Planet of the Apes

The summer is quickly wrapping up, as the boys spent a relaxed week in Port Austin with their grandparents soaking in the final days of freedom before they return to their school routine.  Even Alex and the BF made it up to spend a night camping with the crew.  These are the weeks that bring a multitude of emotion for me as a former homeschool mom while I read posts from friends about their preparations for homeschool and their choices for curriculum.  Those choices are now out of my control and although part of me wishes I had that power again it is very clear that the boys need to be in charge of their own destiny when it comes to performing in the academic arena. 

Being a creature who enjoys and requires regular change I am grateful to have the opportunity to learn and experience being a charter school parent and add that to my extending list of educational endeavors.  Benjamin and I went out to Chatfield last week so he could take his math assessment test but the school was still in disaray as teachers were getting their classrooms prepared for the year so we did not get to see his teacher or classroom yet.  While he was at the Tiger game with his grandpa and uncle I attend the new parent/student orientation and was happy to meet a go-getter mom rounding up people from our area to car pool with.  I am not the only one who has been concerned about the time and gas required for transport to Chatfield.  So with four of us sharing the duties it will be a relief to us all.

Fox had the first cross-country meet of his sophmore season at Croswell-Lexington this past week.  He had a legitimate run but did not reach his time goal.  The course was seriously cross-country, most of it was through the woods which was full of rugged, rooty terrain, and lots of hills once they came out of the woods and through the meadow then into the final straight-away.  He commented that his quads and the top of his knees began to hurt about a third of the way through the course causing him to losing significant positioning but he pressed on and finished strong with a 21:23. 

Sophmore orientation was also this past week.  Fox has a pretty intense schedule for next year with AP Prep English, AP Ancient History, AP Psychology, Algebra II, one trimester of Biology, Chemistry, and Accounting.  Yowza!

Friday we fit in one last field trip to the Detroit Zoo before our membership expired.  It was an incredibly busy day, so much so that we had to park on the very roof of the parking structure!  Inside wasn't so terrible as we got on the second train heading toward the back of the zoo and held a brief conference to determine which animals were a "must-see".  Fox has been intrigued by the monkeys and apes so we spent a good deal of time there and had some great sightings.  Ben wanted to go through the Outback area to check on the baby joeys.  Ethan was all about the prairie dogs.  My only requirement was our traditional photo by the bear fountain.

The Arctic Circle is always big time fun as the boys got silly by the ice wall, this time trying to leave a mark with their rear ends, the imprint did not work after quite some time all they ended up with were frozen a**es which showed up in blue on the heat sensor in the polar shack!  Certain places will always remind me of my mother: zoos, gardens, and choir concerts in particular. As we walked around the boys shared several memories they had of gramma when they were really little and we used to get together with her for field trips when we homeschooled.  I was amazed at some of the things that came to their minds.  My emotions are not so much sad now as they are grateful that they have good memories and can share them freely. 

Coming up: Ethan's Open House, Brown City HS Cross-Country Meet, and learning Italian!

Final thoughts: No plant can live if the root is cut away.....where are you rooted and grounded in your life?  Are you in a place where you can thrive and grow or do you need to cut the roots of resentment, bitterness, doubt, or self-loathing in order to be refreshed and renewed?

To deep to dig....I think not.

Be well my friends.

Clue Club

This past week Fox was on the Michigan State University campus for 4H Discovery Camp. The main focus was biodiesel technology but they also visited the Invision House and learned about a variety of sustainable and energy efficient technology, Wind Turbines, the MBI Lab, and the MSU Test Fields where they grow switch grass, poppy trees, and mycanthis for experimentation. During the recreational outings they went on a private tour of the Basketball Stadium and explored the bird sanctuary.  He reported it was a great camp and everyone he met was very cool.  There was a diverse representation of kids that were selected from all over the state.  Unlike the LSSU Engineering camp where everyone was what would probably be catagorized as "geeky" (high academic acheivers), this group was from a range of "acheivement" levels but they were a very fun group, that came up with unique ways to solve problems and think outside box. Through the magic of Facebook he will more than likely keep in touch with many of them.  When I inquired if he thought MSU was the type of campus situation he could see himself in, he thought.....possibly.  Kudos to Jake DeDekker and staff for organizing a fabulous program.

Monday after we got Fox situated Ben, Ethan, and I headed over to the Potter Park Zoo again, this time heading directly back to the tiger house to see the now-rather-large baby tigers which were sooooo cool to watch.  Also inside were two female lions that I don't remember from last time.  There was a group of young ladies in the Feline House when we were, one of them had a toddler, as we were all watching, one of the female tigers jumped up when it saw the baby and came right up to the glass to check it out.  Wherever the kid moved the lion moved with it, watching intently.  It was very bizarre and we commented back and forth whether the feline was in protection mode or had vicious intent.  It's rare that you see zoo animals really react to observers, usually they could care less.  Very interesting.

Ethan and I also took a camel ride, first ever for us both.  It was similar to riding a horse but with much more up and down motion.  Ben declined the adventure and opted to act as photographer only. While we were in line Ethan commented about the price to ride and I explained that this money helps them cover expenses to take care of the animals, you have to look at it like a fundraiser.  The gal from the zoo heard me explain this and said "you're the only one who realizes that, most people just complain about the cost. It is expensive to care for a lot of these animals."

I get it, and can't even imagine what it must cost to run a zoo.  Just the expense of raising three pigs for a few months is blowing my mind!  Speaking of pigs, we were fortunate to be offered the use of an outdoor feeder with four doors so we could put the trio on free feed and they are really starting to look big now.  This weekend I'm going to pick up the scale and get them weighed again.  While Fox was gone I worked with the boys on their buyer letters and we got our first batch delivered.  It's challenging coming up with different businesses for them to invite although they did both give a letter to the bank where they have their accounts.  Ethan has had a bit of an advantage because he already broke the ice with a lot of people when he went out getting sponsors.  I would send the boys in on their own to talk with people and a few places it took 10-15 minutes before he came back out because he was chatting it up with people.  Several made a point to come out, give me a wave in the van and say "he did a really good job!"  Awesome.  Although Ben is not the social butterfly type that his younger brother is, he did his best to speak up, state his business, look people in the eye, and not be shy.  The more he does it, the easier it will get I keep telling him.  We're planning to do another round in a couple weeks, they both need to come up with three more people to invite.

Well, I haven't relayed any information about my oldest lately, maybe because I've been trying to block it out.  You know when you think about having kids you have these romantic notions of babies, baby stuff, baby cuddles, and cute cuddly feelings, but you never consider the teenage, young adult phase of that cute little baby's life.  Well think about it folks and beware!  Let me try and phrase this as kindly as I can.  After a series of financial missteps, mainly stemming from not paying a balance owed to the community college (even though she kept insisting to me that she did), her idea to transfer to a university in the fall is now on hold. She wants to take a semester off because she dosen't really know what she wants to do.

**edit gory details**

But in the meantime she plans on moving into an apartment with her boyfriend and continuing to work as an assistant manager at BK.  (Please picture me throwing up my hands and pulling my hair out.)  Love you, be safe, be happy, give me a call and let me know what's up.  Good luck.  Honestly, it's fine whatever you decide to do, just don't BS me.  I honestly don't know what to think and keep fighting the impulse to beat myself up about it.  She made her choices and she'll have to live with them, but as a parent the whole situation really sucks however, it's out of my control.

Moving on to more pleasant topics.  Next week is 4H Zoomania Camp which I am very excited to be a part of.  We have lots of great guests coming in with a variety of animals and tons of fun activities planned.  I will be presenting the science section, storytime, and some games for daycamp and working on an Animal Classification lapbook with the overnight group.  The younger boys are also finishing up their swim lessons and even got promoted up a class after the third lesson.  Woot!

Hope all is well in your part of the world and remember "don't sweat the small stuff."

Columbo

It was a beautiful morning as we headed to the station.  A brief train ride to Lansing for a day of adventure.  Grandpa Q met us at the station, I turned in Fox's tickets and off to our first stop, the Capitol Building, which was a buzz with activities for the Memorial weekend.  Since business does not stop for the tour we forged ahead through the building trying to hear what our tour guide was explaining. Inside the House it was quiet since they were in between sessions but still there was distraction as a few soldiers practiced their flag maneuvers on the floor below.  Amazing to think that all the walls are painted even though they look like marble or expensive woods, it's all plain pine that's been painstakingly painted.

Next we grabbed a quick breakfast then headed over the Impression 5 Hands-On Museum.  This is a very cool stop.  Since all the exhibits are set up through one huge open floor the boys were old enough to just let go to explore.  They could read directions and execute all of the experiments on their own so Dad and I wandered ourselves and got snap happy.  The drawers of leaf, seed, bug, and insect collections kept me occupied for quite a while along with the oil and iron mix contraption.  Ethan had fun at the pitching machine, checking his speed.  Ben spent his time building with Legos.  Giant bubble machines are always enjoyed by all. Grandpa Q I believe did a thorough investigation of it all.  Bought a couple books about wildflowers in the Gift Shop, a geyser top for the mentos and coke experiment, astronaut ice cream, and some erasers for our collection.

Although satisfactorily explored, the hands-in didn't take as much time as I thought it would so we were able to add an extra stop to the MSU Gardens to check out the 4H Children's Garden in particular.  There were about a half dozen employees out working diligently to get things ready for the busy season.  The ponds in particular were in great need of TLC.

We drifted on into the main gardens and into the green house that housed the indoor 4H garden.  That was unfortunately closed for a renovation but what before my wandering eyes should appear, the Curiosity Classroom was there. With everyone out working I had minute to peek in and drool.  What a fantastic resource at MSU, with learning extended through models, microscopes, mini collections, and marvels of nature all about.  I believe some of the 4H Discovery Days classes take place here, Ben is just old enough to be eligible.  Ethan will be next year.

From there we google mapped our way over to the Potter Park Zoo. First in, Granpda was jonesin' for a hot dog and the boys wanted one too, plus pops all around.  The food shack was just closing up and the kid gave us all a free hot dog that would have been thrown out. Woot! Bellies and thirst being satisfied we made our way through the zoo. There was an ostrich with eggs, an excellent bald eagle set up and a nest on display, caught the lion being fed jumping up like a big dog to catch the meat, but the owl wouldn't open its eyes for nothin. The tiger was pretty active, saw the penguins being fed, and one of the ostriches gave us a full open! It was an interesting little zoo although the dark metal bars are sort of a drag, especially when it comes to picture taking.  Overall they had a nice collection of animals.  We were going to take a camel ride but it was closed that day and we missed the baby tigers, by the time we made our way to the back where their habitat was they had already been "put to bed" for the night. :(  We'll have to stop back when we take Fox up for camp.

Another favorite discovery of the day for me was these fabulous recycled art pieces that were displayed throughout the zoo, made from bottle caps and tops!  Gorgeous!  Totally going to replicate this idea, kudos!!

For dinner we ate at Clara's Lansing Station in the train car, of course!  I had the Seafood Quiche, very tasty!  Wasn't so impressed with the Bruchetta.  Ben scraped away at a Nachos while dad and Ethan shared a Rueben.  Dessert took us to Anthony Hall for some famous MSU Dairy Store ice cream!  Ben and I had a fantastic mint sensation, Ethan went cookie dough, dad did chocolate I think.....?  It's all a blur I was in a yummy ice crean haze.  Dad dropped us at the train station and headed home.  The boys occupied themselves with soccer game with a pebble while I read some more of "Barnhart."  I crashed out on the ride back but I don't think the boys totally did.  Asked the conductor when we exited about bringing my bike on the train.  He said they do allow it but you have to make special arrangments and there may be an extra fee.  Everything we did on our adventure would have been totally bikable, we stayed within a 7 miles radius for all the activities.  That could be some fun.  I'd love to have my bike around Chicago too!

Before I headed to Lansing I hung out at the Lapeer Virtual Learning Center open house.  They had representatives from a few of the providers that are available for online classes there to explain how their programs work.  Plus you could test out some of the courses.  I liked aspects of both Aventa and Lincoln Interactive.  Curious if the middle school would consider doing the Spanish program for an elective.  A presentation overviewing the virtual options was given, streamlining the information that had been researched over the past few months. They've had a few families enroll already and several inquired about further conversation. We're hoping there is a slow and steady progress so that participants get the assistance they need to succeed. I've also had a couple opportunties arise to coordinate enrichment activities through several non-profit organizations in the area.  Very exciting, meetings coming up, will update as things are finalized.