How to Get a Five-Year-Old to Sit Intently Still for Five Minutes

I got a rare comment from Hunter today while we were going on our run.

We had just stopped to watch an American Robin pull a worm out of the ground and a swarm of mosquitoes that were mating. A neat adventure that incurred about thirty seconds each of our observation and conversation before moving on.

Then we walked up to this small tree and I pointed out another bird hopping around in the branches, and we noticed that he had a small twig in his mouth.

"Look at that twig in his mouth, Hunter. I'll bet he's making a nest for his babies."

I tried to continue on in my usual discussion of the phenomena that lay before us but got quickly cut off.

"Shh, you gotta be real quiet Mom" he cautiously whispered.

"Ok" I said carefully, then proceeded to whisper on about the bird.

"Don't talk Mom," he said in the most polite way he could muster.

I could tell this was serious.

He then proceeded to watch the bird hopping around in the tree, picking at various twigs (in an attempt to find the perfect one I'm sure), tilting its head, and doing whatever else birds tend to do in trees, perfectly still for nearly five minutes. He even got a bit flustered when I took a picture, apparently thinking I would disturb the bird.

When he was done, he walked back to the sidewalk, shouted "Let's go! I'll bet I can beat you to the sign!" and started sprinting down the path, back to his normal self. It's funny to see the things that can turn this rambunctious, active little boy into the most concentrated, serious bird-watcher.

For five minutes at least.

"Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven."

Psalm 107:30

Hunter is 5 years, 0 months old

Dendrology

den·drol·o·gy

[den-drol-uh-jee]

–noun

1. the branch of botany dealing with trees and shrubs.

2. the scientific study of trees and other woody plants.

A couple of weeks ago we were thrilled to notice beautiful trees all over the base flowering in the spring sun. This has led us to talking about how the flowers on trees will turn into some kind of fruit, whether it be berries, oranges, or whatever. Now whenever Hunter sees a tree with flowers on it he excitedly yells, "Mom, those are going to turn into fruit!"

I used to think that the clean-cut, carefully-manicured, overly-pesticided environment of the base was going to be void of many nature experiences. But things continue to pop up from mushroom discoveries to insects to leaves to birds. It's not exactly a nature preserve but there is still much to be learned and explored.

Dendrology, aka studying trees, is one thing I am very excited about. There are so many interesting trees around here and such a great variety, I can't wait to put them in our tree book and start learning the names of some of them. Even just on the base, there is this peculiar and interesting mix of palms, pines, and deciduous trees in all these crazy shapes and sizes. Today we found a palm tree that looked like a ten-foot pineapple and one with cactus-like spikes on the leaves.

I want to make tree-study a year-long biology adventure (i.e. pictures of the tree in spring, summer, fall, and winter) but with my eminent disorganization and sidetrackedness at times, this goal never seems to be realized (this has been something I have wanted to do since Hunter was two and a half).

But maybe with our upcoming focus on biology this year for kindergarten, my motivation will be a little higher and my persistence more consistent. Maybe.

But anyway, even if I don't manage to get a perfect picture with every desired tree at every season, we are still going to be setting out and exploring trees, doing bark-rubbings, collecting leaves, flowers, and twigs for our nearly-empty book, and maybe learning a thing or two about each. I love free resources and I love the internet, so for those of you who feel the same, here are some of the super dendrology resources we will be using:

• Enature.com has a wonderful online field guide of over 900 trees. You can browse by category (like Palms or Needle-leaf Conifers) and then narrow your search by biological families or by location (choose from fourteen different North American regions). It is very cool.
• Arborday.org has a great Tree Identification Glossary. I really like this one and need to make up some Doman-style word cards with these.

For a physical copy you can carry around with you (you know, like when you're actually out there looking at the trees), we use the DK Smithsonian Trees Handbook. It's really nice and has tons of pictures, not only for learning about the species of trees themselves but for many dendrology topics in general, like identifying leaves and types of bark. It's very cool in my opinion.

Happy learning!

"As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth."

Psalm 103:15

Hunter is 5 years, 0 months old

Junior Ranger

This past weekend Hunter earned his status as a Junior Ranger at the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. He is now an official Blue Jay level (five to eight years old) Junior Ranger. They let him pass even though he isn't five yet.

We were given a little booklet with different activities for different ages. One of the Jay level requirements is to either hike a trail by yourself or attend a ranger-led hike or cave tour. We went on our own hike and did one of the other requirements, a scavenger hunt.

The first section was all about rocks, and we found all of them:

• A smooth rock
• A flat rock
• A rock bigger than you
• A rock as small as your fingernail
• A rock that fits in your hand
• A rough rock
• A round rock

There were a couple other activities in the rock section, like finding a rock and labeling all the different colors you see in it. And drawing a picture of your favorite rock (he just drew circles). He was also supposed to give his rock a name that described it. He called it Robert.

We had a lot of fun trying to find everything on the other part of the scavenger hunt too. At one point we sat on the side of the road for five minutes just trying to see if that was really a bird singing that we heard so we could check it off of our list. We kept our eyes on the woods while we were driving trying to find a tree that had been on fire. And we were so excited when we saw a little bug flying out of our car, another check for the list. Of all the things we found were:

• A giant sequoia cone
• A tree that fell down
• An insect
• An acorn
• A pine needle
• A seed
• Bark of a tree
• A rock
• A pine cone
• A bird
• An animal track (we found a deer track!)
• A tree that has been in a fire
• A bird singing

The things we didn't find on the list were: signs of a squirrel, a squirrel, a mushroom, a deer, a flower, and a feather. We were also asked what was the most fun thing to find and Hunter put "a cave" (we found a real bear's cave!)

While we were scavenger hunting we were also garbage hunting, as you're also supposed to bring in a bag of recyclables or garbage that you find. We found a box, an old board, some cans and bottles, and even a large metal object that appeared to have come off of a car.

He did two activity pages, one where he drew a line from a pile of objects as either "safe for bears" or "goes in a food locker" and learned the importance of keeping food where bears can't get it. The other activity was a picture where he was supposed to circle children were doing good things to help the park (like recycling, observing birds, and storing food safely) and put an x on children who were doing bad things that harm the park (like washing dishes in the river, picking flowers, or carving on trees).

He learned a lot about rocks, wildlife, and the importance of taking care of the park, leaving things where we find them, and respecting the animals, plants, and habitats for future generations.

After we completed all the activities, we went to the ranger station with our recyclables, our filled-out booklet, and Hunter was quizzed on some of the things he learned. 

Hunter was then "sworn in" as a Junior Ranger, promising to protect the park, share his experience with others, and continue to learn more for years to come. He was so proud!

He got a little plastic ranger badge, and we bought him a Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park embroidered badge to put on a jacket we want to give him for all the places he has gone. We are looking forward to exploring many more of the amazing places this beautiful country has to offer!

"The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness... and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory." 

Psalm 29:8-9

Hunter is 4 years, 10 months old

The Beauty of Refracted Light

Yesterday evening while I was making dinner, Hunter ran in the house and yelled, "Mom! Come and see this!"

He tends to call me to "come see" things a lot so I didn't really think much of it, and as I looked up to tell him "just a minute" I saw the most excited look on his face I knew it was something big. I hadn't seen this much excitement about showing me something since the time he found a book bag with Starry Night on it.

And sure enough, stretching almost the entire horizon visible from our backyard, was a beautiful, full arc, double rainbow.

And Hunter? He was running around saying, "How is this happening?" Which is where the conversation about refracted light came in, and how rainbows are made.

Then he had to show the neighbors.

"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth." 

Genesis 9:13

Hunter is 4 years, 10 months old

Adventures in the Lithosphere

lith⋅o⋅sphere

[lith-uh-sfeer]

1. the solid portion of the earth (distinguished from atmosphere, hydrosphere).

2. the crust and upper mantle of the earth.

The main science topic we have been covering this school year is earth science, which by definition is pretty broad but, for us it least, mainly constitutes the study of astronomy, geology, meteorology, and certain terms of geography.

Today, at random, on a walk to the post office we had a fun little exploration in geology (the study of rocks) and of the pedosphere (the layer of the earth in which soil formation occurs).

It started when, as we were waiting for the post office to open, we were noticing gravel on the side of the road, and started talking about erosion - how rocks break down to smaller and smaller pieces, from the big rocks we saw over in the landscaping to the tiny rocks on the side of the road. We had talked about erosion before, but this was a really good example, especially because of noting the cause of this type of erosion (in this case, mainly the cars breaking it up) and also the size variety was great, highlighting the bigger-to-smaller process. We also learned some new words - asphalt, concrete, and cement - a few words I noticed he didn't know when one of the clues on a birthday party treasure hunt this weekend was "concrete" and he looked at me with a blank stare.

As we continued our walk, another part of the roadside contained an excellent sample of mud, with lots of visible leaves, grass, and rock fragments. Which lead us to talking about what soil is made out of, the little organisms that help decompose organic material such as leaves and grass, and the different kinds of soil.

He, of course, wanted to make a footprint in the mud, which you can see in this picture. He sort of regretted it afterwords because the mud was a little deeper than it appeared.

As we cut across an open field to get to a park, we noticed the many cracks in the dirt, and talked about how the dirt made cracks like that because it dried up, and all the water had gone into the air (picture at top). I reminded him that it was called evaporation, and he said, "Yeah, like on the Magic School Bus!" (a video that my mom has. The dry parts, I said, is the place where water used to be, but now that some of the water is gone there is empty space there. We have been talking a lot about how water is in just about everything, and most things are mainly water (our bodies, food, etc.) even if it doesn't appear to be "wet", so it was fun to see another example of this.

The last thing on our little geology adventure was collecting a few rocks on the way, which were mostly remnants of landscaping rocks that had made their way across the street. I usually don't let him do that, and we talk about the whole concept of this is what would happen if everybody did, but for this time only (and since the base is somewhat deprived of very many nature experiences) we collected a few and are going to add them to our geology collection. (I know, it's bad)

It was a fun walk. I just love it when little homeschool experiences just "come up" like this. Even though it is really happening all the time and this is how a huge proportion of our "school" gets done, this day just happened to be an especially learning-filled little adventure.

"He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing." 

Job 28:10

Hunter is 4 years, 9 months old

Frost

I was so excited to wake up early this morning at the crack of dawn to discover frost on the ground for the first time. Like beautiful, breath-taking frost, everywhere! Maybe it's because I keep hearing everyone back home talking about all the snow and cold weather, I was a little jealous. But alas, yes, in California it really does get cold enough to freeze water - for the night at least.

I had to show Hunter, it has been fun to keep finding little nature study tidbits in this suburban life in California.

"By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened." 

Job 37:10

Hunter is 4 years, 8 months old

Road to Imagination...

"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress... the horn of my salvation, and my high tower."

Psalm 18:2

Hunter is 4 years, 5 months old

At the fair (mobile blogging)

At the fair (mobile blogging)

Hunter is 4 years, 4 months old

Playing in the rain (mobile blogging)

Playing in the rain (mobile blogging)

Hunter is 4 years, 3 months old

Toad habitat (mobile blogging)

Toad habitat (mobile blogging)

Hunter is 4 years, 3 months old

My Friend the June Bug

"Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD."

Leviticus 19:27

Hunter is 4 years, 3 months old

Mud

Hunter and Anthony had a fun little encounter with nature today - in the mud.

They were playing in the backyard and wandered back by the garden area, and when I went back to check on them they had both been dabbling their fingers in a bucket full of mud!

My first reaction was to say, Hey, get out of there. But, for just a moment I saw life through the eyes of a little kid. I remembered all the many hours my sisters and I used to spend making mud pies near the laundry drain outside the kitchen window. I remembered the feeling of mud between my toes walking down by the creek near by the nursing home, and the same sensation walking through our freshly plowed urban garden every spring. I remembered the mud fight we had in sixth grade, and the muddy pond we waded through at church camp, and...

Well, I think you get the point.

Nonetheless, I looked at them, smiled, and said, "Go on, dig in!" They got the most satisfied smile on their faces and then, cautiously at first, started kneading through a bucket of dirt and water that had been left out last fall.

Let's just say they really enjoyed it.

"He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."

Psalm 40:2

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old
Anthony is 2 years, 5 month old

Perfect Spring Day

"My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck."

Proverbs 3:21-22

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old
Anthony is 2 years, 5 months old
Jordan is 10 months old

Today in the Yard

Hunter was so happy to get to play in the yard today. It wasn't all that warm, but warm enough to be bearable. And as long as it's bearable, there's just no stopping this little boy with spring fever.

He had a really fun time getting some fresh air, running around, and exploring his long-lost toys that have been buried for months in the snow and rain.

This is where we left a dis-assembled slide for a couple weeks.

"The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory."

Psalm 64:10

Hunter is 4 years, 1 month old

The "Farm"

Today we had another one of those "spontaneous field trips" when, while we were visiting a friend, we were invited to go over to the neighbor's house to visit their animals.

What Hunter was calling "the farm" was a backyard filled with all sorts of interesting animals that you would have never known were there by just looking at the front area of the property.

He got to feed goats (which he kept calling "baby lambs"), play with some dogs, chickens, and then feed a herd of ponies. And then to top it all off, he got to drive a tractor!

It wasn't that big of a piece of property, but he had so much fun. At one point, when he was by the goats, he called, "Hey, farmer!" to the owner, which everyone thought was pretty funny.

"For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine."

Psalm 50:10-11

Hunter is 4 years, 0 months old

Nothing Short of a Miracle

If spring came but once a century instead of once a year, or
burst forth with the sound of an earthquake and not in
silence, what wonder and expectation there would be
in all the hearts to behold the miraculous change.

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers
appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come..."

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Spring Fever

This evening, after Hunter's nap, I took him and Anthony outside again to make the most of this fleeting weather. They played in the backyard while I worked on cleaning up the breezeway. At first they played on the toys (which have been buried in snow for the past three months) but then for more than an hour all they wanted to do was work on their "garden". He made the most of many of the tools that got left out and was hauling around watering cans, sticks, and the hose. He kept taking little rocks and sticking them in the ground with bean poles, saying that he hopes his plants will grow.

And I thought I was the only one with garden fever.

It made me really hopeful about our garden this year, I know Hunter is going to love it and learn so, so much. I'll be learning a lot too, as it's going to be my first year having my own garden.

My goal is to have all the plans ready by March, I'll let you know how it goes!

"He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;"

Psalm 104:14

Hunter is 3 years, 10 months old
Anthony is 2 years, 3 months old

Global Cooling

We haven't had a day without snow once this year. We've had years with a lot of snow, but never like this since I can remember! It has been snowing non-stop here since mid-November, with cold periods forecasting highs of negative three!

We've had about a foot and a half of snow on the ground since shortly after New Years. And now last night we have achieved almost three feet in many places... and it's still snowing!

I have been hearing that scientists from NASA and elsewhere are predicting that we will be experiencing a cycle of global cooling over the next ten years. Interesting phenomena, in spite of all the hype from Hollywood stars and liberal lobbyists. Sure puts a damper in their scare tactics!

But it's been some great fun and an awe-inspiring experience watching the snow all day. We didn't get to play in the snow today because it's been a continual downpour of white stuff all day, but we're sure to get out tomorrow - hopefully Hunter will be able to walk!

"Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created... Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word"

Psalm 148:5,8

Hunter is 3 years, 10 months old

Snow, Snow, lots of Snow

It's been snowing here. A lot. I don't think we've had a snow-free week since mid-November, which is unusual. Where's the global warming when you need it?

That's okay, I don't mind much. I'd much rather have an unreasonably long, sometimes horribly cold winter with the beauty and fun of the snow than without it. And believe me, we've had plenty of winters without much of it. And besides, the snow brings with it plenty of wonderful discussions of precipitation, climates and temperatures, molecular physics, weather in general and - of course - it's just plain fun.

We haven't been playing in it much though, which is unfortunate. I've been realizing that, even though winter isn't exactly my favorite season and I would much rather stay out of the cold as much as possible, this is Hunter's only winter ever of being three years old and he's never going to get the wonderful experiences of snow play unless I make the jump.

So this evening I had one of those "spur of the moment" occurrences and, as there were just a few minutes of sunlight left in the sky I said, "Hunter, do you want to go make a snowman?"

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of a snowman to show you because unfortunately, there was no suitable snow to make one. The snow may have been about eight-inches deep but the amount of packing snow was zero.

Even though we didn't get to make a snowman, we still had a lot of fun for the whole thirty minutes we were out there.

After I distracted him from attempting to form a snowman out of non-packing snow right outside the door (Why not, Mom?) he headed straight for mid-yard and laid down to make a snow angel, a skill which I can't be credited with for teaching him (Uncle David? Probably the likely instructor.) As usual, he's always surprising me with what he knows.

Subsequently, he immediately got back to the business of what we were out there for (creating a man of snow) while I hopelessly snapped away with my camera.

After watching him carry handfuls of fluff over to a growing mound of snow for a while, I decided I had better get down and explain the disappointing news: Sorry kid, no snowman today.

Why?

"Well, because, it's not the right kind of snow..."

I started to mumble around, trying to find a more definitive response that satisfied his curiosity and mine.

What exactly is packing snow, I wondered. How do you explain something to your kid that you don't quite no the answer to yourself?

I came up with something about how this snow is light and fluffy because it has a lot of air in it and not as much water and snowman snow has more water in it, so it sticks together to form balls and blocks and such. I think.

Truth be told, I have no clue what makes packing snow pack and fluffy snow, well, not. Water and air? Sounds good to me. But in the end, it's nothing more than an educated guess, which I suppose is okay sometimes.


I suppose that is, in a sense, the beauty of parenting. We can give kids all we've got, teach them all the "why's" and "how's" that we know and then in the end, we let them go discover all the questions we've left unanswered.

We had more fun talking about weather and science topics. There was steam pouring from the drain by the basement window, which he pointed out and we talked about what it was. We talked about how snow is made when water crystalizes, and had a really fun time studying the amazing frost patterns left on the windows. God certainly is an amazing artist.

We said goodnight to the sun as it made its "journey" to China. We've been talking a lot about where the sun goes when we sleep (the rotation of the planets) as well as the orbit and tilt of the planet (i.e. the reason for the season). He seems to be gobbling it up, or at least talking about it a lot. Maybe he can't fully comprehend it all yet but that doesn't mean I shouldn't talk about it (and, truly, can any of us actually comprehend the vastness of space and the wonders of the universe?)

It's been a fun evening.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Isaiah 1:18

Hunter is 3 years, 9 months old