Woodland Park Zoo

Did anyone take advantage of Woodland Park Zoo's special pricing today for Leap Day? We did and we had a blast. The weather was nearly perfect; it wasn't too cold nor was it too hot, nor did it rain until just before we were ready to head home.

We invited along one of our favorite people, Susan. She's a great friend, has taken on the role of grandmother for my children, and takes great photos. All the photos in this post with the exception of the one with her in it, are courtesy of her.

We started out in the African Savannah. The giraffes were doing this weird thing where they were whipping their necks around each other. It looked like a mating ritual except that the zoo staff told us they were sparring, a behavior called necking. At times, it made them look like a three-headed monster.


Meanwhile, these zebras were casually and quiet grazing nearby. They are such pretty animals.

The zoo staff were in the area showing the kids a ribbon the length of a giraffe's tongue (it's long), letting the kids touch some giraffe skin/fur, look at a giraffe's skull, and compare a giraffe's vertebra to a human's vertebra. While I was looking at these neat items, Josh began climbing this rock behind me. I'm glad I turned and look because he was bent on making it to the top. I was shocked that he was able to do it. He did just turn 1 yesterday after all! Besides climbing rocks, he also insisted on walking most of the day. He ended up splitting his frenulum on one particular fall while walking at an indoor kids exhibit and play around. He's fine; he barely even noticed it.


When we reached places where we could see animals, I'd pick up Josh so he could see. He spent most of the time pointing at them with this look on his face. Here he's checking out an Asian elephant that was only about 20 feet away.

Then we found this sculpture just waiting for someone to climb it. Lots of kids were drawn to it. Here's Mika and Sammy "monkeying around".


We wandered along the paths looking at various animals as we came to them: orangutangs, siamangs, and macaque monkeys. We came across an animal talk with raptors: a great horned owl, barred owl, peregrin falcon, turkey vulture, and others. We walked through the habit areas for the slot bear and Sumatran tigers on our way to lunch. After lunch, we visited the Zoomasium where the kids ran and climbed and played and Josh split his frenulum. Then we headed to the bug house to check out cockroaches, various insects, and several spiders including a taratula, black widow, and a golden orb spider sitting in its web that wasn't behind glass. Afterwards we visited a mock courtroom against spiders and this spider stockade with Susan spider (our friend and photographer) and Sammy spider.

After finding the spiders not guilty, we headed to the family farm to visit the goats, sheep, donkey, rabbits, and chickens. We found this tractor; the kids loved it.


Josh especially loved the tractor. Can you tell? He was turning that wheel and shifting the shifter between his legs and having a grand ol' time.


But we were running out of time and Sammy still wanted to see the lions so we headed that way. On the way, we snuck a peak at the hippos. I think they are just the coolest looking animal with their heads sticking up out of the water watching us.

Then we ran into a road block. The staff had blocked off the trail because they were moving the giraffes. The kids (in green with the thought bubble) were right up agains the chain about 10 feet away from the giraffe. It was amazing to see these large, tall, beautful animals up close.

About this time, the rain began coming down and they still had two more giraffes to move. Sammy was tired and decided he'd rather head home (we'd been ther 4 1/2 hours) than wait. So we headed out.

It was a great day at the zoo. The Woodland Park Zoo is so cool. It is much larger than our local Pt. Defiance Zoo and is only about 40 minutes away. There are so many more animals to see and the park is quite large. One of my favorite things about the park is its winding, trail-like walkways. You can almost pretend you are out in the forest rather than in the middle of the city. It's really nice. The other neat thing about this zoo is the animals have huge and very nice habits. You can't really get through it all in one day. We'll have to go back soon because we didn't get to see several habitat areas of the zoo.

You can see fact sheets and video clips of Woodland Park Zoo animals at their website.

Book Review: The Story of Doctor Doolittle

My kids and I are reading a delightful book by the name of The Story of Doctor Doolittle and enjoying it so much that I just had to tell you all about it. Before our trip to the library on Monday, I did not know that there was such a book. Of course I had heard of and seen the Eddie Murphy movies but I did not know that they were very loosely based on this very old story.

Doctor Doolittle is a quaint, funny, little man who loves animals so much it hurts his business. He learns, with the help of his parrot, to speak animal language and soon becomes world famous in the animal kingdom. Being the kind man that he is, he helps any animal (and person) that comes to him and many of them become his pets. Then, one very cold winter, he gets word that the monkeys in Africa need his help and off he goes on an adventure to help the monkeys. During his trip to, at, and from Africa there are many mishaps and just as many opportunities for discussion with your children. All the while, the kids will be glued to you, listening, laughing, and begging for more.

The book is written in a casual, conversational tone with plenty of descriptive passages and dialogue. Much of it is fantastical, with animals doing and saying things that they never would or could in real life. There's action packed sequences in which the Doctor and his animals are chased by the army of the King of Jolliginki and the Barbary Pirates. You'll find many fun animals, including a fantasy two-headed creature called the pushmi-pullyu. Regardless of what happens to him, the doctor's actions are above reproach as he always does the right thing even to those who would seek to hurt him. All of this really brings the book to life and makes it fun to read. As a plus, there area many opportunities for teaching, from literary topics to moral topics, as you read through the story.

The Story of Doctor Doolittle was written in 1920 by Hugh Lofting. The world was much different back then; attitudes were different and authors and publishers were less concerned about political correctness. Because of this, there are a few things that some would find offensive.

The book portrays the black King of Jolliginki and his men as blundering fools. They lock up the Doctor and his animals twice but are easily fooled. One of them, Prince Bumpo, asks the Doctor to make him white so that he can kiss and win the heart of "Sleeping Beauty" who denied him the first time when she saw that he was black. This apparently, has offended some, leading the book to be edited to make it acceptable (apparently the Prince asks to be changed to a lion in the edited version). As we have read the book, I found that neither my kids nor I have taken the book as an affront to black men. The King of Jolliginki is just another silly character just as all the characters in the book are silly. To draw attention to and be offended by it is taking a children's story too far, in my opinion. I do not believe the author intended to offend. So, what I'm saying here, is that I believe the original version of the book is fine as it is, but if you believe you will be offended by this content, go with the edited version of the book.

It really is a delightful little story and I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

**Disclosure: This review was provided of my own free will. I did not receive anything from the publisher, author, or anyone else for the review. I'm just sharing my feelings, opinions, and experiences that are part of our homeschooling experience.

What's Your Favorite Curriculum?

Sammy is forcing me to make next year's curriculum choices earlier than I was planning to. In fact, he's saying I need to make those choices now. How is he saying this? By finishing up his first grade work early.

Sammy has been doing more than I expect of him which has put him ahead of schedule for completing the year. Yesterday, he finished his phonics work by doing 7 pages. I didn't tell him to do this, he just did it on his own. He only has a couple of days left in reading comprehension. He's on schedule to finish the rest of his language arts probably by the end of April and math by the end of May. I gave his the choice of just being done for the year when he finishes each thing but he doesn't want that; he wants me to buy next year's work so he can start it now.

The problem with him starting now is that I'm considering changing our curriculum choices next year. I'm not sure if we'll keep doing what we are doing, change just some things, or change everything.

Part of me wants to keep with what we are doing; I've already made a few changes anyway. I've scrapped Saxon Math for Math U See; Sammy will start Math U See as soon as he's done with this years math. I've scrapped Spectrum Writing for Writing Strands and was planning on doing the same for Sammy. Other than the math change, I'm not sure what I want to do. Part of me wants to teach writing as part of a unit study type curriculum rather than as a separate topic like Writing Strands is. I KNOW I need to change what we are doing for history and science. If nothing else, we need to be on the ball with getting more done the Konos way. Part of me wants to stay with Konos and commit to something. Part of me wants to change. I've looked at Tapestry of Grace; it sounds great but it also looks like way too much work for my liking. Part of me wants to look at Heart of Wisdom's methods because I keep finding it over and over again when I start searching for ideas and answers. I don't know what to do.

Any suggestions? What curriculum do you use? Do you like it? Why or why not? How time intensive is it? That latter one is important to us because we want to live life, take field trips, be involved in extra-curriculars and not be stuck at home doing school 6 hours a day.

I Want to be Smart

Sammy, my son, is an odd kid. Earlier tonight he was reading a kid's dictionary because he wanted to. No one made him read it. When we asked why he was reading the dictionary, he replied, "Because I want to be smart." We told him he already was smart to which he replied, "I want to be more smart." This isn't the first time we've caught him reading the dictionary.

What about you? Do you have a kid who does odd things like read the dictionary for fun?

Tacoma Kids Weekly: February 25

1. Going to see the University String Orchestra would be a great compliment to any study of music appreciation. They will be performing Wednesday, February 27th at 7:30pm. The concert takes place at the Schneeback Concert Hall at UPS and is free to the public.

2. If you are studying African culture in any way here is an event for you. Lute Explosion, a student run African Dance group from PLU, will be doing a demonstration at the Garfield Book Comany on February 28 from 6-7pm.

3. The Pantages Theater is offering a concert featuring favorite film scores, show tunes, and classics from ballet and opera. What a great way to introduce a wide variety of classic music to kids. Friday, February 29th at 8:00pm there will be a special showing; students 16 and under will receive a complimentary ticket with a paid adult ticket. Adult tickets run from $10 to $21. I do not know if there is a limit to how many students can receive a complimentary ticket with each paying adult. If this is something you think you'd be interested in, give them a call. There's still plenty of seats left when I checked.

4. I've mentioned Izilla Toys in the last couple of weeks and here they are again. Celebrate this year's leap year with a Leapathon at Izilla Toys with a jump rope contest, refreshments, prizes and more. This event is free for all ages and takes place on February 29th from 4-6pm up in Seattle. I can't wait to check out this fun-sounding toy store!

5. If you've never made it up to KidsQuest Children's Museum in Bellevue, Fridays are the day to go. Admission is free from 5-8pm.

6. If you've been wanting to visit Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, Friday, February 29th is the day to do it. In celebration of leap year, Woodland Park Zoo is offering free admission to any kids ages 3-12 who are dressed in green or other frog-related clothing; kids' admission usually runs $8 each. They will be hosting a variety of learning and craft activities about frogs, toads, and amphibians from 10am to 2pm. Adult admission is $11.

7. It is time for Home Depot's Kids Clinic again. Saturday morning from 9am - 12pm stop by any Home Depot to build something fun with the kids. All materials and supplies are provided for free. Home Depot's website doesn't show what March's kit is y The kit for March is a race car (Thank you, Unmainstream Mom, for finding that). You can see what we've built in the past by looking through my previous Home Depot posts.

Favorite Homeschool Product

Today's Heart of the Matter Meme is to tell about our favorite homeschool product. I've been thinking and thinking; it's a hard question for this eclectic homeschool mom because we use a little bit of everything and nothing really stands out. Assuming by "product" we mean something tangible, I'd have to pick three-ring binders.

At the beginning of the year, I pull all my kids' workbooks apart, hole-punch them, and place them into binders. There's a few reasons I do this:

1. We can put multiple workbooks into one large binder.
2. With them consolidated, we don't lose workbooks.
3. We can take all of our work to our chosen spot of the day easily.
4. We can remove pages easily to take with us on appointments.
5. We can remove pages easily to make writing easier; there's no spines bending the pages making it hard to write near the center of the book.

Here's my son working in his language arts binder . This binder holds his spelling, phonics, language arts/grammar, and reading comprehension work for the entire school year.

Animal Classification Made Fun

Last week on my Tacoma Kids Weekly post, I mentioned that the Pt. Defiance Zoo would be free to Tacoma residents on Wednesday, February 20th. Guess where we were yesterday? At the zoo, of course. We try to take advantage of these frequent free days as often as we can. With the gorgeous weather, how could we not go? Plus it is a great place to do school.

We are starting our Orderliness Unit Study and part of that is animal classification. After a quick lesson at home about how animals are classified, we headed out the door with a classification- based scavenger hunt and clipboards. They were to find things like the species name for the Sumatran Tiger or the name of the male Odobenus rosmarus who lives at the zoo. In addition to finding the 11 things on their list, we just enjoyed the animals and the playground there. Here are some trip highlights:

We arrived just in time for the keeper talk at the Panthera tigris sumatrae enclosure. We had a great chance to observe one of them as she tossed him some bones to enjoy. Here you can see him crouched down ready to jump.



Here are the kids at the Bubalus depressicornis and Nomascus leucogenys enclosure. It was quite interesting to watch one of the Nomascus leucogenys act as if he was afraid of the baby Bubalus depressicornis (baby is behind the kids) while another Nomascus leucogenys groomed/picked at an adult Bubalus depressicornis .

Who says school work needs to be done at a desk or table? Here Sammy found a nice, comfy rock to recline on while he wrote the scientific name of his favorite zoo animal: the Spheniscus magellanicus.

The Delphinapterus Leucas is another favorite of my kids. Josh seemed particularly intrigued by that large thing swimming by.



Of course, no trip to the Pt. Defiance Zoo is complete without a visit with the family. I think all young Homo sapiens love this sculpture.


Then we helped Josh feed Ovis aries for the first time. He didn't know what to think of that.


Ever since they put in the Kids Zone, we can't go home until we visit there. Here's Josh taking his first trip down the otter slide. He loved it!



Mika loves to monkey around.



Meanwhile, Josh was checking out the flaps on this wall. If it is still there when he is older, he'll read about some of the amazing jumping abilities of several animals.




We found this cutie in the Kids Zone and wondered why the last half of his tail was a completely different color as the rest of his body. Unfortunately, there were no zoo keepers around to ask. Do you know why his tale would be so different?

And to make a great day complete, Mika found her first ladybug of the season.

Wilcox Family Farms

Fortunately for us, we all got healthy soon enough to go on our scheduled field trip to Wilcox Family Farms out in Roy. (Of course, I did use about a one inch stack of tissue wiping Josh's very runny nose but he wasn't contagious anymore.) The kids were very happy we were able to go and had a ball. After four hours on the farm, they didn't want to leave and Sammy is now ready to leave the city behind and move out to the country.

After an hour's drive, we arrived at the farm. With the huge group participating (about 180 homeschoolers), we arrived early for check-in. The kids were free to join other kids and play while we waited. There was plenty of room to run, of course. The kids also found this:

The farm had set up a couple of water pumps in a trough so they could play/experiment with using a pump. Mine were quite happy with PLAYING with the pump but appreciated our running water. There was also a barn set up with some dairy-related things to look at and some hands on activities.

When it was time to start the tour, we broke up into groups. We headed over to the one room schoolhouse. We played outside like pioneer children until the "teacher" rang the bell. Then we lined up and headed in, girls first, of course. After inspecting the coat room, the kids sat at old school desks and we learned a little bit about the history of the schoolhouse and how the school was conducted. This schoolhouse was used from 1905 to the 1930's. It used to be located down by the lake; the children walked, or rode a horse in the snow, back then. The family moved the schoolhouse up to the main area to maintain better.

After "school", we loaded on an old schoolbus and headed out for a driving tour of the farm land and to the petting farm. This was the first time my kids have ever been on a school bus. We were a bit crowded...Sammy had to sit on his sister's lap.

When we arrived at the petting farm, we were greeted by this sweetheart. The kids were immediately drawn to her before we were warned....she's pregnant and she's not in a good mood today. "Not in a good mood" was kind of an understatment; anytime someone got close to her pen, she charged it, shaking her head at us. Poor girl!

Inside the petting farm area, we found 2 horses, 2 goats, some sheep, and this wonderful hay pile to play in. The kids alternated between feeding and petting the animals (leaving sweetheart above alone, of course) and jumping in the hay.

We headed back out to wait for our bus ride back. While we waited the kids climbed and stood on this fence. Here's Sammy on that same fence. Wonder what they are looking at standing there on that fence?
Why these twin gentle beauties, of course! Aren't they sweet? BTW, my kids had no idea just how big cows could get before today. Grumpy girl above was particularly large and tall. Now they know.

I snapped this beautiful photo of the Wilcox land with Mt. Rainier in the background out the bus window on the way back to the main area. All of it is theirs (to the hills); I think they said they have about 1500 acres.

When we got back from the petting farm, we headed into another barn/museum. That's where I found this 1926 Model T. I thought it was cool; my kids weren't impressed. Let's go play outside in the sun, they said. You'd think they'd hadn't seen the sun in ages. Oh, yeah! I forgot, they haven't. We live in the Pacific Northwest where there isn't any sun.

There was also this newer, but still old, milk truck.

And some old gas pumps to go with the old cars. The sign says these pumps were used by the farm up until 1979.
Then the hay ride arrived back and we all climbed aboard. The kids loved sitting on the hay bales and being pulled by the tractor. The tractor and hay trailor were brought out to us by Rainier Two-Cylinder Club. Thanks guys!!! They took us to one of their free range chicken areas where they have 14,000 chickens housed. When the kids were done visiting the chickens and exploring, we got a tractor pull back. The kids played and climbed on some old tractors until I pulled them kicking and screaming (not really) back to the car. I sat and rested on the grass watching them play. If I had water, lunch, and a blanket I could have stayed there all day in the glorious sun watching the kids run and play and laugh.

On the way home, I had the opportunity to snap this perfect photo of Mt. Rainier. If we ever move out of Washington, I'll miss this sight probably more than anything.

New Design!

I'm so excited about my new design that I just had to get it up right away even if it is a little emty looking. I'll be designing sidebar elements to match the look a little at a time and adding the widgets back in. Please excuse the lack of...well...everything...while I get it put back together.

I might have to go stare at my blog for a while before I get back to work though.

Tacoma Kids Weekly: Fun Low Cost Events

Hello everyone! My family is still recovering (some still suffering) from the flu but I'm finally here posting this week's list of things to do. I have a few ideas for you this week.

February 18-24, 2008

1. In honor of President's Day, the Washington State History Museum is offering free admission to anyone sharing a first or last name with any US President or First Lady. So, if you are John, James, Rachel, or Mary head on over there. Valid ID required. If you are the Adams, Madison, or Johnson family, gather up the whole clan for a fun trip. For a complete list of US Presidents and their First Ladies, go here.

2. Tacoma city residents get into the Point Definance Zoo and Aquarium for free on Wednesday, February 20th. Proof of residency is required. This is a terrific time of year to visit the zoo because the cooler weather means the animals are.more active and interesting to observe.

3. Last week I mentioned Izilla Toys up in Seattle. Wednesday night from 5pm to 8pm, they are hosting a Game Night where they will be providing pizza and games for all ages. Isn't that a great sounding toy store?

4. It is time for the Third Thursday Artwalk in Tacoma. Thursday evening, from 5pm to 8pm, many art venues in downtown Tacoma are free. Venues include the Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, Washington State History Museum, and 15 gallaries. Check here for a list of venues.

5. The Tacoma Art Museum is free all day Thursday as part of the Third Thursday Artwalk. Kids enjoy their open art studio where they can practice making art with a variety of materials.

6. Kids participating in the Lowe's Build and Grow program will be making a bird feeder on Saturday, February 23rd. Just drop from 10am to 11am to participate. Kids new to the program will receive a free apron to sew their badges to. The website shows a photo of the project and indicates that you need to pre-register but my local store told me pre-registration was unnecessary. The program, including all supplies, is free.

7. Michaels' kids in-store craft this Saturday is the Black and White Tic-Tac -Toe. The program is only $2 per child. too. Show up anytime beween 10:30am and 12:00pm. The coordinator will help them make the craft while you browse the store. The link will take you to a photo of this month's crafts.

8. Do you kids love yo-yos? The Pacific Northwest Yo-Yo Championships are taking place in the Seattle Centerhouse Saturday. This would be a great opportunity to see some really cool yo-yoing. It's free too.

Go out and have fun!

Life Skills 101

Poor Josh is feeling pretty miserable today. He has the flu now too. I had to drag the kids to Fred Meyer for some groceries, supplies, and medicine. It really wiped out Josh and you could see him go downhill quick from sitting in the cart. Of course, when we got home, I had to put everything away and get the older kids something to eat.

Being the wonderful big sister that she is, Mika stepped right in and held Josh while I was busy in the kitchen. She did such a good job that Josh fell asleep. She hated having to pass him over to me, knowing that the extra sleep would do him good.

I couldn't pass up posting about this on my homeschool blog (vs. on my mommy blog) for two reasons; one is just that it such a good photo of such a sweet act and two is that without homeschooling my daughter wouldn't have this kind of exposure to real life skills.

By being home all day and getting dragged along to every conceivable errand there is, my kids get a real life course in life skills. We could even call it Life Skills 101. That course now includes a chapter called "How to Care for a Sick Infant."

No public or private school class can teach a life skills class as effectively as real life. If I had chosen to send my kids to public school, I'd probably schedule all of my errands during school hours because it happens to be easier to do that kind of stuff without three kids in tow. But they'd never get to see how to run a household, do transactions at the bank, compare prices and use coupons at the grocery store, and the many other things we just do every day. When I was a first time mom, I had no clue what I was doing and I had to learn the hard way. Fortunately, thanks to homeschooling, my kids will be able to start their adult lives with some experience under their belts.

Egg in the Bottle Experiment

We are trying to wrap up our bird lapbook but, with me having the flu, it will be challenging. One of the things we have liked about this lapbook is the fun little crafts and experiments that have been included. I already posted about the delicious bird nests that we made out of chow mein noodles and melted chocolate. Today I'd like to tell you that the old egg in a bottle experiment is quick, easy, fun and quite entertaining. Unfortunately, it happens so quick you can't really get good photos of it happening.
Here's Mika inspecting the egg and the bottle (we used a frappuccino bottle). She couldn't figure out how we were going to get that egg in that bottle.

Look! One egg inside one bottle! It just popped right in there.

Then there is a trick for getting the egg back out of the bottle that is equally baffling...you blow into the bottle. Sammy is showing you that the egg is now back out of the bottle.

The kids love these type of little kitchen experiments. They tend to get excited about them and wish I would do more of them. Unfortunately, science is not my strong subject and I have a hard time understanding why things happen well enough to explain it to the kids.