Wings and Fins

TAKING FLIGHT: On Saturday, we took advantage of the super awesome Smithsonian Magazine free museum pass dealio and went to The Museum of Flight.

It. Was. AWESOME. Seriously, if you live anywhere in or around Seattle, you need to get on down there, and if you don't live close, you need to plan a visit and make sure TMoF is on your To Do list. There's something quite magical about the place. I think I would like to live there.

We saw so many amazing, historic aircraft!

Case in point: Here's the First EVER 747. A pretty big piece of history, I'd say. But doing that even better ...
How about the first Air Force One? Not only could you see the outside, but we got to go inside. It thrilled me to know we were absolutely walking in the footsteps of Kennedy and Khrushchev. Just think, Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and LBJ all sat in this commander in chief's chair in the conference room on the plane. And below is the AF1 cockpit.
Wish we could have sat in the chairs. :) Here's an on board office. The plane had several phones on board, each carefully labeled regarding whether or not it was a secure line.

This first presidential jet plane, a custom Boeing 707-120, is known as SAM (Special Air Missions) 970. It was delivered in 1959 to replace Eisenhower's Super-Constellation.
We also got to go inside the amazing Concorde jet. Man, was it tight inside. There was a central (narrow!) aisle with just two seats on each side, tight squeeze ocean breeze.Capable of altitude of 55,000 feet and a speed of Mach 2, the one on display in Seattle was the very last Concorde to fly a commercial flight.

The Museum of Flight also has some space age vehicles. For instance, there's a mock up of the International Space Stations' Destiny laboratory. It was designed and built by SPACEHAB Corporation in October 2002. There is also a Boeing Lunar Roving Vehicle. Built in 1971 as an engineering mock-up, we marveled at its wheels, which appeared to be made out of chainmail. The museum has so many breathtakingly beautiful airplanes from the WWI and WWI eras. One of our favorites was this lovely Curtiss JN-D4 Jenny! After WWI, thousands of these were sold as surplus. These biplanes were a big part of the barnstorming era that helped awaken America to civil aviation through much of the 1920s.
And then there's the cool Corsair, with wings that fold up so you could pack 'em in tightly on ships. This particular plane has a remarkable history. Its home was the former Naval Air Station at Sand Point, Seattle, in 1950. It was ditched into Lake Washington following a midair collision. Incredibly, the aircraft was recovered from the lake in 1983 and restored to the mint condition it is today. I could go on and on and on. The whole time we were there, basically Christian and I were just talking about how much we need to come back on another day when we had more time to spend. We're going to have to check out their membership options and see what kind of enrichment/education programs they have there.

AMAZING TALE: This afternoon we went to see "Dolphin Tale," the story of Winter, the tail-less dolphin, in 3D, starring Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Harry Conick Jr., no less.
A photo of Winter, when we saw her in May of 2010.

We're happy to be able to say we met Winter before she was a Major Motion Picture star. :) When we went to Florida in May of 2010 for the launch of space shuttle Atlantis, driving cross state to see Winter was definitely on our to do list. The kids and I had discovered her via the Scholastic Web site, which held a virtual tour of the Clearwater Aquarium, Winter's home, on Oct. 7, 2009.

We'll never forget our trip to the Clearwater Aquarium, our behind the scenes tour (where our tour guide called Annabelle "the most brilliant 5-year-old I've ever met), and basically having Winter all to ourselves.

Her now very famous prosthetic was on a lawn chair right next to us!

We went back to Winter's Web site this morning and were happy to spot her right away on her Web cam! There's a neat feature on the site that lets you take a snapshot of what you're watching, which is cool. CJ took a few Winter snapshots, including this one:The kids both played Dolphins in Depth, where they learned more about dolphin body part, as well as a couple of other (less educational) games in the Winter Web site's Kid Zone.

Overall, "Dolphin Tale" was a pretty darn good movie. CJ gave it an 8 out of 10 as the credits rolled. I will admit that a tear slipped down my right cheek at the end, when they showed real live (not made for a 3D movie) footage of all of the people missing limbs coming to meet Winter. Another take away from the movie - homeschooling is cool/mainstream. The little girl character in the movie is homeschooled by her Dr. (marine biologist) Dad. That, and the mom of the young boy in the movie comes to realize a conventional education isn't necessarily all that it's cracked up to be.

When we met Winter, as we were standing around her pool, I was looking around for the birds that were making all the noise. I was surprised when the tour guide told us that it was Winter chirping away!

The Hunt for Red September

STILL PICKIN': Our cherry tomatoes are coming on strong. I sure hope we get some more sunshine so that all the little green ones can come to fruition.

Speaking of green fruit, I noticed we have a couple of strawberries growing in our planter along the alley. It would be cool if we get to harvest those in October! We've also got a tomatillo or two that just might make it if the weather cooperates. Fingers crossed ...

ALL FALL DOWN: Mr. Golden Sun was certainly shining this morning and the temperatures climbed to just over 80 this afternoon. Guess summer isn't going without a fight!

I wanted to get the kids out of the house away from TVs and computer screens, so we struck out for Discovery Park. I thought that would be a good place to look for traces of fall. We certainly found hundreds and thousands of leaves that have fallen, as well as shades of brown and yellow instead of just green. Unfortunately, we didn't find any red leaves. During our walk we reviewed things we've learned about fall and why leaves change color.

Once we reached the playground, you know the kids were all over the zip line!

Back at home, the kids did some reading, a looong math assignment (a chapter review), and also did some taste testing, as I was working on a cake project. (CJ thinks Nutella infused buttercream frosting is 2 die 4, BTW).

The kids also did some taste testing tonight on a mystery shop assignment we had. They're getting to be pretty experienced little mystery shoppers!

Tomorrow morning we're off the The Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. We can't wait!

Three Firsts

THREE-FER: Today was an MPA first - we had three, count 'em, three off campus (that means not at home) classes today, all up at the Shoreline school. All three classes were new to the kids.

CJ wasn't hot on that thought this morning. In fact, while still horizontal and under covers he told me his stomach hurt. Knowing the source of his 'pain,' I told him to try drinking some water. He gulped down a cup and reported, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but that didn't help."

I suggested food. He ate some yogurt and while doing so, informed me that even if his stomach got better, his legs hurt too badly to walk to music. I assured him I could carry him if that were the case. I also told him music was not going to be the Musikgarten lessons of months past, but a new class, new teacher, new place. That brightened him up considerably. He politely endured (and actively participated in) those Musikgarten classes, but he didn't love it, to be sure.

On the way to school we reviewed class manners and talked (again) about the fact that you only get one chance to make a good first impression.

When we walked into the music room I was super happy to see instruments everywhere, and immediately the teacher invited the kids to play with them. So they beat some bongos, experimented with the organ, and plunked on a piano. When class time came, the teacher asked them to sit in a circle, and asked them to introduce themselves with their name, age or grade, and an interesting fact about themselves. Most of the kids talked about a favorite sport or a pet. Then came CJ.

"Hello, I'm CJ!" he started with warmth and enthusiasm. He said his age and then he started in with, "When I went to John Hay for kindergarten ..."

Immediately, I'm thinking, "Oh no, he's going to tell them how much he hated school there ..." or something along those lines. Instead, he surprised me.

" ... I had a crush on a girl named Camille." he continued. Everyone (including parents in the room) laughed. CJ wasn't done. "And I still do today," he added. Pretty funny.

They learned a welcome song, and were finishing it when I decided to leave them be and head out to the track to get in some laps. When I returned things were winding down. They were singing a goodbye song and CJ was telling his teacher and classmates "Have a great day!"

Nice. :)

ON THE HUNT: From music it was straight to "Activity Hour," which is a mixed bag required class to participate at the school. We weren't sure what to expect. The kids were happy when they learned today's activity was a school scavenger hunt designed to help them get to know the campus better. They had to decipher clues that led them everywhere from the playground to the commercial kitchen to the climbing wall and many points in between. The hour went quickly.

IN REVERSE: We had 2.5 hours to kill between the second and third classes so we drove north to Wal-Mart in Lynnwood. I haven't been to a Wal-Mart in MONTHS.

There, in the middle of the women's sportswear section I hear CeeJ and Bee having a disagreement. More specifically, Annabelle was disagreeing with something CJ was saying to her. I asked them what was up and CJ explained, "I was trying some reverse psychology on Annabelle. It didn't work."

GREENERY: After Wal-Mart, we still had a little time to kill before their last class of the day, so we stopped at Sky Nursery, which is nearby the school. We perused the plants and checked out the Junior Gardeners Corner. And we spent a fair amount of time critiquing garden art.BRICK TIME: This afternoon's class is a weekly LEGO building workshop. The kids all get neat-o kits and work their way through projects at their own pace. Annabelle's first builds were a policeman and a police car. CJ had to build a truck and a house.In the classroom there's a cool robot the kids got a chance to play with a bit. If they graduate from the basic LEGO building class, come fourth grade or so they can participate in a LEGO robotic team at the school.I stayed for the first 15 minutes or so of the class, so I could hear the class rules and projects. One thing the kids learned today is the class will work on a group build of .... (insert drumroll here) a space shuttle on the launch pad!!! w00t!

While the kids worked on their projects, I used computers in the library to print out some resources regarding the Plants in Space program we're following. When I returned to the classroom, the kids were putting LEGOs away. Before we left, CJ (a.k.a. Mr. Subtle) went up to the teacher and asked, "Did I make a good first impression?"

DOUBLED UP: Annabelle often likes to jump into our bed in the a.m. (and sometimes the very early a.m., as in middle of the night). Last night after she draped both an arm and a leg over me she said, "This is like a double hug." :)

Back to Class

OPPORTUNITY: You know all those cardboard boxes you recycle or trash? You don't know what you're missing. :) In our household, each and every one of them gets bedazzled, blinged or somehow otherwise customized. This box turned into "BeeBot." I just regret that you can't hear Beebot's robotic voice - funny stuff.

SPEAKING OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: This afternoon, CJ was playing his Wii. The remote wasn't responding properly and he muttered, "Oh great, this thing's going all HAL on me!"

How in the world does an 8-year old who has never (trust me on this) seen the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey(1968) bust off with a reference like that? Gotta blame/thank the Internets, I'd say.

CLASSY: Today marked the kids' first day back to 'school,' albeit a very non-traditional school. Last year, they attended just a single class apiece (science) there. This year, I've signed them up for science, music, LEGO science/construction and an activity hour (mixed bag). Bee also opted for a 3-D art class. So, this year is shaping up to be a lot more "schooly" than last year was, with the single weekly class.

As we were driving to school, I asked the kids if they knew what making a good first impression meant. They both offered up pretty good definitions. We talked about how you only get one chance to make a good first impression and how they should be on their Very Best Behavior from day one.

The kids had a spring in their step as we headed into the building.We arrived a few minutes before Bee's 11 a.m. art class and went straight to the library, to return a couple of books from last year. CJ also got straight into playing with the Photobooth software on the computers there.

OUT BACK: While Bee was in class, CJ and I went to the field behind the school. He mostly played on equipment while I walked laps around the track. (Too bad Kirby wasn't there for the action.

We also ventured to the forest-y area behind the school grounds. There, we found a fort someone(s) had started to construct. After class, Annabelle reported that she made a volcano and a tank out of clay. She didn't have anything to show us, tho, so I'm guessing they're still in the classroom drying.

SCIENCE TIME: We're happy to be back to a weekly science class. The first unit of the year is on fabrics. There was a fun experiment today - lab partners (CJ and Bee in today's case) were given fabric samples and a blind bag. Five difference fabrics were in the bottom of each bag, and one partner would feed a fabric sample through a slot at the top of the bag and the other partner would feel that sample and try to find a matching one in the bottom of the bag. BIRDS ON A WIRE: This morning we got a chance to observe a pair of hummingbirds for a couple of minutes (which is a long time when it comes to hummingbirds!). They were perched on a wire outside our kitchen window for a bit before taking off and darting like crazy over the houses to our east. Man, those things can move!

Fair Plus

AND ALSO: As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we did more than just stand around watching Annabelle and CJ going on rides yesterday. We also visited the Puyallup Fair's educational side. The Washington State Grange displays are always a highlight.

The owl themed one above won the people's choice every day of the fair so far. The one below was another standout, IMHO. Really nice work using nothing but produce to make the three first responder emblems incorporated in this display.
We spent some time in the barns, too. We saw horses, cows, pigs, all kinds of birds. The kids got to pet ducks, sheep, goats and rabbits.

I'm not sure why I didn't take photos of any of the fair animals. Guess after being to the zoo just a week ago, and the circus the weekend before that, I just wasn't so inspired by ordinary ol' farm animals?

We also visited the arts and crafts buildings. We saw some amazing quilts and cool sculptures (which had 'no photography' signs on them, hence the lack of pictures here). We also got to watch the tail end of the pie tasting and judging, which was interesting. (You could cut the tension in the room with a knife, let me tell you!) And we happened across this, um, beauty. Annabelle thought it was fabulous.

In the hobby building, we met a couple of nice short wave radio guys who taught CJ and Annabelle a bit about Morse code and let them each tap out their own names. And we met some rock hounds. At their booth, CeeJ and Bee got to spin a wheel and win a shiny stone. POSTER PROJECT: For our daily writing exercise, we tapped into a BIG new book (2x3 feet or so) that we found at Goodwill just today. It's full of explanations and examples about different types of writing. One of the first pages featured a poster a student had made. We talked about its elements. We discussed the type of content that was important (what, when, where info), and what makes an effective poster visually. I then asked the kids to each make a poster about the Puyallup Fair.

CJ was immediately stricken because he knew that meant he was going to have to do some drawing and he'd rather not. He gets frustrated that he can't produce on paper what he sees in his head. But Annabelle and I talked him into it. I thought his pig was really cute, and told him so.
I also told him he really should have put the fair's dates on the poster, like we talked about ahead of time.
Annabelle was especially proud of the chicken in the "O" on her poster. It added nice pop. :)

BACK TO THE MAT: For the first time since mid June, the kids went to yoga class this afternoon. Their yoga teacher Nicole was back from her summer in New York (teaching and taking classes) and they were VERY happy to see her.

WILD SPECULATION: This morning CJ said to me, "Some day I could become the smartest guy on Earth. .... Or the smartest guy who ever lived. But I'll need to train a lot to make that happen."

All's Fair

TICKET TO RIDE: Today was our annual trek to the Puyallup Fair.
Fortunately, we got a break on admission through the fair's awesome Educational Ticket Program. Good thing, because in order for the kids to be able to ride more than two rides apiece, we pretty much had to buy them bracelets for $25 apiece. Ouch.

We saw animals and educational stuff (that's a technical term), but mostly the day was all about fun. I'm going to let the pictures do the talking. Promise, between the roller coasters, the Scrambler, and more, we learned lots about physics today. I'll report on some of that tomorrow.