Our school room

It is just too nice to be inside even if there is school to be done. We moved outside for our reading time, but could not bear to head inside for math and grammar so the boys simply used their laps for writing... Amazingly school was fast, efficient and done with a joyful spirit - sun shine has that effect.

Problem solving

Over the weekend, we realized that Lukas' bike was missing a bolt. To not impede an impending bike ride with Dad, they stripped Noah's bike of the bolt to make Lukas' bike work and Noah enjoyed a leisurely ride in the bike trailer pulled by Dad. Last time Noah sat that happily in the trailer?? Cannot remember.
On Monday as we had friends over, Noah wanted to offer them a leisurely ride in the trailer; given that his bike was still stripped of the important nut, rendering it useless for the activity. Not easily discouraged, Noah resolutely hooked up the trailer to Lukas' 24" bike and set off. That he could not reach the ground with his feet while on the bike seemed just a minor detail and he giddily pulled his friends and even his brother up and down the street. The Burley trailer is a true work horse and so is Noah!

Saturday morning adventure

Friends invited us to join them at the River... Carmel River that is. The river flows in to the Pacific although there is a rather large sand bank that dampens the incredible force of the ocean waves. Lukas and Noah were happy to have wetsuits as the water is cold, even though the sun was shining brightly. We only played on the safer River side, yet enjoyed the spectacular scenery of the waves crashing in. Our friends picnic in style and cooked up large and juicy hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone to enjoy - Lukas and Noah could have stayed all day, and so could I had not the yard chores been calling me.

Lukas really enjoys his burger!

Science Friday

We studied friction and mechanical force - proving that one young lady could easily hold her own in a tug of war against all the guys including her Daddy.
Nobody thought they could move a piece of plywood that someone stood on, but once we added dowels or even better marbles, it was as easy as a light puff.
Everyone made a retractable pen holder, and Lukas happily attached his to the ceiling to test out his. There were some adjustments that were necessary, realizing that not everything in science is a home run on the first try, but after some problem solving, some careful re-crafting and the right counter weights, we had retractable pens. Noah already saw the use for this pulley in his Lego creations and quickly cut off the pen and replaced it with Legos. More exploring means more learning.. and yet he thought he was only playing Lego...shhhhh

San Jose Tech Museum

We headed to San Jose for experiential schooling aka field trip last week. Noah, Lukas and their good friends Silas and Lydia explored this great hands on museum for hours. Our timing was great, few people allowing the foursome to try pretty much any of the hands on touch things they wanted to.
While Lukas spent time separating DNA following carefully laid out steps, and decked out in protective gear, the other three opted for the glass table hand art exhibit. Using their fingers, and pulling them on the screen created some very unique and interesting pieces, and once they got the hang on how to change the shapes the sky was the limit for their expressions.

Learning at the Tech

The boys got a chance to navigate and direct a small underwater ROV. After our recent visit to MBARI, this was one of the highlights of this museum - at MBARI they saw the ROVs in action, and here they got to try to drive one!
All four enjoyed the bob sledding experience and moved and swayed with the movements and speed depicted on screen, less aware of the static nation of their sled.
Noah quickly realized how hard it is to race in a wheelchair and since he is blessed with fully functioning legs, and a competitive spirit, he jumped out of the chair and began moving the wheel with both hands. Maybe it gave him a greater appreciation for someone who does not have the opportunity.
Noah also got to see first hand what a robot can do, spell his name. After reading the explanation he was a bit less impressed, the robot really could not read, but rather knew exactly where each block was placed around the moving arm and therefore could pick up and line up the letter as typed on the screen. Understanding the limitations of machines is a great learning experience.

Fun at the Tech Museum

There was an entire room filled with different stations each demonstrating a different concept such as pulleys, gears, air pressure etc.

Lukas learned the sweaty way how hard it is to generate any significant amount of energy - and he is grateful that his bedside lamp is not human powered.
All four kids spend a lot of time developing their own ball maze using common kitchen items on a slanted board.
When we finally left, we realized it was well past lunch hour, and not a complaint or whine in sight, everyone just had too much fun to think of something as pedestrian as food. However, it did not take long for either of our boys to devour a foot long Subway... no leftover for next day lunch as I had hoped...