Under the Microscope

insect exploring the pollen on a daisy

a wasp eye

fungus

sugar crystals

more sugar crystals

The kids were having fun magnifying some of their treasures under the microscope. They love searching out things to look at and surprise me with the photos.

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music

.....Well they aren't hills, it's our yard.

And you can't really see me as Maria can you?

But the music part is totally accurate. The outdoors is alive with sounds, music. I am in awe of the stark contrast between the winter and the spring. Perhaps I am so aware of it because the mild winter meant lots of time spent outside at night this year and really take in the quiet of those nights. The type of winter quiet where you feel like if you strain your hearing just a little bit more you could hear those incredible stars twinkle. The snow underneath the snow shoes crunches loudly, echoing off the trees as you walk. Your breathing sounds loud against the silent backdrop.


This past month the spring music has been like an orchestra. A different instrument, voice being added every few days, at different times. The ravens, the robins, the cardinals, all chiming in. A pair of ruffled grouse making noisy appearances, our chickens clucking as they lay their eggs, the splashes of kids exploring the pond. The tree frogs singing loudly enough they can be heard through closed doors. It's marvelous. I really feel like I connect with the idea of the earth waking from a winter sleep, that I have witnessed this awakening as opposed to being caught off guard that spring arrived. One of the kids commented when we were talking about how beautiful this process has been for us, that it is like watching a flower open in slow motion, stop photography is it called? Seeing the details of the flower petals pull open, revealing each part of its growth as opposed to coming across a beautiful grown flower.

More Sibling Love

I over heard Elias asking Shai to stop growing so fast, sharing with him that he will miss carrying him. That he loved holding him, putting him in the sling when we was little. gulp. How sweet is that.

Sunday Afternoon Hike

We took a new route to a favorite spot with a large quartz deposit; it's hard not to love with so much sparkle! Along the way there was lots of flowers, budding trees, fungus, trees to climb, and life to chat about. We often remind the kids that part of enjoying the natural world is not scaring it away with loud voices when we hike. It's a difficult task for some. Today we mentioned we didn't have this concern because there have been bears in the area and so to enjoy the space and keep us a safe distance apart the kids could be loud. Shai especially enjoyed singing at the top of us lungs- lol! I am sure the mama bears were more worried for their babes!

Paper Making

There was a small number of us gathering for coop this week, many down and out with a nasty bug. The small group lent its self well to paper making this week. We have just under an hour for our table time activity, with fewer kids it meant there was no rushing to get it done. We brought with us the screens we had made previously. The outside frame (pink) was styrofoam meat trays we asked for at the grocery store. The screening is the same kind found in windows, we conveniently had a screen with a rip in it, so we replaced it and used the old one for the frames.

Before we began we chatted about how paper is made, which led into how recycled paper is made and why this was important. We brought in the paper from our recycling bin which included scraps of construction paper, newspaper, computer paper, toilet rolls and cardboard. (in the past we have also added tissue paper, wrapping paper, grass, leaves, flower petals, lavender, glitter, etc) We ripped each of these up into small pieces. The kids then each picked from the different types of paper, making their own unique combination.
The paper was added with water in the blender and mixed until we had a pulp. The pulp was placed on the screens for the kids to spread it into their desired shape and thickness. With a sponge or rag they soaked up a bit more of the excess water. After a day in the sunny window the kids flipped the paper to dry both sides, in two days it was dry.

While it isn't ideal paper for story writing, it is beautiful background for art, gift tags or cards.

So I can remember

While running around at coop I hear Aria say to a friend

It's difficult to run today, I am sporadically uncomfortable.

After her friend asks what she means, she responds

Out of the blue, unexpectedly I feel uncomfortable


During dinner I am telling the kids a story about when they were younger and Aria is looking at me intently. After asking what she was thinking about she responded

I am trying to create a visual about what you are describing.

Silly Me!

And I was worried about a few years age difference!

I don't know who gets more joy from their relationship; them or me. Watching them play together is both hilarious and beautiful.

Time Together

My parents joined us for a relaxing and enjoyable Easter weekend. The weather continued to be insanely gorgeous, which meant we spent most of our time together outside. There was new bike tricks and jumps to show, the frogs singing to listen to, basketball games to play, soccer balls to kick, time to sit together on the porch. We did lots of strolling, throwing rocks off the dock, crocus searching. As their car was pulling out of the driveway everyone was hoping they would be visiting again soon.

Spring Crafting

The last few years I have wanted to make these for our Easter celebrations. After forgetting so many times, I finally got around to it! The wind cooperated perfectly for lots of fun.

The Search

It's all about the search when it comes to the Easter Eggs. It wasn't until the last few years that we started adding chocolate into the eggs, and even since then the looking and then finding is really what all the excitement is about.

Blast Off!

Hours passed by with a jar of baking soda, vinegar and imaginations. It started with the re-discovery of an old rocket kit that was dusted off. Sky's the limit after that!

Hints of Green

Its spring. There is hints of green both inside and outside the house. Chris has been busy getting a new coat of paint on almost everything. It feels so fresh and clean. Mother nature has been breathing new life all around us. The pussy willows are popping up, daffodils in the front yard, new grass beginning to grow.

Snap Shots

time for hiking, throwing sticks and rocks into falls.

time for campfires, helping with syrup production, roasting hot dogs, bannock cooking, burnt knees around the fire.

time for long talks, quick chats, catching up, secret conversations, making plans.

games of mama and baby, uno and poker, Lego and imaginary worlds outside.

time went to quickly, weather cooperated for a change, and despite the distance we grow closer.

Coop

Thursdays continue to be our coop days. Our time shared between gym activities and something a little more focused. This week a friend guided the kids through making their own own foam air planes. They were given a template they could use, many of the kids embellishing with some fancy additions. After their plane was cut out and assembled everyone had a test flight.

Everyone reported back their observations, it was almost unanimous that the planes wouldn't fly. This lead into a discussion on balance and the effect of weights to the flying process. On the table were choices of clips of all sizes and weights. Through trial and error the kids saw the effect of too little and too much weight. The kids had a great time creating and even more flying the planes.

Wheel Time

This warm weather has lead the kids to emptying the garage on the front lawn. Bikes are out and have been washed. Chalk and bubbles are in full use. Kites being flown, dump trucks finding the dirt. The pond exploring gear is in heavy rotation and the shovels always handy. It didn't take long till the kids starting asking about the skate park and would it be clear of snow. Dad came home from town with the good news that it was clear. Before he was even out of the car the kids were loading up the trunk with bikes,boards and helmets. The first few runs everyone had a case of sea legs but it didn't take long before they were zooming around and trying new tricks.

Yup

That is a frog. The kids found it swimming in the pond. They also found tadpoles. On our hike yesterday we saw a butterfly. Last year at this time we had three feet of snow.