Jones Kids on the Loose 2017 - Sevilleta

We have a million things we desperately need to get done at home, but we also desperately needed a few family days, so - on the road again!

We started off Monday by visiting Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, a spot none of us had ever been to before. We will be back!

The Visitor's Center is very nicely done for a small, two-room area. Plenty of (taxidermied?) animals in attractive displays - make sure you look both up and down, as in the wild! You could listen to the calls of different animals, watch a very well-done video on the area, and scroll through pictures taken by their game cameras, next to a map showing where the cameras are located.

There are two hiking trails, one just over a mile and one just under four miles. We did part of the 4-mile hike - if we weren't worried about eventually having to carry the littler ones, we could have easily done the whole thing, though. Next year!

Sheridan was my self-appointed stenographer this year, taking notes of all the animals we saw on her pink clipboard.

The kids quickly decided that this is where whomping willows are grown, as we saw several baby ones.

Several picturesque spots.

Lots of really neat rocks!

And just a few steep drop-offs.

Those didn't phase the kids much, especially Logan.

Nope, not a bit.

Hey, could you wait for the rest of us, Medium Guy???

Gracie did have a little bit of a freak-out once she looked down, but Christopher immediately stepped up and helped her through.

I was very proud of him for being so helpful, unasked, and very proud of Grace for doing something that scared her.

Almost at the top! You can see the buildings where we started.

Aaaand Logan is off again.

We met this guy on the way back - Sheridan's eagle eye picked him out. They immediately figured out why he is lighter than the horned toad lizards near our house (and hard to focus on!). We moved him off the path, then went back to the Visitor's Center for lunch. I had brought fruit and sandwich makings, and they have several picnic tables at the back.

While we were sitting there, I realized Sheridan had sprouted MORE freckles on the hike! She needs to cut that out, she is already too cute!

The kids were pretty tired out from the hike.

They were 'playing rattlesnake'. I think Shane was the snake.

We went back inside to buy some postcards (images from their game cameras), and a park ranger named Janine asked if we wanted to see something cool. Of course!

These are newly hatched morning cloak butterflies (well, caterpillars).

They picked a pretty safe place to grow - if I was a bird, I don't think I would chance landing there.

She showed us where her office is, and told us about the time she watched a rattlesnake strike a pigeon, unhinge its jaw, and eat it. The kids were fascinated. Then she went back inside and got us a stack of activity books, which came in handy later at the hotel.

The kids were finally just a little tuckered out. 

He napped all the way to Albuquerque, where we checked into our hotel. The hotel was our third choice: the one we stayed at last year was full when I called to book a couple months ago. We found another, then a few weeks ago got a call that it had been SOLD, and was about to close. Ever try to find a hotel room for seven people at the last minute? We ended up at a Days Inn and Suites, bedroom with two beds, living room with pull-out bed, and two full baths. Not a five-star hotel, but it gave us enough space to not kill each other, and it was actually cheaper than choice #2 had been. The poor mountain kids with no cable got stuck on Full House reruns until it was finally bedtime!

***Edited to add - the whole place is free, so well worth the stop, even if you're just on your way somewhere else.

Also, on the way home Wednesday we stopped at the rest area on I-25 to let the kids run around for a bit. We were reading all the signs and came across one advertising Sevilleta, with a picture of Miss Janine on it! She's famous!

Review: Rickie and Henri - a True Story, by Jane Goodall and Alan Marks

9789888341351

Rickie the chimpanzee lived happily with her mother in the rain forests of Central Africa, warm and safe—until the day the hunters came and took Rickie away to sell at a Congolese market. Fortunately, she was rescued by a kind man who adopted Rickie and cared for her. Best of all, he provided an unexpected friend in his dog Henri.

Normally I would be skeptical of a story in which a wild animal, taken from captivity, is 'rescued' by a well-meaning human - but the author's name lends instant credibility!

This story definitely has a frightening beginning - true to the nature of the story, but you'll want to pre-read before deciding how to share it with your child. Initial suggested age rage is 5-7, I would definitely out it at the top of that range. I know Logan (5) would end up with nightmares after reading, while Sheridan (7) would still be concerned and upset. 

In addition to the cruelty of trafficking in wild animals, readers learn how very like human babies many animals are in their basic needs. When Rickie grew too big, she moved to one of Goodall's sanctuaries, and a brief afterward asks for readers' help with those sanctuaries. 

Marks' watercolor illustrations are soft yet vivid. The cover image says it all - Sad-eyed chimp clinging to sturdy, friendly dog (although Henri was not entirely certain about the arrangement at first!)

Due out in May, cover price is just $12 in the US. A worthwhile addition to elementary school libraries or classrooms.

Review: Noah Webster's Fighting Words by Tracy Nelson Maurer and Mircea Catusanu

9781467794107

Noah Webster, famous for writing the first dictionary of the English language as spoken in the United States, was known in his day for his bold ideas and strong opinions about, well, everything. Spelling, politics, laws, you name it—he had something to say about it. He even commented on his own opinions! With a red pencil in hand, Noah often marked up work that he had already published. So who edited this book? It certainly looks like the ghost of the great American author and patriot picked up a pencil once again to comment on his own biography!

My husband and I have been predicting a career in law or politics for a certain opinionated young lady we know. Perhaps we have a third option to consider! Editing books, articles, and even an entire language system may be right up the alley of someone who will happily make up reasons to argue with you.

I have been pleased with the ongoing trend towards picture book biographies, and this one is extremely readable, even without Mr. Webster's editorial comments injecting humor (unintended, I am sure). While I knew about Webster's dictionary, I did not realize he was involved with America's struggle for independence, so I learned a few new things as well. I may also want to try his trick of filling the walls with sand, to shut out the sound of screaming children...

A worthwhile addition to any school or public library!

Toddler STEM - Rainbows (2nd Edition)

Rainbows are such a fun and easy theme, we had to do it again! To see what we did during our first Rainbow STEM, click here.

I skipped the colored spaghetti this time (although that was LOTS of fun!) and went with Jell-O.

I sprinkled some sequins in so we could work on fine motor skills, as well as to hopefully dissuade eating it!

It actually took them a little nudging to really stick their hands in Monday, but then they decided it was pretty cool.

Some more fine motor, as well as colors, sorting, matching, and patterns with bead stringing:

I had the styrofoam blocks saved from some packages received earlier - good thing, that stuff can get expensive!

Perfect for the warm weather we have been having:

I just filled ice cube trays with water and added a few drops of liquid watercolors, which don't stain as badly as food coloring. I set aside paper hoping they would get the idea to put them together in some way.

That was okay, but it needed 'something'. I know: shaving cream!

One little cutie pointed to each ice cube in turn and instructed me to cover "this one. Now this one." They were just melty enough at that point to color the shaving cream when they touched it, then of course we had to mix it all together.

I didn't have time to make more ice cubes before Wednesday, so we went straight to the shaving cream.

I put some shaving cream in before kids arrived, then added coloring and more shaving cream (what happens if I drip it from up high?) when they were there. 

A little reading mixed in with foam letters and colored pet bedding (unused, of course!):

Find the letters to spell your name! Or, you know, jump in it, because that's fun, too.

More pre-reading, fine motor, tactile fun with colored sand (you can also use colored salt - just add a few drops of food coloring to regular salt, and keep stirring.)

Finally, a giant bag of rice and some food coloring/liquid watercolors, toss in some kitchen supplies, and let the cause and effect learning take place:

I started out with different colors of rice in each of three sleds, 

but of course they got mixed pretty quickly. 

I probably could have just had this center, and the kids would have been perfectly happy! We actually went over by almost half an hour both days, because the kids were happily pouring and sifting, transferring from one container to another, seeing what would stack, etc. Very zen-like, as well as educational!

FYI, if you go from the Jell-O to the sand to the shaving cream to the rice, in that order, you end up with quite the spectacular look.

Teen Cafe - Cupcake Wars

I love when we have new faces at Teen Cafe! Funny what the promise of playing with food will do. 

Our Cupcake Wars are pretty simple: each teen gets three cupcakes, and can pick whatever they want from a spread of frostings, fondant, and candies. They have to decide on a theme and decorate accordingly, then we all vote for the best plate. And then we eat them!

Tonight we had:

Snowman Princess Leia, a Skittle, and...Barney?

An M&M

Emojis (love the border - nice presentation!)

Valentine's Day (again, nice presentation)

Easter

Generation of Miracles

America (note orange gummy bear. I am not saying a word.)

And, our winners (a tie):

Red and white blood cells, an open wound, and a sutured wound.

Moana

 Side view so you can see the gummy bears playing beach volleyball under the palm tree:

So much fun - and so much sugar! Remind me next year that this is NOT a good day to skip lunch. Pardon me now while I go slip into a coma...

Review: How the Queen Found the Perfect Cup of Tea, by Kate Hosford and Gabi Swiatkowska

9781467739047

Each day when the Queen wakes up, three maids dress her, two more style her hair, and her butler James makes her tea. But when she grows dissatisfied with her brew, the Queen and James set out in search of the perfect cup. 

Now that was a fun surprise! At each stop along the way (Japan, India and Turkey according to the author's note) the queen encounters a different child, who gently challenges her to try something new. "Her Majesty does not dribble," said James. "Well then, it's time she tried," said Sunil. Each child then makes tea a different way, with the queen learning to be a bit less passive each time. The story ends with a newly independent queen hosting a tea party, where she declares that the secret to a perfect cup of tea is to make it yourself and then share it with others.

The illustrations are fun and whimsical, and worth a second look through the book all by themselves (would those be corgis accompanying the nameless queen, perhaps?)

You can NOT read this book without following up with your own tea party. Read through the author's note and do a little internet searching for different ways to make tea. Milk? Honey? Tea bag or loose? Try them all and decide which you like best!

Review: Yaffa and Fatima Shalom, Salaam by Fawzia Gilani-Williams and Chiara Fedele

9781467789387

Two neighbors—one Jewish, one Muslim—have always been best friends. When they both fall on hard times, can they find a way to help each other?

While the women in this story are of different religions, neither religion is mentioned by name, and great care is taken to show how similar they are. So much so, in fact, that some parents may be uncomfortable with the connotation that all religions are the same.

The main theme, however, is that the two women are friends regardless of any differences, and that friends are concerned about each other's welfare. When hard times come, each thinks only of the other, and takes action to make sure her friend is taken care of (with humorous results). If children can take away that caring attitude, then the story is well worth the read!