Learning From My Kid

My kids LOVE taking pictures so it doesn't surprise me to sometimes see Nicholas using my phone to take pictures of things.  Today he was using it to take pictures of himself and Rachel which I thought was kind of cute by itself.  But then I looked at the pictures!

Apparently my phone's camera can automatically add a frame around the picture and has an drawing feature in the editing software....I didn't even know it had editing capabilities right there in the phone!

And it can add other silly details to pictures like these...

A duck bill and a smoking pipe!

Crazy glasses, a mustache, and a cat's face!

A bow tie AND a regular tie!

Apparently the camera in my phone can do some pretty cool things.  I guess I should have my 9 year teach me about them someday.

Recital Time is Coming!

Rachel is super excited because she got to try on her costume for her upcoming dance recital. We had the girls just put the costume on over their leotards so they look a little funny like this but we were just trying to make sure the fit was right and didn't want to take the time to have all the girls completely change out of their leotards. The girls were so excited to wear their fancy costumes. They were flitting and leaping all over the room.

The girls were excited to practice their tap dance in their costumes!  Check out this cute video below :)

Discovery Learning with Foam Sheets

While Nicholas and I are working on his school work, Rachel often sits at the table with us and works on coloring, cutting, or other craft projects from the various supplies we have.  Today she went to the "art closet" where I keep all of their craft supplies and looked around for some inspiration for what she would work on today.  She found a pack of colorful thin flexible foam sheets.  She started cutting some up and seeing what she could make with them.  

Once Nicholas was done with his work, he grabbed a few foam sheets to play with as well.  I was busy cleaning up and both kids were quietly working at the kitchen table on their impromptu craft project.

I love having a stash of random craft supplies in our art closet that the kids can go to anytime.  They were both scavenging for other supplies to make their foam crafts more exciting.  

Finally, Nicholas was excited to show me his creation - foam shoes!  He hand sewed them by using a regular hole punch and red yarn from the art closet.  

I don't know how he came up with the idea but these shoes do actually fit his feet and he can walk around in them.  They won't last very long but I think it was a neat project for him to come up with.  

This is Discovery Learning - letting kids have some freedom to explore using ideas and materials without being told what to do.  This lets them learn about the materials, the process, and the science behind the way things work.  It is a great way to promote hands-on learning and independent exploration.  Once they have completed their project we simply talk about the reason they chose certain materials or why they did things a certain way.  We talk about how they might do things differently if they were to do the project over again.  It's a fun way to learn without knowing they are learning but the discussions afterwards get them to think through the process and apply what they have learned for future projects.

Hanging out with Neighborhood Friends

I love our little neighborhood.  There are so many families here with young kids.  We know a lot of families from the time when Nicholas was going to the neighborhood public school but we've also met several new friends since then.  Both kids especially love our new family across the street that has three kids (and one is a girl!).  

The kids love to get outside together and ride their scooters and bikes together.  Here they are waiting for the word, "GO!" to start their race down the street.

What a fun way to spend the afternoon.  The kids both love their bicycles but we will probably have to get them new scooters this summer.  Rachel is bigger than the weight limit for her little 3-wheeled scooter and Nicholas needs something a little more heavy-duty because he wants to start doing tricks with it. 

Catching a Bat

As we were walking along the sidewalk on our way to the kids' check-ups with their dentist, Nicholas said, "What is that?!"  He ran over to a little brown clump on the ground.  We thought at first it was a leaf but Nicholas examined more closely and said it was a dead bat.

He knew not to touch it with his hands because they can carry disease but he couldn't resist touching it with a leaf!

I stepped right inside the dentists office to check in but also to suggest that they call Animal Control because they might want to pick up the bat's body to check it for rabies or something.  Then Nicholas came running into the office to announce that the bat was alive!  As he brushed it with a leaf it eventually moved a leg and opened it's eyes.  It was clearly sick or injured as it didn't try to move or get away.  Another lady came out with a cup and Nicholas helped her capture the bat.  Now it was getting angry - see those teeth!  

The bat snarled at us but he really didn't try to fight the cup or move around.  He seemed completely docile except for those scary teeth.

Nicholas understands that bats aren't just cute little furry pets and that they have teeth and may have rabies.  He has a surprising wealth of knowledge when it comes to animals.  He spends a lot of time reading and researching things on the computer and has taught himself much of what he knows about animals.  He understood that getting close to the bat could be dangerous but he acted very responsibly and totally in his element while trying to catch this little bat.  

We got him off of the sidewalk so he wouldn't get stepped on or some other child wouldn't lean over to look at him and get bitten.  I told the receptionist again that she should call Animal Control to come get the bat.  However, after both of the kids were done with their appointments I checked in with her again and she still hadn't called them.  She thought she would just wait and see if the bat would just go away on it's own.  She hadn't seen how sick it was though.  So I talked to the kids about what Animal Control does and they listened to me make the call on my cell phone.  We waited in the car until we saw the Animal Control van drive up.  The man had a net scoop that he used to pick up the bat.  The scoop collapses to keep the animal from escaping.  Our little bat friend is snuggly inside the green mesh here.

The Animal Control guy said that the bat might be ok but that sometimes baby bats have a hard time flying if they don't start from a high point because they need to start gliding down first before they start flapping their wings.  He said they would take a look at it and take care of it.  I talked to the kids about how they might check him out and release him but they also might decide that if the bat is sick then it might just be best to euthanize him so that he isn't suffering.  There was certainly some sadness at that thought but I think they both understood how that might the only option since the bat looked like he was already starting to die.