Mr. T lookin' out for the mamas

Thanks to Rachel Hobson, this is amazing!

for your birdie friends...

...or perhaps for a special Mom in your life.... or have your kid make it for their teacher, though teacher appreciation week is about past... I'm relating this information to you a bit on the tardy side....

Anyway, it's a very easy and cool-looking little bird feeder that I just made with my science and nature class. And then this afternoon I made one with Jack, for him to take in for his teacher tomorrow. Everyone really enjoyed making it, and it was easy to prep for. I found the idea at Kleas.

So see, here's what you do. Find a smallish piece of wood. She uses rugged chunks of tree, and that was what I was planning on doing too, but then I realized that what I had on hand was actually some biggish chunks of lumber, wood scraps from my carpentry class, and I used these instead of going to the bother of getting out the saw and doing all that work of cutting up a big tree branch. So this is quite a proper project for using up any old wood scraps you may have lying around. Ours were big rectangular chunks so these came out looking kind of modernist and spare, which I found pleasing. Anyway, now drill a big, shallow hole in your piece with a spade bit. Underneath, drill a smaller hole, in which you will stick a twig or a dowel on which your birdie can perch to peck out the bird cake you will be stuffing into the bigger hole above. And pre-drill a hole up top and the kids can twist in an eye screw for hanging the whole contraptions somewheres. I also gave my kids some sandpaper (stapled onto blocks of wood for easier handling) so they could smooth it up some if they wished. Jack (almost 6) really got into this part and even oiled his as well. The bird cake recipe is as follows:

1 c. bird seed
1 c. shortening (or lard)
3 c. corn meal
1 c. peanut butter

Delicious! Stuff the stuff into the shallow hole, hang in a tree, and your birds will go bonkers.

These pictures are from Kleas, my camera and computer still aren't communicating (please work on your communication skills, guys!)... (can you tell I've been drinking? I came home and my husband was drinking cachaca with his friend... and I was powerless to resist...).

Days of Heaven

For some reason I have just had my head full of my favorite film of all time today...

It's what always comes to mind should anyone ask me what my favorite movie is, though I sure do have scores of others running a close second...

I feel that I want to watch it again sometime soon, but I'm always a little afraid... it's not light fare, and it could make me all dreamy and moody and off kilter...

the music is the best ever. I love the quietness, the being-ness... it feels real, so totally real, but hyper-reality, so much more beautiful.... and how restful to watch something where the images just speak for themselves. Every second is not just crammed with words, dialogue, exposition.

The script, the dialogue, and Linda Manz...! I LOVE her! "Me and my brudda... it just us't be me and my brudda." Did you know that all of her narration is improvised? That girl was in touch with something, man.

My brother, boy genius (and skateboarder extraordinaire)

My brother is so cool. I mean cool like in the true sense of the word, like he just does his own thing and rocks out and doesn't care what anyone else thinks. And he has ALWAYS been like that. I think it's so cool that it's that quality that has made him a superstar (at least in the skateboarding world), this guy who could care less about being a star at all. I guess if you cared too much you wouldn't be able to pull off being cool...

And this guy is so keepin' it real: this is the second time he's appeared in the pages of Transworld with his dog Sipsey, who has since gone on to doggie heaven. This is so classic Cooper. In the first article, which was written by another skater, the article kicks off with Coop picking the writer up in his car. Sipsey, who was getting on in years, was riding in the passenger seat. The guy pauses, expecting Coop to shoo her into the back. But Coop doesn't, he's not making a statement, it just doesn't even occur to him. Sipsey is old and she gets to ride shotgun, that's just how it be.

In this article, which is showing different little things around his home, it shows a photo taken of Coop and Sipsey perched on the side of the half pipe he built in our backyard. Coop was about 11 and he built that thing all by himself. That's just how he rolls.

And yes that's Coop in the other picture, riding motorbikes with the bikini babes. 'Cause that's just how he rolls, too.

baby froggies

ERGH, this is so frustrating... for the last few weeks I haven't been able to upload any of my own pictures due to a computer crash that is still nowhere near fixed. In the mean time, I'll have to scavenge pictures from the wilds of the internet AND try to paint pictures with my words, which I'm not all that good at... I'll give it a go, though...

We are raising POLLYWOGS to FROGS and it is so much FUN! I've actually never done it before. We went to Reed Park last week because we went there late last summer and there were tens of billions of trillions of TINY little peepers, everywhere you stepped along the creek hundreds would leap up, tinier than the tip of your finger. They were really adorable and entertaining. So anyway, we knew that there must be tadpoles deluxe there in the springtime. It was funny, we arrived and there was not a tadpole to be seen. Disapointment. Other creatures were pursued. Jack dipped his bucket into the creek to capture a water skipper, and as we all peered in to observe, to what did our wondering eyes appear.... but dozens and dozens of very tiny, very motionless... you guessed it... tadpoles. I had envisioned them really darting and bopping about but it appears that they exhibit different behaviors at different times. They're so interesting. Better than sea monkeys. But then again, I've never raised sea monkeys, so what do I know. Sometimes they'll all be floating near the surface, scarcely a wag of their tiny tails, noses to the heavens, all in a flock, and you'll think the little darlings have met their maker until you shake the jar and they all re-commence wiggling about just as hale and heart as ever. Sometimes they'll all be hiding down at the bottom amongst the rocks we provided to make it a more authentico environment. Last night I gave them some boiled lettuce which according to this website is their snack of preference and it's been cute to see them chow down, too. Whatever they do , they appear to like to do it together. Mass mentality, or just a good old fashioned sense of family... I don't know.
Of course Matt also pointed out to me that their jar, which is filled with creek water and has been sitting outside for a few days, is chock full of mosquito larvae, too. We covered the top of the jar so those nasty little buggers won't hatch and join the flocks of others that are already plaguing us. However, I kinda want to save them and observe them in science class on Thursday... they're interesting creatures too....
Did anyone catch that dung-beetle-ologist that was on Fresh Air yesterday? That was so funny what he said at the end... I've never heard Terri Gross get so GROSS-ed out! She was basically like, please shut up now. Lady, you asked a dung beetle specialist to be on your show, if you can't take the heat...

Anyway, go fetch yourself from tadpoles if you'd like an interesting and free new pet! Return them to whence they came once they've morphed, I doubt they want to live with you forever. And don't forget to get them fresh new creek or rain water every 5 days or so. They will die if you give them tap.

Now go mollycoddle those pollywogs! (I don't really know what that means, but it sounds fun...)

This summer is going to ROCK!

Agh!! I was talking to my friend Marcela yesterday and we both admitted to quaking in our boots when contemplating the summer months, the end of life as we know it (for at least the next three months) with blessed SCHOOL occupying our oldest children for eight hours of the day, THREE months with THREE (in my case three, in her case two) children in our hair for SIXTEEN hours of the day.... or thereabouts.... YARGH!! Who WOULDN'T be shivering with fear... except for those amazing homeschooling folks, with whom I'm so impressed, that seem to have something figured out that I don't...

Anyway, we decided to have a mama meeting this week sometime and set some intentions, make some plans, and really get psyched for the summer months. Plan some excursions, some fun activities to have on hand, and, oh yes: plant some refreshing little islands of marvelous childcare in amongst the summer fun, so the mamas can go running for the hills, or for the mojitos, or whatever their pleasure might be.

If you want to come, email me at kwilt@hotmail.com , let's pick a time, an evening that works for folks, and meet at Rio Rita or something... it'll feel so good to me to regard fast-approaching June with confidence, not cowardice...

And just by the by, I was reading Austin magazine and it had a list of 109 things to do in and around Austin this summer and there were a few fresh new ideas (to me) that I jotted down, might as well spread 'em around:
Cave Without a Name in Boerne, TX. (Though have you been to Inner space Caverns? It's expensive but really cool and interesting, and would be great for a hot hot day).

Casa Neverlandia : I have seen this house before, but I didn't know they gave tours! I'm so excited. I can't wait to check it out. And it's going to be great to take pictures of for MUNGO.

Austin Steam Train in Cedar Park. And maybe hit Brushy Creek Sprinkler Park before or after and make a day of it. Though I always get lost now every time I go up to that neck of the woods, with the new toll roads and all... if I do this excursion I'm going to have to get someone to shepherd me around...

Umlauf Sculpture Gardens... I haven't been here for a few years, and now Jack would be old enough to do that neat scavenger hunt they have for kids...

Best. Summer. EVER!

Once again, something awesome from Tinkering School and Gever Tulley

I think this could be applied to a lot of different topics you could teach children (or adults for that matter). I love the idea of just giving people some room rather than just showing them how to get from point A to point Z. Room to riff, get creative, fall on your face and get back up again, just room to figure it out your own damn self. I love this method of learning. I want to work towards this far more in my classes. I'm sure it's how they do it over at Future Craft Collective....

Principles of Kit-based Learning (found at www.tinkeringschool.com)

Before setting out to create a science kit, we wrestled with how to create a kit that felt something like Tinkering School. Out of a series of conversations I boiled it down this manifesto (of sorts) that we would use to guide our decision-making and measure our results. You can see the work in progress on the first kit here.

Principles of Kit-based Learning
The goal of any kit must be to teach how to think about the principle concept - the understanding and internalization of the concept comes naturally from the process. Memorizing the gravitational constant is not as useful as grokking the notion of gravity and developing a personal understanding of mass (constant) and weight (varies depending on context).

1. Focus on the quality of the experience first
- like a story arc, plan for successes and setbacks
- all stages of the project should be engaging and driven forward by the participants

2. Allow for personal expression within the experience
- design variability into the project

3. Leave something to be discovered
- some questions unanswered
- some capabilities of the kit unexplained
- some implications unstated

4. Support failure, require tinkering to get it right
- allow for incorporation of external materials (but don’t require it)
- instructions should only get you close to a solution, how close depends on the target audience.

5. Focus on a concept, but connect it to the world and the sciences
- relate it to actual things in the world that the participants can identify and recognize

6. The experience should transition smoothly to tangential or subsequent topics
- consider the kit as a part of a larger experience
- avoid a hard definition of “complete” or “finished”