We took a photo of Buzz Lightyear, knocked the background out and then moved him over to join Aldrin on the moon. As soon as Buzz Lightyear had landed CJ said, "He needs a shadow!" I was impressed by that eye for detail. So the kids learned how to 'borrow' Aldrin's shadow and attach it to Lightyear's feet.
CHECK UP: Today we finally took the time to check on the carrot seeds we planted more than a week ago in our Root-Vue planter. And, guess what ... we've got signs of life! Lots of 'em, in fact. Around a dozen sprouts were to be found!
GLOWING ORB: This burning orange disk hung in the blue sky today. We came to recognize it as the sun. Hooray! We had to honor its rare appearance by going up to "hilltop playpark" (Ella Bailey Park). There, the kids rode their scooters, Kirby was a freak on a leash, and fun was had by all.
ROCK ME, AMADEUS: Thanks to a Twitter post from a math teacher, I became aware that today is Mozart's birthday.
Given that, we had to focus some time and attention on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart this morning. We started by watching a BrainPOP video on the classical composer. From it, the kids learned about Mozart's childhood (he was a musical savant on tour for most of his youth). We learned about his work (oer 600 compositions - symphonies, sonatas, operas and more), and his life (including his marriage to Constance, with whom he had six children, only two of whom survived to adulthood).
We listened to "Eine Kleine Nachtmusic" (a VERY cool visual representation of the song is embedded in the link in the title preceding), as well as Requiem in D minor, Mozart's last composition before he died at age in 35. (In fact, Mozart didn't live to finish it - another composer put the final touches on it.)
One other thing I learned today: The composer's baptismal name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.
SAD DAYS: The 27th of January marks the first of three somber remembrances in one week. Forty-five years ago today in 1967 the astronauts of Apollo 1, Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Ed White were killed on the launch pad in a horrific fire. Together, we read a very well written Scientific American story on the loss.
I walked on that pad - in their footsteps - back in November. While it's also the scene of great triumph (gloriously successful moon missions), for me, the sadness was what was smothering there. Likely the fact that the launch pad is so dilapidated, forlorn and neglected looking today contributes to that melancholy.
Off in a quiet corner, away from the pad, I spied these three benches, engraved with the fallen astronauts' names.
The risks of the mission weren't lost on those three, as evidenced by this 'joke' photo they staged for their supervisors.
As sad as the anniversary is, I was "glad" to see that Apollo 1 was at the top of today's Yahoo! searches. Gone, but not forgotten.
Jan. 28 will mark the anniversary of the shuttle Challenger disaster, while Columbia was lost on Feb. 1.
A historically awful week for the American space flight program, to be sure.
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