Hot Air Balloon Season is Here! Allow Me to Help You...

Well it's no secret that I have a little love affair with hot air balloons.  Honestly, I don't see how you couldn't - the colors, the excitement of the launch, floating through air in utter peace and quiet - with the exception of the occasional blast of the burner, I suppose.   My experience with hot air balloons is limited - I was on a short ride in one when I was a toddler, and it was tethered to the ground, so I don't know that it counts. Other than that, my only other direct experience was last year when it became an obsession to make sure my children saw a balloon festival launch.  

Because I'm me, and I can rarely just let a fun activity be a fun activity, I did my homework and turned last year's hot air balloon launch into an educational experience.  In the weeks before the launch we read books about hot air balloons - both fiction and non-fiction, we watched youtube videos of the famous Albuquerque festival, and we watched the old Reading Rainbow episode "Hot Air Henry" where Lavar rides a hot air balloon.  (Lavar Burton and Reading Rainbow also claim spots on my Little Love Affair List.)  I thought about an experiment involving plastic bags and hair dryers... but got a little nervous when it came down to it.  Maybe I'll be brave enough this year?

We did an awful lot of preparing.  Finally, Memorial Day weekend arrived.  Friday night we let the kids sleep in their clothes, we packed the cooler full of breakfast foods, and a diaper bag full of everything else we could think of for a day trip.  Saturday morning we woke up at 3:30 (?  I can't remember if that's right), piled the sleepy kids in the car and drove an hour to the launch site.  Long story short - the 6am launch was cancelled.  Didn't they know how prepared I'd gotten my children???  Fortunately, all my planning didn't go to waste.  We found another launch that took place later in the summer and was closer to home.  We got to go...

It was an adventure that I think the kids will remember forever... Getting there even before the first balloon trucks showed up... Plopping ourselves in the wet field, having muffins and juice boxes as the morning mist lifted and the aeronauts and their crews started unrolling their balloons and prepping the burners... The sheer amazement of seeing first hand what it takes to get one of those in the air, and finally seeing dozens and dozens of them silently pass over you! 

So, if you're hoping to catch a launch yourself this Spring-Summer-Fall, and you want to turn it into a lesson, allow me to help you by sharing some resources I've uncovered...

  

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First and foremost, locate a festival.  Here's a pretty comprehensive list of festivals nation-wide.  The one we went to last year - the one that actually took place - wasn't on the list, so there are some that don't make it here.  But this is a good place start.

http://www.hotairballoon.com/showall.taf

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Here are some of the books we used: 

Sally's Great Balloon Adventure, by Stephen Huneck

Hot Air: the (mostly) true story of the first hot air balloon 

ride, by Marjorie Priceman

The Amazing Air Balloon, by Jean Van Leeuwen

(a true story)

The Big Balloon Race, by Eleanor Coerr

(another true story!)

Hot Air Henry, by Mary Calhoun

Fire and Silk: Flying in a Hot Air Balloon

by Neil Johnson

Reuben and the Balloon, by Merle Good

(I just stumbled across this one recently and picked it up for $2 at a close-out store!)

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Reading Rainbow, "Hot Air Henry"

(Season 1, Episode 4)

We rented it from our local library.  You can purchase it from Amazon OR I just found out, Amazon Prime members can watch it for free.  

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This is a link to a diagram showing the parts of a hot air balloons.  Possible coloring page?

http://www.nebraskaballoonclub.org/graphics/balloonparts.jpg

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Here's a link to an experiment... the one we *might* try this year:

Nat'l Aeronautics and Space Administration - Hot Air Balloon Experiment

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And don't forget to check youtube for movies of launches, movies taken from up in a balloon, and movies on how balloons work.  Here's an interesting one to get you started...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXv3jcqa6T8

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The launch we went to last year was a really special and memorable event for our whole family (my parents went with us!)  Dominic, in particular wonders when it will be his turn to go up.  Future hobby?  I hope so!  And I hope he takes his mom with him!

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bonus materials...

artwork inspired by last year's launch

Christmas ornament I made to commemorate the event!

A couple shirts I snatched up for Ruth this Spring.  (she took the photo!)   The blue one is from Old Navy, the pink I got on CLEARANCE at Target!   I wish they had them in my size!  

Theme Thursday: Animals

Stop... you don't have to tell me.  I know it's not Thursday.  But I checked, and Cari keeps things open for a couple days for lazy bones like me!  

Up until a couple years ago, I was among those of my father's offspring who would tease him for taking nature pictures - especially flowers, insects, and far-off birds.  But I've got to admit, something about having my own children has flipped a switch in me... I am uncontrollably compelled to photograph nature.  We actually based half our science this past year on critters we spotted in our neighborhood and in the local wildlife preserves - photos were a must for their science binders.  I was happy to oblige.  

I am submitting my two favorite insect photographs of the past year and my favorite local-zoo-resident photograph.  Photograph number 2 may not be suitable for children - it never made it to our science binders - not because it's moderately awkward that I captured this intimate moment or because I didn't really want to have to explain it. It was truly because, "insect mating" was nowhere to be found on the Science Standards for First Grade.  ;)  

Thanks for hosting Theme Thursday, Cari.  And thanks for allowing me to pretend it's Theme Monday.  

PS - I love you, Dad!  Thanks for sharing your photos with us... the waxwing birds, in recent memory!  

Home Improvements: new patio door + built-in bookshelves = Love

Disclosure:  We not the best do-it-yourself-ers.  I just have to get that out there lest you think that the following wonders are of our own doing. 

Recently, a friend of ours helped make a few changes around here.  It's hard to even call it a home improvement because it technically only involved about 8 square feet of space.  But have you ever made a small change to your home that netted  disproportionally great results?  That's the kind of change we're talking about here.  It was good for my soul.  

Allow me to introduce our dining room.  It is where we eat breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, second dessert... you get the idea.  It is also where we pretty much do everything else that requires a large flat surface - baking with children, games, puzzles, craft projects, and school lessons.  We're in that room all day long. 

(from last Fall) Although I'm using this photo to show the negative parts of the dining room (dark door and scary bookshelf - which you can kind of just see), I actually love this picture - all of my kiddos basking in the glow of education and my coffee waiting for me when I put the camera down! 

The room is dark red - it was when we moved in four years ago and although we never would have picked it ourselves, we just left it and got used to it.  We definitely don't love it.  At the back of the room is a door that leads to our deck - it had a dark, thick frame that limited the light coming in and it was awkward to use b/c it swung open into the middle of the room.  So we never used it.  Next to it (on the right in the photo) was one of those strange extra spaces that you're not really sure what to do with.  We put a cheap-o bookshelf in there and used it to store art supplies, books, and play-doh. But the shelf left 6 inches of unused space on either side and 2+ feet of unused space at the top.

see?

Finally, I had enough.  It was time to replace the door with one that would slide so that we could have it open during meals and lessons to enjoy the birds and the breeze.  And it was time to put some built-in shelves into the nook.  Our friend did it.  It. is. awesome.  It was just the change we needed to fall in love with our home again!  Well, at least the back 8 square feet!

It's hard to get good photos here because of the cramped quarters.  The shelves are adjustable (a good friend's brilliant idea!  Perfect solution for oversize atlases and those odd-size Math-U-See boxes.)  They are unfinished pine stair treads (the genius idea of another good friend.  hi, ladies!)  

the kids got to use the shelves before I moved all our school stuff in

Voila.  Fabulouso, right?  I couldn't really get it all in the lens though because there's another door right behind me.  So I took this crazy from-the-floor shot:

So, there you have it.  I love these shelves!  Using this space for all our school stuff allowed me to clear out another bookcase and claim wall space for our superb Nat Geo maps - still have to get them up though.  

Here's the completed effect.  Bright, open, airy feeling door.  Beautiful, organized, space-maximizing shelves.
(and poor Clare wondering where everyone else is... she's ready for dinner!)

Children once again immersing themselves in the wholehearted pursuit of wisdom.  (Dom's face gives me away and tells the truth about day-dreaming and distractedness, right?)  But this time, they are soaking it all in with light and fresh air to feed their minds!   And of course, my coffee in the forefront of it all.

Small changes.  Big difference.  Love.

I'd love to hear ideas from other homeschoolers who may have a similar situation - a room that has to wear many hats, so to speak.  We're still working on this and I'd love some insights into how to keep a space feeling like a family meal area, but keeping school materials nearby and accessible. 

Update.  Since first starting to write this... we've primed the red walls and are hoping for happy changes.  I'll keep you posted - unless it turns out poorly and then, I won't!  

A Spring Tradition Involving Dessert (Keep-It-Simple Science)

(I love living in an area of the world where we get all four seasons to the extreme, and I love finding ways to celebrate each one of them with my family!  Sounds cheesy?  I don't care!  Love it.)

Four years ago the boys found their first robin's egg while on a Spring walk.  Since then, we've had a tradition that when we find the first robin's egg of Spring, we make candy nests to celebrate.

This year, Aaron found the first robin's egg without us :(  He spotted it on a nature walk he took with the kids at the homeschool study center.  

I wasn't going to officially count it as the first egg for the family, but since then we haven't had much luck.  The neighbors are probably starting to wonder why we've taken to wandering the neighborhood at all hours with our heads drooping down, randomly circling trees.... "Oh, it's those people from down the block again...  Didn't we see them picking up a dead mouse from our yard last Spring?  Should we call someone about them???"

We've had no luck until yesterday, and even yesterday's finds weren't actual robin eggs. But we're combining the egg-found-outside-the-family-unit and the family-neighborhood-walk discoveries from yesterday and calling it a win.  (We are in league with the mailman who has promised to alert us to the next robin egg he sees, so we are hopeful this isn't the end.  Believe me, my kids won't let him forget his promise.) 

still have not identified this egg... will carefully sift through any and all suggestions offered by readers who happen to be bird enthusiasts

we used our bird guides to identify this as a robin's nest - messy outside,
neat grass inside, layer of mud in between

a nest Aaron found about two weeks ago... several friends have indicated it's
probably a finch's nest

We've got some fine material for our nature notebooks here. (Ohhh, the nature notebooks... we got them out today only to find that the last entries were from October, if that tells you anything...)  More on that soon.

So............. on to the chocolate nests.  We've never been able to find a pale blue Jelly Belly, so have had to settle for the dark blue ones... a bit overpowering and not robin's egg blue, yet they suffice.  This year we also bought some toasted marshmallow jelly beans to imitate the cream speckled egg we found.  One year we tried an elaborate recipe for the nests that involved Chinese noodles, pretzels, chocolate, marshmallow fluff (gag) and peanut butter - the nests were very 'moldable' and we were able to make very neat and tidy nest shapes.  Too much work though.  Now we just go with melted dark chocolate discs and Chinese noodles. (If you make these, do yourself a favor and add some peanut butter to the warm chocolate!)  They are not so moldable and are wacky and messy - true to robin nest form, I guess.  

I can't even begin to imagine how to get a carb count on one of these things... but other than that potential hiccup, we're all looking forward to dessert tonight!

You can see by my children's serious faces that making the nests each year is no laughing matter.  We take "fun" very seriously around here...

One Month Into Type 1 Diabetes (7QT)

One Month Into Type 1 Diabetes 
(Seven Quick Takes-style)

(One month ago today, our almost seven-year-old son, Aaron, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes)

[1]

We finally clarified with Ruth that Aaron doesn't take injections of "insulation."  Now she knows it's "insulin" and I've spied her creeping toward her unsuspecting dollies to administer their very  own insulin injections (beware of Dr. Ruth With the Fisher Price Syringe!)  

[2]

These two books I plucked from the library have been immensely helpful.  I actually READ them, as opposed to the fourteen thousand individual sheets of paper gifted us by the hospital at discharge.  I'd recommend both of these books for other new-diagnosis families.

100 Questions & Answers About Your Child's Type 1 Diabetes

- Platt, Olshen, Waterman 

American Diabetes Association Guide to Raising a Child with Diabetes

- Jean Betschart Roemer 

[3]

In addition to the fourteen thousand papers, we came home from the hospital with SO much stuff.  It was like a diabetes-care missile had been launched into our kitchen and detonated on the counter.  Debris everywhere.  

I quickly Googled "Help!  How do I organize all this stuff?"  and I LOVED this idea...  which of course I can't find now weeks later.  It was a photo of all the "gear" stored in a silverware tray, tucked into a kitchen drawer.  I wish I felt like that would be a safe option here, but I still have young children that randomly rummage around in kitchen drawers hoping to find I don't know what... candy?  scotch tape?  key to the liquor cabinet?   Even Clare grasps about in drawers that she's not tall enough to see into.  So the brilliant idea doesn't seem like it will work for us yet.  For now, we've settled on this... 

3 plastic drawer set - top: calculator and ketone strips; middle: insulin pens, alcohol prep pads,
and pen needle tips; bottom: lancets and finger-pricker thing, glucose meter and test strips;
tippy top: carb counter reference book and emergency glucagon injections (still not sure where to keep those... car?
 linen closet? any ideas?) 

Still a little cluttered, but at least not explosive.

I'd love some other suggestions on this topic... if anyone out there has a good system...  Comments?

And for on-the-go organization, I think I'm going to try to make something like this... because it doesn't make me feel Organized Happy to have a gallon-size baggie of needles slip sliding around in my purse :(  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/75982404/xl-medi-pouch-travel-organizer-medical?ref=shop_home_active

(Let's be honest.  I might just end up buying one - it's the time-saver option for busy moms who want to watch Netflix in the evenings instead of experiment with sewing plastic.) 

[4]

Things we're getting used to  (1) The stench of insulin. (2) Googling things like "will artificial sweeteners really cause rat bladder cancer in my T1D child?"  (3) Aaron having some meat on his bones again!  (4) The stash of Smarties (kept solely for the purpose of treating low blood sugar) mysteriously disappearing.  (I plead the fifth.) 

[5]

After first receiving a Photo and Negative Scanner (No Computer Required!) in error, we finally got this little gem from Amazon...

The EatSmart Digital Nutrition Scale.  It's easy to use and has been very helpful especially when figuring produce and bulk nuts/grains.  Let's say Aaron is going to eat a banana... you put it on the scale, use the guide book to find and enter the corresponding code for banana and then you will have all the nutritional information you ever wanted on that particular banana.  Chow down, my friends!  Chow down.  What's that?  You didn't want a banana for a snack?  No worries, put a bowl of neon orange goldfish up there.  Using the nutritional values given on the package, the scale will tell you exactly what is in the amount you are going to eat.  

I am also hoping that using the guide book will allow Aaron  to learn alphabetical order by osmosis, er, I mean, daily practical application.  That's it.  

[6]

Speaking of daily practical application...  Aaron has repeatedly been saying, "One of the cool things about diabetes is that you get to measure and count stuff and add numbers.  I get to  use a lot of measuring cups and numbers."  Yep.  That's my boy.  (It might wear off but for now, I'm happy.)

[7]

Have you ever gone to a standard dietary website hoping to get some tips on low-carb snacks for your child?  Standard diet and healthy living websites are not written for Type 1 Diabetics.  Guaranteed, the first snacking tip you are sure to get on any typical nutrition website is "Cheese is from the Devil."  That's tip number one.  Tip number two is "Meat and Eggs will be the wretched cause of your eventual demise."  How does that jive (my husband just read this and said the word is "jibe")with the what the endocrinologists cheerfully remind you, "Eggs and cheese are your carb-free friends.  Snack, snack, snacky snack snack!"  (Ok, I added that last part.  They don't really say snacky snack, but they should consider it.  It would add some levity to the whole nutrition situation.)  I really need to investigate some more "free" snacking options, because according to the diet websites, Aaron is doomed to end up in Gehenna with a string cheese in one hand and a Slim Jim in the other ;)  

[7.5]

Jokes and sarcasm aside, Aaron is doing wonderfully!  So invovled in his care, so responsible.  Such a delight.  Love that kid!

For much more entertaining and insightful Quick Takes than I have provided here, head over to Conversion Diary to see what Jen and many others are "Taking" on this week.

Happy weekend!

A Holy Card Pocket Book

This morning Ruth asked me if she could take her holy cards outside.  

"Just a moment, sweetie.  I have to think about it."  Do I stick to my policy of there are some things that we just don't take outside because there are gaps in the deck and stuff could be lost forever down those cracks of despair??  Or do I jubilantly exclaim "Thank you, Sweet Baby Jesus" because my daughter wants to play with holy cards above all other things this morning??  

I went with the later.  And she got to play with them a nice long time while I took pictures for a blogging show-and-tell of craftiness.

I made this cloth book last year for Ruth's holy cards, thinking it would be a perfect addition to the kids "Mass Bag" we bring to church on Sundays.  (It turns out it wasn't because holy cards still ended up in places you don't wanna be crawling around, even after Mass is over.) Ruth enjoys perusing her card collection, naming the saints as she pulls them out, and deciding which saints will go back into a pocket together.  She likes to keep her cards near her bed or under her pillow and I like to keep cards together and not scattered about all over the house - so this was a sewing project that made both of us happy! (which isn't always the case.) 

"Education in the Hands of Amateurs"

We are nearing the end of our first year of official-reportable-to-the-city homeschooling. When we first decided not to send our oldest to pre-school, and then not Kindergarten, and then eventually not First Grade, I had a lot of questions - what will our days look like?  what materials will we use?  what method will we follow?  will we ever leave the house again?  should I buy a laminator???  But I never questioned whether or not I was "qualified" to teach him.  

I only started thinking about it recently while reading Children and Parents, by Rev. Fulton Sheen. The book is not about education in the academic sense, but one particular phrase directed at dads and moms caught my attention: "put... education in the hands of amateurs - you."  I've been mulling it over in light of homeschooling.

While discussing homeschooling with those who are unfamiliar with what it is or what it's like, the concerns I've heard about repeatedly (besides the S word, which I cannot even bring myself to say because the issue is so ridiculous.  Ok, fine.  It's socialization, for those who don't know.) are those of patience and qualifications.  Here's what I mean...

Me: We home school.
Other Person: Wow.  You must have a lot of patience.
Me: (jaw hanging open in total silence, wondering if I should tell them I am probably the least patient mom I know.  Also wondering if the piteous amount of patience I do posses could possibly be more than that of your average Kindergarten teacher.  Mmmm.... no way.  It's definitely not an abundance of patience that qualifies me to homeschool.  Perhaps more on that another time.)

or this...

Me: We home school.
Other Person: Wow.  Were you a teacher before?
Me: Yes, I taught junior high for a couple years. 
Other Person: Oh, well, you have some credentials then.
Me: I didn't hold a certification or teaching degree, if that's what you mean.
Other Person: But you know how to do it.
Me: (jaw hanging open in total silence, wondering "know how to do what?"  Write on a chalkboard?  Make a lesson plan?  Input report card data?  Host parent teaching conferences?  Engage and hold the attention of young people in order to convey something I have a passion for, form the foundation of lifelong learning and application of knowledge, instruct on how to learn, foster a love of Lady Wisdom for Her own sake, encourage individual exploration and discovery in a student's free time - all done within 45 minute segments - all while not straying too far from the text and administering tests with standardized expectations and measurable results???????  Is that what you meant?)  

or this...

Me: We home school.
Other Person: Wow.  Aren't you afraid that you don't know everything you need to teach your children?
Me: Well, I definitely don't know everything.  But I'm not fearful about it.  I acutally have fun learning new stuff along side my kids.
Other Person: Yeah, but what about Physics?  Quantum Physics?  And don't teachers need to have some basic qualifications in fairness to the students. 
Me: (jaw hanging open in total silence, wondering "what is Quantum Physics?????")

I should probably work on the open mouth/no response reaction.  It probably isn't the best public advertisement for the homeschooling cause.  

I am not qualified to teach my children because I have a lot of patience.  I'm not qualified to teach them because I've had a brief stint as a school teacher (at a private school where no certification was required).  I'm not afraid of advanced math and science and I am not concerned about my lack of teaching credits or state-granted certificates.  A teacher who is responsible for a large classroom of students with varying degrees of intellectual and emotional ability, diverse language and cultural backgrounds, and a large spectrum of learning styles, may in fact need specialized training and certifications.  I do not.  

I am qualified to teach my own children because I am the individual on Earth most attuned to them, most directed toward their good (Obviously, my husband, Russ, is in on all this too, but I'm speaking of what stems from the intimate mother-child bond: developed during pregnancy, nursing, care and nurturing, and being around them all. day. long.)  I am the individual on Earth most likely to sacrifice for their benefit (I say "benefit" and not necessarily "success" or "achievement").  I am the Earthly individual whose heart yearns most intensely for their eternal salvation and who can most whole-heartedly (and humbly) strive to form their character and orient their moral compass. I am the individual on Earth who will experience the most pleasure at witnessing their enjoyment, excitement, creativity, curiosity, and learning.  I am qualified to teach them because I appreciate the joy of learning and the importance of wisdom, and for whom do I desire those more than for my own children?  I am qualified to teach them because I know them and I love them.  

Those things guide our home education.  Because of all that, I am able, and happy, to expend time, effort, resources, and patience for the privilege of personally educating my children.  Because of all that, you may be more qualified to teach your children than you thought.  Indeed, most parents are.  

In my mind, it has little to do with degrees or accreditations.  Love and common sense are probably the two greatest qualifiers.  Just as you probably didn't hire a nutritionist to teach your baby how to eat solids, and you've taken it upon yourself to teach balanced, nutritious eating to your children without passing them off to a dietitian, so to, you have the ability to instruct them in the academic realm without passing them off to "experts."  Don't minimize your ability to instruct your children - you've been doing it since they were born - Did you send your toddlers to etiquette classes to learn proper dinner table behavior and decent manners?  I'm guessing not.  You probably took it upon yourself to "teach" and model propper bahavior.  You taught your child how to ride a bike, say her prayers, fold her clothes, tie her shoes, buckle her seat belt, introduce herself, and make friends.  These are necessary for a respectable and fulfilling life.  Your child has been learning and it's you who's been giving the lessons.  Don't be scared that education "book learnin' ".  It is instruction, modeling, discovery - things you have been doing with your child from the very beginning.  It is about seeking wisdom that is ordered toward the good, knowledge for the glory of God and the good of man, it is about a respectable and fulfilling life.  If you believe that your role as The Parent of Your Child gives you the responsibility, and affords you the delight, of helping prepare him or her for a respectable, fulfilling life, you are probably qualified to homeschool. 

So, education in the hands of amateurs - can it work?  (Regarding this sensitive subject matter, please don't tell my children I'm just an amateur - and a homeschool rookie, to boot - because they actually think I know what I'm doing.)  Admittedly, I cannot teach my children everything.  But that's not even expected to happen in a traditional school, so the argument is irrelevant.  What's more important in my mind is that I can teach them how to learn.  To me, that is the crux of education - developing the skill of learning (Ok, add love of, appreciation of, and enjoyment in learning too.  Those things are important as well.) I have had some experience with "learning"  in my life (not just talking about 19+ years of school)... I feel confident that I know how to learn and that I can inspire, and instruct, my children likewise.  If that's the goal of home-based education, amateurs can handle it. 

I really enjoyed teaching during the time when I was a "professional" school teacher.  But it is nothing like instructing my own children.  I never expected how immensely rewarding it would be to be the the teacher, guide, companion, encourager, and fellow investigatory adventurer to the people I care for most dearly in the world.  It is rewarding beyond measure.  (And I think my kids like it too!)

Conclusion:

Me: We home school.
Other Person: Wow.  Are you qualified?
Me: Well, did you just read this?????
Other Person: (jaw hanging open in total silence)
Me: Given the above, do you not think I will give my intellectual and emotional utmost to provide my children the best education of which I am capable? 
Other Person: (still total silence)
Me: You're still worried about Physics, aren't you?  Let me tell you a secret... I never took Physics and I turned out ok.  
Other Person: But what about...
Me: Why we do it, and How?  Maybe I'll write about it some other time.  For now it's sufficient that I've laid my qualifications before you.  I am adequately... no, actually I am enormously qualified to homeschool.  

Are you?