Homeschool Field Trip: Fish Hatchery

Yesterday afternoon started out innocently enough.  Each month, one family chooses a theme for Monday PE.  This month we are doing geocaching.  It qualifies as PE because we hike and scramble to find the treasure.  Sadly, we couldn't find the geocache box.  What we did find was this:

Desperate for Hatchery Chum

The fence marks Department of Fish and Wildlife property.  The rope line with the buoys is the absolute limit to where they can fish the river.  There is a camera to record if someone tries to fish under the buoys.  I have no idea why anyone would want to fish for hatchery chum so close to the end of their journey (I'm such a salmon snob, I won't even buy chum in the store).  When they catch a fish, they leave the head, tail, and guts right there on the bank.  They toss their cigarette butts on the ground.  The seagulls are everywhere.  It was pretty gross.

My friend happened to find a hatchery employee and he gave us a tour!  So our failed PE class turned into a science field trip.  I love that.  The first thing we saw was:

The End of the Road

All the dark in the water is fish.  Lots and lots of fish with nowhere to go.  They do lift 10,000 over so they can be "wild" and spawn naturally upstream.  The rest are diverted into the holding tanks until they are ready to provide their goods.  The extras are sent to a factory that uses the fish for meal and fertilizer and they also take the rest of the eggs to sell to Japan.  The eggs etc that are kept go here:

Brooding Tanks

This hatchery raises more than just chum.  They also raise chinook!  Now that's a tasty salmon.

Eggs, getting ready to hatch

This was a really fun part of the field trip.  One would think that I, having an entire degree devoted to fishy things, would know everything about how hatcheries run.  But I have never stepped foot into one until this day.  (People who got hatchery degrees went to the tech school for two years-I went to university and read, wrote, and pondered about fish.  One doesn't have to actually touch a fish to get a university degree.)

Fish growth

This is the part of the tour where I started to get embarrassed about how much my kids don't really know about what their dad does for a living.  S kept asking if the fish in the bottles were alive.  Maybe if we had kept our fish collection when we moved, he wouldn't ask that question.  But then the real fun started.  We went to another building where they had frozen things to hold:

This guy knew how to give a school tour!  Show them the cool things.  Don't tell them to much.  Answer the moms' questions.  And give them big frozen dead things to play with.  A perfect field trip!

Cooper's Hawk

Today, I heard the guineas sound the alarm.  They make this crazy sound that echoes off the trees.  I hear they make better watch dogs than roosters!  Sure enough, I found half my chickens under a bush in my backyard and the rest nowhere to be found.  I called my chickens, "Chick, chick!"  Nothing.  Usually they come running to me!  I searched the yard and the chicken coop.  Nothing.  I looked in the carport and under the other bush.  Nothing.  Now I was starting to worry.  What happened to the rest of my chickens?  I scanned the trees and saw:

Okaaay...so it's a little hawk.  One third the size of one of my chickens.  It was probably scavenging the scraps that we tossed to the chickens earlier.  What's the big deal?  I did find the rest of the chickens under the turkey house, in a space barely high enough to crawl under.  I went back inside and showed IJ the hawk.

An hour later, I tried to put D down for a nap.  I looked out the window and saw that the hawk was still there!  And the chickens STILL hadn't come out of hiding.  This time I found the camera and got some good shots of it...and came across the still warm body of one of the Americaunas.

I couldn't believe a tiny little hawk could take out a chicken.  But the evidence pointed up.  I brought Pathetic Doberman out to see if she would pick up a scent trail.  Usually, she picks up coyote and raccoon and is gone chasing them.  But this time she ran around in a circle, looked around confusedly, and chased a cat.  A coyote or an eagle would carry their prey off.  A raccoon pulls the head off.  The chicken had a broken neck and the wing bone was exposed.  The hawk stayed on the branch, watching us, until M disposed of the body.  Then it flew off.

Thanksgiving Turkey

This is what we've been waiting for since this day last spring.  This was, hands down, the best turkey ever.  We will never go back to store bought as long as we have land to raise turkeys on.  

165 degrees and ready to be eaten!

You can see that I tired of picking out baby feathers the day I put this turkey in the freezer.  Since I'm not selling my turkeys and have no one to impress, I left them there.  There was a moment where I was afraid the turkey would not fit in the oven without being cut in half.  But M managed.  He always does.

I've never seen this kid eat so much in his whole life.  Shortly after he cleaned his plate, he ate two pieces of pie (pumpkin and pecan).

There really is something about raising your own food that feeds your soul as well as your body.

Together Forever

At the base of the Twin Firs, for which we named our home, and where M scattered the ashes of his parents, bloomed a Thanksgiving rhododendron.  Two blooms, two hearts, together forever in peace.

F Says

S (to F): You weren't even born yet!
F: Mom said I was boring!

(she meant born)

Butterfingers

"Mom, D's getting in the butter again!"

"I can't believe it's not butter!"

Earning His Lounge Time

That would be IJ, using a chainsaw.  A little chainsaw, but a chainsaw nonetheless.  We go through enough firewood that we need to cut the branches for burning too!

Chess

S is really good at chess.  He beat me twice in the last two days.  There is no one left in the family who will play him.  No one but his dad.

S is good at chess because he reads about it, practices-mostly on E, and because he is very good at distracting his opponents!  Can you imagine trying to concentrate while the other player is having his pieces talk to each other about their next moves on pretend walkie-talkies, like they are in some army guy game?  Or having a pawn peek behind a bishop saying, "I'm just peekin' through the bushes!  Peekin' through the bushes!  Peekin' through the bushes!"   Or a rook and two pawns having a wrestling match in the corner of the board while he is thinking about how to take out your queen with pawn?  He just took M's queen with a pawn.  He took mine earlier.  With a pawn.  He is very good with visualizing how the horse pieces move.  I am not.  So I try to get those first!

This is how the game between M and S ended.  M won.

Chilly Sunday Morning

Have you seen the fleece sheets at Costco?  Oh my, they are nice.  It was really hard getting out of bed this morning, especially when the world outside my window looked like this:

I know there is snow in other parts, but here we were only visited by Jack.  F exclaimed, "There is frosting on the sticks outside!  I know 'cause I can see the white stuff!"

Homeschool Hike

Tuesday was beautiful and sunny and a perfect day to skip out on book learnin' to go hiking.

 The park wasn't officially open, but we had permission to go past the gate.  We took a detour through the woods to find beach access.  What a workout!  Us moms hauling babies/toddlers really worked our leg muscles.

But the view was worth it!  Homeschool hiking is always fun.

 E tried some "sea lettuce" and wanted more for dinner.  We had chili mac instead.

 The boys found a cool little crevice between muddy banks and a fallen tree to explore.  I had to crawl through a blackberry bush tunnel to approve the area as "safe."

The New Thomas Lover

D tripped and fell, threw rocks in the water, and discovered crabs:

Wednesday was catch-up day and today was roller skating day.  Tomorrow, we rest...

Dinner With D

Those of you who are on facebook with me know that D climbed to the top bunk of the bunk bed this evening.  This was during my dinner rush, while I was madly trying to throw dinner together while all sorts of things were going wrong.  I abandoned dinner, pulled D off the bed, changed his stinky diaper, put a baby gate across the doorway to the girls room, came back to spoon Curried Pumpkin Soup into bowls to cool, and posted my update to clear my head.

Next thing I hear is a slurping noise.  I turn around and see D, with a bowl of orange-colored soup on the carpet.  He is drinking right out of the bowl and had soup running down his front.  I thought about just taking a picture, but good sense prevailed so I rescued the carpet and took the bowl away.  "Oh good, he likes his dinner.  I'll just put him in his high chair so he can eat."

Measuring spoons are better to eat with!

I had the brilliant idea of giving him a measuring spoon to use.  We have a plethora of baby spoons, none that do a good job with soup.  Measuring spoons are small enough for his little hands and mouth, but hold enough soup to be satisfying.

...or maybe not

But then more... toddler exploration critical thinking brain development exploring textures NONSENSE AND MESS ensued.

"Hmm, spitting my soup back into the bowl is fun!"

"I'm done eating now!"

"Pathetic Doberman, clean up in the kitchen!"

And one last thing to push me to end dinner early and not even worry if anyone else eats...

D calls this Tap Dancing in My Dinner

There is only one solution to this problem.  Assign S to D duty.  They can drive each other crazy all evening while I finish up math with IJ and E.  I feel better already.

Raising Real Men: A Review

As a part of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team, I am presented with opportunities to review products that Timberdoodle carries in their online store.  This time, I am reviewing the book, Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young.  They have six boys (and two girls) and have been involved with parenting, political commentary, writing, and homeschooling.  They wrote this book because Melanie was asked to share her thoughts on raising and homeschooling boys.  I felt since I am in the process of raising and homeschooling three wonderful boys, this book would be a good fit for me.  However, I found that I'm different from their typical audience members in that I already understand and appreciate my energetic boys.  Most of what they write is common sense.

IJ and M target the window with Nerf guns, 2008

The first part of the book covers virtues that boys have that drive parents crazy (competitiveness, aggression, recklessness, etc) and ideas to help cultivate these virtues into "real men" characteristics.  One issue they bring up is the use of weapons in play.  They have a common sense approach to gun play: treat your toys like a real weapon, don't shoot at a living person (which is exactly what I told S this morning after he shot his sister with a Nerf gun), and always be the good guy.  I didn't need to read a book to know that.

Fun and Safety with BB Guns 2011

How can you cultivate the love of weaponry in young boys into a Real Man characteristic? And why would you?  Because it is all about responsibility.  Being responsible so that if they are ever in the position where a friend is playing with a gun, they know what to do.  Being responsible while hunting.  Being able to protect your home from invaders (or raccoons), without accidentally shooting someone innocent.  And then there is the possibility the young boys grow up to be warriors in our Armed Forces.  The Youngs give plenty of Scriptural examples for the need of virtuous warriors.  They say, "Just as we teach them the truth of God's word to better arm them for the spiritual battle, we can help them understand the proper use of physical strength and appropriate weapons in the right causes."

IJ and E 2007

The second half of the book covers the topics necessary to growing up that drive boys crazy, especially coming from their parents (becoming responsible with money, having good manners, learning their way around the kitchen and cleaning up after themselves).  I never once for a second ever thought that my sons should be exempt from kitchen, cleaning, and/or laundry duty just because of their gender.  Nuh-uh, no way.

Being Raised to be Real Men

At 9 and 8 years old, IJ and S are responsible for unloading the dishwasher, moving the laundry from the washing machine to the dryer, sweeping the floor, and they often make lunch for everyone while I am busy with other things.  I know I share this view with many other Christians, but I know there are still people out there that think this kind of work feminizes boys.

Tenderness is NOT exclusively feminine

Those people might need the Scriptural references the Youngs provide of men weaving cloth and baking bread and nurturing babies, but I don't.  Plus (as M likes to joke) there is no guarantee the girl they marry will know how to cook.  Just look at me.  If they can't cook, they might starve (like M obviously is).

My Real Man

The most important thing, in my opinion, to raising boys into real men, is to provide them with the best examples of Real Men.  Take M for instance.  There is no doubt that he is a perfect example of the balance between being masculine, but having the nurturing side that is also very masculine.  He has taught our boys so much about how to be physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight, yet also how to show tenderness so that scenes like this are not a rarity, but reality:

D naps snuggled with S

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I have a hard time spending so much time reading about things I already know.  Especially when I believe the book wasn't as organized or as well written as it could have been.  It took me a few times through the introduction of the two parts to figure out why there were two parts.  It took me a few tries to get through the book one time.  Some chapters were ended with a conclusion header and paragraph, others weren't.  Sometimes a fact was tossed into a conclusion that seemed out of place.  There were too many examples from how the mother was raised applied to how they are raising their sons. But those are just editorial issues, not content issues.

There are so many people who do like this book.  Raising Real Men won 2011 Book of the Year from Christian Small Publisher Association.  I encourage you to read other reviews on this book at Because Mom Said.  And in the interest of full disclosure, Timberdoodle granted me a free copy of the book in exchange for my frank and unbiased review.

New and Exciting!

Today I won a free copy of T-Tapp Core DVD workout!  This is a fitness DVD for kids and I'm so excited.  Because I won!  And it's free!  Also...

...my new gate came by FedEx today.  I have an Amazon.com Mom account and save lots of money on diapers and have free two-day shipping on anything until July.  (I just bought two cases of peanut butter for $1.50 per jar).  I'm just plain tired of D getting up on the school table and throwing everything around, coloring on books, playing with scissors, etc.  On Thursday, which was payday, I broke down and bought a gate from Amazon.

This is the best baby gate I have ever used.  First, on Thursday afternoon, I went to the Dream Baby website and used their calculator to custom build a gate for this space.  By the next afternoon, the side extensions were here.  Today, the gate arrived.  And I installed it in about 30 minutes.  I taught the boys how to open the gate and immediately regretted it when they started seeing how far the gate opens and how hard it slams itself shut.  All this less than 48 hours after deciding I absolutely NEEDED this gate.

Better Post Something!

My blog got its 9300th view today!  So I better post something new.  We've just had a couple of days where we've snuggled down next to the fire and tried to keep warm.  Nothing exciting.

Girls...

I always thought something spectacular would happen on 11-11-11, considering 11 is my favorite number.  But I went to Costco and Target to run errands.  I brought home Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  We watched it and I was asleep in bed by 11:00.  Nothing exciting.

...and Boys!

Maybe today will bring something new and exciting...

Best and Worst Wednesday

The best part about having my own chickens?  Farm fresh eggs and meat.  The worst part? They stop laying in the winter and become expensive, stinky pets.  And coyotes, raccoons, and eagles try to eat them everyday so we are on constant predator alert.

The best part about having a Doberman? Everything is scared of her, including coyotes, raccoons, and door-to-door salesmen.  The worst part? She's scared of everything too and barks to alert us to airplanes, wind gusts, and friends sleeping on the couch for a sleepover.

The best part about heating with wood?  A nice, cozy atmosphere in the living room that cost only M's labor.  The worst part? The rest of the house is 50 degrees.

The best part about being married to an IT guy and having multiple computers?  I get to use his super-fast one while he has my old one tied up with some project.  The worst part?  All the pictures are on the old computer and I have none for this post:(

Seattle

M took me to Seattle to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  We took the ferry, window shopped on the waterfront, went to Pike's Place and Seattle Art Museum, ate at Red Robin, and came home!  What a wonderful day out.

Thank you, L and A, for watching the kids all day.  It was nice having everyone under one roof again.

"I hear something!"

M and I welcomed our 10th anniversary in a very special way last night...

We had just fallen asleep after another long Tuesday.  It was approximately 11:30 PM.
Me (sitting upright): I hear something!
M (jumping awake): WHAT?
Me:....Animal sounds!
(The night before I woke M in a similar manner because a coyote howled in the pasture)
M: (grumpy pause) What kind of animal sounds?  Elephants? Tigers?
Me: Chicken sounds.  Like when I pick them up after they fall asleep outside the coop and I shove them back in the coop door!  Like something is bothering them while they sleep!
M: I don't hear anything.
Me: Open the window!
M: And let all the heat out?
Me: There's no heat in here!
M: (opens window) I don't hear anything.  Wait.  I hear something in the bushes.  Fine, I'll go see.

M takes the flashlight and the Pathetic Doberman outside.  I try to watch from the window.  I see the light swing around and hear a shout.  My heart starts thumping!  What's going on?  Is Pathetic Doberman fighting a wild animal?  Is M hurt?  I cower under the blankets until M returns.

Me: I'm just keeping your spot warm for you.
M: Right.  Well, it was a raccoon.  You were right. Something was out there
Me: (thinking to myself, "Could you say that over and over?  And over again?  I'm right!")

Dear Mr. Raccoon,
You should know better than to cause trouble outside the window of a mother of five.  Don't you know I never sleep?  I'm always listening for little noises?  And don't you know my dear husband will shoot you the next time you pull one of our chickens out of the coop at night?  And we will happily deprive you of your meal if you leave an injured, but still living rooster at the scene of the crime?  We were going to eat that rooster anyway.

The Management

And by the way, the raccoon was in the chicken yard.  He climbed over the fence, reached inside the coop door, and grabbed the first chicken on the perch.  The bush noises were the chicken flapping in the yard.  Predator season is upon us!  After the adrenaline rush, M and I could not sleep.  We stayed up drinking tea and welcomed our 10th anniversary in style!

Candy Night

For the past two years, we have gone to a local carnival-style event run by the community center.  This year, our church held its first candy carnival, so of course we went there instead.  No scary costumes allowed!

F wearing my clown costume

I had the kids pick out two costumes.  The first set was worn to the park for Costume Kickball with the homeschoolers.  But no ball showed up, so we just played.  IJ wore army camo, S wore a dragon costume, E was a snow leopard, F was the clown, and D was a giraffe.

For candy carnival, we had a ninja, a sorcerer, a witch, a princess and a spider.   The big joke was F wears different princess costumes on normal days, so it was hard to tell she was even dressed up.  The other issue was that two of our kids were dressing up as characters that aren't always welcomed in a church setting.

IJ had a backup plan.  If a sorcerer wasn't allowed, he was going to be Simon.  I tell you, this kid knows his Bible.  Someone called him Moses on the way out, and that would have been good too.

Someone slept through dinner

The carnival was so much fun.  The kids played games for candy and hung out with their church friends.  M came along with me and got to chat with another Scout leader.  It was one of those nights where one feels all warm and cozy about being part of a community of people with similar values and morals and you don't have to worry about scary people being around your kids.

This morning, I made them weigh and count their candy.  When I get some peace and quiet, I'll show IJ how to make a pie chart with fractions and percentages.  They brought home 14.25 pounds of candy.

One of the first things they did was count how many chocolate bars they had compared to the fruity candy.  They also had to count the toys.  The best part about doing a detailed count like this is knowing whose bowl to raid.

After math, we moved on to language arts.

"I Like Candy"

 S wrote, "I like candy. I like Gobstoppers because they are sweet.  Junior Mints have lots of minty flavor.  Almond Joy are crunchy and chocolatey.  It makes me feel good and fuzzy when I eat it."

IJ wrote, "The Candy Carnival was fun because there was lots of candy and games.  I also got to see my friends and someone who recognized me.  I was good at games and everything was great."

Don't forget to brush!

Now it is time to start thinking about the next big holiday... our 10th Anniversary, coming up tomorrow!