King Science Quiz Competition

On Friday, Noah was part of a team of 4th grade students from Skinner to compete at the King Science Quiz competition. He was so excited the night before that he was worried he wouldn't be able to go to sleep. He did.

The competition started by answering science questions, went on to a team building competition and ended with a planetarium show. Perfect morning for my science boy. He and his teammates had a blast.

Not only did Noah have fun, but he won first place in the individual portion of the competition! Needless to say, he was thrilled. I was definitely proud of him but I was even prouder of the way he handled himself. He was a gracious winner and was just as proud of his team, which took second place. Just maybe, some things are sinking in.

Party Crashers

"What? The party's tomorrow? But I'm ready for s'mores now!"

Insight Through Apple Crisp

Setting: Sunday afternoon.

• Nicole in kitchen preparing to make apple crisp.
  
• Noah and the neighbor girls playing in the backyard.
  
• Joshua sitting on the front steps playing by himself.

Hmmm. Why isn't Joshua out back with everyone else?

When I asked him he said he didn't want to. I asked if something happened and got the standard one word answer - No. I let it go but asked him if he wanted to help me make apple crisp. To this I received an enthusiastic "Yes!" and someone to help peel apples.


While peeling and slicing our talk revolved around apples until there was a short pause and Joshua quietly said the reason he wasn't playing with everyone was that Noah was being mean and yelling at him. After we talked a while longer he decided he was ready to play and ran out to join the group.

As he left I couldn't help feeling like I'd been given a gift. First, it was nice to have the opportunity to chat one-on-one without his brother to interrupt or add comments. Second, I realized that I had discovered the secret to getting him to open up and talk. Thank you!!!

This will not be our last apple crisp.

Apples

Last week we made it out to Martin's Orchard near Ceresco to pick apples. I didn't realize that our boys were such city slickers until we heard comments like these on the drive:

• I don't see any man-made structures.
  
• All I see is dead corn. Everywhere I look, dead corn.
  
• How long can you breathe in dust before you die? Like two minutes? (While driving on a country road)
• Ahhh, unpolluted air (with nose buried in shirt).
  

Once we arrived though they were in their element. Here's the proof...



We brought home 18 pounds of apples.

Oddly Familiar

Okay, I know I already posted about this but I was playing around with Animoto and these were my most recent photos. They must be posted - at least there are five new photos. Besides, the song is "Elusive Butterfly." I don't think this is what the artist had in mind but I could not resist.

Wildlife Encounters

Yesterday was a jam-packed day but the best part was at a sanctuary in our neighborhood: Heron Haven. It was their big fall event with activities throughout the day. We made it just in time for the wildlife encounter. Joshua was called up first to help and had these...placed on his shoulders. I wish I'd had my camera because his face was priceless. We heard all about the Madagascar hissing cockroaches and their importance in the world while we watched them hang out and crawl around on Joshua's shoulders.

When Noah was chosen to help his surprise animal was much cuter:
He got to hold the kinkajou (also known as a honey bear) while it ate fruit loops out of his hand. I could have done that.

There was also an alligator, giant boa, scorpion, African Serval and a Fennec fox (smallest fox). It was interesting to see and hear about some animals we hadn't seen before.

After the wild animals the boys enjoyed time in the butterfly tent.

We didn't have time to walk any trails. Hopefully we can make it back before the snow hits. I think this would be a fabulous activity with cousins!

Neverending Questions

Saved by the Discovery channel....I thought.

I only have a couple of weekends left to finish up my coursework. This means that the boys have been free to do just about anything while I'm studying on the weekends. This meant that last Saturday they enjoyed killer/danger day on the Discovery channel. First up, Killer Ants. Followed by Killer Jellyfish, Worlds Most Dangerous Animals and other deadly titles.

After watching Killer Jellyfish Joshua has been rethinking his "diver" career path. The Killer Jellyfish program has sparked much discussion at our house and has led to even more questions about the killer jellyfish. All of which Noah has posed to me. When I was unable to answer his questions and grew more frustrated with each one, I finally asked why he thought I would know this. (He did just watch the program, not me!) He replied, "Because you've been to high school." Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten the jellyfish elective???

This is when I realized I'm taking the wrong classes. Instead of improving on my 21st century literacy skills I should have been focused on all things deadly. Maybe there is a class designed to answer all of Noah's questions. Better yet, I need a class that teaches me how to breath through all of the questions without coming unglued by question #937 of the day - the kid asks A LOT of questions!

They often sound like real questions:

Noah: Do you think it's better to be a teacher or an astronaut?
Me: Teacher?

But just when you think you're going to learn something insightful they take a turn to the 9 year old boy side:

Noah: I think an astronaut because then when you hurl it would just float out into space until it hit something. That would be so cool!

I fall for it every time.

Just when I think I can't take one more question, musing or revelation though, I remember that it won't be forever. As hard as it is to picture now, I know at some point he will start talking more to his friends then to me. It's inevitable. Just thinking about it now makes me a little sad. So, I'm going to embrace the questions and engage in the dialogue that is being so desperately sought (unless it's about my driving). We'll start here which I'm sure will lead to more questions and quandaries.

Motivation

This FINALLY arrived in my mailbox today...


It contains the highly anticipated conclusion to The Hunger Games Trilogy, Mockingjay. At least I believe it does. As much as I'd love to rip it open and start reading NOW, I'm going to wait. Instead, I'm going to use this box as the motivator to get my online grad classes finished by the end of September (Because keeping my job isn't enough of a motivator???).

So, it's a date. October 1st you'll find me curled up with my book and probably a nice glass of wine. I can't wait! But first, back to my studies...

Beginning Again

They conquered the first day of school!

Sleep Mask for Kids

I couldn't stop laughing when I checked on Joshua and walked into this...


Yes, this is how he fell asleep. Why is he blindfolded? A more interesting question might be what is he blindfolded with? Any guesses?

If you said a blue stretchy cobra snake, you would be correct. Maybe we could corner the market on blindfolds for kids with this new reptile design. There is a market for sleep masks for kids isn't there?