Valley Mama

Nature Explorer's Club: Pike's Stockade

"The doctor and myself ascended a high hill, which lay south of our camp, from whence we had a view of all the prairie and rivers to the north of us; it was at the same time one of the most sublime and beautiful inland prospects ever presented to the eyes of man."  - Lt. Zebulon Pike (February, 1807)

These words are from the sign at Pike's Stockade, the beautiful location of our second Nature Explorer's Club outing.  They are taken from Pike's journal, and I imagine, had we climbed the mesa south of the Conejos River to take in the view of our valley home, we would have had to agree with him.  

We began our Nature Explorer's Club last month with a wonderful trip to Zapata Falls, an icy wonderland in the winter.  We had so much fun, and could not wait for our next trip.  The vision for our club is simple - to get out and explore nature as a group of families.  We meet once a month at different locations around the San Luis Valley to explore, hike, play and learn in this amazing place in which we live.  

For our February trip we decided to explore a little closer to home.  South from my house about fifteen miles, nestled against the mesas and the beautiful Conejos River is one our favorite local spots to play. While we primarily go for the nature aspect, it is a National Historical Landmark, marking the spot where Zebulon Pike raised the United States Flag on Spanish soil during the second expedition into the newly acquired Louisiana purchase territory in the earlier 1800's.  There is a reconstructed fort that was built based on Pike's journal entries.  They sat up camp here, built a fortress, and endured most of a brutal valley winter, completely unprepared for the cold.

Strangely enough, our valley February has been unusually mild and warm, and so most of us were not completely prepared for the chilly, windy walk to the site.  I know, we're Coloradoans...we should know better, right?  Despite the chilly wind from a front moving in over the mountains, we had a wonderful time.

Nestled among the cottonwoods and willow, along the beautiful Conejos River, with a view of Mount Blanca, Pike's Stockade is perfect for birdwatching, balancing on fallen trees, throwing sticks in the River, and exploring nature.  And that's exactly what we did!

Here is our group, heading down the dirt road between willows to get to the site.

With all our trips, even when a "destination" lies at the end of a trail, we enjoy the journey.

 There was running...

And birdwatching...

And lots of smiles, even though the valley wind was ripping hats from heads and hoods from coats.

Oh, and there was climbing.  Lots and lots of climbing...

This monument lies right beside the reconstructed fort and a natural spring.

We balanced on logs...

Sat on logs...

Climbed over logs...



And enjoyed the less windy conditions under the cottonwoods.

A small section of the area burned in a fire last spring, and many of the burned trees have been cut, leaving lots of stumps.  This provided the perfect opportunity for an impromptu lesson on tree rings by a new (to most of us) friend.  

 A magnifying glass from Mason's gear bag came in handy for counting the rings and learning how old some of these trees were.

 

Stumps are also great for standing on, of course.

 

And then there is the river.  Little ones are always drawn to the water, and what with the river and the frozen marshy spots, Pike's Stockade has a lot to offer.  

There was a little frozen (mostly) pool alongside the river, where the ice has frozen into these little needle-like formations.  We had a lot of fun investigating this pool...

Like this Mama and her kiddos are doing.

Beside the pool was a stand of willows, with new shoots growing out of the burned plants.  They made a great willow forest to walk through.

I love the color of the bare red willow against the blue valley sky.  It is one of those magical places that just calls you in to play, to walk through the sea of orange/red, to explore this little world, recovering from fire, sending forth new life into the world.  It's irresistible to little ones...and their grown-ups. 

Seriously.  This is where I live?  

Another mama with her little ones, enjoying a sweet moment in the sunshine.

And he's off...this one does not hold still for long.

The children discovered many interesting things while exploring the area, including these jawbones.  I'm a little bit in love with this photo...

I also love good informational signs with maps.  

On our walk back to the cars, a chilled out River gets all bundled up to brave the wind.  They are standing by one of the only remaining trees charred from the fire...

And oh does Mason get lucky...a piggyback from Renee!

How is he not asleep yet?

And if all of that was not enough, we pulled over to the side of the road on our way back to watch and welcome the return of the cranes to the valley.  

We had a wonderful (chilly, windy) visit to Pike's Stockade.  As we drive away from the cranes I am so thankful for this place, this community, these people, this landscape...and I wonder, what other valley treasures await our exploration this year?

Co-op Day: Winter Birds and Trees

We've been slowly getting back into our home school co-op rhythm this month.  Two weeks ago only a few people were able to come, and we mostly just built castles and drew pictures.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course.  Last week I was inspired to tell one of my favorite winter stories, and our other activities fell into place around the story.

The story that our day was based on is a folk story about why evergreen trees keep their leaves.  I use this version, with a few changes of my own.  The biggest change I make is to use trees from the valley, like aspen, cottonwood, willow, spruce, pine and juniper.  I just love this story, with it's theme of kindness and helping, and it sets the stage nicely for learning about how we can help take care of birds in the winter time.

Here is what we did last week:

As usual, more information on our Waldorf-inspired home-school co-op can be found here.

Arrival

As the children arrived we began to prepare our snack.  This week, since we were talking about birds in the winter, we made seeded foccacia bread.  Foccacia bread is so easy to make, and always a hit with the littles.  I just use my basic pizza dough recipe, and when the time comes the kids help spread the dough in the pans, "paint" it with olive oil and add seasonings, seeds, and any other toppings we're using that day.

As you can see, even our youngest littles can participate in this process!  Speaking of the youngest, River and Cohen (exactly one month apart) are so completely adorable together lately.  Here they are "helping" in the learning tower:

Seriously.  So.  Much.  Cuteness.

Circle Time

Once our bread was finished, when headed to the rug for circle time.  I could not find my circle time cards (I'm still not sure where they are), so we just did some of our usual circle time verses and sat down for a song and a story.

Last year I made some little finger puppets for The North Wind Doth Blow song, so I brought those out again.  There are several different verses added on to the original nursery rhyme, here are the ones we usually sing, adapted for our area (since robins fly away South where we live):

The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will the sparrow do then,
Poor thing?

He’ll sit in the barn
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing.

The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what shall the robin do then,
Poor thing?

Oh do you not know?
He left long ago,
For a country much warmer than ours,
Poor thing.

The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow.
And what will the door mouse do then,
Poor thing

Rolled up like a ball
In his nest snug and small,
He’ll sleep till the weather turns warm.
Poor thing.

The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will the children do then,
Poor things? 

When lessons are done,
They’ll jump, skip and run,
And that’s how they’ll keep themselves warm,
Poor things.  Poor things.  Poor things. 

After the song, I told the story of the little bird and the evergreen trees, using the robin bird puppet, an evergreen bough, and a stick from our backyard as props.  We also talked about the differences between winter trees and summer trees.  Here is a photo of our little story teller with the puppets (of course).  Please ignore the dog hairs clinging to the felt...

Art Time

After the story the children found a place at the table to color/draw a picture of the story.  Their pages were filled with trees and birds...

Snack and Play time

The foccacia bread was a big hit.  I served it with little bowls of olive oil and spices and the littles ate it up. This is all that was left of two pans of foccacia bread:

Activity

While the children played after snack, we set up the day's activity - cardboard tube bird feeders!  

The children took a place at the table and each one got a couple of carboard toilet paper tubes.  We demonstrated how to spread peanut butter all over the tube and roll it around the birdseed, and then they got to it.  Both butter knives and hands were used to spread the peanut butter, and much licking of fingers ensued...

This craft is so easy and so fun!  You don't even need to attach a way to hang them, since you can simply slip them on a branch.  

Here is one of Mason's finished feeders on a branch on our tree...

We had a lovely morning talking about winter birds and winter trees!

 

A New Year's Day Hike

Well hello there 2014.  I know we've only just met, but I can tell that we are going to be friends.  

We had a wonderful start to the new year today, full of blueberry pancakes (and a few special chocolate chip ones), solar robot building, doll-making, hiking, hot chocolate with friends, black-eyed peas (of course) and lots of time for play.  

When Aaron asked me if I wanted to go hiking with our friend Danny on Mosca Pass Trail again this year, I only thought about it a second before saying, yes!  This was our second annual New Year's Day Mosca Pass Hike (I'm hoping to continue the tradition forever), and I can really think of no better way to greet a new year.  Cold mountain air, warm sunshine, a beautiful trail, hiking with people I love, and a view across this amazing valley I call home...hello 2014.  

It was a beautiful day, perfect for a winter hike.  Mason was especially interested in spotting possible gnomes homes under roots and in hollow logs, taking pictures of interesting things, and stopping to rest on fun rocks (which he learned are quite hard to climb in snowshoes...). 

River took in the view from the backpack, and had a bit of a nap as well.  

Sometimes, especially in the winter, getting little ones suited up with necessary snacks, water and equipment seems like more trouble than it's worth, but I've learned that really, it's always worth it.  Getting out and exploring this beautiful place we live is always worth the work of getting us ready and out the door, worth the "my legs are tired" complaints on the way up the trail, even worth being taken out by a boy on a run-away sled going back down the trail.

And what is the only thing that can make a winter hike above the Sand Dunes even better?  Stopping for hot chocolate at Charlotte and Joseph's house on the way back and tiny capsules that turn into dinosaurs when you soak them in hot water.  Just ask Mason about those.    

Happy New Year's Day from our family, to yours!

Yule Elf Mission Fun - Part 2

Yule Elf Mission #20: Christmas Train

Friends, carols, cookies, cocoa,
Heading down the track.
All aboard the Christmas train,
To the North Pole and back!

 

 Riding the Christmas train has become a family tradition the last few years, and Mason starts asking about it as soon as thoughts of Christmas enter his mind.  This year, we did not tell him about the train ride ahead of time, so he was surprised and super-excited to get this card.  He found the card as soon as he woke up in the morning beside one of his trains, and after hearing the contents of the card he jumped up and down and ran around the house.  

When we arrived at the train station that evening, he had another surprise...his friend Lily and her family were coming too...and on the same train!  We had a blast. 

 

Yule Elf Mission #21: Winter Solstice

In the cold of winter on the longest night,
As the light of the sun fades from sight,
Gather your friends and burn candles bright,
To welcome back warmth in the morning light.

On this day, in the evening, we gathered with friends and community members for a community winter solstice celebration.  Delicious food, candle-making, reflecting on the dark, welcoming back the light, and a little drumming made for a beautiful celebration.  This was a very busy day for me, and I realized late in the night that I had not taken a single photo, but I was completely OK with that.  Sometimes it's nice to just put the camera down for a bit and be a little more present in whatever moments arise.  

 

Yule Elf Mission #22: Everyday Acts of Love

Christmas day is almost here, so this simple mission I'll give - 
Let your light shine through acts of love for those with whom you live.

 

 

This was another more or less camera-less day.  A day for reconnecting with Mason after being so busy with other things.  We talked about how special surprises and acts of kindness for others were wonderful and fun, and, how sometimes it's nice to recognize all the countless little ways we show love and appreciation for those closest to us.  We built towers, played with action figures, and spent a lot of time cuddling...just what we needed this day.  

 

Yule Elf Mission #23: Cleaning Elves

Christmas eve tomorrow will come - 
Time to make ready your cozy home.
Clean your house from tip to toe,
To welcome the light and Christmas glow.

With all of our Yule Elf missions, holiday gatherings, and crafting business, the house was definitely in need of a little attention.  Thankfully the Yule Elf noticed this and gave us the perfect mission...honoring and caring for our home by spending time cleaning it!  Mason devoted much of his cleaning energy to organizing books and cleaning the bookshelf, while River enjoyed some time with the feather duster.  I'd like to say that the mountain of laundry on the couch got folded and put away as well...but that was to be for another day.  

 

Yule Elf Mission #24: Christmas Eve Cookies

A day of wonder and magic await, for those who can believe.
Fill your home with joy and love today on Christmas Eve.
Make room for the birth of hope and light, right inside your heart,
To be a beacon of Christmas joy shining in the dark.
Father Christmas will be here soon - finish the gifts you've made.
Make Christmas cookies together and leave a few out, and don't forget the hay!

Christmas Eve was a day of finishing up gifts, picking up the house and baking cookies.  Mason carefully chose some of his masterpiece cookies to leave for Father Christmas, and put a little hay on the front step for the reindeer.  We gazed at the lights of the tree and cuddled up to read a few Christmas stories, including a new favorite, The Cricket and the Shepherd Boy and Tasha Tudor's The Night Before Christmas.

 

 

Christmas Day

It's time to celebrate, Christmas day is here!
Many thanks for spreading Christmas joy and cheer!
Father Christmas is impressed with all that you've done -
Spreading love and light and lots of Yule fun.
Bringing hope to the world starts with one tiny spark,
That you kindle and nurture deep inside your heart.
Remember to let your light shine in all that you do,
And the spirit of Christmas will remain inside you.
Thanks again for helping, my sweet human child friend -
And keep spreading joy until we meet again!

Christmas day was wonderfully slow and relaxing.  Midway through the day we opened the Yule Elf card tucked into the middle of the tree and read the note.  Behind the note was a little gift from the Yule Elf...a wind-up flashlight that needs no batteries.  Mason said, "I bet the Yule Elf left this gift to remind me about letting my light shine all year long."  I agreed, and added that, like with the flashlight, the power to shine his light came from him.  

"Mama, I hope I do meet the Yule Elf again next year!"

"Me too, Mason...me too."

 

 Visit our Magical Advent post to learn more about what we did this year. 

Yule Elf Mission Fun - Part 1

I turned the computer off most of last week to focus on doll-making work, finishing up projects for our little people, and playing with those little people.  This, as I'm sure you can imagine, did not leave much time for blogging.  Blogging daily about our Yule Elf Missions, on top of actually doing them, became a little too much.  But what about the missions??  What happened with the Yule Elf?  I do know that some of you were enjoying following our Yule Elf story, and I don't want to leave you hanging, so, if you're wondering about how the rest of our Magical Advent season went, here comes an overview...in Two Parts!  

Yule Elf Mission #15: Sweet Treats

"The holidays bring many good things to eat -
Spread Christmas cheer with a special sweet treat!
Pie, cake, tart - which will you choose?
Give thanks for each ingredient you use."

 

We always have a great time with baking projects around here, and after hearing the Yule Elf card read Mason insisted that we needed to make an apple tart.  I agreed, and we decided to make a chocolate pie as well...just because.  It just so happened that we were going to a dessert and wine party that very night, so we were also able to share our yummy treats with friends!                                                                

 

Yule Elf Mission #16: Handmade Gifts

"Spend time working on a special gift
For someone you hold dear.
Use your hands and the love in your heart,
For Christmas time is near."

After reading this card, we sat down for breakfast and made a list of gifts we wanted to make.  Mason had already been working on several different things, but this gave us dedicated time to spend on them.  I love that Mason and River are growing up in a "handmade home".  When thinking of a gift for others, the first thought is always "what should we make?", instead of "what can we buy?"  

Mason knew that he wanted to make a ball for River (the girl loves balls), but he wasn't sure how.  We came up with a sewn ball make with felt and stuffed with wool...something he made almost entirely by himself.  He lost steam on this one a little, and he ended up making a football instead of a round ball, but she loved it just the same, and I know he was proud.  

 

Yule Elf Mission #17: Time Together

"With so much to keep us busy this time of year - 
Holiday parties and fun events with good cheer,
Take time today to rest and renew.
How about a game and hot cocoa for two?"

After some busy holiday days, a little downtime was needed...luckily that wise Yule Elf knew just what to do!  A game and cocoa with my boy was the perfect way to spend an afternoon (while River was napping). Mason chose a couple of his favorite games (The Kids of Carcassonne and Wildcraft) and we headed to the dining room.  I made the cocoa while he set up the first game, Wildcraft.  If you love plants, herbal healing and games (everybody loves these things, right?) you have to check out this game.  The behind this cooperative board game is that everyone has to make it to the huckleberry patch and back before sun down.  Along the way you gather plants and heal yourself as various troubles arise.  It's awesome.    

 

 

Yule Elf Mission #18: Winter Walk

"It's easy to stay inside when the weather is cold,
But a winter walk is nice with a hand to hold.
Bundle up the family and head outside,
Explore the season of stillness and quiet."

 

 It really is easy to stay inside on these super cold days of winter, but even a short time spent in that beautiful Valley sunshine and fresh air can bring a whole new level of awareness and shift of perspective to our days.  The little ones and I picked up Papa at the office and headed to one of our favorite it-town trails on the river.  It was a cold, lovely walk, and we had a great time.  I look at this photo and think, "is this really where I get to live? Where my children get to grow up?"

Feeling thankful, even for these cold days of winter.   

 

 

Yule Elf Mission #19: More Gift Making

Stitching, knitting, sanding baking - 
Time for little elves to get creating.
With the spirit of giving alive in your heart,
Make gifts with joy to brighten the dark.

 

I guess the Yule Elf thought we needed another day of dedicated gift making, and I had to agree with him. Mason spent some time in the day helping Aaron with River's Christmas gift (a Papa-built learning tower!) and then he spent much of the evening sanding some of our favorite branch blocks to gift to a special little boy.  I later discovered that he also worked on his gift for me...finishing up an embroidered sun he began in the fall.  I love seeing him work on projects like this...they are special gifts, indeed.

   

Up next, Part Two of our remaining days of Yule Elf Missions!

 Visit our Magical Advent post to learn more about what we did this year.

 

Yule Elf Mission #14: Carols to Sing

"When voices join together in song, magic fills the air.
Your heart is filled with warmth and love when Christmas carols you share.
Call someone who lives far away and sing them a Christmas song.
Then take your family and join with friends in a community sing-a-long!"

For the last several years we have participated in what, to me, is one of the sweetest community events of the entire holiday season...the Milagros Christmas Carol Sing-a-long.  One of our favorite places, filled with many of our favorite people, singing carols together.  Add some Christmas cookies and cocoa and really, what could be better?  It is an event where you can truly feel the love and warmth of our community. Somehow, the Yule Elf knew about this, ("Mama, that Yule Elf just knows about everything!") and gave us a mission of singing carols for day number fourteen.

There was actually quite a bit of caroling to be done that day.  We sang songs around the house and in the car.  Aaron recited a line from the movie Elf...something like, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loudly for the world to hear."    

In the afternoon we went to visit a dear friend who lives in an assisted living facility close by.  They were having a Christmas party and family and friends were invited.  We sat around and traded stories of Christmas's past, sang carols to the piano, and had a few treats.  I wish I had a photo of Mason's face when he saw the food table, but some days are just not camera days for me, and this was one of them. River walked around the room visiting people, checking everything out, and bringing smiles to more than a few faces.  

That evening after dinner we headed over to Milagros for the sing-a-long.  I was a little sad that the amazing Don Richmond was not there to lead the caroling this year...it is in part his sweet spirit and sincere, humble way of being that makes the event so special, and something we return to every year.  Even so, we had a great time with wonderful friends and Christmas cheer all around.

Mason had a wonderful time with his friend Jonah.  They might have spent more time building spaceships than singing songs, but I'm sure they absorbed it just the same.  Mason has not stopped singing since, and neither have I, for that matter.  If singing does truly spread Christmas cheer, (and I'm pretty sure it does), we have certainly done our share around here.   

(Also, if you look closely to the right of Mason's head in the photo, you'll see one of his stars in the window!)

   

 Visit our Magical Advent post to learn more about what we're doing this year.

Yule Elf Mission #13: Ornaments for the Tree...and the Birds

"Make new ornaments to shine on your tree,
And some for outside, made of ice and bird seed!"

Wow.  I'm so far behind on our Yule Elf posts!  

I absolutely loved our day 13 project.  We try to make new ornaments for our tree each year, and this year I was inspired by this post on the Sparkle blog.  We did not have much citrus in the house, so we headed to the grocery to pick out some fruits to use.  We ended up with oranges, limes, lemons and two kinds of grapefruit.    

Our first step was to cut them in rounds slices and dry them a bit.  I sliced while Mason arranged them on our dehydrator sheets and turned it on.  He worked in his bumblebee wings...of course.  These really are the pefect Mason ornaments.  He is our bright yellow, warm, sunny, fire child.

Once they were dry we coated them in mod podge and glitter, one side at a time.

Once the mod podge was dry, it was time to string them and hang on the tree!

We love the way they turned out...little sparkling suns in the darkest time of year.

Part two of our mission was equally fun.  Ice ornaments for the birds!  We took the extra citrus slices and ends and put them in muffin tins and little cake pans along with some cranberries, birdseed, water, and string to hang them with, and let mother nature do the rest of the work outside.  Once they were frozen we hung them in the trees....and the birds are loving them!

Since we were freezing things we thought it would be a great time to make our annual ice wreath for our door.  Evergreen, cranberries, water and a bundt pan...so simple and yet so enchanting.

The next day we took our beautiful ornaments and wreaths out of the pans for hanging.

 

Seeing our ice wreath up just makes me smile.  If we're going to live in a place this cold, we might as well have a little fun with it, right?

And that was our Magical Advent day number thirteen (which actually stretched out over several days, but I'm sure the Yule Elf won't mind). 

 

Visit our Magical Advent post to learn more about what we're doing this year.

Yule Elf Mission #11: Soup

"When outside is so cold and the wind it does blow,
Seek out the warmth in a world of snow.
Make a big pot of soup and enjoy some cocoa,
Share with your neighbors and nourish your soul."

Mason found his Yule Elf card on the woodstove beside a wooden spoon.  "We get to make soup!  Can I help make the soup?" he asked.  I answered that of course he could help, it was his mission after all.  A few times during the day when I was in the kitchen he would call out "Don't start the soup without me!", or "Remember to wait for me to start the soup!"  The boy really wanted to make some soup.

That afternoon we got to work on our soup.  We decided on a simple, classic potato soup, with potatoes, carrots and onions from the garden (now in the root cellar).  Mason did the peeling and slicing (except for the onions and garlic, which I did) added everything to the pot, stirred, pureed and ladled it into jars to share.  It was very important for him to be a part of every step since making soup was his mission... the wonders of empowerment...something I can forget from time to time.  Thanks, Yule Elf, for the reminder.

Once he had the soup in jars he and Aaron delivered it to the neighbors while I set the table for our own dinner.  He loved his soup.  Loved it!  

I did not do the best job of taking photos this day, but I did get a couple of him prepping veggies...

He loved making his soup, and sharing something he made with our neighbors made it even more special for him.

Here's to spreading a little warmth in the world this winter season.

 

Visit our Magical Advent post to learn more about what we're doing this year.

 

Co-op Day: Cold Weather Fun

It has been very cold here in the SLV lately.  We're talking twenty-below, freezing, frigid cold.  For our home school co-op this week we talked a little about how we, and other creatures, stay warm in the icy cold.

This is what we did today:

As usual, more information on our Waldorf-inspired home-school co-op can be found here.

Arrival

Instead of shaping our usual bread this morning we made gingerbread!  I had all of the ingredients measured in separate bowls so we could easily do all of the mixing and stirring together.  As we mixed the wet ingredients together, all the children took turns stirring.  Everyone had a little taste of molasses and we said our gingerbread rhyme:

"Mix a batch of Gingerbread, smooth and spicy brown,
roll it with the rolling pin, up and up and down.
Cut it with the cookie cutters, lots of little men,
Put it in the oven till half past ten!"

As we mixed the dry ingredients the children passed around little bowls of the individual spices... cinnamon, ginger, and cloves...to smell.  One child anointed herself with cinnamon so she could smell like that.  We used hands to feel the spices and flour and add them to our bowl.  

We had another smell as all of the ingredients came together in the bowl.  Then it was into the pan and into the oven!

Circle Time

Then it was to the rug for circle time.  We introduced a couple of new winter verses and songs this week...

I always try to have a verse that takes us from standing/moving to sitting in our circle.  This one is fun to act out and brings us from standing to sitting in a fun way:

"Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman,
Once there was a snowman tall, tall, tall.
Then the sun it melted, melted, melted,
Then the sun it melted him small, small, small."

We talked a little about how cold it was outside, and what we humans do to keep warm in the winter.  The kids thought of fires, warm drinks/foods and warm clothes.  We sang this mitten song:

"Thumb in the thumb place, fingers all together,
This is the song we sing in mitten weather.
When it is cold it doesn't matter whether,
Mittens are wool or made of finest leather.
This is the song we sing in mitten weather,
Thumb in the thumb place fingers all together."

I had a few other verses, but some of the group was a little restless, so I moved on to our story. (I'll add them all to our Verse and Rhyme page.)  I thought it would be fun if we learned a little about how animals that live in the super-cold arctic regions stay warm, so we read Little Polar Bear and the Whales from the well-loved Little Polar Bear series by Hans de Beer.

After the story we talked about how amazing it is that some animals can live in such cold places.  We talked about thick fur coats and blubber, and then I told them that we were going to do a little science experiment today to learn how blubber works.  I pulled out a few of the Nature's Children books about whales, seals and penguins for them to look at while we set up  the blubber experiment.

Activity

I have been wanting to try out this blubber experiment for a while now, and this seemed like the perfect time to do it.  I got the idea from the book Nature in a Nutshell, which has lots of simple ideas for exploring the world around us.

This is how we did it:

I got my big bowl out and filled it with water.  This went into the middle of our round table.  The little ones were already playing in it when we began to add the ice.  We added ice cubes from a couple of ice trays, but that wasn't quite cold enough.  We wanted it really cold.  So, Melissa went outside and came back with bowls and shovelfulls of snow and added it to the water.  The kids were able to feel the water get colder and colder.  

Then I brought out the "blubber glove", which was essentially a closed gallon sized bag of shortening placed inside another gallon size bag.  This way we could mold the shortening around each child's hands, while, in theory, keeping hands clean from the greasy fat.  It worked OK, but at some point a the shortening bag came open a little so a few hands got a little messy...but really it wasn't too bad.

We went around the circle and each child put his/her hand in the blubber glove and we helped them place it in the water.  We also had them put their other hands in the water as well, to feel the difference.  They were attentive and interested, and everyone tried out the experiment, agreeing that the blubber hand was very warm, while the other hand in the water was very cold.  

Playtime

After our fun with blubber science experiment, the little ones played while our snack finished baking. Under the stairs became a special cave, where much time was spent.

Snack time  

For snack we had our wonderful gingerbread the kids made, some fresh whipped cream from cream skimmed right off of the top of our milk, and little clementines.  Snack time conversation included how the spices in gingerbread are warming to our bodies, and where whipped cream comes from.  

And the gingerbread was delicious.

We had clean-up time, closing circle and said goodbye...

Another fun day with our co-op friends!

 

Yule Elf Mission #10: Candy Cane Elves

"A secret gift is fun to receive,
A candy cane elf is just what I need.
Make candy cane treats to spread Christmas cheer,
Help others find the magic of this time of year."

"Mama, the thing I don't understand it how do we make candy canes...they are already made!"  This was Mason's question after hearing the card of the day, which he found on a table by two packages of candy canes.  I thought about it for a minute and then said that perhaps we could add something to them to make them more special, like a note.  We talked about it and decided we would tie a candy cane and a sprig of evergreen together with a ribbon and add a little card with one word.

Once we had a plan Mason really got into the mission.  The boy loves the idea of being a secret elf.  We sat down to work and soon had a basket full of little candy cane treats, to put on cars and hang on doors...all in secret, of course.

Mason loved cutting out the squares of cardstock and punching holes, to which I added a single word, such as love, hope, light, peace, etc.  

Our plan is to keep our basket in the car, and anytime we're out and about we'll leave little candy cane notes randomnly around town.  

So.  Much.  Fun!

 

Visit our Magical Advent post to learn more about what we're doing this year.