cleaning, and some shopping. You have no idea how excited our kids can get over bubble wands and water-shoes! Good golly. We are all knee-deep in enjoying this warm weather season, and still have so much exploring, learning, relaxing and FUN to look forward to.

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