tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21942538150262839882012-01-27T17:14:02.462-05:00A geeky, eclectic, nature loving family, learning, growing, and having fun together in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley.Chelenoreply@blogger.comBlogger7541100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-3798514854263559822012-01-27T17:14:00.000-05:002012-01-27T17:14:02.474-05:00

Mikro and I did our sketches for this week's topic, but finished too late to post them on Illustration Friday. So I'll just show them here. The topic is: Twirl. Mine is maple seedpods, Mikro's is a tornado with a car, cow, etc. getting blown about and a storm chase vehicle tracking the storm. I love seeing what Mikro will come up with each week. It's fun to see how differently our minds

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-43265149718804791472012-01-27T00:03:00.000-05:002012-01-27T00:03:15.500-05:00

Let's see... It's my second week of the happiness project. Art supplies have been bringing a big smile to my face. I used Derwent Inktense Blocks on the cover of one of my little journals in an abstract design, and covered it (OK, fingerpainted it, I'll admit that I was too lazy to go look for a brush) with Liquitex Iridescent Medium. I'm going to use it to record ideas for art projects. I

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-41276860321799364612012-01-19T14:44:00.000-05:002012-01-19T14:44:41.836-05:00

Our local library has had some wonderful art programs recently. Last Saturday, we had a kids' cartooning workshop, and an adult class on tissue paper collage. (This big never grew up kid was invited to draw with all the other (actual) kids when I raised my hand in response to instructor Jamie Ross' question, "Who likes to draw cartoons?", so I did!) First we looked at how to draw some popular

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-28701927234944884442012-01-18T22:42:00.000-05:002012-01-18T22:42:38.821-05:00

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-16119719729072357352012-01-18T20:04:00.000-05:002012-01-18T20:04:54.373-05:00

Several online friends are doing a project where every week, they post the things that make them happy. Since it is way too easy to focus on the negative things in life, I love this idea, and I hope I can remember to make it a weekly practice. So, anyway, here are some of the things that make me happy, in no particular order: My river. I have this inexplicable soul deep connection to the

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-69276363533424068882012-01-17T23:54:00.001-05:002012-01-17T23:55:32.643-05:00

We finally made it out to my parents' place for the holidays. Gramma, Grampa & Unca Bobby had fun spoiling the boy rotten.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-30106027383195910082012-01-17T23:31:00.002-05:002012-01-17T23:31:38.173-05:00

Mikro is currently obsessed with stargazing. He can identify several constellations, including Orion, Cassiopeia, Taurus, Draco, the Pleiades, The Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. He can also identify Jupiter, Venus and Mars, and has observed all of the above, as well as one of Jupiter's moons, with binoculars and a spotting scope. Mikro's interest in biology and zoology continues to

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-39085888095084507262012-01-17T23:26:00.002-05:002012-01-17T23:26:57.454-05:00

Mikro once again participated in the Nanowrimo Young Writers Program and successfully completed a story which exceeded his word count goal. He is suddenly much more eager to practice his penmanship. His spelling is spot on for phonetically spelled words, and he has mastered many irregularly spelled words as well. He is enjoying playing Grammar Ninjas online, doing Mad Libs, and playing

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-69541637200378466732012-01-17T21:25:00.000-05:002012-01-17T21:25:00.661-05:00

Besides Ancient Africa, this quarter we have covered US Geography, local history, the civil rights movement, Occupy Wall Street, etc. "

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-41211327475242596362012-01-09T21:30:00.001-05:002012-01-09T21:32:23.101-05:00

Anyone out there familiar with OMAX brand microscopes? We are considering buying one, and would love to hear people's experiences with the brand. Here's the one we are drooling over: And the same scope without the camera is a hundred dollars less... This is where the money I got from my Mom and Dad for Christmas is going to go, methinks. It's supposed to be for me, but furthering my little

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-56563054495342314192012-01-09T21:14:00.001-05:002012-01-09T21:14:48.194-05:00

Just found this nifty post-holiday deal on a reflector telescope from Amazon.com: The stars are Mikro's current passion, and this is less than half what I expected to pay for a decent telescope. It even comes with computer software for identifying constellations. I think someone is going to be quite happy with this!

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-24867933808247161832012-01-04T17:08:00.003-05:002012-01-17T21:08:34.479-05:00

Lots happening. Mikro's conceptual understanding of all four basic math operations is solid. He has an easy time with multiplication, and has a lot of the tables fairly solidly committed to memory. He understands that division is the inverse operation, and can work out simple division problems. We have just barely introduced the idea of long division. He does not like addition or

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-88426702497207301562012-01-04T14:13:00.000-05:002012-01-04T14:13:04.565-05:00

This quarter, we have been studying Ancient Africa, and reading many African folktales. Mikro loves these stories, and we now own many of the books that we initially borrowed from our local library system. Here are some of our resources: Videos: Books:

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-48037708895668346242012-01-01T00:16:00.002-05:002012-01-01T00:16:47.907-05:00

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-85423190581593527382011-12-31T22:18:00.000-05:002011-12-31T22:18:04.828-05:00

Mikro and I took a walk on the beach and watched the last sunset of 2011. May 2012 be filled with peace, love, good health and prosperity for us all!

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-28116884956045904312011-12-30T20:12:00.002-05:002011-12-30T20:12:54.490-05:00

Mikro continues to be interested in zoology and invertebrate anatomy. To further that curiosity, we ordered a sea star dissection kit from Carolina Biological Supply. If you are not grossed out by such things, you can follow along as we examine the gross anatomy and internal structures of this echinoderm in this post.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-9500544336335513452011-12-30T19:41:00.002-05:002011-12-30T19:41:33.099-05:00

Since we are basically broke, we aren't doing as much traveling as we normally do. I can't afford to keep paying the train fare. So we have had to find other, more affordable learning and entertainment opportunities. What could be better than the great outdoors? It's free! So we've been taking full advantage of the scenic beauty of our area, and the wonderful local parks. We are a stone's

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-35540670992104892242011-12-30T18:51:00.000-05:002011-12-30T18:51:12.369-05:00

Mikro and I enjoyed learning all about old time crafts at Van Cortlandt Manor. There was: Soapmaking: They poured water over fire place ash and strained it through straw to make the lye they combined with cooked down animal fat to make soap with. Candle making: Broom making: Blacksmithing: Open Hearth Cooking: Weaving: And Food Preservation. Mikro had a

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-17786414807601206752011-12-30T18:26:00.000-05:002011-12-30T18:26:09.363-05:00

We made a second trip to the AMNH's new dinosaur exhibit. That was partly because Paleo Boy begged, and also because the opening scene of my mystery story is set at this exhibit, and I wanted to check that I got the details right... Mikro had a blast with all of the hands on displays, and the faux dino dig.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-35367881197546314772011-12-30T15:27:00.001-05:002011-12-30T15:27:52.734-05:00

I can't begin to do justice to the AMNH's fantastic Hall of African Peoples in this post. There is just too much to see. Here are some photos, but if you are in NYC, please treat yourself to an exploration of these galleries. Fascinating stuff! .

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-23139984103902039102011-12-30T14:30:00.002-05:002011-12-30T14:30:55.137-05:00

What kid doesn't love wildlife? Mine loves the animals of Africa, especially the felines. (He's currently begging for a book on servals.) He was thrilled to take some time looking at the recently restored Hall of African Mammals. Many of the exhibits have been brightened up. As part of our African studies, we are looking at climate, geography and wildlife, and we are so lucky to have the

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-62174070170706440362011-12-30T14:18:00.000-05:002011-12-30T14:18:43.146-05:00

My husband is obsessed with the space program, and Mikro shares his enthusiasm. So we had to get tickets to the special member tour of AMNH's new space exhibit: Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration.Some of Mikro's favorite parts: the model of Sputnik, the diorama of what a moon base might look like, the new Curiosity Mars rover and the new spacesuit design. He also enjoyed the

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-1572060310551131262011-12-30T14:03:00.003-05:002011-12-30T19:52:11.025-05:00

Our history topic at the moment is Ancient Africa. I think art has a huge place in making history come alive, and we always try to find a museum with collections relevant to our studies. We were really blessed to find several this time around. Our first visit was to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we wandered the African galleries and took in one of the current special exhibits

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-4646229744729244402011-12-30T13:22:00.000-05:002011-12-30T13:22:41.113-05:00

The Holiday Train show at the NY Transit Museum's Grand Central annex is a fun holiday tradition that we enjoyed once again this year. Mikro loves watching the trains, especially the Polar Express.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-44305235577964072522011-12-25T18:52:00.000-05:002011-12-25T18:52:07.920-05:00

Mikro likes our last minute Charlie Brownish Christmas tree, since some of his toys are hanging off it. And once he started opening gifts and saw Buster from the Mythbusters, we had yet another new ornament. Santa brought Mikro the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kit that he asked for. I went a little nuts back when we still had money, so the boy got a decent haul of prezzies. Some LEGO, a K-Nex

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-33391667163238074572011-12-24T21:23:00.000-05:002011-12-24T21:23:06.376-05:00

Sorry, actual cards haven't been mailed yet (or even addressed.) We've had a brutal month or so here. One of Mikro's grandparents has been hospitalized since Thanksgiving. We haven't had much time for the 3 of us to be together, let alone to go shoot a winter holiday card photo or get cards made up. Homeschooling has been our haven of stability amidst the chaos. That, at least, is going

Chelenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-47951411340270033562011-11-30T19:56:00.000-05:002011-11-30T19:56:42.231-05:00

Greenscale’s Revenge Copyr. 2011, Mikro Coyne (Dictated to Secretary Mom, who typed it up.) In the rainforest, it was warm and humid. Monkeys swung through the trees, up in the canopy. Down below, near the forest floor, a group of lizards were gathered together inside a hollow fig tree. There were green ones, brown ones, and red ones. Most of them were red, several were brown and few

Chelenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-41865987698755496042011-11-26T11:35:00.003-05:002011-11-26T16:10:51.112-05:00

This was the third year that Mikro has participated in the NYCHEA History Fair. Kids research a historical figure and go up and make "I statements" about him/her until the audience guesses who they are presenting. Mikro did Leonardo da Vinci this time, and came up with some pretty cool obscure facts to lead off with (If I find his notes, I'll edit to share some of them...). It's fun to learn

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-83442044318205108842011-11-26T11:00:00.001-05:002011-11-26T11:03:52.197-05:00

I do not teach the fairy tale versions of American History and Civics taught in public school. You know, the one where happy pilgrims and indians are bossom buddies, where the government is always beneficent and benevolent and never ever does us wrong, where one man one vote actually results in equal political clout for all, and where the police are always our friends. If you want my radical

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-25482969083853079292011-11-25T23:40:00.000-05:002011-11-25T23:40:25.052-05:00

A combination of art competition and food drive, Canstruction was an amazing site to behold at NYC's World Financial Center. Definitely a fun field trip! WFC has a slideshow of other Canstruction sculptures, if you want to see more, and a description of Canstruction's mission.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-42996184801655308442011-11-25T23:09:00.000-05:002011-11-25T23:09:15.114-05:00

If you ever get the opportunity to attend one of the children's programs at Poets House, take it. And if it involves poet Richard Lewis, prepare to be enchanted. Mikro always has a wonderful time at his programs, and so do I. I never walk out without a new poem in my moleskine. This time, we considered our thoughts as rivers, watched a beautiful performance of Richard's poem, We Are Rivers,

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-60922009003962360952011-11-25T21:42:00.001-05:002011-11-25T22:42:53.696-05:00

I lived in NYC most of my life, and have been a member of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the city zoos and aquarium, for years as well, but up until this month, I had never set foot in the Queens Zoo. (That probably has something to do with the fact that people from Brooklyn, like me, tend to view Queens as a strange planet. The street naming scheme, which includes avenues,

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-31325752450635639612011-11-25T21:19:00.000-05:002011-11-25T21:19:29.240-05:00

Our first field trip in November was to the New York Hall of Science, where Mikro particularly enjoyed the new exhibit "Charlie and Kiwi's Evolutionary Adventure." He really liked the movie, the computer simulation on finch beak evolution, and the faux dinosaur dig. He also had great fun with exhibits on galaxy finding, cosmic rays, research submarines and programming a Mars

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-16472924549544706342011-11-24T19:43:00.000-05:002011-11-24T19:43:07.618-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! We decided to share our Thanksgiving feast with the birds. Mikro and I made bird seed ornaments for our little evergreen tree.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-63418868872808850322011-11-14T21:10:00.003-05:002011-11-14T21:12:58.298-05:00

Sorry I have been offline so much lately. I had high hopes that I could write a novel in November a la Nanowrimo, but I am waaaaay behind on word count. As a practical matter, I only get to write uninterrupted during the one hour a week that Mikro is taking a craft class at the library. But I have rediscovered how much joy there is in sitting down and creating a story. So whether I "win"

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-86688419807911577462011-11-12T21:26:00.000-05:002011-11-12T21:26:25.615-05:00

The New York Times Student Opinion Page asked kids aged 13-18 to comment about whether they would want to be homeschooled and whether they think homeschooling adequately prepares kids for "the real world". What follows is a collection of startlingly ignorant group-think which supposes that homeschoolers are prisoners in their homes who never interact with other people or make friends. Ah, yes,

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-74834982671122610302011-11-10T17:40:00.001-05:002011-11-10T17:41:11.282-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. Mikro and I are both trying our hands at National Novel Writing Month (aka Nanowrimo). The kids' version is here, if you are interested. Even if you think it is too late to sign up for this year, you might want to download their very good pdf on how to write a novel, which comes in elementary, middle school and high school flavors. I'll check in when I can, but

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-54175215336037805522011-11-01T13:52:00.003-04:002011-11-01T14:15:45.930-04:00

This is the sign we left on our door last night, while out Trick or Treating for UNICEF: I left a ridiculously long comment on the last post, trying to fill in the background on the cancellation of Halloween here in our village, which probably deserves to be in a post, so I'm going to copy it here: We got snow on Saturday, that is largely melted away. Because the trees are still in leaf here,

Chelenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-70050403018902030222011-10-31T23:16:00.001-04:002011-10-31T23:17:39.543-04:00

Mikro had a blast Trick or Treating tonight, even though our control freak village government cancelled Halloween. I left a comment on our local online news outlet as follows: Here comes the Nanny State, preempting parental judgment, treating us all like errant children and sending us to bed without dessert. Well, BOO to you, [village] brain trust. You haven't declared an emergency, you let us

Chelenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-51259520222181435362011-10-31T13:07:00.000-04:002011-10-31T13:07:21.788-04:00

Last time I posted, we were at this stage: the skullcap portion of the mask, with attachment points for ears... Next, I sculpted the upper part of the snout. This is a cut up amazon box, held together by rubberbands, and plaster wrap. The nostrils are rolled bits of pasterwrap, molded to shape and then covered over with more plaster wrap. (Please forgive the mess in front of my monitor...

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-48496190556113698922011-10-31T12:27:00.001-04:002011-10-31T12:30:59.478-04:00

Snow before Halloween is unusual for this area. And the storm we got was unusually costly. It was a wet, heavy snow that snapped tree limbs, and took down whole trees in other parts of town. I suppose we were lucky -- all we lost were a bunch of fence panels (not that we needed the expense just now...) But it certainly could have been worse. We lost power around 6 pm, and spent a cold dark

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-14014847367447243652011-10-27T20:06:00.001-04:002011-10-27T20:09:44.881-04:00

Photos from the very beginning stages of Mikro's Halloween mask. I'm sculpting it out of plaster wrap. He was pretty good about sitting still with goopy stuff on his plastic covered cranium... I thought he looked very steampunk in his goggles... The batman like ears are just the attachment points, not final product. Here's a very rough clay model I made of my concept. Hopefully the finished

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-11514721857270875312011-10-27T19:49:00.000-04:002011-10-27T19:49:28.353-04:00

Our local volunteer fire department runs a fantastic fire safety event every fall. The kids can earn a ride on a fire truck by completing 5 safety stations: they must make a mock 911 call and give the appropriate information, climb out of a window, climb down a fire ladder, draw up an escape plan and discuss it, and stop, drop and roll while covering their faces. At each station, their ticket

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-32685042157359731362011-10-27T19:12:00.001-04:002011-10-30T14:50:37.027-04:00

Mikro asked me to order him some invertebrate dissection kits. He had done a squid dissection in science class, and wanted to do some more. So I ordered him a couple of kits from Carolina Biological Supply, which makes a line of young scientist's dissection kits. You get a teacher's guide, student instruction booklet, specimen and dissecting tools, for about $8. I am very ambivalent about

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-3411571554210710832011-10-26T18:28:00.003-04:002011-10-26T18:29:09.029-04:00

The manor house, done up in spooky lights, with eerie music playing... Nearby temple of ghosts and graveyard: This year's new additions: Greek Mythology, Sheep, and King Kong: Prehistoric Creatures: Pirates: Mythical Creatures and Nature: Mikro:

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-28987337536541043252011-10-25T18:36:00.001-04:002011-10-25T18:39:24.932-04:00

Remember last spring when Mikro took the class on Native American Architecture and built a model wigwam and longhouse? Well, he recently had the chance to see a full size wigwam, and to learn about firemaking, tool making and other Native American skills as traditionally practiced by the Lenni Lenape people who once lived in this area. Up at Croton's Jane E. Lytle Memorial Arboretum, Barry

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-30209338549449248692011-10-25T15:15:00.000-04:002011-10-25T15:15:21.838-04:00

The awesome leader of our homeschool group set up a wonderful trip for us to go see Sphinx Virtuosi at Carnegie Hall. Sphinx is an organization that promotes cultural diversity in classical music, bringing opportunities for participation to minority youth. It was a wonderful experience, and Mikro's first time hearing live classical music. Click here to visit the Sphinx Kids website.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-24508276233764840312011-10-25T14:42:00.002-04:002011-10-25T14:42:42.836-04:00

Pottery Class is in full swing, and I'm making pumpkins and gourds. And then I got the odd notion of making a set of clay husk dolls... er, corn husk dolls made of clay, that is...

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-4396214076386435032011-10-25T14:36:00.000-04:002011-10-25T14:36:27.666-04:00

The kids learned about light, and made glow in the dark slime, shadows that remained after removing the light source (projected onto a photosensitive backdrop), played with prisms, and learned why stars seem to twinkle by doing an experiment with a laser and chalk dust. No photos this time...

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-68419175085191960512011-10-25T14:28:00.003-04:002011-10-25T14:30:59.668-04:00

Mikro really enjoyed pretending to be a CSI and observing the mock crime scene for clues, then following up on them at various stations where the forensic science behind the detective work is explained. This was a fun and hands on educational experience.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-10812054795983901032011-10-25T14:20:00.000-04:002011-10-25T14:20:38.569-04:00

What we do on Thursdays: a/k/a the Geek Family Library Experience... Mikro does Brainpop and Time4Learning and then reads a few library books (which I then don't have to try to fit on his maxed out library card!); Kev does job search stuff and studies the latest in IT security and 3D computer modeling; and Mom researches and orders library books for our present and future areas of study... and

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-51857548273298233092011-10-15T19:02:00.000-04:002011-10-15T19:02:38.625-04:00

Mikro will be trick or treating for UNICEF again this year. We have UNICEF a page for donations, if anyone would like to contribute to Mikro's fundraising effort.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-4481136276175482282011-10-14T00:16:00.004-04:002011-10-14T00:19:49.172-04:00

Last week's class was about science in space.  The kids did some experiments similar to those conducted aboard the ISS. Some were about magnetism and static electricity, others featured crystals.  The kids planted a bean seed in weird gelatinous medium called "alien crystals", and grew crystals with borax and hot water.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-21831280291523430622011-10-14T00:07:00.000-04:002011-10-14T00:07:59.614-04:00

One of my closest friends came to visit all the way from California.  She's a backpacking, nature loving kind of girl, so we thought it would be fun to show her some of the beautiful parks in our neck of the woods.  We hit 6 different park areas, and had an awesome gluten and dairy free vegetarian picnic.  Mikro dragged her off into the woods on an adventure, showing off one of his favorite

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-70418903489931043052011-10-13T19:56:00.000-04:002011-10-13T19:56:59.982-04:00

FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT SCHOOL YEAR: 2011-20112 HOMESCHOOLING STUDENT: Mikro GRADE LEVEL: Second THIS QUARTER COVERS: 7/1/11 to 10/12/11 DATE SUBMITTED: October 13, 2011 Generally: Mikro is progressing at a satisfactory level or above in all subject matter. We have had instruction in all the following areas, as per Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-88221765053490508642011-10-11T17:50:00.000-04:002011-10-11T17:50:44.908-04:00

It's that time again --- quarterly reports are due, so I have finally pulled together our reading and resource log. I don't usually bother to write things down, because I'm too good at mislaying notebooks, so I just take a photo of everything as he finishes it, then aggregate the photos and go from there. (I do have calendar notes about field trips, TV programs, and computer work, but this is

Chelenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-73643414361181070642011-10-09T21:59:00.000-04:002011-10-09T21:59:28.026-04:00

The kids got to launch the rockets they built at Science Museum of Long Island. Mikro was thrilled that his went off without a hitch. And Kev got in on the fun, launching a rocket of his own after class was over. Unfortunately, it did not return safely to earth, but rather got wedged about 60 feet up a tree... Here's Kev's rocket launch on video:

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-59699772294938283952011-10-09T21:33:00.000-04:002011-10-09T21:33:26.765-04:00

We had intended to see the LEGO Zoofari exhibit at the Bronx Zoo the Thursday before Hurricane Irene, but it poured that day, and was closed for the next few, and fell off our radar as fall activities started up. Mikro desperately wanted to do the LEGO building activities advertised for Thursdays, Fridays and weekends, so I actually lost money on train tickets that expired before a free Thursday

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-72541574652659523992011-10-02T23:16:00.000-04:002011-10-02T23:16:26.772-04:00

I am way behind in posting. The Mentos massacre at Maker Faire was the coup de grace for my pain levels, and I couldn't deal with sitting at the computer to edit (thousands of) photos or type entries (which is probably a good thing, because they would have been even more curmudgeonly than usual had I managed it...) So given my gimpyness, my birthday went by with little fanfare, which is how I

Chelenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-80973925222824224442011-10-02T22:29:00.001-04:002011-10-02T23:58:31.905-04:00

Mikro's second week of science class involved the kids splitting into teams and building rockets, which they will launch the following week. It was a cool, rainy day, so we didn't hang out as long as usual after class. But Mikro did use the short time he had to get himself soaked completely, despite the rain gear...

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-86922506473069204082011-10-02T22:00:00.004-04:002011-10-02T23:26:54.686-04:00

Day 2 at Maker Faire we decided to play it by ear, rather than adhere to a schedule. We started the day back in the crafts area, where Mikro visited with some upcycling artists and learned to make polyhedrons from pop bottles, an amazingly simple and fun activity that we definitely will be trying at home, once we get a stash of bottles together. We spent a lot of time checking out

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-60270381172499518312011-10-02T19:59:00.000-04:002011-10-02T19:59:10.326-04:00

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-67038238402654572042011-10-02T19:55:00.000-04:002011-10-02T19:55:48.603-04:00

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-47783864907292893902011-10-02T19:38:00.000-04:002011-10-02T19:38:19.205-04:00

This was our first time attending Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science, and it was awesome! Geek nirvana! Within minutes of arriving, Mikro was engrossed in building an LED lightup frame project. Next, there was Happy City, where kids could construct model urban infastructure. Mikro and I put together a traffic light using colored LEDs. We talked to the folks at Cognizant, who are

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-16794600091732042162011-10-02T15:45:00.000-04:002011-10-02T15:45:27.795-04:00

Mikro's science class started up again. This semester is focused on flight and aerodynamics. They did an egg drop, and tried to construct an adequate parachute to allow the egg to land safely and uncracked. (Or they were supposed to... A little bird told me that he may not have done the very best possible job constructing his device because he wanted to see the cool mess of an egg

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-58767747487053308022011-09-17T08:01:00.000-04:002011-09-17T08:01:00.408-04:00

The other day, we saw an unfamiliar butterfly. It was burnt orange, with leaf shaped wings, and a duller, dead leaf looking underwing. Some obsessive internet searching later, and I have identified it as a Goatweed Emperor, which is not native to this area. I wonder if Hurricane Irene blew the little guy up here to the Hudson Valley? I wish I had been able to snap a photo, but I was walking to

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-40373958561921493792011-09-13T23:13:00.003-04:002011-09-13T23:31:12.265-04:00

Why are people so critical of other people's parenting without having clue one as to why what works for them may not work for others? I just read a blog post by an unschooler about how parents these days are unnecessarily micromanaging their children's water consumption, which posits that doing so will result in kids divorced from their own thirst cues. This post, which probably had the vast

Chelenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-62171619152489198872011-09-13T21:16:00.000-04:002011-09-13T21:16:08.869-04:00

You may have noticed the addition to my Pages Menu Bar at the top of the blog. The new item is Mikro's Links, a collection of kid friendly web sites that I'm OK with Mikro exploring. Feel free to check them out!

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-49003236277053070872011-09-13T18:59:00.001-04:002011-09-13T19:11:39.167-04:00

Mikro is fascinated with robots, and is really looking forward to attending Maker Faire at the New York Hall of Science this coming weekend. We've been looking at videos of previous Maker Faire events, and of robots generally, on YouTube. Here's one from Maker Faire 2008: This video of a humanoid Korean robot at the CNN futureSummit certainly whetted his appetite:

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-55168457963506278842011-09-13T16:37:00.002-04:002011-09-13T16:37:40.631-04:00

We had our annual Not Back to School Picnic at Croton Point Park. This year, since Dad is home, he was able to join us. So in addition to the usual nature walk, picnic, and school work in the great outdoors, there was sword fighting as well. Mikro is the proud owner of a back to school sale laptop from TigerDirect.com. He can now do his BrainPOP, Time4Learning, Adapted Mind, and other

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-76359590240213217902011-09-12T21:22:00.001-04:002011-09-13T16:39:29.698-04:00

My Dad's birthday was last week, so we went for a visit. Somehow I managed to not take a single photo of my parents (ahem... which may have something to do with the fact that they duck the camera), but I did get some photos of the fun we had with my brother the guitar playing lawyer... He hauled out a few of his electric guitars, showed off a bit, and showed us a couple of things... He also

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-87232766798080454132011-09-12T21:02:00.000-04:002011-09-12T21:02:09.232-04:00

... with extra water... This is Senasqua Park. The puddle is new, and the rocks are usually high out of the water. The Hudson is still running high after Irene and rains thereafter. These were taken about a week ago... And this is Croton Landing, which is a great place to watch a Hudson River sunset. We never did get back to Silver Lake, which they

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-40754479016187642842011-09-12T20:39:00.000-04:002011-09-12T20:39:36.316-04:00

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-88851178198837154632011-09-09T16:50:00.000-04:002011-09-09T16:50:03.200-04:00

Complete with shrieking Mikro...

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-22635319441485292082011-09-09T16:08:00.000-04:002011-09-09T16:08:26.999-04:00

Mikro had lots of fun at the NY Hall of Science, especially at the Science Under the Big Top exhibit, and the Science Playground. And with the bubbles... But perhaps his favorite things was the Who Dung It? challenge, where you attempted to identify the circus animal based on it's scat... Bubble fun:

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-57674786967153229002011-09-05T19:32:00.002-04:002011-09-05T19:35:18.664-04:00

It is so much fun to introduce Mikro to the pleasures of my own childhood. Skeeball at Coney Island is a classic bit of Brooklyn summer fun, and Mikro enjoyed trying it for the first time ever. He did pretty well, but his dad outclassed us both, hitting the 100s many times. And then we rode some rides and wandered the neon lit amusement park until it was time to go home.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-50046135371745337262011-09-05T19:07:00.000-04:002011-09-05T19:07:33.722-04:00

Mikro has been on the Wonder Wheel before, but only in the white stationary cars. This time, he was ready to give the swinging cars a try. As the massive ferris wheel turns, gravity causes the blue and red cars slide along a groove and drop, which sets them swinging. Mikro screamed the whole time, but said he had fun... Here you can see the grooves that the car slides in (click t

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-85408331331607962412011-09-05T18:48:00.001-04:002011-09-09T16:56:13.938-04:00

Wading and beach combing on Coney Island Beach, one of the best things about growing up in Brooklyn, or having a mom who did! In the days following Hurricane Irene, I'm sure some interesting treasures washed up on the sand. Here are some cool things we found: And coolest of all was a pair of mermaid's purses (egg cases from sharks, rays and skates). If you look closely,

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-4518479463302757582011-09-05T18:17:00.001-04:002011-09-05T18:17:48.655-04:00

I had promised Mikro that we would find a fair weather day to revisit Coney Island this summer, and we did. Although the day started off with a disappointment (Mikro is not quite tall enough to ride the Cyclone yet...), it was a lot of fun. We started off at the Boardwalk, and had some lunch. Then we headed back to the aquarium, to see some things we missed last time, and revisit

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-87683251948257794852011-09-04T00:04:00.001-04:002011-09-04T00:07:58.076-04:00

The Frogs Alive! exhibit is back at the American Museum of Natural History, and Mikro, being an 8 year old boy, dearly loves amphibians, and simply had to see it. So, here are some frogs and toads from around the world: African Clawed Toad: African Buulfrog: Amazonian Milk Frog: American Bullfrog: Boreno Eared Frog: Chinese Gliding Frog: Fire Bellied Toads: Long Nosed

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-70329856008901481862011-08-31T10:55:00.001-04:002011-08-31T10:58:07.859-04:00

One of my husband's best friends (Mikro's godfather) got a new job nearby and took an apartment locally, so we now are lucky to see him more often. Last night, after we all went out for coffee together, we stood outside my house staring up at the amazingly clear post-hurricane sky. There seemed to be many more stars visible than usual. Wonder if that's because there is less light pollution with

Chelenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-70975021054569295772011-08-28T19:14:00.003-04:002011-08-28T19:20:03.666-04:00

Things have kicked up again here. High winds, lots of trees down, mudslides onto the railroad trcks. I doubt most of Westchester County is going to work tomorrow. Metro North reports heavy flooding of stations on the Hudson line. Our station parking lot was badly flooded, and the train bridge at the south end of the station was under water... NYC subways may not be back yet for the morning rush

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-2847299615080056602011-08-28T14:51:00.000-04:002011-08-28T14:51:05.190-04:00

We were lucky here. One very large tree limb down, but it didn't hit anything. The downspout came off the side of the house and fell on our trash cans. No damage there, either, just a trip up a ladder for Kev when the weather is calm. The neighbors' yard is at a lower grade than ours and got all the run off. It looks like a flooded rice paddy. But so far, that's the worst on our block.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-16355490092130358502011-08-26T13:44:00.002-04:002011-08-26T15:55:21.072-04:00

After seeing Yellow Brick Road, we hung out with friends for a bit, then headed to Coney Island. The weather did not cooperate, and Friday night fireworks didn't happen (nor was it really a good night for being on the amusement park rides, with a thunderstorm coming), but we did have time to enjoy the New York Aquarium, the boardwalk and the beach. Not as much time as Mikro would have liked,

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-88637986478261170522011-08-26T12:51:00.000-04:002011-08-26T12:51:35.899-04:00

We saw an amazing Theaterworks production called The Yellow Brick Road with homeschooling friends at the Lucille Lortel Theater. It's an adaptation of the Wizard of Oz, in which the young latina main character, Dora, struggles with wanting to be a generic American kid versus embracing her heritage, which she does after a trip through Oz. The only word for this show is enchanting! I can't say

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-52900765328868776932011-08-21T17:14:00.000-04:002011-08-21T17:14:12.556-04:00

Summer is fast fading into autumn, and our beach days are numbered... Here's Mikro practicing to be a life guard. Incredibly, in just 7 short years, he'll be eligible to apply for a job as a junior lifeguard! (These shots were taken shortly before closing time, when no one was in the water.)

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-89448684825990785202011-08-21T17:02:00.002-04:002011-08-21T17:02:34.780-04:00

We finally saw the Pompeii: Life and Death in the Shadow of Vesuvius exhibit at the Discovery Time Square Exposition Center. It was a very interesting exhibit, broken into a before and after arrangement. In between the two sections, there is a video presentation showing a recreation of the erruption of the volcano. The sound system lets you feel the rumble. The frescoes are incredible. As a

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-45486327612832894672011-08-21T15:12:00.002-04:002011-08-21T15:29:54.792-04:00

Free from MIT: Scratch, a tool for introducing kids to programming. They can create animations and games. I just downloaded it and fiddled a little. Mikro is just getting started with learning to draw with a mouse, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can come up with when he gets more familiar with this. For now, I did a little animated cast of characters for this blog, which you can

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-35336086008598286652011-08-15T22:19:00.001-04:002011-08-15T22:20:18.339-04:00

The Summer Reading Game is over already, and our wonderful local library threw a party for the kids who participated. Mikro got a certificate for completing the game, and lots of prizes from the kiddie carnival games (including some books!) The library has a pretty little Japanese garden: And a monkey up a tree... Can you spot Mikro?

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-32827724041046853332011-08-15T21:08:00.000-04:002011-08-15T21:08:39.409-04:00

On Thursday, Kevin had a meeting with one of the curators at the Intrepid about an upcoming exhibit on ejection seats, Kevin's weird area of expertise. After their talk, he's going to be lending them a couple of seats and some other stuff for the exhibit. Mikro and I tagged along, and got to enjoy the museum and the park at neighboring Pier 84. One of Mikro's favorite exhibits was the LEGO

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-83894134592828416272011-08-14T16:14:00.000-04:002011-08-14T16:14:12.763-04:00

Critters in our yard: Also in our yard: Hail. It has been a strange summer, weatherwise. We had a tornado in the area, and several hailstorms too. A little nature "art": Kev made me this heart: Critters at Silver Lake:

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-82376925545598945062011-08-13T00:01:00.000-04:002011-08-13T00:01:00.443-04:00

On Monday afternoon, we went to Mikro's most favorite place: AMNH. We wanted to see The Brain (or as Kev called it, "The Zombie Food Exhibit", before it closes on August 15th. All of us learned something new, and there were plenty of hands on activities to keep Mikro's interest. He particularly enjoyed the light table where you try to make connections between neurons, and the stacking

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-10811023991798183822011-08-12T23:40:00.000-04:002011-08-12T23:40:49.395-04:00

On Monday, we saw the Secret History of Swedish Cottage at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park with our homeschool group. Mikro really loved the show, especially the gnomes, and was really happy to play in the park afterwards with his best friend. We roamed the lovely Shakespeare Garden, and saw monarch butterflies galore. After our friends left, we had a picnic

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-46715717677903818322011-08-12T23:21:00.002-04:002011-08-12T23:21:28.407-04:00

Last weekend was the 15th Annual Peekskill Celebration, featuring Dragonboat races, fireworks, a car show, craft fair, live muic and shows, animals from the Yorktown Grange, living history demos and more.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-20525218360887717472011-08-12T21:03:00.002-04:002011-08-12T21:03:51.249-04:00

Our summer is shaping up to be about swimming, reading, and fun field trips. I am horribly behind in posting our adventures because both Kev and I have been taking hundreds of photos, and sorting and editing is a daunting task... So far, I think Mikro's most favorite Summer 2011 things are: Swimming at Silver Lake and playing on the beach and in the water with friends Luigi's Italian Ices:

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-90499546467148260822011-08-07T19:11:00.000-04:002011-08-07T19:11:22.995-04:00

I haven't done enough of these posts lately... Mikro has learned so much in July and these first few days of August. He finished the library's Summer Reading Game weeks early, and our wonderful librarians let him keep going and reporting on books and getting little prizes from the library treasure chest. He really enjoyed it. Next week is the end of game party, which he always has fun at.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-12967645092029325702011-07-26T22:02:00.002-04:002011-07-26T22:02:54.152-04:00

Per MSNBC: "A post office that predates the American colonies is on the Postal Service's list of branches that could close." It is painfully obvious that our government has no respect for history, and that the subject is so poorly taught here that sentences like the above quoted drivel become acceptable as journalism. Predates the 13 colonies? No. As the article goes on to state, the post

Chelenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-62927352613539587362011-07-25T21:10:00.002-04:002011-07-25T21:10:43.532-04:00

One of our local churches hosts an annual Italian Festival, which starts and ends with fireworks. Mikro loves fireworks.

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-67034369806169278722011-07-25T19:29:00.001-04:002011-07-25T19:31:16.471-04:00

Beautiful Sennasqua Park, where the Hudson River tides carry all your troubles away...

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2194253815026283988.post-78454379689121471482011-07-24T18:36:00.001-04:002011-07-24T18:45:00.633-04:00

After our wonderful boat rides, we explored the many City of Water Day activities for kids on Governors Island. There were touch tanks with live aquatic animals (including sea stars, spider crabs, horseshoe crabs, mussels, barnacles, etc.), live reptiles, exhibits on oysters, whales, seals and sea turtles, a fishing game relating to local fish species, puppets, arts and crafts, and face painting

Chelenoreply@blogger.com0