We have been having so much fun with experiments this summer. Lots of dry ice, baking soda and vinegar, that kinda thing. I saw this melted-crayon-on-canvas project on Pinterest and knew the boys would love it. And oh, did they love it.
They each chose the order of the colors on their canvases and lined them up for gluing. (I wanted to let them operate the hot glue gun, but that got out of hand very quickly.) So I glued, then they took turns operating the hair dryer to melt the wax.
If you have children that can use a bit of patience practice, this is the perfect activity. It isn't too long that they lose interest, but long enough that they must be patient--and the hum of the hair dryer adds a meditative element to the exercise. Just when they are wondering if the wax will ever drip, it begins to. A high ROI index on this one (huge gratification, small patience investment).
And a bonus at the end: we put trace paper underneath the canvas to catch the wax. When we were finished, the boys loved peeling the wax off of the paper--and then realized they could color with their new custom crayons!
I have the joy of being one of the 'room moms' for Big B's first grade eco-gardening project. On the south face of the first grade building, they have been given a 10'x50' plot of land to learn one of the oldest, most forgotten, yet most important lessons of life: how to grow their own food. Through the generosity of several local business partners (a landscape supply company, a landscape architect, a native plant nursery and an organic farm), our garden has two plots for each of the eight first grade classrooms, with one herb or vegetables for every two kids. There are tomatoes, crookneck squash, cucumbers, collard greens, kale, spinach, lettuces, basil, lemon balm, parsley and more.
The children have been involved with every step of the process, from learning about the soil that was put down to planting and watering and now to weeding and caring for the little seedlings. Big B and his garden-mate have a little collard plant to care for. They are so proud of it, and every morning when we walk by on our way to class, Big B checks diligently on his plant. A few of us parents are taking turns watering the garden twice a day, and once every week or so, we step into the classroom and take out the children in their pairs, to check on the progress of their little seedlings. My friend and fellow garden mama made charts for the kids to measure the height, number of leaves, fruit and flowers, and presence of bugs on their plants at each visit.
There was no theme, no craft, no obligation, no preassigned template for today, and I am more grateful to preserve it through this medium than most--for it was perfect.
We met our Papa at his job site and were given the tour of a spectacular oceanfront home. None of us could stop smiling.
Just down the road from the house is a great park right on the water that has, until today, been off our beaten path. We spent hours there, swinging, scooting, watching heron eat a fisherwoman's leftovers.
On our way to the area of the park where the playground was, we stumbled upon a nature preserve boardwalk through a mangrove root forest. It was magical.
We noticed beautiful bits of native color peeking through the green...
...and little crabs digging holes beneath the roots. Big B counted them until he reached 100!
One leg of the boardwalk took us to an overlook where we could see our city's beautiful skyline and all of the boats and fish yet unaffected by the oil spill. We counted our blessings and talked about how incredibly lucky we are to live in this part of the world.
For me, the most rewarding part of our first family trip to Busch Gardens was watching Big B and little b make connections with the animals there. In celebration of World Turtle Day, the park welcomed children to feed and pet a giant tortoise. There were many other special connections, especially between Big B and the tigers--but my camera was long tucked away by then, and there will be plenty more tiger fun in the weeks to come. But for me, the most powerful moment of animal spirit came at the gorilla exhibit, when we happened upon a mama gorilla nursing her baby. By no means a newborn, this little b sized toddler was almost as big as his beautiful mama. As the babe rolled around playfully with a full tummy, little b made his way to the glass to get a closer look at the pair. He was instantly drawn to them, as he is still a nursling himself. Coincidentally, Little b and I have recently begun the "big boy" conversations. I think we both know our moons of nursing are coming to an end relatively soon, and it is a bittersweet chapter to close. As if by magic, the mama gorilla just knew. She turned around to face little b, only a thick layer of glass between them, and looked right in his eyes...and smiled. In one moment, my decision to nurse my babies until we are mutually ready to end the relationship was reaffirmed by this majestic mother. I felt right and true and innately wise for knowing what my babies need: to be held, to be loved, and to roll over with full bellies and play the day away.
Well, we've become a bit obsessed with the ducklings we discovered the day after Mothers' Day. We've visited them twice a day since then, and Big B and I started a science observation journal to record our findings. Combine the journal with the bazillion pictures we snap at every visit, and whaddaya got? That's right, another blog. Introducing our summer science project: The Arlington Park Ducklings.
For more on starting your own science journal with your children, visit this post from Makes and Takes.
They each chose the order of the colors on their canvases and lined them up for gluing. (I wanted to let them operate the hot glue gun, but that got out of hand very quickly.) So I glued, then they took turns operating the hair dryer to melt the wax.
