Mother Robin's Notes from the Nest

Bird's-eye View of the Week: From Ballet to Bugs to Australia

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:16:00 +0000

Degas never envisioned this.

So I'm sitting in a small classroom overflowing with estrogen effusing from the pores (if that is possible) of almost two dozen young teen girls. They are waiting their turns to be on-stage for their respective dances in the romantic-comedic ballet, "Copellia" or the second act, "Let's Go to the Movies."

There is really nothing cuter or funnier or more ironic than the antics that occur in the dressing room of a ballet performance. The lithesome beauties you see floating in synchrony across the stage in swirls of pastel evanescence devolve backstage into bowls full of giggling jello, generously dosed with bursts of purposeless energy, with punctuations of loud announcements of sudden crises ("I've LOST my BLACK RIBBON!!!!!!") Currently, while clouds of lemon yellow tulle await the call to the stage, they have decided that doing improv in a British/Aussie accent is the epitome of cleverness. Ten hours of confinement might do that to a twelve-year-old. Others are simply making the air unbreathe-able either with hairspray or their own body odors. While looking like they stepped out of Mozart's Baroque Germany in their Easter egg velvet and sequins, they are texting or posting on their phones, or simply demonstrating their ability to burp on command. Such loveliness.

Grace in false eyelashes: Mei as a Pink Lady in "Grease"

Such grace.

   Our week has been dominated by fretful shopping trips for false eyelashes and flaming red lipstick, school on theater floors, and hair gel. Lots of hair gel. And fast food. yuck. Glad we've got that behind us. But we'll miss the costumes, music, and yes, the giggles. Ah, well. Nutcracker auditions will be here in three months.

   There WERE other happenings this week that didn't involve theatrics. Mei made progress on her American History scrapbook. I'm pushing to get through the Revolution, or at least 1776, in advance of our trip to Philly in two weeks. She really enjoys working on it with all the papers, tools, and pens. But it also is successfully showcasing her knowledge of events in a way that is much more Charlotte Mason and much less standardized testing.

Stowaway by Karen Hesse

I added in an Australia lapbook as well. The Land Down Under was a geographical focal point for our year coinciding with our reading of "Stowaway," an account of Captain Cook's voyage through the eyes of a 12-year-old crewman. I settled on the Australia lapbook by "A Journey Through Learning.com". It covered

No rules. Just-right type lapbook.

all the key points (geography, climate, people groups, languages, foods, customs, holidays, etc.), but doable in about 2-3 weeks, just what we have left. There were plenty of other good lapbook choices, but our time was limited. Should I have planned better and started earlier? Yeah, lesson learned. Even after 10 years of homeschooling.

   I made a few slight adjustments. I printed a better map from Uncle Josh's Outline Map Book and had Mei label it. Enchanted Learning.com provided the labeling key along with a coloring page for the flag. In addition, they had an Australia tab-book that I printed in booklet format to slip into a pocket we'll add to the lapbook. The tab book ("tab" as in subject tab) covered a lot of subjects in detail and included a page on the Great Barrier Reef, something that A Journey Through Learning shockingly left out! I've kept a paid account at Enchanted Learning for five years now and have never regretted it.

    We also were delighted with the hatching of our Preying Mantis egg case! And the best part was being there when it happened!! It was sitting on the table in our school/sunroom where it had been soaking up rays for a few weeks now. I had begun to wonder if it was maybe an old, empty case. While reviewing the schedule for the day, I stopped in mid-sentence, exclaimed "OH" quite loudly, enough to alarm Mei, and dropped everything for the next two hours. In the end, over 100 little mantids were hatched. I agreed to keeping a couple of them, and the rest were sprinkled over the hedges where we tried to avoid as many spider webs as we could. Mei researched the challenge of feeding an insect that is smaller than your fingernail, and since then, we have lost one to cannibalism, and one to drowning, but the remaining one enjoys gazing out the bay window waiting for his/her half-dozen ants and juvenile earwigs to drop in.

    Although we're still getting an inordinate ratio of dreary, gray days to sunny ones, we're finally enjoying coatless-ness and green-ness. Summer's American start-date comes this weekend (Memorial Day) and we're ready. Thanks be to God for leading us to the end of another school year!

Got Summer Plans? Got Preying Mantis advice? Tell Mother All About It!

Enjoy more end-of-the-week antics at the following homeschool hang-outs: Collage Friday, Homeschool Mother's Journal, and Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers. Thanks for hosting, ladies!

Field Trip: Learning "Keynote" at the Apple Store

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:21:00 +0000

Let's get this out in the open right now.

I'm a PC.

Now that we've had full disclosure, I can proceed to share a wonderful FREE resource provided by those friendly, geeky-cool associates at the Apple Store:

technology lessons

Mei and about a dozen other homeschool students gathered at our local Apple Store in the Mall for a hands-on class in creating a "Keynote" presentation. (PC people: this means PowerPoint to us.)

Large screen in back took kids through steps.

For two hours (!) a charming young man named Wole (like Wall-E but with an "ay" ending) led the kids through all the steps to create original stories that included clip art, photos, fonts, and lots of animated transitions. There were plenty of other sweet, well-trained geeks to help. At the end, they each received a screaming yellow T-shirt, a certificate of completion, and a yellow, rubber, Livestrong-type bracelet that served as the thumb drive containing their creation. My student who balked at going was grinning ear-to-ear at the end.

Did you notice the price for all that?

Great one-on-one assistance.

And while they were doing that, we moms headed to Panerra for breakfast.

I'm told they offer CAMPS over the summer that teach movie-making and music-editing. For more info about the free classes like we took and to get on their e-list to be notified about registration for camps in your area, go to Apple Retail Store/Learn/Youth .

*Note: the site identifies this class as being for kids 6-12, but most of our kids were between 12 and high school, so don't be afraid to approach them if your kids are older.


Another Mac convert. Got tech? Got a computer pref? Tell Mother All About It!

Menu Plan: Warmer Weather Eating-- May 6-12

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Sun, 05 May 2013 22:02:00 +0000

My tulips assure the return of warm weather. No more teasing.

Grilling time is back and Michele at 5Dinners-in-1Hour has some new things to try on it along with seasonal vegetables to go along with them. I'm also including a recipe for whole wheat Italian breadsticks made in the bread machine to go alongside.

I am on about my ninth month of using this time- and money-saving plan and seasonality is another one of the bonuses I'm seeing. How nice to look forward to menus that take advantage of the best of that time of the year.

Another time-saver I'm incorporating is the Express Lane curb-side pick-up service at Harris-Teeter. The much-anticipated store just opened last month a mile from home and when I learned of this service I knew I had to try it. Combining the ease of a ready-made grocery list from 5Dinners with the time-saving of shopping online---once in bed at 11 pm, another time while relaxing on my deck---probably saves me 3-4 hours in a week.

And by keeping me out of the store, I'm sticking to my list instead of making spontaneous purchases, further saving me money. This more than justifies the $1/week menu plan and $5/order shopping. Other stores are experimenting with this idea as well as home delivery, all designed to appeal to working families. Well, we homeschool moms are working moms too! Try it!

And now on with the Menu:

Monday:

Grilled Pork Chops in a smoky marinade
Mashed sweet potatoes
Steamed broccoli

Tuesday:

Tandoori Salmon
Brown rice
Green beans

Wednesday:

Easy Baked Ziti
Green salad
Whole Wheat Italian Breadsticks

Whole Wheat Breadsticks courtesy The Happy Housewife

Thursday:

Taco Chicken Legs
Corn on the Cobs
Grape tomatoes

Friday:

Leftover Buffet

Saturday:

Broiled Steak and Pineapple Bites
Green Salad

Sunday: Mother's Day

Bet you can guess I'M not cooking!!

Got menu questions? Got Mother's Day plans? Tell Mother All About It!

Join the rest of the menu-loving blogosphere at Organizing Junkie for more great plans!

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Nature Walk: All Creatures of Our God and King!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:36:00 +0000

Our dogwood lifting its arms in praise!

Every Sunday should be like this: sunny, dry, warm enough to skip a heavy jacket, and everything blooming.

Mei and I and Mr. Bingley, the English Cocker, headed over to the Conservancy to show our thanks to God for this gift of perfect hiking conditions. I led the dog while Mei mounted her stick-horse. He hadn't been out of the stable recently.

Father R prefers to show the Lord his appreciation by waxing the car. :-)

Eastern Towhee . Courtesy AllAboutBirds.org

It didn't take much effort to run into Nature, Nature everywhere. Almost as soon as we were on the trail, we were startled by a flash that most, including Mei, would have thought to be a Robin, but which was instead an Eastern Towhee. But wait! Its mate flew in within seconds! This was a first sighting for Mei Wei and the first time I have seen a mated pair. They popped up frequently as we followed their preferred habitat, a wooded stream.

Sign of life...or death?

Mei and the stick-horse dodged this beautiful robin's egg. I always hope they have been removed from the nest by a tidy parent, but secretly fear it was the evidence of a thieving Blue Jay.

Up in the trees came a curious buzzing call from a bird I could not identify. I'm suspecting some sort of warbler or vireo. It was sparrow-sized with a white breast and olive back, but was so high I couldn't make it more. Curse me for leaving behind the binoculars.

A couple of Carolina Wrens argued over their territories and could be heard many yards apart above all the other sounds of the area, even passing jets.

And it was a relief to see the bee hive busy again. I pray the local hives can recuperate from the threats of the die-offs that have been plaguing them.

The world was certainly praising its Creator on The Lord's Day. Glad we took part in it too!

Got Nature's Beauty? Tell Mother All About It!

Fernando Ortega sings "All Creatures of our God and King"

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Thou burning sun with golden beam
Thou silver moon with softer gleam
Oh, praise Him
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Alleluia
Alleluia

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in heav'n along
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Thou rising moon in praise rejoice
Ye lights of evening find a voice
Oh, praise Him
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Alleluia
Alleluia

Let all things their creator bless
And worship Him in humbleness
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Praise, praise the Father praise the Son
And praise the Spirit three in one
Oh, praise Him
Oh, praise Him
Alleluia
Alleluia
Alleluia

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"Scrapping" History: Creating a Scrapbook of our American History Studies

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:30:00 +0000

A quiet corner of inspiration

With June 5 as our deadline, the date of our Thursday co-op's closing program, I have finally settled on a project to culminate Mei's American History studies. I toyed with several ideas. One that I really liked--but am back-burnering--is a website depicting the events in American history as seen through famous art. Our proximity to the Nation's Capital would allow us to view many of these great works in person, particularly those by John Trumball in the Rotunda of the Capitol building. But I decided there wasn't as much time to take on something that might need so much technical direction, and so will try that when we won't feel rushed. Next year?


I love the grapes crafted from hole-punched paper

Instead Mei is putting together a scrapbook of history as pertains to America from 1600-1800. (This really will cover the past two years of our schooling.) Although it will incorporate mini-books for the key information, I am encouraging her to "get scrappy" with all the ephemera that is associated with that hobby. It really will be a lapbook on steroids. She is THRILLED! I gave her a budget to work within and even if she never finishes the project, just seeing her make careful buying decisions has been worth it!

Now there are tons of places to get the needed mini-books, but I'm tickled pink to have found TruthQuest History's "Binder-Builder" and "Map and Timeline" pdfs. They were affordable, around $15 for each packet, and cover all the major and lots of the minor points of the period. By the way, though the Binder-Builder and Map/Timeline packages can stand alone, the TruthQuest History books themselves look so fantastic, I am choosing them for our history curriculum for next year....and beyond! More in another post. Check them out!

So after choosing the topics I wanted to be sure were covered---the explorers who contributed to North American discoveries, the thirteen colonies, and key events of the American Revolution and westward movement-- I printed off about 50 sheets from the Binder-Builder and Map and Timeline books, including a timeline that will run across all the pages, and maps that correspond to the events.We are going with an antique-look, so the printing is being done on some parchment-looking paper that I had left over from Christmas letters of a few years ago. Off-white copy paper would give a similar effect especially if it's smudged up with a little brown stamp-pad ink or tea.

I'm also incorporating clip-art from Homeschool in the Woods timeline characters. Another source for mini-maps and factoid soundbites is Enchanted Learning.com. And of course NotebookingPages.com provides all sorts of printables for full-page reports. Here are some links to exciting-looking Squidoo lenses on lapbooking Colonial America.
Colonial Days Study
US Constitution Lapbook
George Washington Unit Study
Patriotic Music and Poetry Lesson
American History Extras (to go with" Winter Promise" AS1)

Pioneer 3-ring binder makes moving pages easy.

makes moving pages around easy
The perfectionist in me struggled for days and nights with settling on the best album type for Mei to use for this project. It needed to be easy to move the pages around should there be a late-comer. So a three-ring binder seemed best, but I THOUGHT that would limit me to 8.5x11. Guess I've been outta the scrapbook world too long because there are PLENTY of 12x12 3-ring albums!! We found our patriotic red leather one at Joann Fabric and Crafts when they were on sale 40% off. And don't forget they offer 15% off to teachers. Apply for that discount card N.O.W. Just show 'em your some homeschool association I.D. This goes for lots of other stores too, like Barnes and Noble.

Vintage-y paper in a rainbow of colors at JoAnn

I supplied her with lots of my scrapping tools like border templates, fun scissors, markers, and colored pencils. A paper trimmer speeds things up and is fun to use. Additionally she purchased: a tape runner, a block of 12x12 background papers, and some stickers. Finding stickers for the theme was more challenging than I thought it would be. However, the travel sections had country-, state-, and city- related theme stickers (Massachusetts; Washington, DC; Spain; England) And patriotic ones are in the holiday or seasonal groupings. We used our imaginations to stretch the ideas, too: we found one that said "Welcome to the World," presumably for a new baby, but it wasn't pastel-colored so it would be fun for the New World explorers! Just add in "New!"

Mei loves her paper doll collections, frequently cutting and assembling during read-alouds. Now she'll have a place to showcase them by creating pockets on her scrapbook pages. She also likes to trace over them and create scenes, another great page element.

Elements from TruthQuest Binder-Builder, Enchanted Learning Maps, and Dover Colonial Paper Dolls

I set up a special scrapping table in a corner of the dining room where the materials could always be at the ready and I could be near-by for guidance. I corralled the supplies in a rolling crate and a couple of organizers. Scrapbookers are addicted to organizers.

The second day of the project I announced that from here on out we would be setting aside at least one hour a day for the scrapbook and held my breath to see if that would be appealing or a bummer. "Would you like that?" I asked with hesitation. "YES, PLEEEEAAASE!"

Check back for the results!

Got History Projects? Got Comments? Tell Mother All About It!

Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Co-ops, Red Tape, and Cicadas

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Sat, 04 May 2013 15:45:00 +0000

We'll be seeing a LOT of these. Credit www.northjersey.com

The end is in sight!

We've reached May. AND the sun has been shining as much as two whole days in a row! And I even have turned off the heat (most of the time)! This is sooooo un-Maryland. IOW, it's usually nicer, even hot at times. But, it HAS helped delay the emergence of the 17-Year Cicadas! So, I'll kwitmibitchen.

Some mile-markers this week! After the two straight days of rain and Dad out of town, putting on street clothes and heading to the orthodontist sounded like a party. And turns out, it kind of was! The doc put a 'hold' on rubber bands already after only a couple of months. (Doc: "Wow, her teeth are really responsive!" Me: "So do we get a rebate for less services required?" Doc: "Hahahaha.")

It's Official!

Bigger and better was Mei's American name being officially entered into the government record books. Changing her name was not something we just recently decided on; her American name was chosen before she came home 11 years ago. But just last year, through a fluke, we discovered that the INS never noted it when she arrived in the States, so as far as the US government was concerned, our daughter didn't exist, at least not by what we call her. Tell that to Social Security, however, who gladly issued her an ID card in 2002. Under the American name. Hmmm. Anyway, the event gave us an excuse to eat cake!

Our co-op days are winding down. The Thursday group is finished already and the Friday group has just one more week. On Thursdays, Mei participated in a good introductory writing course similar to IEW. After two years, she has gained a lot of confidence in her writing, but more importantly, in taking constructive criticism. For her, that is H-U-G-E! She will now be equipped to take on the next level offered on Fridays. Thursdays this year also offered art and speech. I was really impressed with how well the kids responded to the speech topic and was glad they had this exposure to something not normally taught to ones so young. Art was taught by yours truly and used the "Meet the Masters" program. I've been dying to write a review of it here; maybe when the chalkdust settles. For now I'll just say that all the kids gave it a thumbs up and so did this teacher!

Board games class for an only child. Perfect!

Fridays have given Mei exposure to cake decorating, cooperative board games, health, and P.E. Mom has assisted in the cake class (:-D !! ), a sewing class, and her best hour of the week, Study Hall. ("SSShh! I'm trying to write a blog post!")

Both of these co-ops have enriched our studies, but more importantly, our interactions with other Christian parents and kids. It's been especially wonderful for our school-of-one, and I recommend it.

American History Scrapbook

For this final stretch, I've given Mei the option of creating an American History scrapbook to showcase all that she's covered in the last two years, 1600-1800. Basically, it's a ramped up lapbook. She is super-excited to work on it, and I'm going to give her all the time she wants. I was going to write about it here, but it was getting a little long, so I'm detailing that in a separate post. I'll share my sources and stuff there. Take a look if you want some ideas!

The end would be NOW if I went by counting school days alone. I was shocked to see we had completed 180 in APRIL! But when you don't take off for Rosh Hashanah, a week for Easter, or Staff Development Days, they stack up. Add in some school on weekends (educational trips), and woah! Nonetheless, we haven't met all our objectives yet, so I'll hide Mei's eyes from this post and keep the cat IN the bag (wink).

How about you?

Got the end in your sights? Done already? Or do you school year-round? Tell Mother All About It!

Linking up with other incredibly gifted and equally humble homeschool bloggers at Hammock Tracks "Homeschool Review", Homegrown Learners "Collage Friday,", iHomeschool Network's "The Homeschool Mother's Journal", and Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers "Weekly Wrap-up". Thanks for hosting, ladies!

Leave Them Alone: A Moment of Unschooling

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:46:00 +0000

For The Birds: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson

Today my little girl amazed me. You'll see why.

This past week I spent the majority of my time working up a PowerPoint presentation on blogging for my local homeschool support group, which required ALL my time to meet the deadline of Thursday night. (I volunteered for the job on Friday last.) I was even editing it one last time while waiting to go on! I was learning PowerPoint on the fly too. Thank goodness I'm a night-owl (or does 1 AM make me an early bird?)

So why am I so amazed at my "little" 12-year-old girl? Because she demonstrated so well how she is maturing. Not by picking up her room without being told (not there yet), or starting a ministry at church (definitely not there yet), but by her ability to work independently. WHAT a blessing! It was maybe only a year ago that I would have had interruption after interruption for one reason or another. ("I can't figure this out! I'm hungry! What do I do next? This makes no sense!" I only have one at home, but it can sound like four.)

But this time---this most-needed, blessed time--I handed her her daily list, and off she went. On one day, around 2 pm, I came down to check on things. I expected to see her watching TV (groan). Instead, I found her painting at the table. Typically she would have had work left to do, so I was prepared to have to ~~order~~ guide her back to her work, but--ASTONISHMENT--she said she had completed it. AND rather than watch TV, she decided to paint.

And what was she painting?? A full size copy of a bird from the book I had scheduled her to read!! This was completely her own idea and not one I can remember her choosing to do in forever. Oh, and did I mention it

was very GOOD??

This last part--the voluntary painting---is what particularly astounded me. If I had scheduled that activity, I'm betting it would have been met with resistance. She has not been known for her inclination toward drawing. So not only had she been trustworthy to complete her assignments unmonitored, she chose something constructive, and she chose something outside her comfort zone. All on her own. She also made herself a healthy snack. Bonus.

My take-away from all this is : 1) that their IS value in unschooling or delight-directed learning, for that was what she was demonstrating, and; 2) my kid will mature, but on GOD's time table, not mine. What I need is patience and acceptance. And plenty of prayer.

Got comments? Got a success story? Tell Mother All About It!

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The Blessings of Blogging: Intro

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Well, last night was the culmination of two-and-a-half days of exhausting preparation for a presentation to our local support group entitled "The Blessings of Blogging." It was exhausting simply BECAUSE I only had two-and-a-half days to prepare for it, having volunteered at the last minute!! (I guess God's timing keeps Him chuckling...)

But, I'm a Last Minute kind of gal. I guess that's why I would have been good in the advertising industry (my major). I understand that "I want it yesterday" approach.

Did I mention I created my first-ever Power Point too? Amazing what you can accomplish if you don't sleep!

I entitled it "The Blessings of Blogging" because the more I participate in this form of communication the more I realize how many ways blogging can be a support both for the blog writer and blog reader. And it can be a powerful, but often overlooked tool for our homeschool students.

I figured why limit my thoughts to the 100+ women in our group, so I'm sharing it here. I'll be breaking it down into several posts so keep on the look-out!

And check out my page at the top, Notable Blogs, with the list of over two dozen great blogs, and blog-creating links for both you and your kids!

Did YOU attend the presentation? If so, thanks!

Got a blog? Got questions? Tell Mother All About It!

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Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Spring Half-Break

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:34:00 +0000

A delayed wrap-up report....Homeschooling's like that....

A half-break is better than none--for both the student and the teacher!

What dinner for 18 looked like.

Monday, the TEACHER definitely earned a day off after hosting 18 of us for a combo Easter Dinner-Mini Wedding Reception to celebrate the impending nuptials of a fav nephew and his adorable bride. They had chosen a family-only ceremony for The Big Day, so this gave us an opp to personally toast them.

It was sit-down which meant cobbling together a banquet table out of every piece of furniture that had legs, and every piece of fabric that was white, but it was elegant in the end. The most elaborate prep came from the creation of a four-tier Coconut Cake with Orange Buttercream Filling and Coconut Buttercream Icing. Basically it tasted like Hawaii, or if you don't get that, a Creamsicle with crumbs.

The bride and groom-to-be's places with veils, bow ties, and Mr. and Mrs. Beanies.

Because I love y'all, I am sharing the recipe from Paula Deen's Easter 2013 magazine, as it will be off the shelves by the time you read this! Click on photo for recipe. Oh, and darling 12 y-o pastry chef, Mei Wei, did much of the cake decorating.

Simply smashing Coconut Cake for the lovebirds!

So how did we spend the rest of the week? We were delighted with a surprise visit by Uncle Robin III and his two boys from NJ. Taking advantage of the flex that homeschooling gives us, we dropped our regular school plans, picked them up at the grandparents' house and Metro-ed it into D.C. The kids opted for the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum on the National Mall.( So not my fav. There is another branch of the museum in VA that I hear holds more promise; go here.) )

To make the most of it, I scoured the 'net for some prep stuff about flight. I must say that the museum's site was a disappointment (government tax dollars at rest?), but I stumbled upon "Wunderful Homeschool's " blog who are avid flight studiers.They had many links including one to an activity poster published by none other than the Air and Space Museum. Which was not on the A&S's current website. See what I mean by disappointment? "Wunderful" pointed us to links for understanding the how's of flight, and another that provided many PDF's for different paper planes. So grateful!

Except for the pricey IMAX movie "To Fly" (which is really showing its age), the museum was a bust for us. The exhibit room that would have offered hands-on opps for explaining those "How Things Fly" physics contained mostly broken equipment. Ugh! But the biggest problem was it being spring break. DC is notoriously inundated with kids at this time. Not just local families, but schools from across the nation.

HOMESCHOOL FAMS, take note! Those cherry blossoms are NOT worth the trouble. Visit DC in the FALL!! The weather is lovely--barring a rare hurricane--and the crowds are manageable.

left and bottom: Berlin Wall at the Newseum; right clockwise from top: view from Newseum roof, solar planetarium and sculpture at Air & Space Museum

To save the day, we headed to the Newseum, a museum dedicated to, guess what? The price tag is high, but it keeps the crowds in check. The money we spent on a 25-minute IMAX movie at the A&S museum would have more than covered the admission here. Inside were very moving exhibits dedicated to 9/11, complete with the antenna that stood atop one of the Towers and the front pages from over a hundred newspapers from around the world from that date; another focusing on the end of Communism with a real section of the Berlin Wall; and news artifacts dating back to pre-printing press on every major historical event you can think of. An exhibit on JFK is about to be unveiled. Your upper-elementary students + will certainly find something worth remembering. Bonus: one of the best views of the city I've seen!

I figure that's enough school for one spring half-break, don't you?

If you are planning to come to DC, you might also enjoy our recent visit to the National Gallery of Art.

Got field trip comments? Tell Mother All About It!

Joining in with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, Hammock Tracks, Friendship Friday, and Homegrown Learners Collage Friday. Thanks for hosting, y'all!

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6 Little (Groups of ) Words

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 01:28:00 +0000

Inspired by Mama Kat's Writing Prompt: List 6 of your favorite quotes.

You may have noticed I homeschool. Homeschooling parents fight a lot of doubt--from without:

                     Is it Legal?
   ~~What makes~~ Do you think you can?
                                   How will they get into college?"

                     "What about SOCIALIZATION?"

and from within :

                                                            {What makes me think I can?}
Will they get into college?
Will I kill them before then?

So any quote that comes with cred can really buoy a homeschool parent's confidence.Below are six that have sustained me:

1. It is nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom;without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. - Albert Einstein

2. My schooling not only failed to teach me what it professed to be teaching, but prevented me from being educated to an extent which infuriates me when I think of all I might have learned at home by myself. -George Bernard Shaw

3. I believe it would be much better for everyone if children were given their start in education at home. No one understands a child as well as his mother, and children are so different that they need individual training and study. A teacher with a room full of pupils cannot do this. At home, too, they are in their mother’s care. She can keep them from learning immoral things from other children. -Laura Ingalls Wilder

4.I'm sure the reason such young nitwits are produced in our schools is because they have no contact with anything of any use in everyday life. - Petronius

5.Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other. - Edmund Burke

6. Thank goodness I was never sent to school It would have rubbed off some of the originality.-Beatrix Potter

And because this homeschool teacher is not good at math ;-), I bring you:

7. ¹⁸Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.--Deuteronomy 11:18-19

Got a quote? Tell Mother All About It!! She can always use more!

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The {7th-Grade} Power Within

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 03:50:00 +0000

In 1972 in a suburb of D.C., some Smart People in the Public School Powers-That-Be Room decide junior high school will begin in seventh grade. Then these same Smart People decide that junior high should continue through 9th grade. So, you will spend your first year of high school in junior high. Yes, you will enter High School as a Sophomore.

Keep with me.

Like I said, it is 1972. You've been wearing dresses and skirts to school your whole elementary life up until a year ago when those Smart People realized that the boys were way too eagerly anticipating the new trampoline lessons on P.E. Day. That's when those people agree to let you wear pants---but only on P.E. Day. If it's 20 degrees with a wind-chill, but NOT P.E. Day, you wear a skirt. Because that's what the Smart People said to do.

So now it is 7th grade and you are going to Junior High School.

For the first time, you have to ride a school bus, you change classes and teachers til you're dizzy, you get lost in a never-ending circle of painted cinderblock, you go unrecognized by scores of kids streaming in from other elementary schools, you can't walk home for lunch, you see girls wearing bras, you see girls smoking in the bathrooms. And as if that wasn't enough already, there is Gym!

You discover that Gym will be every day. It will be a huge deal. You will learn to play all kinds of sports, some you've never even watched, because it's 1972 and the only sport girls are playing is softball. Not even soccer. BOYS are hardly playing soccer.

But the hugest deal of all is that you will have to CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES! In public! In front of those unknown girls from the other elementary schools that are cooler than your elementary school was.

And just when your life, your very fragile sense of self, is at the breaking point, those Smart People
deal one more cruel blow. They issue you:

A Gym Uniform.

These girls are not smiling about the uniforms.

On the second day of Junior High you and the other 7th-graders are lined up on the sunny asphalt in full view of the passing boys gym class, and are handed plastic packages of blue serge cloth. You and the other bewildered girls open them to reveal these one-piece rompers with snap fronts and elastic waists. The short sleeves aren't short enough; they hang almost to your elbows. The legs likewise are to the knees. They have prim little shirt-collars, but that is all that can be called styling. They will be inadequate as clothing in just a few weeks so you will have one more reason to hate them by November.

You don't have an older sister to warn you about this. Some of the other girls obviously do. You can tell they are the ones who will rise to the top of the social strata because they make such a big deal about how dork-worthy these things are. Kids like you, well...you knew they were ugly, but you wouldn't have thought to roll the legs and sleeves up as high as they could go so that you looked sexier.

You are responsible for taking them home every Friday to be washed and bringing them back every Monday to begin another week of drills and vocabulary tests on sports that you would play for six weeks or so, never really gaining any proficiency in, only embarrassment. You will stand on the field in that thing while a snotty little bee-atch reams you in front of all your soccer teammates for your lousy kicking. And your mother, who never had to play soccer, will call HER mother and demand an apology. And then you will want to die.

Of course the day will come when you DON'T have it washed by Monday because your Mom who never played soccer has three other kids with equally demanding teachers and that particular load of laundry didn't get done. Then you will have to face the woman with the very short hair who makes ugly marks next to your name. And feel the sting of embarrassment that comes from having to wear your school clothes to gym!

But wait...
Isn't that what you'd prefer anyway? Losing the uniform?

And it's then that you take your biggest step in your education. You begin thinking for yourself.

And in two more years when you should be allowed to create your own schedule because it is, after all, your Freshman year even though you're still in a Junior High building, you don't back down when the Very Smart Powers argue against it. And you win.

And it's then you get your first taste of what bucking the system feels like. And later in life, when you have daughters of your own, you'll remember the decisions of the very Smart Powers-That-Be, and you'll say...

I think we'll homeschool.

Inspired by Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writing Prompt: " a 7th grade memory."

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Yeast Is Yeast, and Homemade Is Best!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:43:00 +0000

Our ongoing study of the monochromatic kingdom of non-flowering plants allows us to chalk up baking as science. I'm talking yeast here, peeps. (I love homeschooling!)

To get us primed we read through the lower book, Molds and Fungi, in one sitting (a very UN-Charlotte Mason thing to do. whoops.) Lots of facts in an easy-to-read format. I learned plenty myself.
The other book, Molds, Mushrooms, and Other Fungi, is more Dorling-Kindersley style with lots of pics and stuff. Darling daughter Mei freaked at both of them at times. Therefore, boys will love them.

Our science curriculum, Considering God's Creation, is neatly lining up with the monthly Outdoor Hour Challenges at Handbook of Nature Study where they're currently focusing on Lichens, Mushrooms, and Moss. (You can see our other entries on lichens here and fungus here.)Yeast, being a type of fungus like mushrooms, I figure it fits right in.

Fungi, we learned, grow by sending out hyphae, which are like little tentacles looking for food, usually in the form of something dead. Get enough hyphae, and you've got yourself a registered, incorporated mycelium. When these hyphae want to start a new colony, they shoot some spores into the atmosphere (e.g. your breathing space) and hope to colonize in the great beyond. But the work is done in the dark, mostly underground. It's happening everywhere and we should be glad of it cuz' if it weren't, well, in a nutshell, we wouldn't be here to tell about it.

Want to see a mycelium at work? You won't have to go far. Got a rotting woodpile? Matted dead leaves you forgot to rake? How about well-seasoned shredded mulch? That's where we found this:

My-oh-mycelium

The white stuff is not some sort of messed-up spider web. It's the mycelium full of hyphae. And it's eating away at that mulch. Which is why we have to keep replacing it every year.

Another place we were able to observe fungi was on the bread that we purposely let go for the sake of science. After over a week in a Baggie with a piece of old brie, we got this:

Calling Alexander Fleming

Not like you've never seen that before (deliberately). But it makes for cool microscope study. We're also comparing the french bread with a piece of cinnamon bread (not shown) to see if cinnamon indeed retards spoilage. It seems it does!

Notebook page from Considering God's Creation

So back to that yeast. It does not do the hyphae thing. But is IS a fungus. I'm so glad we know how to use it. It makes some of my favorite things possible. Like bread. I recently got my second bread machine and have gotten back into this fun, healthy, delicious hobby. And the timing was PERFECT because we were going into this yeast study.

Yeast makes the bread rise simply by---well---burping. You feed it, it eats, it digests, and it burps. And the burps make the bubbles that make the bread rise. Doesn't sound so appetizing when I put it that way, but...

Now to coalesce science with baking even more, we had to grow some starter. A starter is a happy little town of live yeast that live in a jar, and that you feed and take care of. (You can name yours. Ours is Fi-dough.) If you do a good job, the yeast will reward you by rising your next batch of dough. But this will be a different flavor because THIS yeast is SOURDOUGH! And it happens when those spores that a yeast fungus releases are caught and given a nice home of flour and water.

Baker's yeast. britannica.com

Want to try it? There are many, MANY places on the web that will teach you how to grow a starter. We ordered a fresh one for our purposes to ensure success. You can get some here. Did you know that they will taste different depending on where they are from? Because each region has a different yeast floating around in it! That's why a San Francisco Sourdough Bread can only call itself S.F if the starter was actually grown IN San Fran!

Here, Mei is doing another experiment with some yeast to show how much it "burps."
Mix a 1/2 cup lukewarm water with 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of dry yeast (doesn't matter what kind.) Set it aside for 15-30 minutes.
If you do it in the ziploc bag, like we did, keep a close eye on it or you will get to experiment with cleaning starter off the walls.

Left: Mixing up the ingredients to grow yeast. Right, the proof! Ka-BOOM!

Before: cold from the frig

Here's another example of just how fast yeast can grow. We took some of our sourdough starter out of the frig and warmed it for just 30 seconds in the microwave. It increased in volume by at least 2 tablespoons just from being warmed up!


After 30 seconds in MW: frothy yeast.

But here's the best experiment of all: a piping hot loaf of homemade sourdough bread. If only we had some taste-testers! Any volunteers?

Got yeast? Got comments? Tell Mother All About It!

There's a Fungus Amongus!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 23:08:00 +0000

In the natural kingdoms of the world, the non-flowering types are the Rodney Dangerfields. They don't get much respect. We're talking molds, fungi, mushrooms, that sort of stuff. But they don't deserve the "dis" they get. They decompose stuff, make nutrients available, draw or retain moisture, and on and on.Without them, as Dupont would say, life itself would be impossible. In the last couple of weeks, our attitudes toward these un-green things have been altered. We might still go "Eww," but at least it's an educated "Ewww."

With encouragement from the Outdoor Hour Challenge, this month we have spent a number of our daily walks looking for members of this kingdom.

We realized our woods are rife with the evidence of decay. As I said in my last OHC post, We Like Lichens, these woods have suffered a lot of attacks by nature the last few years, being in a straight line with prevailing westerly winds. The historic D.C. derecho storm of 2011 brought down many trees along with Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. So, sadly, finding trunks and branches covered in bracket fungi wasn't all that surprising anymore.

Anna Botsford Comstock in The Handbook of Nature Study puts it:

"...those of us who have come to feel the grandeur of tree life can but look with sorrow on these fungus outgrowths, for they mean that the doom of the tree is sealed."

On our hunts, the bracket fungus was the most abundant as it was not dependent on warmer conditions like mushrooms would have been. It's really just there year-round, so we were able to spot many examples during this unrelenting winter. It was interesting to learn that, unlike your basic toadstool-type mushroom with its "gills" under the cap for spore production, that the brackets release their spores through tubes found on the underside.

Various bracket fungi. Oh, and BLUE SKY for a change!

Below you can see a bracket that I harvested. Starting at the top left you can see the firm top side of the bracket, next the soft spore-producing underside, then (bottom left) a close-up of the tubes from which the spores are released. The last picture shows what you can DO with these fun-guys!

The undersides of these are now hard and brown from the cold and dry winter. It was surprising to find a fungus for drawing on in January 2007.

We have an annual tradition at our vacation cottage of finding a bracket fungus specimen and creating a scrapbook of sorts by etching little glyphs and captions into them as keepsakes of the season. Some years the woods are bursting with them, other years we can go all summer before finding even one. We have a basketful. I used to display them on a windowsill until I noticed black "dust" spilling out of their undersides. I wrongly concluded it was the result of little drilling bugs. Now, thanks to our study, I know it was the spores being released. I find spores less disturbing than little bugs. That's just me.

If you want to make one, our advice is to look after heavy rains. They are fresh and moist then. Carefully, without touching the soft white side, break one off from the trunk.( The big ones can be very stubborn. ) Carry a basket or sack to help you tote it out unharmed, or you will be hiking with a fungus in your hand until you get home.

Don't wait, but get right to work while the fungus is still fresh. Using any sharp instrument--pen cap, golf tee---draw and write on the soft white side. Plan your design because you can't erase! :-) Again avoid holding that side because your fingertips will also be preserved!

When finished, stand it somewhere and it will dry and harden within a short time--a day or two usually. Then it is almost indestructible. The buyers of another old cottage nearby found a treasure trove of "artist's fungi" from the previous owners that were headed to the dump. They rescued them and found some to be dated from fifty years ago!

So who needs Creative Memories? Have FUN-gus!

Got Fungus? Got Questions? Tell Mother All About It!

Check, Please!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:53:00 +0000

This is probably going to be the most politically-incorrect, begging-for-nasty-comments post I'll ever write. Unless my readers can forgive it because the prompt that I was told to write about was...

SOMETHING I ATE.

We were in China adopting our 15-month-old daughter. These trips are very, very organized with a new activity, tour, and dining opp every day. Or several times IN a day. This would be okay IF you hadn't just added a new little person to your family. But by Day 10 (of 14 plus trans-world travel) you have lost interest in another Temple of The Divine Priesthood of Holy Sunshine. Especially when you are sharing this experience with ten other families who are also losing interest because their babies, like yours, are keeping them up at night in hotels where nobody understands you need stain remover for the diarrhea on your white pants.

At long last, there was a night where we didn't have to experience tasting another animal body part we didn't know could be eaten (speaking of What I Ate,...). And WE were the fortunate ones who happened to have brought along a babysitter in the form of our 14-year-old, now-no-longer-only daughter. At long last, my husband and I could eat out ALONE.

Now the China Center for Adoption Affairs wants to make the best impression on you of your child's birth country, so one thing you can always count on is a top-rate hotel. We were in a 5-star Ramada while in Guangzhou. It was adorned with boutiques devoted to one Parisian designer after another. There were several top-notch restaurants. If Trip Advisor had existed a decade ago, we would have racked up tons of rating points without even stepping outside.

One of these dine-ins offered sushi of the highest caliber. (My WWII-vet dad was astounded that the Chinese would welcome a Japanese establishment on their shores. :-) ) My hubbie, being a huge fan, lined us up for reservations there, having anticipated the chance the moment we checked in as much (or more?) than receiving his long-awaited daughter.

So to say we were ready to kick back, relax, and let down our hair was like saying Hitler was ready to stroll the borders of Germany. We entered the golden-lit room and were escorted to the sushi bar, noting the large tank of beautifully-colored fish. We chose to dine at the bar in order to be entertained by the chef preparing his consumable artistry before our eyes. Overwhelmed by the menu, as usual I let my expert order. Among the various sushis and sashimis, he chose some red snapper, ordered wine for me and a sake for himself.

The wine tasted so good. We weren't usually ordering drinks at these communal "new family" dinners. The rolls started arriving and we dove in with both chopsticks. We had another round of drinks. Then the red snapper was served.

It was presented on a skewer standing up like a single blooming rose. We watched fascinated as the chef sliced off nearly transparent pieces of its side with a knife whose sharpness would make a samurai proud.
My husband, the epicurean, made moaning noises of approval at the freshness. The chef was very pleased. He sliced more. We ate more. We drank more.

We became very attached to our snapper. We were the only English-speaking people in the room and could say whatever we wanted. We decided to name our fish. We named him Sam the Snapper. We smiled at our cleverness.

Then a strange thing occurred. I thought at first it was all the drinks. The fish moved. A gill or fin did a little flap. Alcohol clouding a normal reaction of shock, we stared in wonder. The chef proffered a new slice. My husband, knowing Sushi Chef Protocol, pronounced it "Very fresh!" Yeah, no duh.

Then another glance. This time it was the mouth and it was gulping! (Vegans and card-carrying members of PETA are now excused from reading.) But did I shriek in horror? NO! I was so plastered. I even thought I should decorate Sam the Snapper. Deftly with my chopsticks, I inserted a marigold garnish into its mouth. I laughed so hard I almost fell off my barstool.

We ate a lot of new stuff in our daughter's country of origin--fried chicken feet, Peking duck served with the head on, and everywhere greens that smelled like sweaty socks--all selected by the tour guides. But none of those could hold a chopstick to dining with Sam the Snapper. He sacrificed himself that we might have a few good, uninhibited, crass, adult, American laughs before we went back to our room where the "babysitter" was coming down with tourista and room service was rocking our inconsolable little one.

Thanks, Sam. Play it again.

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OHC: We Like Lichens and Most Mosses!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:59:00 +0000

Dead?...or alive?

It's so nice to see that there really is something alive in the woods during this endlessly gray time of year. I can't remember the last time I posted any pics on this blog that had a blue sky in it. In a Mid-Atlantic winter, we get mid-tones and almost nothing else.

So you can understand our delight to be directed by the Outdoor Hour Challenge to go find the little guys that are doing their work no matter the weather: lichens and mosses.

The March Challenge newsletter informed us that there are three groups of lichens: foliose, fruticose, and crustose. It's really pretty easy to remember what they mean. Foliose looks like foliage, specifically funky lettuce.Crustose are found encrusting rocks Fruticose looks like fine threads, which doesn't look like the word fruit, but whatever.

Cool lichen facts:

Lichens can delay global warming by consuming significant amounts of CO2, can prevent soil from drying out, help release important nutrients into the soil, and even provide food and, in some cases nesting material, for animals.

I gave an incentive. For every example found there would be a prize (Hershey Kisses always work). There would be a bonus if all three types were identified.

Lacking in natural formations in our area, for crustose we needed to expand our definition of rock. The neighbor's cement gatepost had some discoloration. Before, I would have assumed that to be some mold or dirt. But with our new knowledge, we could see that in fact it was the early stage of some crustose lichen growth. Yeah! One down!

Trusting in the handy, dandy Magi-scope to confirm a lichen sighting

Into the woods, we went for more!

Beautiful array of lichens on gneiss

A lone rock peeking from under the dense layer of decomposing leaves revealed crustose lichen on a more natural host.

Foliose was easy. Our mixed hardwood forest has taken a lot of hits in recent years from severe winds and storms, so there were stacks of fallen timber succumbing to decay. Even up and down dying trunks, we saw ample samples. :-)

(left) Foliose, like lettuce leaves, on branch; (right) fruticose found growing from leaf matter

Only one more to go, fruticose. The day before I had scouted the area for quarry and nearly stepped on a tiny patch of this, the only one I saw in the entire walk. Maybe ever. I hoped Mei might be eagle-eyed enough to find it herself, but--my bad--I didn't make enough mental note to narrow the search. I did bring home a bit of my personal find so at least she could see it.

On the way back we opened our eyes to the only green in the monochromatic landscape: moss.

Cool Moss info:

Mosses play their part by holding back moisture and preventing erosion, and by being a "pioneer" species, breaking down acidic soil at the base of trees and paving the way for other plants to take root. But I bet you didn't know this:

"The value of Sphagnum [moss] for covering wounds has been known for centuries. But it was not until the early 20th century that there was widespread commercial production, reaching its peak in the First World War, when some one million Sphagnum dressings per month [emphasis mine] were used by the British forces. Sphagnum was harvested, cleaned and dried and sent off in bales to factories where it was sewn up in fine muslin and sterilised. " Uses of Mosses and Liverworts

(left) Moss with sporophytes, red spore-baring spikes; (right top): moss and lichens together; (middle) spores on my finger; (bottom) a bit of sphagnum

Paying closer attention than usual, we realized how many different types surrounded us. I gave Mei the camera and she shot these. We took some bits home to draw in our nature journals, but the one with the fascinating spores wasn't happy in the baggie with its mates, and died before we could get around to the illustrations. At least, Mei could see the black spot on my finger where I had brushed against the moss capsules that held the spores.

In all it was a new way for us to enjoy a well-trod path, especially in what we once thought was a dead landscape.
And yes, she earned her Kisses.

Got Moss? Got Anything Green? Tell Mother All About It!

Then hop over to The Handbook of Nature Study Blog Carnival to see what other nature nerdies found!

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Black Limo

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:03:00 +0000

Limos.

For most, the word conjures happy times. Times to celebrate, to party, to top off great memories of weddings and proms. Isn't one of the most exciting things that a senior high-schooler looks forward to on the Big Night is The Limo? ("Yeah, we crammed, like, 20 of us into the Limo! And Shawn snuck some whiskey from his 'rents bar, and it was , like, Freakin' AWESOME!")

My first limo ride was a little more sober. It was 1964 or so. The limo was headed to a funeral.

I was about four or five, no more than six. I don't have many vivid memories of my childhood despite the fact that my parents still live in the suburban WWII starter home I was born in. So I only know I was very young. My paternal grandfather, a "colorful character" as his son would say, had died before I was born, the tragic and expected early end to a life of hard drinking and fast living. I've seen three pictures of him in my entire life. In each one, he had booze in one hand and a cigar in the other.

His wife, my grandmother, had been a delightful hostess at their sizable summer "cottage" in the mountains of Pennsylvania. There was always a stream of weekend friends, as the decaying guest book attests. She was slim and rather frail from the few pictures I've seen, but always looked very happy, surrounded by her family and friends. Then, her storybook world of parties and summer homes and socialites and household names fell apart when the government seized all their assets.Her husband died sometime after that from the stress of it all.

My father was the oldest of the three and the closest geographically and so the responsibility of her care fell on him. He and my mom moved her into a one-bedroom apartment in a fine neighborhood on the edge of the city, a handful of minutes from our home.We would visit her frequently. I remember my amazement at the large formal, above-ground, brick goldfish pond that reigned over the private grounds. Inside, I was fixated on a pair of purple glass salt and pepper shakers that looked like clusters of grapes lying life-like on their sides. If I ever find them in the family estate, I'm putting in a claim. And she always had these mysteriously- created lollipops with mille-fiori flowers embedded in them. She is handing one to me now as I write this.

Soon she developed ALS, or as it was called back then, Lou Gehrig's Disease. This was always mentioned to well-meaning inquirers as if it was a badge of honor to be thus diagnosed, to be related in some way to someone famous, even if it was through terminal illness. Eventually she became too weak to care for herself and moved in with us. It was strange and comforting at the same time to have this frail, failing old woman who was also our grandmother stepping falteringly around in our growing house of tumbling, crying, Boomer Babies.

Then one day, I was in a limo. It was going to a big, big yard full of rows and rows of white crosses. It was sunny. My mother, dressed all in black with a big skirt like I Love Lucy, faced me in the back seat. She was distracted and unhappy and I knew something must be wrong because she was smoking a cigarette. She had told me she only smoked when she was upset about something, so I knew this must be one of those times. And though there would be plenty of reasons after that, I never saw her smoke again.

And that was my first ride in a limo.

Hooking up with Mama's Losin' It.

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Menu Plan: March 18-24

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:29:00 +0000

It's another week. Yeah, you knew that because you are reading Menu Plan Monday and you figured, "Hey! It's another week! I'll let someone ELSE plan my menu! "

Good for you. That's the idea.

Around here, we are glad that Monday means last week is OVER. However, even if this week turns out to be as stress-filled as last week, we thank God that he will be in the midst of it.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV

Now let's cook!

Most menu ideas courtesy of 5Dinners-in-1Hour. Without which last week, we'd have starved on top of everything else.

Monday

Mini Honey-Mustard Meat Loaves
Oven-baked potatoes
*Stir-fried Kale. So misunderstood. See recipe below.

Tuesday

Roasted Shrimp
Wild Rice blend (Uncle Ben's)
Sugar snap peas

Wednesday

Pork Barbeque on
*Homemade Buns (click on pic for link to recipe)
Cole slaw
Applesauce

Kick Butt Buns (Get it? Butt? Buns? )P.S. This is not BBQ, okay?

Source: food.com via Leslie "Mother Robin" on Pinterest

Thursday

Beef Fajitas on Whole Wheat Tortillas
Black beans
Sliced tomatoes and avocadoes

Friday

Date Night/Youth Club Night!

Saturday

Spinach-Artichoke Bow Ties
Green Salad

Sunday

Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Asian Rice

Quickie Kale:

Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a very large saute pan along with about a cup of chicken or veg broth. Season with a hefty spoonful of minced garlic.Maybe some dried minced onion too. Salt and pepper to taste. Heat to steaming , then add a mountain of chopped kale (I bought Nature's Way pre-washed, pre-chopped). Saute until kale has become soft and edible. Serve hot. I like it with a splash of balsamic vinegar, just the way I like steamed spinach.

This half a big bag....

...cooked down to this 4-portion serving.

Got Greens? Got Spring? Got Spring Greens or Green Springs? Tell Mother All About It! especially the "green springs" part. We're getting impatient around here.
Linking up with Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie. Thanks, Laura!

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Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Blessings From Chaos

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 21:28:00 +0000

Some days have more hours in them than others.

I don't mean that we get more hours in our day to accomplish things by being super-organized or having uber-reponsible, self-motivated kids. I'm talking about when life seems to throw more at you in ONE day than 24 hours should hold.

Well, this was a WEEK that had more DAYS in it than it should. Boy, am I ready to "wrap it up!"

Let's start with:
Monday

Just as I was finishing a devotional at Proverbs 31 Ministries and feeling refreshed and in control (God's so funny), Father R, who is on his way to a job interview, calls.

He's wrecked the car.

He is almost an hour away and needs to be rescued. At least we are organized enough (today) that we can grab the school books, we have a full tank of gas (today), and we have nothing on the calendar like, oh.. I don't know...a three hour ortho appointment.

Pick him up. Drive to the repair shop. Woah! Looked like a car ER ward. And some were pronounced DOA!

Then he says, non-chalantly, "I found a message from your Dad. Probably has a tax question. I'll call him while you entertain yourself in the only Container Store in the state of Maryland." (I guess the company has found an inordinate number of hopeless hoarders here and pretty much given up. )

Loaded down with new plastic stuff, I return to the car. My mom must Go Directly to the Emergency Room, Do Not Pass Through The Doctor's Office. We are not exactly comforted that they need to keep her overnight.

Tuesday. Still no satisfaction for the doctors, but it's looking like the prelude to a heart attack. Another night in the hospital.

At dinner, Father R gets the anticipated insurance call to tell him how much they'll cover for the repairs. "Surprise! Your car is totaled!"

Mom gets the green light and we, rather than my dad, have chosen to be the taxi home tomorrow.

It is my sweet, thoughtful little girl with the light-bulb moment that suggests making some meals for her. (I've only been making meals for the needy at my church for twenty years, but I didn't think of it myself.)

Wednesday
So we pull some off the freezer shelf and create some more with less than 24 hours notice, thanks to the wonderful pre-planning provided by 5Dinners-in-1Hour.com. We make three fresh loaves of bread in the machine. We get them together just in time to pick her up at discharge time. We spend the rest of that afternoon cleaning out her frig and settling her down. Then the hour-and-a-half drive through rush hour home.

Thursday
My hubster quits his job.

Friday
TGIF

It is at this point that I want to say: Hooray for a few textbooks, and some co-op classes (did I mention that I teach two days?) to keep the week from being a total loss school-wise.

But I also want to say, in the middle of all the chaos, that God--not me--WAS in control. Father R wasn't hurt, Mom didn't die, we'll get enough value for the car to go a long way toward a replacement, and Father got the job. Most importantly, we were blessed to be a blessing, and Mei was a part of that.

You can always find something to be thankful for even if you have to be thankful for an awful lot in one day. Or week.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

James 1:1-3. The Message

Got a TGIF story? Tell Mother All About It!

Linking up with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, The Homeschool Mother's Journal, Hammock Tracks, Collage Friday, and Beautiful Family Friday. Bless you, gals!

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Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes with Chocolate Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 19:31:00 +0000

This Saturday morning there was another hungry girl at our table after a sleepover the night before. I always like to do something special for our young house guests (and older ones too), so I asked if she liked French Toast.

"I only had it once before, " she admitted.

Horrors. I'm still in shock. And I was frustrated because I was going to take this opp to upcycle the ends of the various loaves I had made this week that were past prime. (That happens when you don't stir in the preservatives. Oh, Snap!)

Showing its age, n'est-ce pas?

Both girls agreed on pancakes, Mei particularly requesting chocolate chip, an indulgence another bestest friend gets almost daily. But wait! No more store-bought mix! What to do? Dust off my 30+year-old Joy of Cooking, that's what!

It had been quite a while since I had turned to this kitchen staple (punning? yes.) I was therefore so charmed to find this page marked. The notes probably go back 25 years or more:

So to the healthier-than-usual recipe, and to disguise said healthiness from the current critics, I chopped about a cupful of Giardelli chocolate chips. I keep Saco Buttermilk Powder on hand now that I'm using that bread machine, so subbed that for fresh. This also allowed me to make another batch as a mix and keep for future sleepovers. Topped with a dollop of peanut butter, we've got ourselves a complete protein and a Reese's fix before noon.

So get out yer baking stuff cuz here we go!

Whole-Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes with Chocolate Chips
Yield: about 14 4-inch pancakes

Blend together:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur)
1/2 cup buttermilk powder*

In a separate bowl combine:
2 tablespoons sugar, honey or molasses (depends on how you like your sweetness)
1 egg
2 cups water *
2 tablespoons melted butter or butter substitute
(Option: use fresh buttermilk and eliminate water, combining with the wet ingredients)

Add wet stuff to dry stuff and stir a few times until there are no more large lumps.

Stir in:
1/2 -1 cup chopped or mini chocolate chips.

To make, heat griddle on medium heat. The chocolate will burn and stick at higher heat. If necessary, spray your spatula with Pam to aid flipping. Add a little butter when griddle is sufficiently hot. Pour a few tablespoons of batter onto griddle. Turn once when bubbles begin to pop. Check underside after a minute or two and serve warm with peanut butter, syrup, or a fav here--vanilla icing!

I ate mine standing up, rolling them into chocolate cigars, and downing them almost as fast as I made them. Take note: you have been warned.

And remember, you can create a homemade mix by using the buttermilk powder, and only needing to add egg, butter and water at sleepover time!

Got breakfast inspiration? Tell Mother All About It!

Amazon.com Widgets

Bird's-Eye View of the Week: Meet the Artists

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 03:39:00 +0000

If we're not getting ripped off by our government in these parts, it's the Weather Shamans.

It was dubbed "Snowquestration" as a play on the recent Congressional stab at balancing a budget that has put so many--including our fledged "robin"---on a work diet through forced unpaid days off. The shamans made lots of promises of monumental adverse conditions--icing, downed power lines, bread and toilet paper shortages. But just like Congressional tactics, it didn't work out as planned.

I was stunned though by how many of my friends were pumped by the vision of a foot of snow dumped on us even as our daffodils have emerged. Seems we're so snow-day deprived that we'll accept it at almost any cost. Most of them sounded like what they really wanted was some weather-imposed family time. Funny. And sad. Needless to say, their kids are educated in the Red Brick Building.

Ginevra de' Benci. The only Da Vinci in North America.

In our Yellow-Sided Homeschool, the weather PRIOR to the non-event was ideal to field trip to the National Gallery of Art on the Mall in Washington. (THE Mall. No "Five Belows" here.) Our goal was to see as many of the paintings that we had discussed in our co-op art appreciation class that uses "Meet The Masters." It's such a privilege to be able to easily access originals of some of the world's greatest works of art. And it never fails to impress students to stand in front of the very work they have only seen in books or slides. To be able to see the brushstrokes and sometimes--as in the Da Vinci portait "Ginevra de' Benci"--the actual fingerprint of the artist.

Clockwise from top left: Entering the East Building through the "Multiverse" or as C.K. called it "The Tunnel of Awesomeness"; Calder over homeschoolers; Handy art.

Meet the Masters doesn't limit itself to earlier periods, but brings us artists right to the present day. Fortunately, the Gallery does too in its East Wing building which is devoted to modern art. We had fun acting out some of the works as you can see!

Clockwise from top left: Marilyn by Warhol vs Mei by God; Waltz of the Georgia O'Keeffe Flowers; "La Scienza della fiacca" ("The Science of Laziness") by Frank Stella and kids who are NOT.

We tried to exit the city ahead of the usual rush (which normally starts as early as 3:30), but alas, everyone ELSE was in a hurry to exit the city ahead of the usual rush which meant that we all still stood in traffic. And just to be the first for bread, milk, and toilet paper.

So Winter Storm "Saturn" was all hot air like its namesake, but I still let Mei have a "snow day." I took on some more bread-baking projects and ended up with two fantastic baguettes and a sourdough boule! On a sloppy night, it went perfectly with the slow-cooked minestrone from 5 Dinners-in-1 Hour.com.

My First Sourdough Bread.Not my last.

Mei jumped into the first week of her new spelling workbook by Evan-Moor Publishing,

Amazon.com Widgets

Building Spelling Skills. While I was afraid the Charlotte Mason police would be after me for using a workbook, I think they might let me off with this one. It encourages creating a visual in the mind of the word, instructs to spell aloud while touching the letters of the word (multi-sensory), and even uses dictation! And it's not twaddley. OK, so Mei only got a 78, but I have confidence!

While I'm having fun helping little girls learn something I've loved my whole adult life, SEWING, Mei spends an hour in her co-op's Learning Through Games class. She's uber-duber disappointed that she's not taking sewing (she didn't know I was a helper), but God had it all worked out. While I can teach her sewing any old time (and already have), homeschooling an only child leaves us with limited choices for game-playing. So far she has played Quirkle and Set. I hope I get some leads on winners (haha) that we can invest in for home.

After Father R and I recover from Mei's ~~hyper~~ lively friend sleeping over, we can look forward to some spring-like weather for riding lessons. It will be a welcome change. And just think: the farm could have been buried in snow. We'll forgive ya' this time, Shamans!

Got Snow, Saturn, Sequestration or Sourdough? Tell Mother All About It!
Linking up with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers , Homeschool Mother's Journal, Collage Friday, Beautiful Family Friday and Hammock Tracks. Thanks, guys!

Bird's-Eye View of the Week: TGINF (Thank Goodness It's NOT February)

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 20:26:00 +0000

I hate February.
(so glad it's over.)

By this, the middle of the school year and the middle of another cold, dreary, perpetually cloudy, neither-snow-nor-sun, Mid-Atlantic winter, I always feel our school is stale, lifeless, and boring. (I even develop a comma addiction.)

What, not you? You live in California, I bet.

Typical weather, but at least we're outside.

Sometimes what it takes is some new curriculum. For instance, try as I might to get Simply Charlotte Mason's "Spelling Wisdom" to work for us, I just can't. Don't get me wrong. It is a wonderful book. We both love the rich quotes. Mei has even run across some a couple of years later in their original works and remembered them.

But it's just too much "me" work--dictating, discussing, dictating again. I find it slipping through the cracks too often to the point that we are on the first book after three years. (There are six.)

I'm also still not convinced that she is learning to spell. (Sorry, Charlotte.) It does not rely on spelling rules or phonetics, so it becomes just a shot-in-the-dark approach. It presupposes that Mei will remember the words simply by having studied them for a couple of days. Maybe ALL spelling curricula more-or-less end up that way, but I'm not sure. Mei wants to continue to use it for copywork though, her idea. Intriguing since we don't do copywork anymore.

So I have ordered Evan Moor's "Building Spelling Skills Grade 6+". It works along the same 5-day format as their Daily Geography that has been very successful here. Open the book. Do. (It's nice to a have an occasional workbook to rely on. A CM curric does demand a lot of "me." ) If you've got any other ideas, I'm listening.

The Handbook of Nature Study blog's monthly Outdoor Hour Challenge nature study themes have been another Febreeze-for-school that I highly recommend. The focus in February has been birds, my fav topic. (I'm Mother Robin for a reason!)
It's gotten us outdoors, or at least LOOKING outdoors! You can read more of our birding adventures here and here. And you can find info about outfitting YOUR yard for birding here. You can probably guess I take this subject seriously!! :-)

She makes braces look good, doesn't she?

And how I could I forget that Mei got new chrome bumpers top and bottom? She's taking it like a trooper. The morning after she casually mentioned that some wire might need trimming as it had cut her finger during the donning of the rubber bands. Now That's Fortitude.

There has been an unexpected sign of spring though. Can you guess what it is? Hint: this is NOT a rose by any other name cuz it will NEVER smell sweet.

Guess what's NOT coming up roses?

Got cabin fever? Got a cure? Tell Mother All About It!

Linking up with Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and Homeschool Mother's Journal.

OHC: Birding by Ear: a Whole New World

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 03:13:00 +0000

We took a much-needed break today after the dreariest, grayest, rainiest day I can remember in a long while. I knew the window of opportunity was short--cold returning this weekend--so I suggested that after the quick tune-up at the orthodontist (braces went on two days ago), we could grab the dog and the GPS and head for the little park near the doctor's office for some fresh air, exercise, and geo-caching.

Font Hill Park, a wetland conservation area

No decent homeschooling parent misses a chance to turn any event into a teachable moment, even a walk. A Charlotte Mason-style educator would be kicked out of the club if she didn't! So knowing that one of our Outdoor Hour Challenges for February was birding by ear, I realized that I had a perfect God-given opportunity to attempt the challenge and gain some nature study points.

(NOTE: I credit an old friend and birding expert in Pennsylvania, Skip Conant, for teaching the importance of birding by ear. He said it was more important than identifying by sight because so often you CAN'T see them. And I can recommend the Android app, iBird, for the added dimension of audio clips of every bird, something no book can give you. )

The park is one we have visited before, but not for a while. It is a wetland park with a boardwalk and asphalt path meandering around the perimeter of a pond and along the stream that it feeds through the woods. It is blessed with several types of environments perfect for attracting a variety of birds in a relatively small area.
Besides looking for the geocache, I further sweetened the deal by offering a reward--"Will work for Chocolate"-- for identifying at least six species of birds by ear.

It didn't take long.

Canada Geese annoyed by our intrusion

A pair of Canada Geese voiced their annoyance at our arrival immediately. Then a Song Sparrow welcomed spring. A love-sick Northern Cardinal wooed its mate in the trees to the left. A bereaved Mourning Dove sighed.

Four down and our walk had only begun.

Into the wooded stream area, and new species who prefer a secluded habitat welcomed us. A Blue Jay screeched, Chickadees dee-deed, and Tufted Titmice called for Peter-Peter-Peter! A Carolina Wren wanted his Tea-Kettle, Tea-Kettle, Tea! A Red-winged Blackbird preferred jer-KEEEY!
A Flicker teased us with a few Keew's, but never showed. And a White-breasted Nuthatch 'nyacked' about us to his neighbors.

The stick horse gets a needed drink.

Then, without a sound, a huge flap of wings grabbed our attention as a disturbed Red-shouldered Hawk rose up out of the swamp where it was planning its next meal not thirty feet from us and soared up to a gigantic tulip poplar to await our departure.

We didn't find the cache, but I was personally rewarded by the twelve species that Mei had identified by ear alone!

Here is her notebook page in which she listed her birds and then made notes of their songs to refer back to. We had fun interpreting the musical sounds phonetically and that will help them stick in her head in the future.

Gotten an earful from the birds? How would YOU interpret a Red-winged Blackbird? Tell Mother All About It!

OHC: The Great Backyard Bird Count

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 01:55:00 +0000

For all the years I've been a birder (my whole life) and all the years I've homeschooled , I've never had us participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count! But thanks to the Outdoor Hour Challenge, we finally got the nudge.

We got all those feeders up and filled, (see my post about our backyard bird paradise here!), then created our account, got out our binoculars, and made up a chart for counting. (which I can't find right now).

Our wonderful three-sided sunroom provided optimal conditions for keeping track. On the website it seemed confusing, but by actually participating, we soon got into the swing. Mei had to learn to be very still and PATIENT for the birds to arrive. But after about five minutes they started returning to the feeders that our presence had startled them from. The bold little chickadees led the way. Then it was the juncos who resumed their pecking.

"Hey! What's that?" "A sparrow." "But what KIND of sparrow?" (white-throated) "Did we count that bird?" and so on. We had recently attracted a Red-breasted Nuthatch. I so hoped we could include it in our first submission. But it was a no-show.

Mei attempting a most challenging feat: photographing birds.

We thought that the counting would be the best part, but found that entering our data was even more exciting. We found that our submission was timed to approach the 5000th of the day on Friday, the first day of counting, and watched with fascination as the interactive world-wide map (the first year ever for international tabulation) popped up locations one-by-one around the globe as the counter moved quite quickly to the 5000 mark.

I continued the challenge three more times over the weekend under varying conditions and settings. Around a wetland near Mei's ballet studio, I heard my first Red-winged Blackbirds of the season. I was glad that birds HEARD were countable as well as birds SEEN. On another occasion, while walking the dog, I encountered some bluebirds. Back home on Sunday near sunset, the Red-breasted Nuthatch made his appearance (yeah!), followed by a Downy Woodpecker and our newest member of the suet gang, the not-at-all-creepie Brown Creeper. I guess everyone wanted to be part of the game!

All in all, we observed over twenty species of birds, putting us at the middle mark for species entered in our state. It was a great feeling knowing, as I explained to Mei, that we "citizen scientists" helped accumulate data that can determine species migrations, movements, rises and declines. And it was a lot of FUN too!

Our Backyard Bird Paradise

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:45:00 +0000

It's February! And in our homeschool, we are gearing up for the Great Backyard Bird Count! We've recently stocked up on some new feeders, both to replace some that died as well as some that have specialty features.I thought it might be useful to give you a tour. Maybe it will provide some inspiration.

Letting the garden go until spring provides more food and protection.

We have a large, open backyard that leads to a pond in the next field. Our garden was already planted with a variety of shrubs and trees that provide shelter and some natural food. The openness though can be a drawback because of the threat of dive-bombing hawks. Over the last few seasons I've learned to take some precautions.

For one thing,I have situated our feeders much closer to our windows now. I've also persuaded Father R to let us place our old Christmas tree at the base of two feeders to give instant cover from predators and snowfall. He's okay with it now as long as our yard doesn't look like a junk heap. :-D

That the feeders are close to the windows (and we have lots of them), means I need to protect the birds from colliding with the glass. (Incidentally, keeping them close also PROTECTS the birds by preventing them from hitting those windows at top speed should they bolt.) I have applied these window stickers to the windows to alert them of the invisible plane.On the right is the commonly-found diving predator window cling sticker. It's lasted for years. See how it dissuades a bird from thinking that reflection is more yard? On the left is a less obtrusive invention. The hummingbird is infused with an ultra-violet light substance that only the birds can see. We lowly humans merely see a pretty, frosty sticker. The down-side is they have to be replaced seasonally.

Window stickers protect flying birds.

Now for the feeders. Knowing that the most popular seed is black oil sunflower I choose feeders that are designed for that especially. The big cylinder feeder on the right is an eight-year-old, tried-and-true all-metal design made of a stiff, heavy screen. The lid lifts up for filling. It holds a whopping 10 pounds of seed! I won't be needing to re-fill it more than every two weeks! Yes some seed spills through when I fill it, but the ground feeders eat it, so it's not going to waste. The perforated tray allows drainage and a place for larger birds like cardinals to perch. The little birds can cling all over it.

Only three feet from the window ! What a view and safer for flying birds.

On the left is a new replacement called a No-No feeder, referring to the fact that there is no plastic, and no wood, so it will be long-lasting and stand up to squirrels. We don't have a squirrel problem fortunately. We really only have one who we've named Scugg after the pet that Ben Franklin carried in his pocket to Continental Congress meetings! Scugg does give our feeders a go, however, so I do keep feeder materials and placement in mind. The No-No, which comes in all different sizes and shapes, is unique. While it also is made of mesh, this one collapses on itself. When you receive it, you just lift the handle and VOILA!, like magic, a feeder! If stored, it will take up No-No space (haha!). A locking lid keeps out the squirrels. The only tricky part is filling it, since you can't just set it on the ground. It would collapse again. Instead I hung it low for filling and used a milk jug that I cut a whole out of. I poured seed into the hole of the jug, and then poured the seed into the feeder from the spout. This one holds about six pounds.

Needless to say, those two feeders need a STRONG support. I bought this one at a The Wildlife Authority store. It was about $40 USD and has held up well for many years. It is designed for you to custom design the length arms that best serve you. Pretty neat. A good investment.

Additional designs for select feeds increase the variety of birds to the yard

My Droll Yankee feeder on the top left is a staple. It can hold sunflower or other medium size seed. It's almost indestructable. This one is over ten years old.If you can only afford one feeder, start here. Add a dome at the top and hang it from a light branch, or a baffle on the bottom and affix it to a pole, and you have a virtually squirrel-proof feeder. (I say "virtual" because squirrels are better problem-solvers than MIT professors.)


He and his buds can eat that whole cake.

The suet feeder on the top right attracts chickadees, nuthatches, and downy woodpeckers. It will also bring on your starlings. We've already had those greedy European devils arrive, a full month early. I've moved it to the tree that grows up through the deck very close to the house. I'm hoping this might foil the gluttons. (Scugg will appreciate the move though.) They make more expensive types that protect the suet, but I'll stick to this for a while.

I'm adding a new type tube thistle feeder this year. This design places the holes BELOW the perches. Some observant birding genius discovered that that other invasive species, the house finch, can't eat upside down like the beautiful goldfinch, so another problem solved! I'm not real impressed with the quality of this particular one that I ordered, so we'll see how long it lasts. Thistle seed seems to have jumped in price and I only needed a small quantity. My Wild Bird Authority store had 5 pounds in an easy-pour jug for $7.99. I'll get at least three fillings which means more than one season!

Finally, I'm putting up 2 new peanut feeders to give the precious downy woodpeckers and the elegant flickers something new to try. The one feeder is pictured above. The second one is made by C&S of large-holed metal mesh and designed to work with their suet pellets. I found them at Home Depot and the feeder and food came to only $9! I also visited my local Southern States store which has the best prices on a variety of seed, especially bulk items like black-oil sunflower. I picked up a yummy-looking "woodpecker blend" full of peanuts, pistachios, dried fruit and other tasties to fill the one above.

The neighboring pond attracts lots of geese year-round.

Finally, a garden feature everyone should have, especially in winter, is WATER! I mistakenly thought that: 1) with a pond nearby that their liquid needs were met, and 2) that snow on seed would provide an alternative source. Bad idea on both counts. The flight to the pond (or any other distant source) uses up vital fuel that would be better reserved for keeping warm. The snow also burns fuel by cooling the body-the exact opposite thing the birds need in a snowstorm.

Enter the bird bath heater!

Water is much-appreciated!

It keeps a melted area around it in all temps. Birds don't drink mass quantities, so even a fringe of exposed water will suffice. In the pic above, I had just refilled the bath, so don't think that the heater was keeping the whole thing melted. But soon after this, our resident mockingbird (who we named Mr. Stubby after something trying to catch him pulled all his tail feathers out) made an appearance and drank several beakfuls. It was great to see him. They don't spend time at feeders, so this was our opp to bring him in.

So that's how we outfit our backyard sanctuary!
Hope it helped you get some ideas. Don't feel you have to get all this at once! Just start with a decent tube feeder and black-oil sunflower and watch the show begin!

Sweet, little Red-Breasted Nuthatch

UPDATE: Only a day ago I received my Cornell Lab of Ornithology newsletter describing a "superflight" of birds across the country (birds well outside their normal ranges) that included Red-Breasted Nuthatches in Maryland. Would you believe the very next morning after hanging those peanut feeders, we had our first Red-Breasted Nuthatch?! So excited to be including that in our results for the Great Backyard Bird Count.
And thanks to the Outdoor Hour Challenge for getting us motivated to finally participate!

Got birdfeeders? Got comments? Tell Mother All About It!

Ray-vens!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie aka Mother Robin) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 05:15:00 +0000

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant, Ray Lewis!"