A Glimpse at the Past, KinderBoy style

Many times (read as almost daily)  I wish that I lived about 100 years ago on a picturesque farm, at the edge of a quaint village enjoying a slower pace of life without all the modern day mumbo jumbo.  And then I remember how much I dislike scooping animal dung and washing dishes by hand.  And that brings me back to reality pretty quick.   

Still, part of me wants to be a pioneer of sorts.  I love old homes and all things "farm"(minus the dung).  So today's field trip was perfect.  It was quick, educational, interesting, hands on and best of all we had superb weather!  Superb weather is not something we see often in this neck of the woods in March!

Our lovely tour guide is a former preschool teacher and was so patient and understanding with our young group of 12 children, ranging in ages from 1 to 10. She did a great job of connecting this field trip to our Kinderboy unit on Community Workers.  She gave several examples of how neighbors worked together and  relied on each other to make the community function.  It was a good reminder for all of us. No man is an island. We need each other.

 We learned a bit about our town's history.  It started as a logging community when "explorers" from Seattle made their way up the river and discovered LOTS of big trees here.  They soon had a sawmill and a couple general stores here, which quickly built up the community.  In the picture below, our guide is pointing to the first mayor's hat, made from beaver fur.

The kitchen was not offiicially part of our tour, but I loved it so I snapped this pic

We then walked over to the little cabin where we saw what life was like in the 1880s for most families.

From there we took a quick walk (like 20 steps or less!) over to the little school house.  This was my favorite part.  Out front was the old school bell that called the children to class.

And then we got to be "old-school" students!  I sure wish I had a school room as charming as this:

 The slates and slate pencils were the coolest!  Can't you just imagine the kids studying so hard back in the day?

 I love the manikin in the corner.  So life like. Our tour guide is holding up the original bell that belonged to the teacher who taught here. The local families had to pool their money to hire a teacher.  The first term they could only afford her for a total of four months.  Then they had to keep saving until they could hire her back!

Hm, imagine that! Parents funding their own children's education in cooperation with neighbors.  No government programs or institutions?  No free lunches?  Wow! What a novel idea!

 Love these school rules.

The kids really enjoyed all the hands on activities at the back of the school room.  There were type writers, wooden toys, stamps,an  old phone, a flip book (predating animation), stamps and the like.

After the tour the kids bolted to the park for a chance to bask in this rare sunshine and stretch those growing legs.  Ah.  Homeschooling is great!

 This is the river that made it all happen for our town!

Book Review -- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

My friend sent me a list of books that her book club has set out to read for the year.  This title jumped out at me first.
 



I think I picked this book because I've always suspected that I'm a closet introvert, meaning that despite my efforts to appear social and be outgoing, I'd really rather not be.

Well, if the research and commentary in this book hold any water at all, then my life long suspicions were correct.  I do fall into the category of "introvert".  Previously  I  believed the word "introvert" to be something akin to a four-letter word!  Maybe because that's how the world views it too?  I can remember an instance when I referred to one of my children as shy while in the presence of someone I greatly admire.  This person said, "Oh don't let her hear you say that!  She'll start to believe she really is shy! And then she will BE shy!  You don't want that, do you??"   Yes, perhaps I grew up thinking that being quiet, shy, or "slow-to-warm-up" just wasn't as good as being confident, well-spoken, and bold.

 This is a long book.  I actually listened to it on CD while I was preparing lesson plans at night over the course of a couple of weeks and it has 9 CDs.  I wish I had kept a journal while I listened because I had so many reactions on so many levels. I don't think I can quite do them justice in one little blog entry.  My emotions and thoughts were all over the map and went from contempt, to interest, to skepticism, back to interest, then to gratitude, and pleasure, then a dose of dismissal (more on that later), then receptivity, and partial acceptance mixed with partial denial.  On the whole I liked it.

I will say that I'm very glad I read this book. It has given me such insight into my own personality.  It has given me the validation and motivation to keep being who I really am, without feeling guilty!  Yes! I used to feel guilty when I didn't want to go hang out with my college roommates at the parties!  I used to slink down on our dingy sofa so passersby wouldn't see me enjoying a quiet night to myself after an exhausting week of school.  Yes, I used to feel guilty for wishing that the karaoke machine had never been invented, or for preferring to make my own birthday dinner rather than letting friends take me out.  I do have friends, mind you.  But I do better in smaller groups, with just a couple of close friends that I can really develop a good relationship with.  And for some reason, after all these years, I finally feel liberated to just accept that as part of my "self" and enjoy it without feeling compelled to put on a show for others. 

Don't get me wrong. I can be social. I used to love performing in plays even. And I did tons of team sports.  And I was in a ton of clubs, I can confidently speak in public, and I function just fine in nearly every social situation you can think of.  But those activities are super draining for me, like Kryptonite!  And I always need plenty of secluded down time afterward.  After reading this book, I somehow felt better about referring to myself as an introvert, at least in part. In fact, if you're an introvert looking for a pick-me up definitely read this!  You'll find the author putting you on quite a pedestal.

The author went so far as to suggest that perhaps the 2008 financial crisis could have been averted if we'd had more observant, careful, deep thinking introverts on wall street rather than a lot of risk-taking, hot-headed extroverts.   We'll never know.  But it's an interesting argument.


In addition to the insight I gained on my own life experiences and temperament, I think I gained a lot of clarity on the personalities and temperaments of my children.  I have some definite introverts and some extroverts too.  The book discusses at length how two meld these to vastly different beings into compatible relationships.

 The book has some very interesting things to say about the constant barrage of "group work" that is forced on kids in public school.  Everything from seating arrangements to reading assignments is meant to be done in groups. Turns out that not all kids thrive on group work.  SHOCKER!!!!  Turns  out that lots of quiet time and individual work can be a really good thing! I think most homeschoolers already know this.

So, the only part that I really had to just dismiss was the discussion of the evolution of the brain and the impact it has had on our human temperaments.  My brain did not evolve from a monkey.  My brain was made for me by a God who loves me. Thanks!  Your brain and my brain may have some similarities, but that doesn't make me any less special or unique.  Nuff said.  I also didn't care much for the lengthy comparisons between Asian and American cultures.  Although Cains seemingly tries to remain neutral, I sensed some American culture bashing going on.

This book is worth the read.  I think you'll definitely gain some insight into your own personality and those of your loved ones.  And this in turn may help you in your relationships and parenting approach.  I recommend it and give it 3.5 stars.

Homemade Fruit Leather

This past Christmas I gave myself a new  Excalibur 3500W Excalibur 3500W 5 Tray Deluxe Dehydrator White,  1, White
 They were having a super deal and I got it for a great price.   I've been having so much fun experimenting with it!  I got some Pack of 9 Premium 14" x 14" Non-Stick Dehydrator Sheets- For Excalibur 2500, 3500, 2900 or 3900
 so I could make home made fruit leather, and I'm so happy with the result.  The kids love it!  I've been using fruit that I canned or froze last summer, mixed with a little yogurt to make nectarine, peach, cherry and strawberry leather.  I even made fruit leather from a jar of pumpkin butter that I made and froze last fall. Tasted like pumpkin pie in a roll!  The kids want me to try a blueberry one next.

I'd say that I put about 1 cup of puree (includes the yogurt) on each tray.  Yum!  I let it run on the floor under my clothes rack so that it also helps dry the clothes!  Bonus.

 When they are done, I roll them up while they are still warm, wrap them in plastic wrap, and then snip them into snack size pieces.  Perfect for throwing in a lunch bag or bringing along in the car.  I've learned that when they are over dried they aren't as good. They get crunchy and brittle.  We like them best when they are just slightly under done so that they're chewy and yummy.  Since we eat them right up, I'm sure it's fine.  You might want to dry them more if you're going to store them for a while.  You could dry them until they are VERY dry and brittle, grind them into powder, and then add them to smoothies for an extra boost!  Or use the powder to sprinkle on desserts, or mix with sparkling water for a special drink! 

I've also used it to make graham crackers and my husband is itching to try his hand at homemade beef jerky.

Coding for Kids

Normally, I'm the one at our house that is always hiding the electronics, nagging everyone to "turn it off and go outside!"  I have to set the limits and enforce them. Because if it were up to my dear Hubs, we'd all be glued to the computer 25-8.  He loves electronics and he's always in front of some device.  Grrrr...not something I endorse, but we've learned to find a few boundaries over the years.

So, then I saw this YouTube video making a sensation on the web this past week


I confess, it made me think.  We do live in an ever increasingly electronic world.  Coding and programming permeates so many of our daily activities. There's no reason why we shouldn't try to understand it as much as possible.
I think my husband must have seen it too, because out of the blue he got our daughter a coding book for her birthday


I wasn't expecting her to do much with it.  And I didn't even encourage her to give this much of a try, because honestly, it seems so dry and boring to me.  I can't imagine anyone getting all jazzed up about it.  But my computer-loving husband was really enthusiastic and helped her get started.  Well, all she needed was a little push and she's taking off with it!  She has found a new interest, which is always a happy thing.

She must have spent two hours with that book today (after school work was done) working on the exercises in the book to create simple games and exercises.  The book is written like a comic, which is perfect for her because she thrives on all things comics.  Our daughter has LOVED this!

Even her younger siblings find it interesting and keep trying to get in on the action.  And I will say, that it's the one computer activity that I don't really mind them engaging in. I do think it has some value. 

KinderBoys: Dentists and Doctors

Yay!  We finally had all five of our KinderBoys at class this week to talk about Dentists as Community Workers.  I only squeezed in some information about Doctors when there was downtime.  I'll explain as I go.

I'll be the first to admit that this lesson quickly turned in to a class that was mostly about oral health care.  But we started off on Dentists, at least.

HEre's the book that I led the discussion with:



It did the trick, but the photos were pretty outdated. I'd go with something more up to date like



The night before the class I soaked to uncooked eggs in vinegar and orange juice (one in each, not a mix of both).

By the next morning, the vinegar egg was very soft, almost leathery, like a snake egg. I let the boys touch it (some of them would not) and explained the effects of sugar and acids on our teeth.  The OJ egg was starting to thin, and it had some darker pinpoint markings on it, but wasn't at all soft, so I didn't bother showing it.

I showed them that when our tooth enamel is worn away by bad foods that stick to our teeth for too long, that it's easy for them to get holes (cavities).  I poked a hole in the soft leathery egg and the yellow yoke came oozing out.  It  made my point.

So we had a talk about what kinds of foods are good for our teeth and which are not! I let the kids decide if our paper food made their teeth happy or sad and put them up on the chart:

We talked about the enamel on teeth being the hard protective coating to keep the"bugs" out.  To illustrate this hard, shiny coating on teeth, I gave each boy a tooth cut from card stock and we painted them with evaporated milk.  Simple and quick. I think it took 3minutes total.  I did it early on in the lesson so they'd have time to dry. It really does look cool when it dries.

Last night, I also hard boiled some eggs and soaked them in a strong solution of PERO.


I keep this on hand because I do not drink coffee.  You can find it at most grocery stores too.

Here are my soaking eggs

I gave a "dirty tooth" to each boy on a paper towel, and we talked about how to brush our teeth gently but firmly using small circular motions.   I got out a clean new tooth brush and we took turns brushing. There was  a bowl of clean water on the table for rinsing the brush.  So while the boys were waiting a turn, I grabbed another book to read out loud



I had my stethoscope handy

And I went around the table letting the boys listen to their own heart beats.

By that time everyone was done brushing. I should mention that I had another mom in the room monitoring the brushing while I was reading and doing the stethoscope. Otherwise, this would not have worked.

Side note: I asked the boys what they thought their hearts looked like.  Surprisingly, most of them thought they had cute valentine shaped hearts beating away inside their little chests!  So I got out my heart model

And showed them what was REALLY beating away inside them.
My son was not thrilled with this activity since we JUST finished a six week unit on the heart.
"Moooooooom. I already know thiiiiiis"
So we quickly moved on.  As the mom in charge, I have that prerogative. I host this class for my son's benefit, so I try to mostly follow his interests.

Ok, so we also talked about cleaning between our teeth. To practice flossing I gave the boys some legos with home made playdough bits stuck in between and we flossed out the playdough with yarn.

Then I felt like we were ready for the main activity of the day, brushing our own teeth!  In preparation for this, I bought some disclosure tablets


 and I disolved them in a small amount of water

Now, we had tried this as a family first by just chewing the tablets and swishing for 30 seconds. This worked REALLY well but was a little hard to brush off. So I thought we'd try it this way because I figured some of the kids would not be wild about chewing up a pink tablet.  As it was, we still had a couple boys that chose not to swish with the "magic tooth potion".  But most of them did.  IT takes some time to dissolve the tablets, so do it well ahead of time.

I had asked all the boys to bring a toothbrush and toothpaste in a baggie with their name on it.  So we headed off with our swish and our baggies to see just how good a job we had done of brushing this morning.

Pink teeth!  We've got some brushing to do!

After our teeth were nice and clean, we settle in for a snack and a story to wrap up the day.  Oh, first we all needed bathroom breaks, so while that was happening I picked up my Dr. book again to read to the "waiters".  It gave us a chance to talk about temperatures and thermometers.

Our snack time book was





Fun class with all our KinderBoys!  We've talked a lot about communities and the workers that live here to help us stay safe, healthy and productive! Next week we'll be taking a trip to a local historical museum to learn more about what makes our particular community unique.


In the mean time you can check in on the cooking class that my girls are taking at a friend's house:
http://4littlepiglets.blogspot.com/2013/03/cooking-class-part-5.html

Field Trip to Benaroya Hall, Seattle

The kids and I got a rare opportunity to tour Benaroya Hall last week in Seattle.  Going into the city always makes me nervous.  The traffic, the parking, the weird one way streets..bleh.

But we were really looking forward to a chance to go see the Hall, so we braved the way.  We started at Sound Bridge where we got some drumming and rhythm lessons followed by free time to check out some of the instruments on display.

Next we went to the Grand Foyer of the Hall where we gathered for a photo and learned some interesting facts about the construction and engineering of the building.   For example, it's built right on top of the subway line, so there are ginormous rubber pillars underneath to absorb sound and motion.  The walls are super thick, and the hall itself is a separate building within the outer shell of the foyer. They let us walk the second story bridge, and talked to us about the grand Christmas performances they hold out here with the choir on the bridge, the lighting and decorations.  Something to remember for next Christmas!

Unfortunately, there was a rehearsal under way while we were there. So we were not allowed to go in to the performance area! OH we were so very bummed out! That's why we went!  But what can you do?

So, we headed over to Daddy's work and took him out for lunch at his favorite pizza joint.

I love that we are able to take these opportunities to see him during the day.  Not many kids get lunch with their dad on a regular old Wednesday.   I'm glad that mine do. At least now and then.