Making A Compass

As a recent hands-on Astronomy project (we're learning about the Earth as we work our way through the Solar System), Seleia got to learn about the Earth's magnetosphere.  What better way to understand it than by making your very own compass? You just need a few handy supplies:

A needle
A pen
A rimmed lid (we used a sour cream lid)
1/4 inch sliced from the end of a cork
A magnet
Some water

And you're ready to go! First things first, you label your compass points (N, S, E, W) on the underside of your lid. Next, take your magnet and rub it a few times one direction only on your needle to magnetize it. Put your needle through the center of the cork so that it floats.  Fill your lid with water. Place your needle in the water, and the direction it points will be true North! Adjust your compass so that North is in the right spot, and feel free to spin your needle around as much as you wish!  It will always return to heading North.

The girls must have played with this thing for an hour before I took it away, with promises to learn how to make a more permanent version later. Meanwhile, Seleia got a great hands-on understanding on how this Earth's outer core creates the North Pole, and how that applies to her right where she's at. Finding out the Earth is a giant magnet?  Pretty cool.

Library Cards!

The kiddos went to the library last week... without Mama. Let me just say that I am always the one that takes them to the library and that I can count on one hand the number of times we've dragged Daddy-o along. So, when I was sick and couldn't come along, guess what else didn't go?  My library card. I've been trying to talk Miss Seleia into getting one for a while now (she wanted to work on her penmanship first), so this was her big moment.

And apparently it was Joels' big moment, too.

Now, when we married Joel was never much of a reader. He definitely enjoys reading now..he's just not quite as voracious as I am when it comes to devouring books. (Yes, I have to actually ground myself from reading sometimes so that things I need to accomplish, well, get accomplished.  I'm currently grounded.) I had no idea, though, that he had never had his own library card. I've had them in 7 or 8 states, for crying out loud. At least. I can still remember what my very first library card looked like...I was so proud! Sometimes he'll pick up material I have on hold, but he always just takes my card to do it. So.  Daddy stepped up and, along with Seleia, got his very own library card.

And Seleia's first book? Encyclopedia Brown. 

That's my girl!

Lego Robotics

We ♥ OMSI labs. Seriously. The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is hands down one of the best places to learn about....you guessed it: science and industry. We regularly take about four science lab classes at OMSI per school year, but this year we upped the ante and are doing 13 different labs. Lab number one was Lego Robotics. Joel took Seleia ans Elora and they all came home telling me ALL of the reasons that we needed to set aside $300 to purchase out very own Lego robot. (Joel found one a day or two ago on sale for the bargain price of $289. Not that he wants one or anything.)

First the girls got to "know" their robots. Elora's name was Orangie Peanut Butter, Seleia's was Blackout. They learned about how they worked, did a few simple tasks, and then came the computer programming. They learned to program the robots to respond to their physical commands and move from one place to another, with some turns along the way. Surprisingly, Seleia's favorite part was the programming. She added in sensors so that it would stop and turn when she clapped, etc. Way too cool!

The only disappointment?
"I thought we were going to get to take the robots home!"

If only!

More Fun on the Farm

I do love the saying that "not all who wander are lost". We are definitely wanderers. We spend hours on a farm, in a field, by the lake, on a mountain...simply wandering and enjoying every second of it. We probably compare 60 pumpkins before picking the winning 6. (The owners of the Christmas tree farm we go to every year laugh at us. It's daylight when we arrive, but not always when we leave. And we've been over the entire farm more than once before agreeing on the perfect tree.) Give us a beautiful day, a field to wander, and throw in a hayride? Sign us up!

Dashiell, Daddy, and the Pumpkins

I know. Could I possibly TAKE more pictures of my kid and some pumpkins?? 
Yes, actually. You'll see more later.
I cannot express the delight that Dashiell has gotten from finding, climbing on, hugging, sitting on, and generally playing with these pumpkins. They're his new bff's. Having said that, can you possibly imagine how much fun his adoring daddy had discovering the pumpkin patch with him? These two cracked me up and melted my heart as they wandered the patch in search of the perfect pumpkin (or 12. I've lost track of the amount of squash currently residing at my house.)
This age with a baby/toddler is so much fun...the wonder discovery and awe around every corner.I can't even imagine now how different life would be if we'd decided to raise the kids in NYC, but as much as I love the city I would not trade this for the world. Every child should have the chance to run through a field, to help in a garden, to dig for worms. To play in the dirt. At least once. We are so blessed that I'm sure my kids take this all quite for granted.  I'm okay with that.  I'll follow these guys around a field any day.
And chances are, I'll bring my camera.

The Hay Maze

I have such an overload of pumkin-patch related pictures to share (and the girls want to show them all to Mimi and Poppop) so I'll try to break it up a bit! We are blessed to have friends here in town who own the best, friendliest pumpkin patch for miles around. (And also have the largest, prettiest, yet cheapest pumpkins I've yet to see! Check them out here.) The hay maze is the girls' favorite. We've been a mere three times this year. The girls love to get a rousing game of hay maze tag or hide-n-seek going with whatever kiddos may be there at the time, and they never fail to delight their little brother as they pop out of the hay to say a quick hello.