Things I love about Nature Study

• Learning about the seasons of life

Two winters ago, when walking by the pond a mother with us pointed out to her boys "see the little tadpoles in the water!" to which then 7 y/o Abigail matter-of-factly corrected "those are minnows, there are no tadpoles till spring".  (Isn't that the sole purpose of blogs, to establish an unparalleled platform for parental bragging? no?)

• Learning proper names of things

When Bowery Bird was 2 and at church, a friend related how the teacher showed a picture of a bird and was talking about how "We are thankful for birds". Little Bowery Bird said "That's not a bird, that's a Robin".

• Getting to know of the world around us

Sitting with my 3 children among the trees and watching 2 robins harass a squirrel near their nest for 20 min or more--poor squirrel not knowing which way to go!

• Discovering the awe of things on their own

Observing Kingfisher and Mockingbird reverently sneak up on a White-faced Ibis (that was actually brown), and begging me to come see.

• Getting our vegetables in

(I can tell you it doesn't happen at dinner...).Seeing Bowery Bird forage for food and enjoy the wild whatever-she-is-eating (she usually knows-I don't).

Bravo! Brava! Opera

We were reading Carmen when my 6y/o turns to me and says "Wait a minute. Wait a minute!--The girl didn't like the boy?"
"...No. She didn't like him anymore. She's one of those girls that is just never happy with something or someone for long"
"Why..?" and I could actually see the whole Disney Princess-story-arch-as template-for-real -life being brought into serious question right before my eyes. It looked almost painful. But as we listened to the lyrics, and talked about Carmen's character and when Don Jose made his first mistake--I realized that this was pretty heavy relationship stuff for a 6 and 9 year old, but a whole lot closer to reality than the bedazzled princesses that often end up being a girl's first introduction to "true love".
Ambleside Online has a rotation for studying classical music. We are doing opera this term. All I have done is read aloud parts of these books:

Random House Book of Opera Stories
Bravo!Brava! A Night at the Opera by Anne Siberell

                            


 then listened to the corresponding music from these cds;
The World's Very Best Opera for Kids
My Favorite Opera for Children

It has allowed us to understand cultural references which before just went over our heads and has been a lot of fun. I hear " we haven't learned about opera in awhile..." , many costume designs have spontaneously appeared, and even our 4y/o is humming bits as he plays.

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.