Illustration Friday: Sweater

Mikro is making huge strides in the fine motor department. He is enjoying drawing for the first time in his life, so much so that he begged me for a sketchbook of his own (which, of course, I gave him), and wants desperately to participate in Illustration Friday.

This week's theme is: Sweater. Here are our takes on the subject:

Mikro's IF piece is a cat and a dog wearing sweaters while hiking on a mountain in the rain... Pencil sketch and watercolors.



Mine is a quick sketch with Pitt Pens of a scottie dog wearing a sweater... I've been missing my sweet Piper dog, who was the only dog I've ever had with the patience for dress-up. She used to really enjoy strutting around in a T shirt, or a halloween costume (or, at least, she ate up the attention it got her!)



I'm really happy Mikro wants to make IF a regular part of our week! I'm finally getting to share my love of making art with my son!

An octopus valentine?

Amazing photographs of octopuses mating, including the developing eggs. Warning, the write-up is a tad cheesy. But the pictures are just spectacular!

Science Jackpot-- Extreme Linky Love

Today we have gorged ourselves on online science resources. I think Mikro probably enjoyed them more than the Pez valentine teddy bear candy dispenser and Transformers calendar that he got for Valentine's Day...

Here are some great places to spend some time:

Explorations Through Timefeatures prehistory, evolution, the geologic time scale, fossilization, and, of course, dinosaurs. We are in love!

The Science Spot is an amazing resource, with lesson plans and links for all sorts of science- chemistry, biology, physics, earth science, general science, astronomy, ecology, etc. Well worth a visit!

Supercharged Science is a large part of our science curriculum. Full of experiments and videos that show you how they are supposed to work, with supporting materials, all presented with passion and enthusiasm by Aurora Lipper. We love this program!

Famous Scientist Valentines!

These are awesome!



Thank you, Subadra, for pointing them out! We really enjoyed them.

Art Video

Mikro and I watched this today and found it fascinating. We wondered what would happen if you changed the shape of the central tower that the paint is poured on. Maybe in the spring, when the weather is good, we can give this technique a try out in the driveway... The artist is Holton Rower.

Amicus Update

We've been letting Amicus out to explore more often. She's big enough now that I'm not in a panic about her disappearing and starving to death under a bookcase or something. We try to keep her up on the couch, where we can keep track of her. (When the warmer weather returns, I may get her a harness and leash, and let her explore the yard. I'm a little hesitant, though, because while we don't use pesticides, I don't know about the neighbors, and if she snaps up a tasty looking bug, there could be consequences...)

She really loves sitting in our front window and watching the street. It is odd to watch this Aussie critter stare out into the alien arctic looking landscape with fascination. She would stay there all day if we let her, but I worry about her getting too cold, and limit her time out of her heat and UV lamp equiped enclosure... She loves being petted and welcomes hand feeding, especially if there is arugula involved.

Pain

Between the cold and damp and having to maneuver the rolling bag of library books around the lakes of slush and mountains of snow the other day, I am in bad shape. Yesterday, I had to ask Kev to help pull my jeans off, because I couldn't bend down to get them off my feet without screaming and being unable to stand up. Today, I had to ask Mikro to help me pull my pants up after using the bathroom. That is humiliating and makes me feel old. Cleaning myself up first was pure agony. And this is with a pain patch on... Getting out of bed was a delight too, involving rolling off onto my knees and climbing up from there. We won't even mention the stupid cervical radiculopathy and the fact that I think taking my hand off with a chainsaw might actually hurt less. (Guess I just did, though.) I've got sciatica down both legs, and toes on one foot that feel like they've been set on fire, as well as the usual fun and games.

All in all, I think there are very few field trips in our immediate future. I hope I can make it to Eaglefest, but I'm not sure I'll be able to, and if I do grin and somehow bear it, I'm likely to be out of commission for awhile thereafter. This is really bad.

I hate giving in to my limitations. Kev says I am so stubborn I think I can bend reality to my will, but then I pay for it. Yeah, that probably is accurate.

At least Mikro is fairly independent, and I can ask him to read a library book, or do math on the computer by himself, while I attempt a recovery. I am not gonna win any awards for super mom this week.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Our local NYC groundhog, Staten Island Chuck, did not see his shadow and predicts an early spring! So does the more famous Punxsutawney Phil. So happy I could kiss a Marmota monax. (Did you know they are closely related to squirrels?) Yes, I know it's mere superstition, but I'll live with the potentially false hope. So.sick.of.snow. This takes the sting out of missing out on going to see Seussical today because of the lousy weather.

Here's a little song I wrote to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot:

I'm a little groundhog, soft and brown
I came outside and looked around
Didn't see my shadow, hip hooray
Maybe this snow will go away!

Here are some Groundhog Day Songs & Poems from Can Teach. And here are some Groundhog Facts from Cornell University, and a really coolGroundhog FAQ from Hog Haven, which includes photos of a groundhog skull.

The video above has some groundhog vocalizations, and you can listen to more on the Hog Haven site.

Enjoy!

Musicals, Money, Marmota monax and Muck

Today we saw the musical "The Mystery of King Tut" at The Town Hall in NYC with our homeschool group. Tut was an extremely likeable and sympathetic character, and Mikro cried over his death. He enjoyed the show, but it reduced him to a puddle. On a happier note, we got to see friends we haven't seen since the weather decided to punish us and turn us into hermits, and Mikro was ecstatic to see his best buddy.

Afterwards, we braved the snow and rain and disgusting muck (which Mikro calls "Ucky Slush", just like I used to as a kid...) and trekked to Queens to return horribly overdue library books. The fines were painful. My wallet is considerably lighter. And I still have another pile ticking up fines sitting here as I type... Different library system, though. We stayed at the library and read for a few hours, till it was time to meet Kev and travel home together. (Thanks, dear, for digging my car out for me!)

Getting into the driveway was a comedy of errors and took me about 6 tries, because the car kept sticking on a high plateau of as yet unshovelled snow left by the plows. It's like trying to thread the Titanic through the icebergs. There are massive mountains of snow (much higher than me sitting in the car) flanking the thin car-shaped trench that now passes for my driveway. I have maybe 4 inches clearance on each side of the car most of the way in, so lining it up right is mandatory. Today's parking job was failure to an epic degree, but I eventually got it right. Tomorrow we're supposed to be running around again, but I think I'm gonna take a cab to the train and spare myself the driveway drama...

Our 20 year old snow shovel finally gave up the ghost. Kev is stuck struggling with a garden shovel till we can find a replacement. I think I've had enough snow now, thanks. Ready for spring, whatever the groundhogs see or don't see tomorrow!

Winter Hide & Seek at Beczak

We went to a program on winter survival strategies of Hudson River wildlife at Beczak Environmental Education Center. The kids learned which local critters hibernate, migrate, or are adapted to stay active and survive our cold winters. I'm glad I got a photo of Mikro's craft project, because on the way home, the wind snatched it out of his hands and it landed on the railroad tracks... There were tears, but I promised him we'll make another similar art project later this week.