maple sugaring, part 1

Today was the day I've been waiting for all month -- all winter even! We had a program at our favorite park about Maple Sugaring -- just a small, regular group of us homeschoolers (4 boys -- 3 on the Autism spectrum -- age 5 thru 8, and us 3 mom-pals). It couldn't have been better!!! The small class size gave each child the opportunity to be intricately involved with the class and provided no distractions to take away from the program.

They started, of course, with gathering the sap. Our wonderful instructor (a fountain of knowledge, with a knack for engaging and captivating the kids) started by showing us how to measure maple trees to decide which to tap, and how to determine how many buckets to hang on each tree. We learned that in order for the sap to flow, the tree has to reach a temperature of 40 degrees (F). Then each kid (and mom!) got to sample the sap, which was dripping rapidly this sunny day. Yummy sweet water! Then we collected sap from a couple of trees and carried it to the Sugar House.

My boys wait with the teacher at the Sugar House for the rest of the crew to haul the sap in. There was sweet-smelling steam venting through the roof, on a GLORIOUS early spring day! One thing I keep noting in all these pictures are the smiles on everyone's faces -- we all had SUCH a nice time!

Our teacher showed us how to stoke the fire, test the sap for sweetness, and the temperature at which it would turn to syrup -- 219 degrees. He also told us that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. And he told us that if you pour hot syrup onto snow, it makes a stretchy taffy-like candy. (We definitely want to try that tomorrow if we get the snow they are predicting for tonight!)

Once the sap reaches 219 degrees, it's no longer sap, it's syrup! He opens up a spigot on the boiling table and out pours sticky, sweet, hot syrup! We all got to taste the syrup, too -- SOOOO yummy! He pulled out a bottle of imitation maple syrup (flavored corn syrup) and started to say "some of you may have this in your house", and we all quickly corrected him that we would never have anything but REAL maple syrup in OUR houses! He went on to explains that SOME people use the fake stuff instead. That confused one of the boys in the group, Fluffy, who asked why anyone would even bother making the fake stuff. We all agreed. We also learned that syrup can be made from any type of tree (or plant!), and that in some parts of Canada, Birch Syrup is popular.

Our teacher shows us the different grades of maple syrup, and here was some very interesting news to me -- the first sap of the season produces a very light colored syrup known as Grade A Fancy, which you'll never see for sale as syrup, because it's saved for making Maple Cream (also yummy yummy yummy!). As the sugaring seasons progresses, the syrup gets darker and darker amber. Once it gets to a certain darkness, they know to stop making the syrup (the tree needs that sap for it's own growth and nutrition) and sugaring season is over for the year.


But that was only half our program!! Keep reading for the rest!

physics experiment (kindergarten style)

The kids came to me with a proposal for an experiment. "What's the difference between a bread ball and a bread slice?" J asked. Huh? "The shape?" I guessed lamely. He laughed. "NO!" He went on to explain that on The Magic Schoolbus (an educational show they've seen on occasion), they did an experiment and found that a slice of bread floats while a bread ball sinks. He looked at me expectantly. I feigned idiocy (not much of a stretch). "If we had a piece of bread and something to put water in....." he hinted. Oh. Slow Mom finally got it, and we headed out to the kitchen to set up the experiment.

I filled a large bowl with water, and Zoo Boy set the first piece of bread afloat.

J made a bread ball and dropped it in.










Then they reversed roles and J floated a piece of bread, and Zoo Boy dropped in a bread ball. Then they watched their results.





Yup, sure enough, the bread balls sank like little pastry rocks, while the slices floated.






Of course, the best part of the experiment was sampling the objects under study. Yup, it's bread.

We floated and sank other objects for awhile, then tossed the soggy bread outside for the birds to feast on.

just arrived

On the left is Coconut. On the right is Blackberry.

Zoo Boy fell in love with a Conure at the place we got these two, and I said NO. See, I CAN say no, despite all proof to the contrary. He also very much wants a cockatiel. To which I said yes -- for next year's birthday. So I've got a year on that one.

But these particular additions had absolutely nothing to do with Zoo Boy. In fact, he told me "we have enough parakeets" when I suggested bringing them home. I said "yes, we do have a lot...." and he very seriously said "No. We have ENOUGH." But, what can I say, it's hard for me to take advice from a 5 year old. And let's face it, I have no self-control.

What I do have is a house filled to the brim with cheerful chirping and songs!

winter wrap-up, week 24, winter #12

This was the last week of our winter semester. It was a VERY busy one! It started with J's Homeschool Chorus concert, which was made extra special because my mom was able to come visit our favorite children's museum with us. It was also a big week because not only did Zoo Boy turn 5, he took his very first museum class, and then had a great big party at our favorite park, complete with an educational program about farm animals. It was QUITE a week!


Here's Zoo Boy at his party, playing "Pin the Tail on Pikachu", designed by my good friend T (isn't it totally cute?!?!).

This was the last week for our Bear Hunt Adventure Circle, and the boys' friend Fluffy joined us for our very last time. The kids will miss it, but are excited about our NEW early spring adventure circle, which will feature the story line of Raven and River, by Nancy White Carlstrom. The kids occasionally looked over my shoulder as I worked on the plans for our new circle, and at one point Zoo Boy said "You know what we should do for an Adventure Circle? Five Little Ducks." Great idea!!! I enthusiastically exclaimed, and I meant it. How great is that! He's got his own ideas for Adventure Circle! I promised him that we'll do Five Little Ducks after Raven and River. Maybe I'll even let him help me plan which activities to use!

If you thought Pikachu was cute, look at this!! This is one of our baby birds, now looking like an actual bird. We are having SO MUCH FUN with them! This one is named Blueberry. They are still in the nest box, but are just learning how to climb a little, so soon will be venturing forth, I am sure!


Reading, reading, reading. Our lives are filled with books and stories!! This week's curriculum story was a repeat of last week's The Boy Who Loved Bears, since I didn't feel like we got enough repetitions in last week. And as busy as we were again this week, we didn't get as many in as usual either, but between the two weeks, I think we're covered with it. For Family Story Time this week, we read The Snow Lambs, by Debi Gliori; Bear, by John Schoenherr; and Raven and River, by Nancy White Carlstrom, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle, which our new circle will be based on. (GREAT nature story for early spring!!)

A little haiku:

Winter has finished.
Spring is creeping towards us,
Slowly but surely.

da party

What do you get when you combine 18 kids, 22 adults, 5 pizzas and a cake? Zoo Boy's birthday party, of course! All thrown together in a converted antique New England tobacco barn. It was crazy! It was chaotic! It was fun!!

First the kids had a farm animal program in the barn with one of the park's educators. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go out to the barn with them, as I was busy setting up for the party, but from what the other adults tell me, it was a very nice program -- just the right amount of factual information combined with petting and feeding the resident farm animals. I hear that Zoo Boy was in his absolutely glory, getting to be the first to pet each animal, since it was his birthday. They certainly all came back in with great big grins!

So the pizzas were eaten, then everyone sang and Zoo Boy blew out his candles. (He helped me decorate the cake with his favorite Pokemon figures.) It was a great big space, so there was lots of running and playing and laughing (and occasionally a little crying as someone got run into). The kids all seemed to have an absolute blast.


My sister organized some party games -- here the kids play duck-duck-goose, which Zoo Boy says was his very favorite part of the party. She also ran a rollicking game of Red-light-Green-light, and Simon Says. My friend T designed a really cute Pin-the-tail-on-Pikachu game, which Zoo Boy absolutely loved! (I'll blog a photo of that with my weekly wrap-up, later today.)

I also set out a couple of self-directed crafts to give the kids some quieter options. Most of the older kids took advantage of them (the younger ones were just too busy running around to pay them much heed). Here, a couple of my guys' cousins work on creating a piece of art with stamps and markers.



The Map Man joins J in doing some origami. J really loves paper-folding crafts and came running when he saw what I was setting out.

All in all, the party was a success. And I was exhausted. Next year I'm going to insist on separate celebrations with family and friends, but for a really large group, this worked out just fine.

first class

Ever since he turned 3 and was old enough to start taking classes, I've offered Zoo Boy the opportunity to do so. "No thank you" he'd always say. "I'll do it when I'm 5." Over the past two years, he's steadily maintained that he'll start taking classes when he turned 5. So as we approached his birthday, I asked if he still wanted to take classes when he's 5, and he said yes. I helped him browse the museum class brochure, and he picked out a few that sounded interesting to him. (Actually, he would have signed up for them all given the chance, but I wasn't quite convinced he's let me drop him off at a class and leave, so I hedged my bets and kept it to just one class every other week.) Yesterday was his first class -- "Big, Bouncing Bunnies", and he cheerfully bid me farewell as he took his place on the carpet square in the circle. He LOVED it. (That's him in the back row, white shirt with blue sleeves.) When the class was over, he told me all about it, then added "I LOVE being 5!"

J had a class on rabbits too (called "Rascally Rabbits") later on in the afternoon. (He's the boy standing right next to the teacher.) In both classes they made "bunny poop" (they melted marshmallows and stirred cocoa puffs into it -- looked alarmingly realistic, actually....). Needless to say, my boys didn't eat it. But despite the way it looked, it was pretty tasty.

Since we were at the museum all afternoon, we took a break from playing and learning to have a snack on the "park bench". There are picnic tables in the yard outdoors, but it was just too chilly for an outdoor snack yesterday. The kids thought eating in the museum was a great treat.

Between classes, the kids took part in a puppet-making activity. J also attended a short program on hedgehogs while Zoo Boy was in class. And while J was in class, Zoo Boy listened in on a story about a fish (but then declined to color his own fish shape, I think he'd had enough organized activity for one day). And of course there was lots of playing in the exhibits in between all the activities and programs. Made for a nice, full afternoon for us!

After completing their puppets, the kids were allowed to play with the puppet theater on the stage for awhile. (A real treat!) J named his puppet "Jimmy", while Zoo Boy named his "Me". They put on a couple of amusing puppet shows with the other puppet-makers, then let their storyline spill out into the museum.

Definitely a successful first class for Zoo Boy! He's already asking when his next class is.

5 years old

Here's the birthday boy 5 years after he was wrenched from my body. He looks a bit happier now than he did back then....I swear, he was the angriest looking just-born baby in history. He really had no intention of coming out of there -- I was 2 weeks overdue, and still no sign of labor. Since it was supposed to be a VBAC and he had, by that time, grown to the size of a small rhinoceros, it was decided to repeat the c-section. It was a good idea. He had no intention of budging -- ever. In fact, I clearly remember my OB climbing up on top of a chair and rocking me back and forth while trying to free him from my womb. She eventually called for the vacuum extractor -- first time I ever heard of that being used during a C-section. It did the trick. Out came Zoo Boy, big and red and screaming MAD. He got over it.


See? He was over it. And only a few days old, despite the fact that he looked about a month old. (Seriously, this was his birth announcement photo!) All that extra cookin' let us skip that tiny wrinkly stage completely.





We had a very low-key party yesterday, on his birthday. We didn't even call it a party. It was just the boys' two best friends (Fluffy and B), J, and us Moms (good pals also). No gifts. Pizza for lunch. A yummy cake (thanks so much, T!). A couple of hours of play. Perfect!! Wish I could have just kept it at that. But no, of course not, tomorrow we're having chaos and mayhem and 18 kids at our favorite nature center. Because, you know, I'm insane.

Zoo Boy plays a dinosaur game with his pal Fluffy. He also wanted to save our Adventure Circle until his friends were here. B had to leave early, so Fluffy and his mom, Kyra, joined us on our Bear Hunt. It was even more fun with more participants! (Although we were a bit spatially challenged for some of it, so we had to adapt a bit here, and shorten a bit there.) But FUN!

Happiness in motion. It just doesn't get any better than this.