Saturday, Dec. 1

I was talking to Zelda about all the stuff going on this weekend, and she asked me if I had posted this information -- thanks for the reminder, and here you go (I will add links later if I get time):

Waldorf School of the Peninsula is having their holiday fair. This is a very cool event, even for those people like myself who are not fans of the Waldorf educational system. We went two years ago. We dipped candles of melted beeswax. We crawled through a lovely dwarf world that ended in a huge room with cookies hung from strings, from which you could choose one to have for your own. They were delicious, too. We went to their gift shop, which was like nothing so much as stepping into a Magic Cabin catalog. It was great.

Ardenwood, a place I have never visited but want to very much, is also having a Christmas fair.

And History San Jose is having a holiday fair.

I understand that Zelda's daughter has a basketball jamboree, and my children have a full afternoon of guitar classes -- what an embarassment of riches we have in our lives. It's actually like Christmas every day around here.

Great Activities in Santa Cruz

I really love the activities at the Santa Cruz State Parks. I'm so glad they've started an electronic newsletter! Here are their events for December:



DECEMBER ACTIVITIES AT WILDER RANCH STATE PARK

Located two miles north of Santa Cruz, on Highway 1 (831) 426-0505



History, Nature, and Scenic Views:

A Tour of the Grey Whale Ranch Area

Saturday, December 8 at 9:00 AM


Wilder Ranch Coast Nature Walks:

Saturdays, December 1, 15, 22 and 29 at 11:00 AM



december activities at

Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park

Located off Mission Plaza on School Street (831)425-5849



Guided Tour: Every Sunday at 1:00 PM


Special Demonstrations:
Mission Cooking,
Saturday, December 1, from 1:00-2:00 PM

Tamale Making Workshop
Saturday, December 8 from 2:30-4:30 PM
Reserve your spot as space is limited! The cost is $20.

Building Methods at the Mission,
Saturday, December 8, from 1:00-2:00 PM

Hides and Tallow
Saturday, December 15, 2007 1:00-2:00 PM

Wool, Spinning, and Weaving
Saturday, December 22 from 1:00-2:00 PM



DECEMBER ACTIVITIES AT NATURAL BRIDGES STATE BEACH

Located at the end of West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz (831) 423-4609





Tours of the Monarch Grove-

All Saturdays in December at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM and

All Sundays in December at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM


Park Restoration Parties- All Sundays from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Your help is needed with Park Restoration! We meet every Sunday from 3-5 pm. Projects vary with the weather. As a team it is enjoyable to weed, water, or plant, while knowing that your efforts are helping protect the park's plants and wildlife.

DECEMBER ACTIVITIES AT SEACLIFF STATE BEACH

Located 5 miles south of Santa Cruz off Highway One (831) 685-6444


Investigate Seacliff's Ancient Fossil Beds

Sundays, December 2 and 16 at 12:00noon

What is a fossil? Why are there fossils at Seacliff? How old are they? Come and get the answers to these questions and more during an informative guided tour of Seacliff's oldest residents. Meet on the deck of the Visitor Center to begin the adventure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pumkin Girl

Holidays on the Ranch:

A special family living history day


Saturday, December 15, 2007

11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

at

Wilder Ranch State Park



Experience holiday fun from Rancho, Victorian, and early 20th Century times at Wilder Ranch State Park. Join in an old-fashioned sing-along around the piano, make and play with a dreidel, sample Victorian and Mexican holiday goodies, make a present for someone special, help decorate the tree or create ornaments for your own tree, and more.

Hiking Program in Santa Clara

This sounds like a lot of fun to me -- you get a booklet, and log the trails and miles you hike, and at the end you get a prize. I love prizes. You have to hike five different trails, but the list of trails you get to select from has all levels of difficulty. One of them is a .25 mile interpretive trail that's basically flat -- you couldn't ask for one much easier than that!

Here are two links: the program overview, and a .pdf file with more information. (It takes a while to load.)

Anyone want to make a group project out of this?

Marine Science Institute

Saturday afternoon discovery voyage. Definitely got a thumbs up from the kids, both of whom asked, independently, if we could do it again.

For me, the coolest part was the mud grab. They used a big claw to scoop mud from the bottom of the bay, spread it out in some mesh-topped tables, sprayed it down with water, and looked at what they found. Lots of interesting animals and shells.

There was also a microscope display of plankton in the water they had pulled up, and an entertaining session identifying fish with a dichotomous guide. The time passed very quickly.

Living History in California

An e-mail from Ann Zeise:

Consider the Stanford Pow Wow, held on mother's day each year.
http://powwow.stanford.edu/
There are other Pow Wows around the state.

There's the Greek Festival in San Jose each June.
http://www.saintnicholas.org/festival/index.htm

Cultural Fairs often also include the history of that ethnic group or
nationality in the history of California.

Solvang is an ongoing Danish heritage town. Christmas time is a
special time there;
http://www.solvangusa.com/static/index.cfm?contentID=70

Our own Patrick's Point Campout has some Indian dwellings to explore.

In San Jose, there is the Rosecruician museum, which has a whole lot
of Mummies and other things Egyptian.

The Tech Museum is a hands-on museum showing both historic and
futuristic devices that kids can play with. Intel has a section
showing how chips are made.

The Children's Museum used to be laid out like a city, so kids could
explore the fire station, the water mains, how street lights work, etc.

I have more about San Jose Museums here:
http://www.gomilpitas.com/Museums.htm

The Winchester Mystery House is a bit of a tourist trap. Tour is
pricey. But worth doing once. The museum BEFORE you take the tour is
free, so you can look at that and decide if you want to see more.
Built by a woman who was "haunted" by the ghosts of the people killed
by the weapons her father invented, and from which she inherited the
wealth, she still was a remarkable woman for her day. Big kids would
get something out of it. Little kids younger than about 10 would be bored.

Angel Island, which you get to via ferries, has living history
exhibits. Help load a canon, and fire it at a passing yacht. (Blanks)
http://www.angelisland.org/

Other ferries can take you out to Alcatraz.
http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz/
There is an "Alcatraz Alumni Day" where guards and their families
reunite, but it sells out fast. With any luck, though, you'll meet
someone who grew up on the prison island. (The children were ferried
out to school in San Francisco each morning.)

Gingerbread House Contest at Coyote Point

Coyote Point Museum is one of my favorites. It's very small, very friendly, located on a beautiful spit of land looking out across the bay. They focus mainly on environmental issues, and have a small zoo with animals that have been rescued but are not able to live free in the wild any more. (Reasons range from broken wings to impaired vision to inappropriate trust of humans.) Every year they have a Gingerbread House Contest, and this year I actually heard about it well ahead of time. Even if you don't enter, it's fun to go see what people have come up with.

Family Clay Day

It's amazing how stuff gets buried in my e-mail. I got this over a week ago, and had almost forgotten about it. I don't think I posted it here yet -- but that's exactly why I started this blog, to get these events OUT of my inbox and IN to a place where I would remember them. Way, way too much stuff going on to keep track of it all, I think.

Anyway, I have heard nothing but good things about these people. And if you haven't been to the Mountain View School of Art and Music, this gives you a good opportunity to check it out!

Mother Earth Clay Art Foundation Announces the First joint Family Clay Day with Community School of Music and Art Dear Friends and Family of Mother Earth.... Mother Earth Clay Art Foundation and the Community School of Music and Art proudly announce their first joint Family Clay Day event! Proceeds of this event to go to Mother Earth Clay Art Foundation as we continue to raise funds to launch a new ceramic art studio. Here are the details for the Family Clay Day event: Date/Time: Sunday, November 18th / 1 - 3pm Cost: $19 per adult; $15 per child Location: Mountain View's Community School of Music and Art (230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, CA 94040) Each participant can make a bowl on the potter's wheel, decorate a tile and make a handbuilt item. The Family Clay Day is a perfect way to have fun for kids of all ages and to make holiday gifts at the same time. Go to Family Clay Day Registration to sign up for this fun event. Progress Report towards Finding a New Home for Mother Earth: Two months have past since the closing of our beloved Sunnyvale studio, but rest assured the Studio Relocation Team has been hard at work! We took Community School of Music and Art up on their offer to store our equipment in their Annex building and took many truckloads of wheels, kilns, etc. to their Mountain View facility. In addition, we have been developing a viable financial plan for the new studio and started fundraising efforts to enable the move, starting with this Family Clay Day. We need and welcome support in any form (financial, volunteers, etc.). Feel free to contact us at info@mamasclay.org to help any way you can. Warmest regards, The Staff of Mother Earth

Narration -- Hidden Villa and Beethoven

From Ziad:

Storytelling at Hidden Villa

We went to Hidden Villa. Someone told us stories about Ohlone Indians and made a campfire.He brought volunteers and dressed them like Ohlone Indians to show us what they look like, and then he used volunteers to act out the stories. At the end of one, he brought out a tortoise. My favorite story was How the Turtle Got Its Shell:

Once it was raining cats and dogs. Turtles didn't have shells.

Once, a long, long time ago, when turtles have shells, it was raining cats and dogs. A turtle was trying to get out of the rain. It ran under a tree, but the branches dripped rain on top of it. It ran around, and then it found a shell. It put the shell on, but it was too small, so he kept on running. A little while later, it found another, bigger shell. But it was still too small. So he kept on running and then he found a larger shell, and he put that on.

Then he thought, "If I eat a lot, then I will grow, and the shell will grow, too."

So he ran around, found some berries, and ate them. Then he caught some fish and ate them. He ate some bugs, and he kept on running around and finding things to eat. He grew, and the shell grew, too. Then he was so tired from running around and eating that he fell asleep. When he woke up, he had a shell.

At the end of this story, the storyteller brought out an African Tortoise.

Piano Recital by Wolfgang Wortburg

We found some seats. They were at the front. We could see the pianist playing. He eyes seemed to be closed. He was pounding on the keys. He really seemed to be concentrating. He played two sonatas, then there was an intermission, and then he played the last sonata. He also talked about the composer, Beethoven. All the sonatas had three parts. They seemed long. I think they were all a half hour long. His playing was very beautiful. I can't describe how it sounded. It had a lot of feeling.

I only remember bits of the first and last sonatas. The first sonata is called "The Tempest." It sounded like it had flashes of lightning in it. The last sonata was called "Apasionata" I think Beethoven composed it because of his sister. It was the last one he composed. Beethoven said it was his masterpiece.

When he finished playing, people really clapped. I did, too. He played another piece, and then we left before the reception started.

From Maya:

Storytelling at Hidden Villa

We went to Hidden Villa for a campfire event. We sort of got to be by the campfire. They had to have it inside because it was raining. They built the fire in a really big fireplace. They have a pointed stick. They wrap the string on a wooden bow in a certain way around the stick, then they put the stick in a piece of old wood with holes in it, then they take a piece of rock with a hole in it and they use that to hold the stick and they move the bow back and forth until smoke comes out from the wood. They blow the ashes into something they said was unicorn hair, and some straw, and then he blew on it some more until sparks started coming, and then flames. He was still able to hold it from the bottom because flames go up to the top, they don't go to the bottom. Then he put it on the fireplace and blew on it some more while it was in there. He put some sticks and wood on top of it.

When the campfire director told stories he would choose people to act in the stories. He had props to show what the people were acting as. My favorite story is the one I was in. I was the woodpecker.

Eagle and the Box of Sun

Once there was an eagle who had a box of sun. Once when he was flying, he landed on a bush. The bush had thorns in it, and one got in his foot.

"Ouch," said the eagle, "I have a thorn in my foot. Surely I will die of pain if I don't get it out."

So he flew and he flew and he flew for a long time. And then he came to a mouse.

"Mouse," he said, "I have a thorn in my foot. Surely I will die of pain if I don't get it out. Can you help me?"

And the mouse said, "Sure I can help you -- if you give me that box of sun."

And the eagle said, "No way!"

So he flew and he flew and he flew for a long time. And he came to a squirrel.

"Squirrel," he said, "I have a thorn in my foot. Surely I will die of pain if I don't get it out. Can you help me?"

And the squirrel said, "Sure I can help you -- if you give me that box of sun."

And the eagle said, "No way!"

So he flew and he flew and he flew for a long time. Until he came to a rabbit.

"Rabbit," he said, "I have a thorn in my foot. Surely I will die of pain if I don't get it out. Can you help me?"

And the rabbit said, "Sure I can help you -- if you give me that box of sun."

And the eagle said, "No way!"

So he flew and he flew and he flew for a long time. And he came to a deer.

"Deer," he said, "I have a thorn in my foot. Surely I will die of pain if I don't get it out. Can you help me?"

And the deer said, "Sure I can help you -- if you give me that box of sun."

And the eagle said, "No way!"

Now the thorn in his foot really hurt, but he didn't want to give up the box of sun.

So he flew and he flew and he flew for a long time, until he came to a woodpecker.

"Woodpecker," he said, "I have a thorn in my foot. Surely I will die of pain if I don't get it out. Can you help me?"

And the squirrel said, "Sure I can help you -- if you give me that box of sun."

Now the eagle thought for a long time. The thorn in his foot was really hurting, but he didn't want to give up the box of sun.

Finally he said, "Yes, I'll give it to you," and he gave the woodpecker the box of sun. The woodpecker opened the box of sun and threw it up into the sky. And that's how we got our sun.


Piano Recital by Wolfgang Wortburg

I remember that he played sonatas, and one was called "The Tempest." He was playing the keys so hard that I had a throbbing headache. They had an intermission which I liked because I enjoyed getting up and running around and climbing on staircase outside. During the intermission I heard someone playing something, it might have been a trumpet, so I listened through the door.

I remember he talked a little bit before each song. He talked about Beethoven and the song he was going to play. One time I heard a melody that reminded me of Mozart.

Haunted McAbee Manor

Has anybody seen this house?

There was an article about it in the Almaden Times Weekly. I've never seen it before, or even heard about it, but the article made it sound fantastic. Apparently they had 350 trick-or-treaters this year.

Crafty fun on Tuesday, November 20

From my e-mail:

Hi Crafters,

Join us on Tuesday, November 20th from 10am-12pm at The Coyote Grange to
make a beautiful Thanksgiving Centerpiece and a Thank You Wreath. Both of
these crafts are perfect for children who are between the ages of 5 and 9.
However, all are welcome to come and join in on the fun.

This event is free for Grange members and just $5 per family if you are not
a member.

Please RSVP to Michele Price at Michele_Price@Comcast.net

Wildcats at Foothill College

This event is held regularly -- it seems to me even more than once a year. I'm always of two minds about it -- I don't really approve of parading big cats around like this, but then I also really love big cats. In the end, I always decide not to go because it costs money.

If anyone goes, let me know what you think!

Announcement follows:

You and your family are invited to see five wild "ambassador"
cats from Leopards, Etc. appear live on stage to support wild
cat education and conservation!

Hosts: Rob and Barbara Dicely www.leopardsetc.com

When: Sunday, November 11, 2007
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Where: Foothill College (Follow Signs to Room #5015)
12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills
Park in Parking Lot #6 ($2.00 Parking Fee)

Cost: $10 - Adults
$ 5 - Children under 12

Call 707.874.3176 or E-mail leopards@leopardsetc.com to
reserve tickets. Tickets will be available at the door. However,
seating is limited, so we recommend reserving tickets in advance.
Pre- reserved tickets will be released 5 minutes before show time
and all seating is on a first come, first serve basis.

Books to build Character

These are books I plan to get out of the library and take a quick look at (at some point in the unspecified future). Not because I need for people to tell me how to instill character in my children, but because I'm interested in seeing where the conversation on this subject is centered, and it's always good to be reminded of where my values and priorities lie. Even books I disagree with can help clarify that for me.

Although, honestly, at first glance, books about children thinking for themselves just make me laugh. We don't seem to have much of a problem with that around here. I would prefer a book about raising children who can understand their mother knows more than they do. Well, we'll see what these people have to say.

If you Had to Choose, What Would you Do? Sandra Humphrey
Maybe Right, Maybe Wrong: A Guide for Young Thinkers Dan Barker
A Children's Book About Lying Joy Berry
Character Building Day by Day: 180 Quick Read-Alouds for Elementary
School and Home Anne Mather
Raising Children Who Think for Themselves Elisa Madhus
20 Teachable Virtues Jerry Wykoff
Knowing and Doing What's Right: The Positive Values Assets Pamela Espeland
Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical,
Caring Kids Without Religion Dale McGowan

Edible Map

Is this a great idea, or just way too much work? Why doesn't somebody try it and let me know?

There are a few geography websites linked at the bottom of the project page, if anyone's interested.

Perk up geography with a project the whole family can sink their
teeth into: an incredible, edible cookie map of the United States,
complete with chocolate chip mountains and blue frosting rivers
swimming with gummy fish. It's fun, easy and a learning adventure
from start to yummy finish!

Edible map

Foodie web sites

OK, I know it's a stretch putting these here, but I'm trying to reduce the amount of paper on my desk. Think of this as a culinary journey .... let's go check out

Heirloom turkeys
Cranberry chutney
Roadhouse rye bread
Organic potato samplers
Cherry Pie

And a whole section just about chocolate!

Dorado Chocolates in Grass Valley
The Chocolate Bar in Reno
Cummings Studio Chocolates in Salt Lake City
Donnelly Chocolates in Santa Cruz
Fog City News in San Francisco (yes, this is a chocolate store)
La Dolce V Fine Chocolates in Sebastopol
Recchiuti Confections in San Francisco
and last but not least, the perennial favorite: Scharffen Berger in Berkeley

Worth a further look

This web site, apparently powered by ads that are not really all that obtrusive, is a database set up to give you suggestions for books you might enjoy. You have to give them your e-mail address to go into any real depth, but even when I just entered Little House on the Prairie as a book I enjoyed, I got back a list with at least one book I'd never heard of. So that's cool. I'll probably register both of my kids.

Goodreads is also an interesting book-related website. It has close ties to Amazon (is it run by Amazon? Haven't checked it out that thoroughly.) Anyway, it's a really good place to find books you may not know about from a favorite author, read what other people have to say, keep a list of books you've liked reading or want to read.

Word games are fun

This web site has a word game where you get to choose the proper definition of a word from among four choices. Their hook is that they donate ten grains of rice to needy countries for every word you get right. Apparently the advertising (inconspicuous) at the bottom of the page supplies income that they use to buy the rice with, so the constant change in advertisers as you move from word to word increases their income and therefore their rice donation. There's an FAQ page if you're interested. This page includes links to other organizations dedicated to edcuating about and eradicating poverty and hunger in the world.

Good works aside, the game is actually really fun. If you like words, that is. There is a feedback loop in there that guesses your vocabulary and chooses words accordingly. I have a decent vocabulary, but I was almost immediately thrown lots of words I had to guess at, plus several I had never heard. I think this would be good for children like mine, who read lots of words and have to guess their meanings from context. Kind of a reinforcement, double-check, and fun activity all in one.

Gingerbread Houses!

This event is ongoing at the Discovery Museum in Sausalito.

From an e-mail:

12th Annual Gingerbread Architecture Extravaganza
Saturdays November 24, December 1, 8, 15 & 22 Sundays November 25, December 2, 9, 16 & 23 Monday – Friday December 17 – 21 11 a.m., noon & 1 p.m. $20 per gingerbread kit. Pre-registration required. Register online Let your imagination run wild as you create the most delightful gingerbread house on the block, festooned with candy canes, gumdrops, frosting and other treats. Don’t miss the sweetest event of the holiday season - guaranteed to sell out! Thank you to Beth’s Fine Desserts for its support of Gingerbread Architecture Extravaganza.
Register early if you’re a Supporting Level member! November 1: Early registration begins for Supporting-Level members ($160+). November 15: Open registration for all. Call the Membership Office at (415) 339-3932 or email membership@badm.org to upgrade your membership to the Supporting Level and reserve your Gingerbread space today.

Netflix

Netflix is an educational resource I had completely overlooked until I saw a discussion on one of the homeschool e-mail lists I subscribe to. It turns out that their catalog of educational DVDs is amazing. They carry DVD versions of many documentaries, including practically every IMAX film I've ever heard, and all the works of Ken Burns. They also have flat-out curriculum, including instructional DVDs for math, science, and language. They have plays, operas, and concerts. Of course they also have classic films (although not Rebecca, as we discovered). I know that using TV for education is controversial in homeschooling circles, but to me it seems like a fun way to round things out and reinforce concepts we may be working on at the time. And I, for one, really enjoyed all those educational movies out of Bell labs (do they still show those?) we watched in school assemblies when I was young. I learned a lot from them.

Anyway, even though if you look at the Netflix selections labeled "Child and Family" it looks pretty lame, if you search by subjects such as 'math,' 'French language,' or even 'calculus,' you'll be surprised by how much you find.

Science Update

At the end of the first week, both Ziad and Maya are saying that they love studying chemistry. Interesting. I read facts about hydrogen to them, as well as an introduction to atoms. They did some really inconsequential copy work (Hydrogen is a gas. Hydrogen is very light.) and we started a timeline -- right now 1766, the year when Henry Cavendish showed hydrogen to be an element, is our only entry. We also enjoyed learning about Cavendish himself, an eccentric who dressed in old-fashioned clothes and was too shy to talk to women or people he didn't know.

The fun part is that I have never, ever studied chemistry, not in high school, not in college, so I'm learning right along with them, and filling in what I've always viewed as a gaping hole in my education. Lifelong learning. What a concept.