Lakota Wolf Preserve 04.30.09

Today we took a trip to the Lakota Wolf Preserve (www.lakotawolf.com) to learn about these magnificent animals. The wolf has gotten a bad rep over the years. What with Little Red Riding Hood, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and assorted other fairy tales people are afraid of wolves. However, wolves would prefer to have nothing to do with us. There is not one documented case of a wolf attacking a person in the history of the United States. Most people have never seen a wolf and yet they are afraid. The wolf has been hunted and almost eliminated. That is why the wolf is an endangered animal.

We arrived outside the preserve. You can see a wolf in the background.

Showing off for the Humans.

This is the Omega of the pack. Her name is Raven. The shyest wolf is last in the pecking order of the pack. The people who run the preserve make sure she gets enough to eat.

They also have Bobcats and Foxes. It seems people get the bright idea to have Bobcats as pets. It does not work out so well.

2 Red Foxes. Even though the one is not red (they can be a few different colors) he is still a member of the red fox family. You can tell by the tail. Only the red fox has a white tipped tail.

We also got to listen to the wolves howl. We howled and they answered. Turns out each wolf has many different howls to make the pack sound larger then it is. That is one way to scare off a predator. They also do not howl at the moon. They tend to hunt at night and howl to communicate-hence the myth.

A Message for the Universe

Dear Universe:
Please return M's Language Art Book. I am sure you have a good reason for taking it but we need it. There will be no questions asked as to where the book has been.
Thank you.

A new week begins

Yesterday the kids had a track meet. It was brutal. Over 90 degrees. The parking at this field was terrible. I had to park a hike and a half away. The event was not run very well. We were there for 4 hours (one of those hours was just for warm up) and both of them only managed to do one event-the Turbo Javelin. They were so hot. I was so hot. We cleared out of there B finished with the Javelin. Hopefully, this coming week-end will be cooler.

Today was a typical Monday. Math, Language Arts, a trip to the poultry farm for poultry and eggs, Swim, and Gym class. After Phys Ed we headed off to the market for we were a bit low on food. We got to sample different olive oils. B loved all the ones he tried. M did not. I also picked up some habenero stuffed olives from their olive bar. So yummy and so spicy.

Cooking Class 04.23.09

We returned to the True Foods Cafe for the next cooking class. Today was Pasta Primavera and chocolate cookies with chocolate chips and dried cherries. Delicious.

Here is M showing off the veggies she will be chopping. A Zucchini and a Tomato. She also chopped some yellow squash.

B chopping a red pepper.

M chopping zucchini.

M displaying her chopped veggies.

M got to stir the veggies as they were cooking up before adding the sauce.

While the sauce was cooking the kids made the cookies.

Sauce is done. Here they are about to mix the pasta and sauce together. Doesn't it look good?

After class the kids went outside to play by the creek. They experimented with cause and effect by throwing different objects into the running water. Sticks, dandelions, leaves. They had a lot of fun.

The Bronx Zoo

We went to the Bronx Zoo (http://www.bronxzoo.com) today with our Earth Scout troop. The weather managed to be somewhat decent for most of the trip. The kids had a blast. We saw Tigers, Giraffes, Monkeys, Lemurs, Zebras, Flamingos, Puffins, Gazelles, and more.

Here they are in front of the Flamingos. If you look closely you can see the birds behind them.

B in front of the Ring Tailed Lemurs.

The Sea Lions were a hoot. Such performers. Here is a baby enjoying the feel of the rain drops.

A pic of the kids near the Giraffes.

A young Giraffe taking a stroll.

The Zebras were lovely to see.

A baby Gazelle.

The Peacocks were strutting their stuff.

The Polar was taking a dip.

Spring Break is Over

Spring Break has ended and it is back to work.

B continues working with Roman Numerals and reviewing long division and some basic fractions. He also read up on why he would not want to be a pyramid builder. In Language Arts he had an oral test on nouns, the subject noun, object of a preposition, noun as a direct object, and so on. Science -we reviewed the life cycle of frogs and butterflies.

M learned about skip counting by 7 and multiplication of tens. Language Arts-She continues to learn about irregular verbs-present, past, and past participle. History-she read up on pyramid building and how she does not want to be Cleopatra. Science-review of the life cycle of frogs and butterflies.

The kids really enjoy the "You Wouldn't Want To Be..." series. They are informative and fun to read.

First Track Meet

The kids had their first track meet yesterday. They were super excited. They both did really well.

Here they are right before it started. It was a little chilly yesterday.

M doing the long jump. She just left the ground. She broke the 5' mark with this jump.

B just released the turbo javelin. Like a big lawn dart, only not as pointy.

Look at his form as he does the shot put.

It's the little things

Okay, this post has very little to do with our homeschooling but we are all just so happy to have our new fence.

Here is a shot of the old, falling down fence waiting to be taken away. Every time there was a stiff wind another piece would fall off.

Pretty and new privacy fence between me and the neighbors on one side.

Here is a shot where the fence has to be 3' instead of 6'. Sometimes being on the corner is a pain in the neck with all the town regulations.

Shot from the street. Welcome to my fortress of solitude. I wish it could have been 6' all around but it is still better then not having a fence at all. Our neighbor on the 3' side is thrilled that the neighborhood kids will no longer be cutting across her lawn to get to our yard.

Cooking Class 04/16/09

We have started a new 6 week cooking course at the True Foods Cafe in Chestnut Ridge, NY. They had so much fun last time and they have been asking to go again. This session worked out with our schedule so we are off and running.

Today they made sweet potato and ginger soup and zucchini fritters. I am normally not a huge fan of sweet potatoes but this soup was fabulous and easy to make. I just might make it. Saute onions in a little bit of oil on the bottom of the soup pot. Add cubed sweet potatoes, fresh ground ginger, a little salt, enough water to cover, and cook until potatoes are tender. Puree and serve. Both kids really liked the soup.

The zucchini fritters were a hit with M but not with B. Grated zucchini, garlic, eggs, and scallions. Fry in oil. I thought they were delicious.

Rained Out

Our trip to the Bronx Zoo got put off until next Wednesday. The weather is not cooperating at all. It is 43 degrees and cloudy and threatening to rain at any moment. The kids were very upset when I told them. They were looking forward to the trip with their Earth Scout troop.

Instead of the Zoo we went to the library for a little while. We returned part of our huge stack of library books we are currently using. I paid some overdue fines. The children picked out some books, I picked out some books, and I picked up a Carey Grant movie (The Awful Truth) for us to watch tonight.

We have been having a great time exploring the old movies together. So far, we have watched:
Arsenic and Old Lace (their favorite)
Bringing Up Baby
The Music Man (2nd favorite)
The Pink Panther Movies (Peter Sellers, not Steve Martin)

Over the next few weeks we plan to watch:
Mame (Rosiland Russel version, not Lucille Ball)
A Doris Day movie-haven't decided which one yet
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Oklahoma

The movies have given us some great such conversations.

On the reading list for the next couple of weeks we have:
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (Not to be confused with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. this is the 3rd in the series by Frank L. Baum)
Dr. Dolittle and the Moon
Inkheart

We finished reading Coraline last week. I found it very disturbing but the kids liked it. I can only imagine what the movie is like. We will have to take that out from the library soon.

Today B was so happy when I told him that now that Passover is ending I will bake some bread. He loves bread. My little sweetie tells me my bread is the best because it is made with love. The love makes everything taste better. He just melts my heart.

Tomorrow our new fence will be installed (if it doesn't rain). We are all very excited to regain our privacy. We love our neighbors but sometimes you just want to be alone.

Washington DC

We spent a few days in DC last week with my sister and our mother for Passover. The kids had a great time with their cousins and their grandma and we managed to take a couple of field trips. Unfortunately we missed the cherry blossoms. We will try again next year.

We went to Mount Vernon (http://www.mountvernon.org/). Absolutely stunning. The line to get into the mansion was ridiculously long (one hour wait) so we decided to just admire the outside. We went to the graves of Washington and the Slave Memorial. Checked out the animals, the orchards, the lower gardens, and some of the outer buildings such as the store room. The views were spectacular.

The next day we went to the zoo (http://nationalzoo.si.edu/default.cfm). We got to see a feeding demonstration with the Sloth Bears, the pandas (we even saw one walking), the otters (they are cute), the fishing cat, clouded leopard, and the bird house. Some beautiful birds in there. We saw my favorite (the pink flamingo), owls, Greater Rhea (This bird mates-leaves the man in charge of the eggs and then goes and mates with another guy), parrots, and a whole host of other colorful, crowned, and wattled birds.

This week we have a trip to the Bronx Zoo planned. I am hoping it does not rain as the weather man is predicting.

Gazillion Bubble Show

The Gazillion Bubble Show was a lot of fun for all of us. We saw bubble artist Ana Fang http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgiI7Gg5yxw. It was interactive and good fun. We all agreed that the square bubble and the spinning bubbles were the most fascinating. After the show we went out to eat at Churrascario (a Bra zillion Barbecue establishment) www.churrascariaplataforma.com and quite the meat fest. Bring your appetite. This is not the place for vegetarian/vegan friends.

Monday, B continues with Roman Numerals, nouns as adjectives, and a science unit on Frogs. M continues with the 4 times table, irregular verbs, and a science unit on the Butterfly. After lessons it was off to swim and gym.

At gym we received the depressing news that there is not a single President's Physical Fitness Challenge demonstration center in the State. Our gym teacher was going to have the kids do the official challenge. When he researched how to do it as a home school gym teacher he found out how little importance our state puts on physical fitness. He is making up his own challenge. I thought it was sad. Everyone talks about childhood obesity but no one is really doing anything meaningful as phys ed will take away from the test prep. When my kids were in school they did have gym 2x a week but from what my kids told me half the class was spent with the teacher trying to get them all to listen. It makes you wonder. When I grew up gym was important. My school had a full gymnasium. Tons of mats, the ropes to climb (not that I could ever get an inch above the knot), a horse, parallel bars, uneven bars, lo and hi balance beams, rings, nets for volleyball and badminton, etc. As a kid I took it for granted. I assumed everyone had this stuff. Quite the awakening to find out that not all school phys ed programs are created equal.

Week-End

We finished off the week quietly. We went to the library to pick up some audio books to listen to when we drive down to DC. We have a book of myths, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of Nimh.

Next week B starts the last lesson in his current Math Book. He is super excited to be starting the next book in the series. For those wondering we are using Math-U-See and he will be completing gamma and moving into epsilon.

Tomorrow we are off to the Gazillion Bubble Show.

April Fools

Not a lot going on this week. Lessons, the library, track and field.

The kids continue to make progress in math. B has finished Roman Numerals and is working on fractions as well as reviewing the formulas for finding the area of different shapes. M is working on the 4 times table and quarters. Today we are watching the movie Bringing Up Baby. After we will discuss social mores and how they are different today. We will also discuss how this movie is different from movies today in terms of special effects, sets, acting ability, and so on. A nice treat for a damp and dreary day.

Later they will do phys ed on our new Wii Fit. I must admit-it is a lot of fun. It seems I have lousy balance but I am sure that will improve over time.