Of their own accord, Ryan and Connor decided to sit and watch the birds at our backyard feeder this afternoon. Connor first, and then Ryan, pulled up a chair, and the two of them sat for longer than I ever believed possible, first simply watching the birds and then identifying and recording the birds they saw. Writing, math, science – check, all accounted for without opening a school book this afternoon!I have fond childhood memories of traveling up and down and around the East Coast with my Mom and younger brother, Volksmarching: setting off early in the morning with our most comfortable walking shoes and a little bag of snacks for a 10km (6.2 mile) walk through towns, woods, across college campuses…. One of my…
Our future engineer – or maybe, architect – hard at work In one day we managed to accomplish something that took thousands of Ancient Egyptians twenty years to do: we built a pyramid… actually two! Of course, our pyramids were not 200-foot tall structures built with 4,000 pound stone bricks, but six-inch high sugar cube…
In an attempt to do something special with Connor while Ryan is in Williamsburg this week, I registered the two of us for a three-day art workshop led by Barry Stebbing, founder of How Great Thou Art! So, for the past three mornings: sketchbooks, markers, and colored pencils in hand, Connor and I headed off…
On several visits to local parks and gardens, the boys and I have heard talk of the difficulty Virginia parks are having with invasive non-native vines overtaking native undergrowth, shading out and replacing native wildflowers, and climbing and eventually killing native trees. Unfortunately, when native plants are edged out, the diversity of plants needed by…
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you; the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done…
After my little exchange with Connor this morning, he fell back to sleep for two hours. When he finally awoke, we ate breakfast, and then headed downstairs to start our schoolwork. Connor whined, complained, and cried his way through math, usually a favorite subject. “Are you feeling alright?,” I asked with concern. “No,” he…