crystalized expectations
School started today in Bedford for the public school kids, but not for us: we've got a vacation trip planned next week so we're in summer mode for a little while yet. But that doesn't mean we're not learning! In advance of our geology study this September I checked out a book of experiments for kids, and the photos of crystals were deeply attractive to Elijah. For days he asked me if I'd help him make one, but I put him off: my feeling is that those things never work. You do all that prep work and imagine a beautiful crystal growing before your eyes, only to have nothing happen at all for days, and then only a vague scattering of grains. I wanted to spare him the disappointment. But he persisted, so a couple days ago we followed the instructions for experiment one: we boiled a cup of water, added three-plus cups of sugar—slowly, stirring the whole time—and some food coloring. Then we poured it all in a jar, let it cool a little, and put in sticks coated with sugar (seed crystals) for the thing to grow on.
As I expected, it didn't work. But the failure mode was the opposite of what I though would happen. Rather than nothing happening at all, within 12 hours nine-tenths of the solution in the jar had crystalized solidly to the point where we couldn't even pull the sticks out. Maybe we used too much sugar? Boiled it too long? The recipe doesn't say anything about what might possibly go wrong, so I guess more experimentation is required. Which is really the point of science, I suppose! It's going to be a good year.
cold
It got cold today! Very exciting, and it made it really feel like September. Harvey is delighted to get to wear his hooded sweatshirt; me, it's baking I'm excited about. We had the oven on and rather than it driving us out of the sweltering kitchen—which is what we've been used to the last month or so—the warmth was positively welcome! The other thing that we all love (all but Leah anyway) is getting to pile blankets on the bed, which we'll certainly be doing because we've still got the fans going at night. Of course, with our Cape Cod vacation coming up next week we're also hoping that summery weather isn't gone for good, but either way we're going to be sleeping good tonight!
special delivery
This morning much noise next door alerted us to the fact that our neighbor was having a tree taken down. Last time the tree service folks were on our street our driveway was clogged up with the old minivan, so as much as I wanted to ask for the woodchips I didn't have any place to actually put them. Today I not only had a spot, but with the chipper working in the next driveway over they could even send the chips directly into our yard! They were delighted to not have to cart the chips away but a little hesitant at my delivery plan—with good reason, because when they eventually decided to go with it the hurricane blast from the chipper sent chunks of wood all the way across the deck into the inflatable pool and probably beyond. I understood then why they wanted to be sure the kids and dogs would stay out of the backyard! I was quite happy with the whole process—free woodchips!—but I guess they felt bad for the mess, and after the chipping was done one of the guys came over and gas-blowered everything off the deck. So not only do we have a pile of prime woodchips, the deck and concrete area by the cellar door are cleaner then they've been for quite some time! Wins all around.
moments from the week
best snack spot
Moments from the past week.
hanging out at church
the ocean is the best
Elijah loves his new bathrobe
the banana bread Harvey baked (and posed)
sporting
it's a party!
a morning out
Cooler weather rekindled our enthusiasm for adventure last week, so on Friday we loaded up the bikes for a trip to Fairhaven Bay. I was interested in seeing how high the water was after the recent flooding, but mostly I just wanted to get out and moving! The boys were amenable.
adventure
We've been there plenty of times now, but but it's a big place and there are still paths we've never explored, so we were able to try something of a different route. Elijah is constantly improving as a cyclist, and I was very impressed at how easily he handled the hills—sure, he had to walk up a few of the steepest spots, but he did it with a will and without hardly any complaining at all! Of course, the other boys are awesome as well. It's a great place to ride if you don't mind hills: the ups and downs are exciting, and the paths are mostly smooth and free of rocks and roots.
The river was a little disappointing: it was high, but less so than last time we visited. Never mind, there are other exiting things to visit—like Walden Pond, up on the other side of the woods. Some of us were a little nervous about crossing the train tracks to get there, but we all did it and were rewarded by getting to put our feet in the water. We didn't stay long though, because staying still we started to get cold, if you can believe it. Crossing the tracks again I opined confidently that trains came by very infrequently, so of course less than a minute later, as we were still putting on our shoes, there one was. They're always exciting to watch up close, especially when you're on the same side of the tracks as all your stuff.
whoooosh!
Of course, the best part of adventuring is the snacks—and especially getting to eat them in all kinds of fun spots. Elijah enjoyed half of his on the cliffside perch pictured in yesterday's post and saved the other half until we found this shelter.
we're not sure it would keep off the rain, but it sure looks cool
All that, and we made it home in time for lunch!
hitting the beach hard
We're on vacation in Truro again. We made the most of our first day away from home, stopping at the beach in Eastham for an afternoon of play in the surf... and the best part of it is that, since the puppies stayed back home, Leah could join us! Of course, we're missing them, but we're also relishing the unaccustomed freedom and have high hopes for the rest of the vacation. Lots more beaching to come!
butterfly garden
Years ago I vowed to do my part to grow milkweed for the monarch butterflies. But we didn't stop there! We also have all kinds of butterfly-friendly flowers for the adults to sip on and water for them to drink. So every year we can count on enjoying having them around the place. But this year is something else! In our backyard and along the driveway they're always there—at any moment you can look out and see one. Or more than one: the other day I think I counted eight just in a little patch of our backyard! I tried to get a picture with all of them but they wouldn't sit still and pose, so this is just a sample of the monarch excitement we've been witnessing.
there's actually two in this picture if you look closely
I have no idea what's led to the jump in their numbers. I've been joking that we've singlehandedly reversed their population decline, but that's probably not it. Maybe they're attracted by all the weed flowers we have growing in the lawn, because the lawn mower isn't working? Or maybe we've just reached a critical mass of butterfly bush, tall phlox, and zinnias, and are attracting all the monarchs in Bedford. Sorry to everybody else in that case... but you're welcome to stop by for a viewing!
moments from the week
beach vacation
Moments from the past week.
the best bike path
sunset on their private beach
vacation isn't just about the beach
back to school
the 2021-2022 school year gets under way
We had kind of a soft launch to school this year: On Wednesday Zion took an hour and a half out of his vacation to participate in the first meeting of his Zoom historical fiction book group, then on Friday we went to our friends' house so that Harvey could kick off his book group and while we were there we did a few other things together. But today was the real launch of our two-family, three-days-a-week school group, and we had a grand old time. Unfortunately I had to spend a good two and a half hours away from the learning excitement at an in-person work meeting; but no worries, my co-instructor had things well in hand for the morning! The kids talked about learning, and about apples. Then in the afternoon we started a construction project rehabilitating the collapsing sandbox roof. Now that's educational! The only thing missing from the day was the formerly-traditional first day of school pictures, with signs. Oh well. This post will have to go unillustrated, and I don't think we'll do the pictures this year. It's too late: school is well and truly launched!
just like our woods
I may not watch television or follow baseball any more, but I do more than my share of staring at sports on screens—mostly cycling on youtube or Redbull TV. Downhill mountain biking is my favorite, and I've been enjoying it for two seasons now. Shortened seasons, though, since naturally the pandemic made things hard for the organizers of the UCI Downhill World Cup series. And as it happens all of the races last season and the first four this summer were in Europe, so I got used to seeing the action taking place in the picturesque Alps. But this week the last two races of the season are taking place in West Virginia, and this afternoon was the first practice runs. And it looks just like the woods where we ride! I hadn't registered how different the high-altitude forests of Austria, Italy, and Switzerland are to the ones I'm used to: that's just what mountain bike courses on TV looked like. But now they're going to be riding the deciduous forest of the Eastern US, just like I do! I can't wait to watch the race action.
in the waves
Our Cape trip last week was mostly about playing in the waves. With Hurricane Larry somewhere in the mid-Atlantic we expected some heavy surf; in the event I don't think it made much of an impact, but there was plenty of wave action for everybody anyway.
testing them out
As I mentioned our first stop on the trip was Coast Guard Beach in Eastham. We parked in the visitor center lot and the boys and I rode our favorite bike path in to the beach—and this time Elijah made it the whole way without needing to push up any hills! Leah doesn't bicycle these days so she walked, and very much enjoyed the rare opportunity to be out by herself without the dogs. We got to the beach at right about high tide, and the waves were big enough to be fun without being at all threatening. Best of all, they were pushing right up the beach without a lot of rolling chaos, so all the boys were able to body surf without a problem. As the tide went out it got a little more challenging, but no one was seriously injured and all would have been happy to stay even longer than we did. But dinner in Truro awaited!
The beach on the Bay side in Truro is usually pretty sedate, but on Wednesday a steady wind out of the southwest was pushing some pretty good swells against the sand at a 45 degree angle. Expecting calmer waters the boys had the inflatable boats with them, and we spent an exciting couple hours launching them into the surf, riding the swells, then being pummeled back to shore. So fun!
waiting for the perfect moment
they're some noticeable waves
but once you're in, it's all easy!
There were so many waves packed into those two days that we didn't even mind when Thursday was cool and rainy. We needed a break! Of course, even on the beach it's not all action: we know how to do a vacation right.
what he does when he's not in the water
steps in the right direction
As I think I must have said at least once already, I tend not to write about my carpentry projects in these pages because I feel like I should wait until I finish one before I reveal it, and I never actually finish anything. Instead I get to 90 or 95 percent and then get distracted by something else—but it's fine because 90 percent is good enough. Like our back deck. I started building it in September 2019 (as seen in the second photo here) and stopped work when winter weather and darkness took over mid-November. Also I'd blown my whole lumber budget for the year.
But in the two years since then I haven't forgotten my original plans, and this week they took an important step forward with the construction of the stairs by the chicken coop and a lower deck section and/or bench that continues the curve of the deck around the fire pit. Last weekend I had just thought I was going to do the stairs, but when I got going I thought the other part should be integrated with them so I tore out what I'd done, got some more lumber, and made it even better. These words would make a lot more sense with a picture or two, but I didn't want to photograph the new part of the deck until... I finish it. Hopefully I'll at least get enough screws in by tomorrow that the evening's guests won't fall through! But finished or not the stairs are definitely usable, and I every time I use them I marvel at how easy they make getting around the backyard now. Just imaging how cool this deck'll be when it's done!
can I organize things?
I don't think of myself as a particularly organized person, much less one who can organize groups of other people. And yet that's what I find myself doing this week. This past Sunday I had to lead a workshop at church for folks who wanted to learn more about the elementary kids program and possibly—hopefully!—volunteer, and with admirable forethought (if I do say so myself) I prepared a sign-in sheet so I could remember who was there and track em down later. In the event only two people came—two people who I already know well—so it wasn't needed. But I would have been ready! Then on Wednesday we ran a Park Day at Varney Playground in Chelmsford, which I advertised on a homeschooling group on Facebook. We're planning to meet weekly through the first part of the fall at least, and since I don't like Facebook I wanted to get people's email and phone numbers. So another sign-up sheet! And this time it was well worth it, since of the eight families who showed up I only knew three ahead of time. Plus getting the kids' names written down helped me learn them all instantly, unlike the last couple homeschool gatherings we've attended where I wasn't even sure at the end who all had come for park day and who just happened to be at the playground. The afternoon was fun for all, and we're looking forward to doing it again next week! Unless it's pouring rain, in which case I'll be able to email folks to cancel. Organization!
moments from the week
what gathering looks like in the fall
Moments from the past week.
breakfasthead
the art of school
dodgeball at Park Day
sometimes you relax at the skate park
Bedford Day parade!
a beautiful end to a beautiful day
catching up (again)
More cheating from me! Like last time, I've been trying to do many things at once the past couple weeks (including getting an appropriate amount of rest—self-care is essential!) and one of the things that's slipped through the cracks is keeping up with writing. But I've been feeling guilty about it! So I'm delighted to report that I've now finally got all of my thoughts and ideas from last week into publishable form (publishable on my low-standards blog, of course) and posted retroactively to make it look like I was on the ball the whole time. I hope you enjoy six (seven, counting this one) new posts in one evening!
Bedford Day returns!
Bedford Day was cancelled in 2020 thanks to the pandemic. So was Pole Capping, Fourth of July, and Halloween. Then we also missed Pole Capping and Fourth of July in 2021. So let me tell you, there was some excitement for Bedford Day 2021! It happened this past weekend, and it was spectacular.
boom!
I don't know if there were more people out than the last time we celebrated as a town, but enthusiasm certainly felt higher as we arrived at the center of town for the parade Saturday morning. We met the same friends as last time—well, mostly, since in the intervening years all the kids have gotten older so some of them are now marching with karate or soccer. So we waved at them. There was a little less candy-throwing than past years but still plenty, lots of which—again—failed to reach the barricades along the side of the street. We didn't let our kids crawl under, but they still managed to get enough to kick off their sugar rush.
local color in full flower
their instincs kick in
Not that they needed much parade candy, because the fair following the parade was full of sugary treats. Elijah was possessed by the idea of cotton candy so the first thing we did was wait in a long line to get some at $3 a shot (Zion too; Harvey chose a much shorter line for pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream). We felt a little sheepish later when we found another booth with free cotton candy, but that just meant the kids got another hit. We also enjoyed snow cones (free), popcorn ($2), and homemade chocolate chip blondies ($1: much the best deal). Plus we even found time to eat the lunches we brought!
he's been waiting for this for two years
Zion's two best friends were in the karate demonstration this year, so it was extra fun to watch. And there were balloons to play with, and fire trucks to tour, and the library book sale. Elijah got face paint. Then everything started closing down and we went home.
everybody starting to wind down
But unlike past years, that wasn't the end of the festivities! In Bedford we have Fourth of July fireworks only every five years, and we missed our shot in 2020. Never mind, leftover fireworks are much better in September, when the show can start at 7:30! We rejoined our friends—they brought glow sticks!—and the kids ran and played until the sky lit up with the most amazing fireworks display I've seen for at least two years.
now that's a celebration
farewell to summer
We're never quite sure where exactly the equinox falls. On the calendar we marked it down for today, but does that mean that tonight is the same length as today, or was it last night? In any case, we figured that yesterday was the last day of astronomical summer and we determined to celebrate it appropriately. Which, never mind that it was actually kind of chilly, meant taking the boats to the pond!
waterfront action
We actually haven't gotten them out all that much the last couple months, so it was extra exciting to hit the water. The sun came and went as we paddled around looking for a good spot to set up camp, but by the time we found one, ate our lunch, and got ready to swim, it was solidly hidden by low gray clouds. So while the water was probably warmer than just about every time we've swum this summer, it was a bit of an effort to take the plunge. Of course we all did eventually, and after a while the clouds parted again for a time. Elijah had to take the most breaks to warm up, but there were rocks to jump on (and lie on when the sun was shining) and he and I even took a little mini hike up the hill above the pond. Harvey and Zion just swam and swam, and played with the boat and paddles.
With peaches from the farmers market on the way home it felt like a perfect way to see off the summer. Then at supper time we made a fire, and, though we were a little too busy playing and chatting with the friends who came over—and toasting marshmallows—to do any real reflection on the change of seasons, I think it did the job of marking the equinox the way it deserves to be marked. Now bring on the fall!
foxy laddie
There was so much else to report when I was writing about Bedford Day that I wasn't able to give Elijah's face paint the attention that it deserved. I need to remedy that because, just like every time, he went all in with it and looked amazing.
face paint is serious business
I can't remember either of the other boys being so into face paint at seven, or any other age. I think they lack his commitment to personal ornamentation, and also his willingness to communicate with strangers. Which you need to do if you want someone to give you that kind of attention! He's also really patient: there wasn't much of a line for the face-painting booth, but he still needed to wait at least ten minutes before he got his turn, and then the painting itself took close to that.
the process
Totally worth it though! I only wish the paint job itelf lasted a little longer... it was already smudged by the time we headed home an hour or two later, and after 24 hours all that was left was the white triangles above his eyes and a lingering spray-tan looking orange cast to his cheeks. He tells me we have our own face paint set somewhere in the basement though, and he's already planning his next look.
out of abundance of caution
We had to cancel school today because of illness. Our Friday school group is three families: last night one family's kids were feeling sick with sore throat and runny nose so they decided they'd stay home today; then the other family decided that it'd be safer to stay away too; and that turns out to have been a wise plan because in the middle of the night Zion woke up with a little fever and sore throat. Now, in pre-pandemic days none of these symptoms would have stopped us from doing anything—with such a fun day ahead of us we would have needed to be dying to call it off—but the coronavirus is a whole nother thing. Never mind not wanting to get it: that goes without saying. But almost as bad would be having to tell your friends that you had it and exposed them. How embarrassing!
It's probably nothing. Everybody will probably be all better tomorrow. But I don't mind missing a day. In the old days we probably used to all get each other sick all the time! At least today we spared giving one other family a cold, and that seems worthwhile. And just in case, we have Covid tests to take before church on Sunday!
moments from the week
he didn't have a kite so he tried this parachute
Moments from the past week.
grape-lemonade from the the grapes they picked
birding from the boat
apple pie season
happy birthday Grandpa!
is this the pandemic?
We had a busy day yesterday. Indoor in-person Kids Church started up again—for the first time since March 2020!—and the boys and I left the house at 8:00 so I could be sure to be ready for the 9:15 start time. It went wonderfully, and it was so lovely to be there with the kids doing fuze beads again, but it was a little more involved schedule-wise than turning on the computer for a 45-minute like I was used to for the last year and a half. Then straight from church we headed to a mini-golf course for a birthday party—well, the first part of a birthday party, because after a mostly successful 17 holes (one of them was closed) we headed to the birthday boy's house for a couple hours of backyard socializing. By the time we got home at 5:30 I was wiped out!
I guess we've been doing plenty all summer, so it's not a total departure. But being inside again for church, and the fact that the party was with friends who we've seen much less over the past year and a half than we always used to, made the day feel like one from before the pandemic times. Of course, we were wearing masks all the time we were inside, and there weren't many people at either Kids Church or the party. So maybe we're just getting used to this life?
outdoor learning in the suburbs
One of my favorite things about learning at home is how much time we get to spend outside. Tons of playing, of course, and educational play opportunities like when the kids spent an hour last week picking wild grapes and then made grape lemonade. But also the chance to do more traditional schooling stuff out of doors amidst the beauty and decay of the early fall garden. All the fresh air makes those math brains work better! The only problem with outdoor learning in the suburbs is that you have a good chance it's going to be hard to hear each other. Because pretty much, as long as it's nice out someone's going to be busy with loud gas-powered lawn care.
the joys of garden school
I don't keep records, but it seems to me that the same thing happened last week at the same time. At least the lawn-service guys know their business and get in and out pretty quickly so we only had to deal with the obnoxious drone of the mowers, trimmers, and blowers for about 20 minutes—and it was only too loud to hear each other talk for about half that time. Then they left, and we were able to converse easily again... at least when there weren't airplanes buzzing overhead on their way to land at the airport a mile away.
As for our own lawn care, I'm proud to report I haven't contributed one bit to the noise pollution of the neighborhood in the past couple months. I'm so impressive, using the push reel mower exclusively ever since my gas mower stopped working!
that answers that question
A couple weeks ago the dogs got sprayed by a skunk. They were sad puppies, and Leah was sad too because she had to be in the car with them for the whole drive home, and then give them a bath (I was no help at all because this was the early morning walk and I was still in bed). As people—including me—heard the story of their adventure, the natural response was, "I wonder if they learned their lesson?" This morning we have the answer, and it's no. At daybreak, back for another walk at the same place they got skunked before, they had another encounter—with the same results. And another stinky trip home, and another bath. In Dog Man: For Whom the Ball Rolls baths are the consequence Lil Petey uses to help Dog Man learn to ignore balls and squirrels, but it takes hundreds, if not thousands, of repetitions; we don't have that kind of shampoo budget.
That's not to say there were no lessons learned: Leah won't be going back to Foss Farm any time soon!
a day at the park
Our park day offering is going well. Yesterday was the third meeting of the four I committed us too, and it was the biggest one yet, with at least 14 families. The playground certainly felt filled up! Besides lots of free play and climbing, there was also some dodge ball, races, tug-of-war, and jump-roping. And for the most part, it was all kid-organized, with the parents free to relax and chat (and mind the babies, as applicable). I did step in a little bit to organize the tug-of-war and also joined in with a small group who were wishing their pirate game could have more participants. I only had to walk the plank three or four times before some of the big kids saw the appeal of the idea and joined in (and I could make my escape!). Parks Days are good. To quote an email from Advocates for Homeschool Education in Massachusetts (AHEM):
Park days are a melting pot. Homeschooling in Massachusetts attracts a pretty diverse group of people, and the families at our local park day have come from all different backgrounds and perspectives. I have seen the same scene countless times — kids of different genders and ages running around together. And not just running but playing organized games without any adult input. If you have doubts that homeschoolers can be properly “socialized,” this is the place to go to put those doubts to rest.
socialization in action