Snow Treasure

Snow Treasure is indeed "A Story of courage and adventure!" But it's also just a story. In fact, a story-- based on some one else's story--based on the fact that $9 million in gold bars came to port in the US from Norway during WWII.

As has occurred in the past, we could have discussed it as a true story of WWII, Norway, courage, and honor--and we did a little, as pertains to SETTING.
But it's still a story based on a story, based on fact. So we checked the facts;

• There was a WWII, there is a Norway, the city was made up.
• The author is American, and got her story from a newspaper article,
• $9 million in gold bars did come to US from Norway.
• Checking with a Norwegian friend, he'd never heard of the story.
• It was published before the war was over.
• No child has ever come forward to say they participated.
• Another book, Pimpernel Gold, tells a true story of how men evacuated the king, government leaders, and national gold just before Nazi occupation.

We talked about emotional manipulation and the difference between fiction and nonfiction (noting the "FIC" sticker on the side of our copy). Then I asked  "Have you ever been in situation where something is presented to you then you find out the truth is not what you were originally led to believe?"
"This book..." was a quick response from a disillusioned 11 y/o.

Mothers shared: "sometimes I watch a movie and find myself rooting for the bad guy just because I've gotten to know him better--"
"--or because a character is not as bad as another--but they are still doing bad things."
"I saw someone begging for money, who then got into a really nice truck."
"We heard a story on NPR about a charity, and researching later found out it was a way for the individuals to get money for themselves!"
"My Paul Newman Cesar salad dressing had 'Olive Oil' on the front in big letters, but on the back it had 'olive oil' as the next to last ingredient."

An 8y/o offered: "This makes you think...really hard" (squinting).
We talked about how buying dressing without olive oil is OK, and giving money to people is OK, but we all make better decisions when we have correct information.

Then a parent pointed out that the parents in the book didn't want their children to say anything to the Germans. This allowed them to not say something wrong, but also saved them from having to tell a lie.
"Is there a time where saying nothing is better than lying?"
The gem of the day from a 10 y/o:" ...my dad says...if  a cop pulls you over, you answer a question with a question."
And we had an immediate role-play from two 9 y/o,
 "Like, what are you doing?" offered the first.
  "Well, what are you doing?" retorted the next.

I'll tell you what we were doing; discussing things on the level with our 8-11y/o daughters that will help them learn to think for themselves, or at the very least--know what to do when a cop pulls them over.

Update: 2 months later

We had an experience where a neighbor girl claimed to have been attacked nearby. I doubted the truth, but I didn't know what to say. My girls could talk of nothing else, and I noticed they were even helping this girl fill in the gory details she'd forget as she retold her story to everyone who would listen...so I waited.

A week later the time was right. At dinner, my children were talking about how people were responding to it all.
"So, some kids say they don't believe her story, huh?" I restated. "Well, remember Snow Treasure? When we listed what we knew for a fact and then what was questionable? Let's do that."
We did. It was pretty effective, but I refused to tell them my thoughts--only saying, "I'd like to believe her..."--to their immense frustration.
"And if detectives have only some one's story they go by, they check if that source is reliable. Has this girl ever told a lie before?" From another recent experience the answer was a resounding "Yes." from everyone. We talked about people affected by this.Then about the Boy Who Cried Wolf. We talked about how people would feel about any other stories this girl will tell in the future.

It was very effective, again without me having to give my opinion at all. Just recap the book group of earlier. I'm not always such a clever mom, but for the record: "It can happen."

2011 Playlist

Music we tidy & clean & get our coats on to --
and must be reminded not to dance to, only because then nothing else is happening...

I'll Tell Me Ma--Van Morrison & the Chieftans
The Ballad of Davy Crockett--The Wellingtons, Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack
Fooba Wooba John--Burl Ives, Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack
Buckyeye Jim--Burl Ives, Fantastic Mr. Fox Soundtrack
Three is a Magic Number--Blind Melon, School House Rock Rocks!
The Trolley Song--Judy Garland, Pottery Barn Kids Playtime
Banana Split for My Baby--Louis Prima, Pottery Barn Kids Playtime
Three Little Fishes-- Kay Kyser, Pottery Barn Kids, Playtime
Pop! Goes the Weasel--The Merry Macs, Pottery Barn Kids, Playtime
One two three four--Feist, The Reminder
Jump up--Dan Zanes, Family Dance
Malti--Dan Zanes, Family Dance

Family Movie Night Resources

Mr. Owl plans his January around the Sundance Film Festival. He's volunteered there for 3 years and Loves it. Not just because of the free Kenneth Cole jacket, plant-base inked mug, and other SWAG. It's the 8+ indie film premiers he can cram into 2 weekends for free. Oh, and the celebrity sitings are cool too.

No surprise that he initiated, and keeps going, the tradition of Movie Night at our house.  If you were to peek in on us of a Friday night, you would hear the hand-crank popper rattling like loose ball bearings, the remote being searched for (again), and see our couches draped in tablecloths. This is not because we are worried about the moonlight fading our Craigslist furnishings, but because we all like to have our popcorn buttered. And it ends up everywhere. But that's OK, because now we have a vacuum with a removeable canister and 4 people in our family who are tall enough to operate it. And they will operate it.

Something that has helped us know what kinds of films our kids might be ready for is the book The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together by Ty Burr. Not only is it an enjoyable read but it hits the mark for what is age appropriate as well as offering rabbit trails within genres.

Commonsense Media is a site I refer to often for their breakdown of parental ratings on violence, sex, positive messages, and language. It also has a quick summary written to let parents know just what to expect. Parent and kid reviews tell what age they think it appropriate for and help me guage if a movie is right for us with a 4, 6, and 9 year old.

Little House on the Prarie Bookclub

We are doing a book club with the girls and 2 other families as we read the Little House on the Prairie series. We haven't been able to go as much as I'd like--but I love the concept. We read the book, and discuss it, sometimes dressing up or doing a project to go along with it. To go with Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie we had dinner to make Ma proud; roast chicken, cornbread, blackberries, Christmas cakes with strawberries, salad, baked potatoes and ham bits, and peppermints.

It has been great to have the girls think about what else is happening in history at that time; Is this before or after the Civil War? The Pioneers trek west? How many states were in our country then? We learned that Laura and her family's "western frontier" was much different than we originally thought of it, and Oh the devotion of Ma to follow her husband's wandering spirit!

I forgot until the day of that we have a book called Inside Laura's Little House that gives recipes, craft projects, and cultural history related to this time. There are other titles related to this series by the same author, and even companion books for Anne of Green Gables and Little Women that I will have to check out.

Interpretive Natural History Museum Visit

We recently visited the new Museum of Natural History. It's architecture slips right into it's surroundings and sustains them with thousands of solar panels, has both sophisticated and simple displays with layers of learning, and an interior of cement, steel, and glass with angles that mimic the slot canyons nearby--not to mention MC Echer. Our visit to such a fascinating and futuristic building left me feeling like I had been to a place completely new yet it's whole focus is the place where I live.

Even before we entered we had to pull Bowery Bird away from her wildflower coloring book, see Mockingbird and Kingfisher's pet insects they caught, admire some magpies, and hear from Henry, "hey-it's a--oh, it's just another man, I though it was a turkey..." as bicyclists came down the trail. So we were all  honing in on the natural even before we entered the museum.

We each had our own bit of fun here;
Mr. Owl informed the museum that his Iroquois tribe's Five Nation wampum belt was displayed upside-down (Oops!).

On the top floor we were about to enter an exhibit except 5 boys from the big school group were wrestling all over the benches and blocking the way. I don't know what possessed me, but I leaned in close to their faces with "WHERE. ARE YOUR PARENTS!" ...it wasn't quite a scream. They froze with arms and legs in every direction, looked up, and fell over each other backing around the next corner. The effect was great. My family however,  nervously turned to look at me. "I was just kidding!" and I burst out laughing. It was hilarious, and soon was quickly misinterpreted and replayed many times by Mockingbird and Kingfisher as "WHERE ARE YOUR PANTS! ha ha ha".

Later Bowery Bird was sitting on a bench when a chaperon came up and asked her "Is this clipboard yours?"
"No."
"Well, is this your school group?"
"No. I don't go to school." to which the women gave her a "whatever" look, took the clipboard, and left. Abigail finished her story with "But I don't go to school, mom--school comes to me." So typical, Abigail's dry sincerity is read as apathetic snobbery by the uninitiated.

Mockingbird was as costumes became available; a fox, a sparrow, a butterfly, a safari explorer, a cave guide, and a terrified dinosaur escaper.

Kingfisher was reminded not to hit the tanks of snakes, or barrel into mom at full blast while she's holding Beatrice, and quizzed dad on his scat in the Naturalist Lab. (I didn't mean to write it like that--or did I?...)

Canary ended up soaked and loving it as she was released from the stroller into the pint-size explorers room complete with water play, cave, and aforementioned dress-ups.
A good time was had by all.