What to bring: Pen or pencil for each child and something like a book to make writing and drawing on my scavenger hunt sheet easier.
Bring Picnic Lunch or buy something at their CrossRoads Cafe adjacent to the courtyard.
Estimated timeline
Part A: 30-45 mins [...]]]>
Fieldtrip Location: Autry Museum, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles
What to bring: Pen or pencil for each child and something like a book to make writing and drawing on my scavenger hunt sheet easier.
Bring Picnic Lunch or buy something at their CrossRoads Cafe adjacent to the courtyard.
Estimated timeline
Part A: 30-45 mins – Native North American Bead Exhibit (Exhibit lasts from March 15, 2014–April 26, 2015). After we pay at the front desk, I will walk everyone to the Native American Bead exhibit.
I’ll talk for about 5-10mins before letting the kids scurry about the exhibit with their scavenger hunts. Kids can work solo, with friends or teams.
10-15 minutes later I will walk through the exhibit and discuss items based on what they all found in the scavenger hunt.
Part B: 10 mins – CULTURE CLASH: Westward Expansion through the Native American Lens
Nearby exhibit of local Middle school students who painted before and after images of Native people and boarding schools.
This room is actually is an open balcony overlooking the museum’s waterfall in the back courtyard.
Part C: 15-30 mins – Downstairs Exhibit Anyone who is interested can follow me to the Native exhibit downstairs that has an original Ledgerbook piece on display by Howling Wolf and artifacts from boarding schools. There is a stuffed Buffalo/bison & hands on exhibits on Plains Indians.
At any time after the Scavenger hunt families can walk through the rest of the museum at your leisure.
Part D: Consider stopping at the Autry Store Giftshop on your way out. They have a great selection of books for young and old. This is where I got our family’s copy of the book: The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue Feather. And in the store there are a few original artpieces of contemporary ledgerbook art by living Native Americans artists.
]]>
Our Potluck is from 11:30 – 12:30. Don’t forget to bring your plates and utensils.
Then the kids will begin to share their own presentations at 1:00 pm. Depending on how many presentations we have, [...]]]>
Each child is invited to present a story, person, event or skill of a native American tribe of their choosing.
Our Potluck is from 11:30 – 12:30. Don’t forget to bring your plates and utensils.
Then the kids will begin to share their own presentations at 1:00 pm. Depending on how many presentations we have, I may insert a run around Indian-inspired game between presentations in order to keep the kids attentive.
Presentations will begin at 1:00pm
I can not wait to see what they have to share. To help make it as engaging and personally fun for themselves as possible, consider dressing up, teaching a craft, telling a story, re-enacting life in a particular tribe, children in the audience can be asked to hold props or become players in the story or presentation. Children are more than welcome to present as a group or a pair by coordinating outside of parkday.
To keep continuity and maximize the learning of all involved, may I request that everyone start their presentation with naming the tribe, helping us all pronounce it and showing where on the 3-D map where their tribe, person, skill originated from.
Here is the link to the 3-D Map craft from the fabulous book, Exploring Native American Culture by Anita
Bonus: if you missed the Tipi from last week, I believe that Enrique will be bringing the Tipi back.
]]>Before written language became a part of the culture of Lakota and Dakota Indians (the word Sioux is a the last syllable of what an enemy tribe [...]]]>
This was as a great parkday. Kids will built a Teepee with M&B Dad, Enrique as part of learning about Plains Indians and their relationship with bison.
Before written language became a part of the culture of Lakota and Dakota Indians (the word Sioux is a the last syllable of what an enemy tribe called the Lakota and Dakota which is why we no longer use that word), images were the best way to preserve history. Events were recorded in images on tents, shields, parfleches, clothing as well as the winter count that each tribe kept. Crow, Cheyenne, Pawnee and more. I picked the Shield craft as a fun way to bring more awareness and history to the children about the culture of Plains Indians.
I recycled pieces of leather into circles. The children used awls and sharpened chopsticks to make holes in the leather. Then they threaded the holes with synthetic animal tendon and tightened the leather around a metal ring. This looked like a miniature warrior’s shield. The plains indians, like Lakota, Cheyenne, Pawnee and more would initiate boys with a 4 day fast to help them discover the animal that would act as their guide, mentor and totem for the rest of their lives. This animal’s likeness would be painted upon the young man’s shield. After building their own shields, they then painted images upon them. 
Enrique was amazing. Here he is painting a Navajo symbol for a Tipi on the outside of the tipi. Another child used a symbol for the Thunder bird near the tipi. After I told the children that the clouds that came from the West were giant, becasue they rolled back from the massive boundary of the Rocky Mts. These clouds and storms were ominous and as a result many tribes believed the spirits that created them were ThunderBird gods.
Add to what we learned this week, by following these links on Winter Counts and Ledger drawings. Or see ledger book drawings in real life, and an exhibit on the bead art of the Plains Indians at our Local Autry Museum ( Howling Wolf’s Ledgerbook). I’m looking to take a homeschooling group in two weeks.
CLick on the cover image for more info on the book above.
]]>
The next three parkdays will be devoted to the rich and interesting culture of Native Americans. This week we will explore the Inuit – the indigenous people who live in the Tundra and polar regions of Canada and USA. Inuit Proverb: May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart.
With long winter nights, there is much time to craft by lamp and now electricity. Sewing and making clothes from furs and carving or decorating bone and other items filled many of those hours. Everyone will get a chance to practice their hand at carving with bars of soap, as anything more dense and permanent would take too much time. I will supply the soap, if you can bring a table knife for each child (no steak knives please, just a normal table knife). Screwdrivers can also be a useful tool for this project.
There are many tales that have been shared at fires and over ice holes while Inuit fish. I will pick out one or two to share with the children. And if they prefer, they too can take part in the telling (as we did with how the Jade Emperor chose the animals for the Chinese Zodiac).
We also learned about the honored skill of Throat Singing which was outlawed for over a 100 years. The young Inuit are asking their elders to teach them before this unique aspect of their culture is lost forever. The same thing happened with Hula in the Hawaiin Islands.
Inuit throat singers try to show their vocal abilities in a fun competitive manner and the first one to either run out of breath, stop or laugh is declared the loser of the game.
In the tundra of ice and snow with few trees or hills – everything looks the same. This makes it hard to determine which way to go if you are traveling even the shortest of distances. So rocks atop of each other become road signs and offer a way to send important a messages to fellow travelers and animals.
I will share about the purpose and difference between Inuksuks (rock markers) & Inunnguaqs! (markers in shape of a person)!
]]>
Do you have “Family Game Night” or pull out a boardgame when friends come over? If you have a game you want to share – bring it. And I encourage you all to take it one step more before [...]]]>
Do you have “Family Game Night” or pull out a boardgame when friends come over? If you have a game you want to share – bring it. And I encourage you all to take it one step more before you come to parkday, find out a bit about its origins. Did a kid or adult invent it. When was it invented. Was it meant to be a game for kids or adults? Has it changed alot or a little over the years.
How did Scrabble, Monopoly, Uno get its start? Native cultures have wonderful games that turned into Pick up sticks, dice games and more. Who knows how long people have been playing Chess or a variation of it? Pick one game of your choosing and learn a bit more about how cultural history developed through that game and those who played it.
I will bring an ancient Korean game that is still played today as part of a New Year’s celebration – Yut-No-Ri. It is so fun and very simple. I will bring supplies for anyone who wants to make their own Yut game.
We can also chalk a giant boardgame on the sidewalk or parking lot like this one below.
Or you might get inspired to make your own table top boardgame like Ula made for her sister as a Christmas gift (see top image).
Can’t wait to see you there. The weather should be sublime!
]]>
One third of our Government is the Judicial branch. What happens if someone does something against the law? Where are this issues resolved? In a courtroom. This week we will re-enact a court case. Our Mock trial might have Goldilocks in court or Midas, Peter Rabbit or even Peter Pan. Kids will get a chance to pick their characters and learn more about the roles in the courtroom: Judge, Prosecuting attorney, Defending attorney, plaintiff, Bailiff (courtroom deputy), stenographer, people in the jury, witnesses, court interpreter, court reporter and media. We will use a gavel, come up with some new laws, take an oath, and learn more events of a court experience.
And what does Innocent until proven Guilty signify? I will gently facilitate a debate with the children on either side of that coin. With fairytale characters again, the children will debate why our nation’s version of innocence first is ideal.
]]>
It’s that time of year to escape the heat of SoCal and head North to the Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Park. And what a wonderful forecast for our 5th year in a row – Highs in mid 70′s Lows in low 50′s. With over 600 square miles of protected nature, 6 visitor centers, 3 museums and dozens of ranger talks, this Campout is fabulous for homeschoolers. Even better is the bonding time that occurs amongst families tenting, feasting, playing, and learning alongside each other. Above 6,000 feet in elevation - No Poison Oak!
And with the Kaweah river in our campsites backdoor, we get to fall to sleep to the sound of cool water rushing by all night and day. Scrambling upon rocks, climbing trees, hiking to waterfalls, potlucks, a humdinger Talent Show, and campfires with storytelling and music and song will top it off.
And how fortunate we are to have families proving workshops and supplies for basketweaving, bracelet making, dreamcatchers, and safety knife skills with whittling.
This National park has so much to offer, most importantly the Giant Sentinels who inhabit this park – the Sequoias. This park is home to the LARGEST Tree in the World, named the General Sherman in 1879. The Park itself wasn’t established until September 25, 1890, with the help of John Muir, one of our country’s greatest naturalists and activist. Who will give us the honor of visiting us at our campsite Saturday morning and explaining his life from childhood in Scotland to creating the legacy of America’s National Parks.
And for those who want to see a Cave or two, Crystal Caves and Boyden caves are 
wonderful choices.
Here we are in front of 2 fully restored P-51 Mustangs (and pilot). Introduced in 1942, these “Cadillacs of the Sky,” were the swiftest, most maneuverable planes in WWII combat dogfights. Over 14,000 were built and less than 100 remain. The museum sent us over to the Santa Monica Municipal Airport to catch a glimpse before we took our tour. It was a fluke that “February” and “Bum Steer” were there at all. 
This was especially relevant for my daughters, whose American great-grandfather pilot, Jackson Clary (far right), flew numerous missions in this Halifax bomber DK259. On Sept 29, 1943, German night-fighter-pilot Prinz zu Lippe-Weissenfeld attacked the bomber from below. Due to the damage, Clary soon ordered his six crewmen to parachute out as he crash-landed the flaming fighter plane. Not knowing if they landed on enemy lines or not, the survivors owe their lives to the brave families in the once dutch town of Boekelo (present day Netherlands) that aided the Americans. Last fall, on the 70th anniversary of that crash, the town hosted descendants of the crew (including my Sister-in-law) to erect a monument in their honor.
Below on the left is the P-51 called “February,” and it had the docents at the museum in a flurry of excitement to get to see it. Not only is February fully-restored mechanically, but her exterior is as it was during flight in WWII w hen it was flown by Capt. Jim Brooks, survivors who are both main characters in the documentary, Gray Eagles which we got to see just before we left the Museum.
The P-51 on the right, “BumSteer” was restored and modified so either person in front or back has a stick to steer the plane. The three red swastika’s circles denote the number of Nazi planes it shot down. The pilot was very indulgent to answer most of our questions. “They can reach a ceiling of 42,000 feet… people don’t know how many parts were made to supply the original 14,000…this is the time of year we train for the airshow we perform… three of us fly in a “V” formation with our wings closer than they are parked on the tarmac right now…”
Time to get to our tour at the Museum of Flying.
Our fabulous tourguide Steve, at the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica intrigued and captivated us all.
On the right a basket from a Hot Air Balloon since the first manned flight was by the French Montgolfier brothers 1783, earning their father a title from Louis XVI. This replica of the Wright brothers’ plane was also a movie star. It was created for and flown in the movie: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. 
This one above is a Yak 3, a Russian combat airplane from WWII. This actual plane has 14 registered victories from the war as denoted by the stars on the right. And yes, that is wood exposed on the end of the wing, as that is what the interior was composed.
The only other replica in the museum beyond the Wright Bros, was this red one, all the others were once or still are active flying planes. This was a replica of Amelia Earhart’s plane that she flew that made her famous for being the 1st woman to fly solo from the East to West Coast. Part of her notoriety was due in part to her bank account. Most women couldn’t afford to cover petrol and maintenance costs let alone buy their own airplane like Earhart. The museum emphasized the WASPS and other Female Pioneers of Flight. Women like Blanche and Florence were not solvent enough to buy their own planes, but broke records anyhow. They were at the mercy of the people who funded the Barnstorms and other aeronautic events.
And if this wasn’t all enough, after we left the museum for a nearby park to picnic Ula shouted “Look UP!!” We had the added bonus of seeing five airplanes SKYWRITING in circles around us! Yet another bonus for our fieldtrip!! It was Shia LaBoeuf’s high-priced apology for plagiarism ($25,000) – 5 glints of light (airplanes from our far distance) flying in synchronized fashion wrote #STOPCREATING almost a dozen times. What a fabulous day with wonderful people (shout out to Linda!).
We learn so much from the Rangers’ talks on the history of the park, but most captivating is their talks on the wildlife. In the past years we have come upon much of the park’s wildlife on our own: marmots, mule deer, brown bears (and cubs), chickarees (golden mantled squirrels), pikas, CA jays, flying squirrels, bighorn sheep, 17 species of bats, black-footed ferrets and more.
The story of the Sequoia Trees and how they need fire to survive is incredibly captivating as it is unraveled in interactive exhibits in the quaint Giant Forest Museum. And there is wonderful history in this park to share stories out and about as well as at our infamous Saturday Night Talent Show run by the kids. We go to the Wuksachi lodge for more than Wi-fi; twice a week they host brilliant celestial sky-walks. There are two caves worth taking tours, the closer Crystal Caves and the Boyden caves near a thrashing river in upper elevations of King’s Canyon.
And we camp above 6,000 elevation – where poison oak doesn’t survive, so all the rock scrambling to the top of anything as well as off trail hiking can occurs much more freely. Because as I believe in my heart, exploration is key to discovering about what your body can and can’t do. Such a big part of human development that is hampered by living in a world that constantly minimizes the risk in childrens’ lives.
Pictures from 2013 to come upon our return. But until then, I’ll leave you with a few.
]]>Yeah! It is going to be cool enough to meet at our Breezy park again. Just in case, check this webpage Thursday at 9am. Otherwise, I look forward to meeting you at 1:00pm.
A few weeks back we only [...]]]>
A lamp and polished discs used in a Lighthouse in America before 1842.
Yeah! It is going to be cool enough to meet at our Breezy park again. Just in case, check this webpage Thursday at 9am. Otherwise, I look forward to meeting you at 1:00pm.
A few weeks back we only did half of the Lighthouse Fun before we all jumped into the pool. Didn’t 105 feel like we were on the Light side of the Moon?
So I never go to Part II on Prisms, Light and Lenses. This week we will recreate Isaac Newton’s simple experiment that proved sunlight was made up of a rainbow of colors. Until then, they thought it was only a trick of a prism.
And anyone who didn’t get to build a lighthouse, bring an empty cereal box (or poster-board) and a pair of scissors and you can make and decorate the lighthouse of your dreams. Thx Yvet, who donated battery-operated tea lights.
Before they brought lenses into the Lantern Rooms, they used lamps and polished discs as reflectors. But that only focused light 17% , versus 85% with prisms.
There is still space to join the Deltacs this Saturday to our closest working Lighthouse in Palos Verdes and picnic at some of the best tidepools in SoCal. It is $5 per family and includes a companion curriculum, a tour up to the top of the Lighthouse (which is ONLY open the 2nd Saturday of the month) as well as info on the Abalone Cove tidepools and the Hidden caves near the Lighthouse. But even if you can’t come this Saturday, the companion curriculum will allow you to go at your own pace at any other time. Go to paypal and donate $5 and the fee to my account jessica@jessicaran.com – and in the message put “Lighthouse Fieldtrip“; the ages of your children and an email I can send the PDF of the curriculum which includes a scavenger hunt, crafts, recommended booklist, brief history of lighthouses, physics of light and prisms, and Why is the Sky Blue?
* And just a reminder – September 19, MudPies & Butterflies will not be meeting. Because half of us will be in Sequoia National Park for our Annual Family Campout. If you have a reservation and want to cancel, please check with me as I have a few families interested. And if you want to go and don’t have a reservation, get in touch with me.
This is our Fabulous Backyard - The Keawah River, at Sequoia & King's Canyon National Park