The Autumn Leaves

DRIFT BY MY WINDOW: A little over a week into October, our yard has become a colorful carpet of dead leaves. Time to do some cleanup before it gets out of hand. ...

We made short work of it. I manned the electric blower and the kids took turns scooping up the leaves and putting then in a yard debris bag. 

It's only just begun. There are lots more where this came from. 

SOME STORIES: We watched another Scholastic collection of stories on DVD today. This one contained "Crazy Hair Day," by Barney Saltzberg, where a poor student gets picture day and crazy hair day switched up on his calendar. Next was "Petunia," by Roger Duvoisin, the story of a silly goose that becomes a bit too self important for her own good. "How Do Dinosaurs Go to School?" was written by Jane Yolen. It takes viewers through a day with a dinosaur, from recess to show and tell. "Monty," by James Stevenson, was about an alligator taxi who needed a vacation. The last story was "Will I have a Friend?" another story about school. It was written by Miriam Cohen. 

The stories were a bit primary for CeeJ and Bee, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

MATH MAVENS: The kids solved another problem in the "Math Mavens" series by Scholastic. This one was "The Case of the Hatcher Hotel Heist." It was a fun problem 

PAW PRINTS: For science, the kids continued their work with fingerprints. Their homework today offered bonus points if they could come up with a paw print of a family pet. 

So, they used a pencil to deposit a bunch of graphite on a piece of paper, and then rubbed Kirby's paw on it. 

They then applied tape to Kirby's paw and tried to lift a print. However, in the first go round, what they wound up lifting were tufts of Kirby hair. (Never fear, it didn't hurt the dog.) 

Guess we'll have to give Kirby a little pedicure and give it another try. 

KING FOR A DAY: Today, the Pacific Science Center announced a contest for third- and fourth-graders. The announcement notes that at just 9 years old King Tut took the throne. He ruled ancient Egypt for just over 10 years, until his death. 

The contest asks, "What would a 9-year-old today do as pharaoh?" Kids Tut's inauguration age have until Oct. 28 to submit a poster and an essay sharing what they would do as pharaoh for a day to win an opportunity to be treated like royalty. Fun. I'll have to see if CJ is interested in participating ...