2014 Children's Character

Early last year I posted projects I made for the kids that detailed their positive character traits.  I made them new specialized projects this year to add to their keepsake files.  This time I used the construction paper from which I cut the hearts that we used for our "What I Love About Myself" projects recently.  I decorated them with stickers that showed each child's love and interests.  Then I typed out sentences about each child, rather than fill the card stock with individual descriptive words.

Here they are:

I'm truly pleased to have Jaden William as my firstborn.  He's a brilliant, compassionate, innovative, and kind child who is transforming into an awesome adolescent.  It seems everyone we meet is impressed by his politeness, knowledge and wisdom, and thoughtfulness and helpfulness.  He takes initiative, makes friends easily, and possesses excellent leadership abilities, not waiting for someone else to do the right thing or set a precedent. I'm so glad he's mine!!

Trusten has made a fine friend to William, and he's so smart that the four-year age gap doesn't hurt much.  He seems to self-teach quite well or at least very quickly catch on to things, which certainly makes my job easier.v He keeps me laughing and thinking.  He's my cute kangaroo! I couldn't imagine my life without this one, either.  I'm so glad he's mine!!

Although Liv is my most challenging child, she is soooo smart, and she's also very motherly toward her baby sister.  I absolutely love hearing her talk at length about things I couldn't imagine another child her age talking about.  She is goofy, too, and so is good for a laugh.  I'm so glad she's mine!!

My baby... I don't think it's possible for anyone to have a child as loving and precious as she is.  She's here, and she's my girl!  She reminds me so much of myself (the good parts, anyway, and I frankly think she's a lot better than I am and hope she will always be).  She is brimming with so much love and just wants to pour it out upon others.  She is always smiling and cheers everyone up.  She is the youngest of us all, but she's the best example.  She reminds us of how we all ought to be.  She has made me feel ashamed several times, because of the loving way she's acted toward a sibling after I've spoken harshly and upset one of them.  But she neither is angry at me for it, either.  She just shows love and forgiveness towards all.  She's beautiful, inside and out.  And I'm so glad she's mine!!

Mushrooms! {Late Spring through Late Summer}

Of course identifying plants is an ongoing pleasure in our lifestyle of learning, but I have now started identifying mushrooms and other fungi.  So many are so beautiful (and so deadly); I've always enjoyed spying them.  There's also the benefit of the important knowledge of identification, though, in a survival situation.  Some are edible; some are not.

There are varying fungi that grow year-round, and this will add enjoyment for seasons and years to come.

Here are some specimens that I identified from late spring to the very end of summer.  I will print out the photo list and information and add it to our plant project binder so that the kids and I can use it for reference.

Yes, I believe all three of the preceding specimens are Russula emetica.  While I've gone about my fungi identification research, I've come to learn that mushrooms look different in the various stages of its cycle.  And an animal (probably an insect) has eaten on the last picture.  It took a long time to identify all the mushrooms pictured here, and the ones about which I was not positive enough, I have not labeled.

As the name implies, an emetic russula will cause vomiting.  It's a poisonous mushroom that should not be eaten!  It's in the family Russulaceae, in which there are some edible species that look alike.  One example is the Russula paludosa.  There's a small possibility that the russulas I photographed are not toxic, but in order to get a positive identification on any mushroom with such close lookalikes, you must not only look at the cap, but also examine the stalk, gills, and use a microscope to look at the spores. For my purposes, if I was stuck in a forest and saw any russula that looked that way, I'd assume it was a Russula emetica and not eat it.  In most biological cases such a bright color signals danger.

This mushroom is suspected of being toxic, as it contains muscarine.  It should not be eaten.  White mold is surrounding the mushroom.  It thrives in moist places, usually infecting a host plant.  "The fungus can survive in the soil mainly on the previous year’s plant debris," according to Wikipedia's entry on the same.  It appears as if that is what was occurring here.

This beautifully-colored slime mold is in the family Reticulariaceae.  I did not attempt to identify the various other fungi pictured.

 In the family Boletaceae.  Edible.  But always make a positive identification.  With many mushrooms, there are poisonous lookalikes.  This can't be stated often enough.  But just as it's easy for me now to tell the difference between some edible plants and their lookalikes, I intend to be able to do the same for mushrooms.  So the same thing goes for plants, if you're not certain of their identity.

In the family Psathyrellaceae.  Edible when young and fresh, before it liquefies into an inky-like mess.

I love these!  In the family Sarcoschyphaceae.  It was used medicinally by the Oneida Indians to help heal non-healing umbilical wound and other wounds underneath a deerskin bandage, according to Wikipedia.  Some classify it as edible. Can be confused with Sarcoscypha dudleyi (Crimson Cup or Scarlet Cup), in the family Sarcoschyphaceae.  The two species so closely resemble.

Easily identified and edible.  In the family Pleurotaceae.  They grow in overlapping clusters on trees, logs, and stumps. The similar Pleurotus ostreatus is also edible.

This was one of the mushrooms that took me quite a while to positively identify, due to changes in the way a mushroom looks during various stages in its life cycle.  Most pictures show a trumpet-shape, but that is just one stage.  These are edible, in the family Cantharellaceae, as is the closely-related and similar-looking golden chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius). Be careful not to confuse with jack o'lantern (Omphalotus olearius), which is toxic but not fatal, or the bitter and perhaps toxic false chanterelle (Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca).

In the family Polyporaceae.  They vary in colors, but a true turkey tail's margin is always the lightest in color. Edible.  Don't confuse with false lookalikes.

This is an edible species in the family Boletaceae.  I love the way it looks!

This is yet another species in the family Boleteaceae.  It is edible, but as always, make certain you are positively identifying.  There are field guides and websites run by experts that detail the descriptions of all the parts of the mushroom and include pictures, as well as warn against lookalikes and how to tell them apart.

I took pictures of this species in the family Agaricaceae on two separate days.  I wish I'd have been there during a better part of the day the first time, in order to get a better picture.  This was fascinating to behold.  I knew it was a fungus, but beyond that I had no idea, and so it took some doing in order to identify it.  I was so thrilled when my research finally turned up an answer.  This is extremely similar to Lycoperdon echinatum.  The latter is found in the eastern United States, and they overlap in Kansas.  They are both edible.

Now for the ones I have not yet positively identified.  Just too difficult without all the parts and no spores.  There are three species of which I sent to Missouri Department of Conservation.  A gentleman got back with me and gave me a website of an organization to which nearly all the Missouri experts belong, so I will contact them.

I believe the two above are the same species, and I have my suspicions, but I need help to positively identify. 

This is some sort of coral species.  I had another picture that showed many more branches, but it was blurry.  What a shame. These were fascinating.  I do not believe they are the edible crown-tipped coral Artomyces pyxidatus.  I'm simply not certain as to which species it is.

Again, I've got my suspicions, though it remains, for the most part, mysterious.

I am torn between thinking this is a toxic mushroom (I forget which species, and I apparently didn't save notes) or some species among the inkies.  I think the latter is unlikely, because although it appears to resemble them, I know that that means very little in reality.

I was wondering the same thing about this one as the preceding one.  I thought perhaps they were even the same species.  The stalk on this one is white.  This may not mean a lot, though, because there are differences in the stalk on the Russula emetica species I posted, although in the case of the latter they were in different stages.  

Sorry for the blurriness of this photo.  I think this is probably some puffball species, but I hesitate to guess, an in any case, I certainly will not label it in any way, for it's impossible to be sure with a picture like this.

We also had a morel, which is a popular edible mushroom in these parts.  It's in pieces in the freezer, though.  William pulled it up out of the ground and ran excitedly to show Nathan.  How I'd have loved to photograph it in the ground!  Nathan talked about eating it (gross, it looked so nasty), but instead he put it in the freezer, where it is now getting freezer burnt after all this time.  I was going to thaw it and photograph it, thinking it was still whole.  Oh well, in time.

I look forward to photographing many more specimens throughout the changing seasons.

Until next time...

Supercharged Science and More New Learning Stuff!

We love science here and always have, and it's with ease that I teach my children about biology, whether it's zoology, botany, genetics, human anatomy, or otherwise.  I've got loads of information loaded with easy access in my own brain's hard drive.  Plus I love taking them out into nature, watching science videos together, and reading science and nature magazines and books. 

I used to do a lot of experiments with the kids, especially William, but mostly the past few years he's done his own experiments.  I've absolutely hated the science curriculum we've owned.  I bought it a loooong time ago when William was a baby, before I even started teaching with it, and we've never gotten far into it, because it truly ruins the joy of science.  There are two main reasons I've absolutely hated the curriculum, which was God's Design for Science:

1. It's pathetically deficient and inadequate with very few pictures, none in color.  I was constantly complaining about things.  The lessons were so short with so many important things left out.  For example, the human body book went over just a few of the bodily systems.  There were several it left out, including the reproductive, excretory, endocrine systems and several others.  In total it only covered seven systems and did it inadequately.  Then in the animal book it didn't properly cover all the invertebrate phyla and subphyla, nor the various mammalian orders, etc.  It was angering me so.  I received a far more in-depth science education in public school, and one of the main reasons I started homeschooling in the first place was for the lack in public schools!

2. It teaches a YEC (young earth creationism), which is so pathetically lacking in evidence.  I happened to order the curriculum during a three-year confused belief in that teaching (from I think the age of 19 to 22) when I was constantly being fed deceptive information via Christian radio programming.

Well, it seems most of the homeschooling curriculum teaches that, so I went searching for secular homeschooling science, and I came across a website called secularhomeschool.com that talked about a few different science programs, and I looked into Supercharged Science.  After watching the video I decided I absolutely had to sign up for this program!  I got permission from Nathan and went all out, signing up for five years of access to the escience video classes, experiment instructional videos, etc., plus equipment, batteries, kits, etc. for all the major experiments (the remainder of the hundreds or thousands of experiments require easy-to-obtain and inexpensive items).  This is what we got shipped to us:

A peek in the boxes:

An incredible chemistry kit:

William is loving it!!!  He's watching his science videos and doing the experiments.  I will start watching videos with Trust and Liv sometime next year and do experiments with them. 

This program doesn't cover much biology (the woman instructor was a NASA engineer, professor, airplane pilot), but on top of what I can do on my own and know what to look up to help guide the kids, I bought these two awesome Usborne biology books:

The first one is perfect for William.  The second one is great for Trusten.

I bought a new set of learning-to-read books for Olivia (and later Elizabeth):

Also from Usborne I got a cool book on horses and ponies for Olivia, plus a clothing sticker book for different dress styles around the world that is fun for Olivia, while also educating her about different cultures and geographic locations (there's even a page at the back to place stickers of dressed persons on the correct oval that is connected by lines to the proper location on the world map).

There's a whole set of Usborne books I'd like to get dealing with cultural stories and such around the world, but for now I simply bought the one on Greek myths and legends, which is something for which I've always had a particular love:

I love Usborne books!

Okay, then I got a really cute and enjoyable book about animal stories for the girls.  These have been fun to read together!

 

Sorry for the poor picture quality.  I hurriedly pictured these, not in the best conditions.  

I have big plans of doing lots of reading and watching educational videos with the kids during the winter, plus taking lots of woods exploration walks (weather permitting), something to which I'm really looking forward, because it's never worked out too well before, because I've either been pregnant or caring for a child that must be carried in a sling (usually too heavy and cumbersome for exploration) or can't walk around easily or safely.  I think this will be the year!!!  I am prone to get depressed in the winter, so I always repetitively tell myself the positive things about the season, and I'm really hoping this plan will be ultra-fulfilling.  I, of course, will take my vitamin D, too. 

Until next time...

Our Trip to Chicago

In August we drove to Chicago and stayed three nights.  We visited the Shedd Aquarium (boasted the largest in the world), the Field Museum, and the Adler Planetarium. 

Nathan has wanted to go to the Field Museum since the first time he watched The Ghosts and the Darkness, so he could go see the lions.  We almost went a few years ago, when we went to St. Louis to the zoo.  He talked about driving up there afterward.  I don't think I wanted to at the time. 

We sure wished we would have had more time in the museum.  We did not cover it all, and we had to rush one of the sections we wanted more time to see. Overall, though, we really enjoyed our visit, and the kids loved it.  Nathan and I both hate big cities, though.  I don't know how people stand to live in them.

Here are some of the pictures from our trip, some from my iPhone, some from Nathan's, and all the Shedd pictures here are from William's iPad mini.

Shedd Aquarium

It was so mesmerizing to watch the various species of jellyfish.  

 We got to see some bioluminescence-using jellyfish, which made my day.  Jade took a video, too.

 They are such graceful, fascinating animals.

 Aren't they all so neat?!

Just gorgeous...

 There were more lovely Cnidarians, such as corals, anemones, and others.

I enjoyed watching the paddle fish swim and then open mouth to eat.  The deep scoop reminds me of a pelican.

An anaconda!  I think this is the first I've ever seen.  We saw part of it on one side of the glass, then when we made our way to the other side, we saw this other part of its body.  What a monster!

Oh yeah!  Loved this guy (or gal).  I just wish they weren't imprisoned.  These would be better seen in their natural habitat.  They did seem to have quite a bit of space to move around.  It was a large enclosure.  William got a wonderful video of him (or her), too.

This, of course, was Olivia's favorite part of the whole trip.  It was amazing watching the Pacific white-sided dolphins swim.

 

Field Museum

 

Beautiful architecture.  We got several pictures of the building.

 

Baby Love and I

 This was a boy estimated around the age of nine, if I remember correctly, who died in Egypt and was mummified. 

Birds!  There were so many birds.  I'm sad, though, that from what I understand, a lot of animal specimens are actually killed by hunters to supply museums. William became angry.

 Elizabeth certainly enjoyed all the birds, too.

I took a lot of pictures of things that showed mothers and babies, nursing babies, and the birthing mother two pictures below.

Hook depicting a mother nursing a child

 I find it fascinating that in ancient times when mortality rates were high, fertility was such a huge importance, and it showed with all the figurines our ancestors made, but today we treasure contraception to stem overpopulation.

 Elizabeth recognized the hyena.  I've got pictures of her being excited about the birds, too, but she thinks hyenas are funny (because of the sounds they make, mainly).  I've done special research on about hyenas myself, over the last three years, and they will feature somewhere in my next book.

 There were some creepy salamanders in the museum.  This was one of them, misleadingly called the "Congo Eel."  This species of salamander has almost totally lost its legs. 

And THIS is what Nathan had longed to see for years.  We learned some interesting (and sad) history surrounding the two lions and the situation that led them to kill numerous persons.  It's believed the terrible drought and famine that was suffered in that time period led the two lions to kill and eat 135 people.  They are adult male lions but likely did not have manes due to malnutrition. 

 These are the lions' skulls.  The hides were cut up in rugs and had shrunk.  It's amazing that the taxidermist actually made them look as good as they do.  The actual lions, however, were larger.

 It was mind-boggling to see how big some of the ancient sea animals were. We were able to see a modern whale skeleton, though, suspended from the museum ceiling, and I couldn't fit even close to all of it in one picture!

 We would have liked to have had more time to study these.

 

Australopithecus afarensis. The skeleton on the left is the famous one known as "Lucy."  The model on the right is a hypothetical way A. afarensis looked on the outside.

Adler Planetarium and Lake Michigan

 We took a ride to the inside of this "Atwood Sphere," and looked at the star constellations rolling over our heads and down beside us.  See Elizabeth run!

I've got so many pictures of the variety of sun dials and other time-keeping devices.  I was amazed at the wide variety! 

 

We all weighed ourselves in moon weight.  Then the boys and Liv did some moon-jumping simulation (took video). 

 

 I feel so bad, because William kept talking about how he definitely wanted pictures of Lake Michigan, and the first two days were sunny, but the third day was like this (and cold and windy).  I was frustrated for him.  He was so good-natured about it, though. 

 Trusten is so fun to be around!

He's so full of energy!

 Cold weather doesn't bother him (or William, but you'd think with Trusten being so thin he'd freeze).  He's constantly burning through fuel, though, because he's constantly moving!

In Conclusion

 The girls slept soundly together in the hotel.  They're so precious to me!

Until next time...