Mudpies & Butterflies » Homeschooling

Super Duper Craft Day 12/11

Jessica — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 23:53:28 +0000

Okay, families – bring something crafty for the kids to work on. Do you have beads and string, a holiday craft, like clothespin reindeer? Bring a Holiday craft for the kids, or something you think would be a great craft option. Maybe they can hang it on a tree or a window.

I will bring paper and scissors to make snowflakes.

Maybe they can gift it to someone during the holidays. Sky is the limit. We are a crafty bunch.

I can’t wait to see what you bring.

Deltacs will be bringing paints and glitter for kids to help us paint salt dough ornaments that we annually hand out to residents of retirement homes on Monday Dec 15th! We will be singing carols to the residents and you are welcome to join us. Click on the link above to make your own at home.

And don’t forget our Holiday Party & Potluck is December 18th. A potluck for lunch 11:30-1pm and then a celebration of Hanukkah, Kwanza, Christmas, St. Lucia and more.

Create an Animal Habitat 1/16

Jessica — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 18:57:41 +0000

Potluck @ 11:30 am Animals & Habitats @ 1:00 pm

The genesis of this week’s activity and learning comes directly from my youngest daughter. Let the sky, desert or ocean be the limit in making your personalized HABITAT. I will supply construction paper and other art supplies – you bring the creativity and fun! Your goal can be to populate a Biome like a desert or marsh, or you can start with a Keystone animal like a wolf or an otter and then create the mini-web-of-life that sustains it. You can work by yourself, or enlist your friends to build your habitat together. (See how Yellowstone thrived when their Keystone animal – the Wolf – was returned to its natural habitat).

This is a great example of how learning and curriculum evolve organically in our home. One of the main reasons we create our own curriculum, is so that our children have greater control in what they are learning. My husband and I embrace the interests of our children as well as the experiences we have at parks, museums, and field-trips. We then to scaffold them into our overall educational goals. As a result, we experience less resistance because they are “choosing” what they are learning. Btw, “less” is a far cry from – not at all!

Creating an Animal Habitat or Turning Interest into Education

Step 1: Puffed with pride, my daughter brought me downstairs to show me the duck she made from a white bag and how two fans can make it swim across the counter. Click below to watch.

Step 2: She pulled out blue paper to make a pond. My eldest daughter came to see what we were doing.

Step 3: I went to the computer and pulled up a link What Do Ducks Eat? We learned that they were omnivores and that they foraged differently during in each of the four seasons.

Step 4: Üla started making signs to keep people from feeding ducks empty calories while Esmé started making fish and fish eggs. I added grasses and cattails.

Step 5: The girls kept returning to the webpage to see what else was in the diet of ducks. Esmé added tadpoles and then insects. I added algae. And Üla made snails and started making crayfish. (To make an accurate crayfish, we pulled up the pictures from when Üla helped biologists capture the invasive species in Topanga’s watershed this past fall.)

Step 6: During this nature explosion on our kitchen countertop, we held numerous discussions about the Web-of-Life. From there, I figured out ways to enfold other academic learning. For example I presented the question – “How long will it take these three invasive crayfish to over populate this pond?” This sent us to the computer to understand how often they reproduce. They suggested that if all three were boys – they would never over populate. But if they did, they pondered if it would turn out to happen in a Fibonacci number series. We also further discussed how the crawfish were displacing the native endangered trout in Topanga.

A day later, Üla had started on a Woodlands habitat that hosted a family of nesting bluebirds amongst other living creatures. Number 10 of the Darwin Challenge. And other friends have been inspired to start thinking about animals they love and their habitats. What animal will you create a world around? See you Thursday.

And don’t forget Potluck starts @ 11:30 and we have two special visitors…

Handpicked List of Fall Family Events

Jessica — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 19:16:39 +0000

With the return of cooler weather (and creating original Halloween Costumes), I get so excited and scour the internet in order to handpick a bunch of events for our family to experience and hit our favorites again. I believe in sharing the wealth and hope they inspire your families as well (hotlinks included are in red). And all Halloween and Day of the Dead related events have a Pumpkin next to them. Maybe we will see you!

Sept 28-Oct 31 Pierce College Halloween Fest in Woodland Hills Admission $5/person – Free parking. I think the pumpkins are overpriced here as well as rides, but its close.

Sept 28-Oct 31 Underwood Farms Fall Festival in Moorpark $3/person weekdays, $6 on weekends. Free parking Much better bang for your buck midweek than Pierce College

Oct 4th at 7:30pm: Dark Skies @ Upper Las Virgenes Open Space Preserve. Dark skies equal bright stars! Come enjoy an evening of star gazing with a telescope on hand. A ranger-led tour of stars and constellations on this ½-mile hike to the viewing platform. Meet at the Victory Blvd Trailhead. Parking fee if park in parking lot, but you can park on street outside of park for free. We’ve gone on many of their full moon hikes.

October 5th Free World City Concert & Crafts @ Disney Concert Hall downtown Los Texmaniacs & Pacifico Dance Group Performance takes place at 11:00 am and 12:30 pm. Free tickets are distributed on Grand Avenue at 2nd Street at 10am for the 11:00 am performance and 11:00 am for the 12:30 pm performance are distributed beginning at 11:00 am. They disuade people to queuing up before 9:am.

Oct 5th 10am-4pm Printer’s Fair at Int’l Printing Museum in Carson $7/person- Great place to see a history of printing and get lots of great Homeschool fun learning ideas. There is an Ikea in that town as well for an affordable meal en route.

Oct 5th & 6th Annual Pumpkin Festival at Kidspace. Included with Admission.

October 6th 11am-4pm Pioneer Day at Chatsworth $5/ Children over 5 $1 (Deltacs Love this one!!) But you have to choose between this and..

Oct 7, 14, 21 from 12-1pm SkyHigh in Woodland Hills. Jump with us at SkyHigh and get your daily does of exercise for their bargain rate of $6/person. 6033 DeSoto

October 10th Noon – 4pm M&B 2nd Ever Bug & Arachnid Faire (NON-M&B Members are welcome) Email jessica(at)jessicaran(dot)com to reserve a space for kids to show off their collection at our exhibit tables under a protected arbor. Lots of bugs, spiders, and habitats (living and dead). Everyone is invited to pen a poem about bugs to be displayed with others at park (parents can transcribe). Learn how to play games like Bug Dice and Honey Hive. Blanket time about bug body parts including crazy cool Compound Eyes.

Oct 11th – 9:30-11:30 Crayfish Trapping in Malibu Creek. Give native fish and tadpoles a chance by removing the non-native invasive crayfish from spawning pools in Malibu Creek. Great fun for kids, families, and scouts.Free event, but you must register. Get ready to get muddy and have fun!

Oct 11-13, 10am-5pm Endeavor Fest @ California Science Center At the free, three-day festival, NASA will present over a dozen exhibits, displays and educational demonstrations illustrating aeronautics, research missions and ongoing space exploration programs for humans, robots and satellites. Guests will have the opportunity to meet and hear astronauts speaking about their experiences in space. The NASA exhibits are worth it alone. Note – parking is NOT free. Bonus – This will also be the opening of the Red Bull Stratos Exhibit featuring the 3,000 pound capsule used by Felix Baumgartner when he jumped from the stratosphere.

October 12-31 (weekends only) Halloween Mini Ghost Train Griffith Park, 5202 Zoo Drive. Take a 20-minute ride on the miniature train past a variety of decorated scenes rather like riding past a multitude of Halloween yard haunts packed into a close area. There are a few mechanical “pop up” effects, but nothing truly terrifying. The result is spooky in a way that is perfectly safe for young children (although the trains are large enough to accommodate adult riders too). Riders must be at least 34 inches tall and not weigh over 350 pounds and under 15 must be accompanied by an adult. $10/person – It might seem pricey- but it is these hobbyists fundraiser.

October 13th 10am-4:30pm Lego Day at the Skirball Fee included in Museum admission

Oct 15th, 6 – 7pm BUGS & CREEPY CRAWLIES @ Calabasas Commons Learn about some fascinating creepy crawly creatures when the Lauren & Jen pay us a visit! If you thought you knew everything about spiders, cockroaches and crickets and more, think again! There will be lots of 6 and 8 legged insect friends!

October 17th 2pm- Sundown MudPies & Butterflies Tale of 3 Cities Parkday (starting later due to evening Family Potluck) – For M&B members only. Be prepared to plot 3 cities on the GIANT Map we will chalk on the Basketball court. Bring a dish from one of these cities/countries for our Int’l Potluck that starts at 5:00 Followed immediately by all Ages Talent Show (as our Sequoia Talent show was cancelled due to rain) Fire pit in the BBQ – Bring Marshmallows, Sticks and Fold out chairs.

Oct 19th 10am-4pm Getty Center Museum (on 405) Family Festival Days with crafts and activities focused on new Exhibit Canterbury & St. Albans. And while there don’t miss the pinhole/camera obscura show in West wing by Abe Morell. After M&B Thursday, I sat in on his lecture and slide show (great for kids).

Oct 19th 10am-5pm Educational Rock Chippers holds their annual Gem Show day of fun in West Hills/Woodland Hills. Free admission and Free parking. Great for kids. Many booths manned by kids. Gems, Stones, and lots of hands-on activities for kids.

Oct 19-20 10-5pm Calabasas Pumpkin Festival $5/person (Saturday kids 6 and under are free if in costume and arrive by 11am) Free Parking and shuttles

Oct 19 & 20; 26 & 27 10am-4pm Boo @ the LA Zoo Featuring pumpkin carving and crafts. The Creepy Creature Encounter at the Winnick Family Children’s Zoo offers close encounters with scary critters, trick-or-treating, and other Halloween entertainment. Included in admission.

October 24th 12pm- 4pm Spooky Houses & Mystery Algebra @ MudPies & Butterflies Parkday. For M&B members only. We will make a Halloween Spooky house from two pieces of repurposed Cardboard and learn the Concepts of Algebra with joy and ease. *Note to Parents: No one is allowed to say “Algebra” like it is a dirty word. Post will go up for supplies and more on October 20. Book that goes with this lesson is Mystery Math by David Adler.

October 31 12-3pm - 5th Annual Halloween Festival & Costume party @ MudPies & Butterflies. 12-3pm For M&B members only. This wills start at NOON, to ensure anyone trick or treating elsewhere can do both. Games like “Waterless Bobbing for Apples and Mummy wrap”. Every Costume wins an award: Most creative, Spookiest, Cutest, Most intricate, Most Unique, etc. And out of our trunks, parents will Trunk & Treat – offering CANDY-LESS treats to trick or treaters. Parents are encouraged to Dress up as well.

Late October – February - Majestic Monarchs Migration : Two ideal Locations Pismo Beach Monarch Grove or Ellwood Monarch Grove in Goleta. Both are open 7 days a week. We will visit once in November and once during Fluttering/Mating season in February.

Nov 2nd Noon – Midnight LA Day of the Dead @ Hollywood Cemetery – Best One in SoCal for Art, Installations, Music, Performances and more. Kids under 8 free until 4pm. Deltacs already have tix. It gets a bit scary for young kids after the sun goes down. Great dancing and music. Don’t miss the smaller stage BEHIND the Mausoleum.

Nov 3rd 10-5pm Canoga Park’s Giant Day of the Dead Celebration 10am – 5pm(this is the one I did Chalk art for). On Sherman Way between Canoga Avenue and Topanga Blvd.

Nov 8th 6:30-8:30 Our Moon & Planets: A ranger-led tour of Planets and moon on this ½-mile hike to the viewing platform. Meet at the Victory Blvd Trailhead. Parking fee if park in parking lot, but you can park on street outside of park for free. We’ve gone on many of their full moon hikes. Great for kids!!!

Nov 9 & 10 10am-5pm Native American Fair at Autry Museum (Largest marketplace of Native work in SoCal) Performances, Food and more. $13/adult $9/child – Worth it.

Nov 16th 11:00 am and 12:30 pm Free World City Concert & Crafts @ Disney Concert Hall downtown Tecza Puppet Theatre & Warsaw Village Band. Performance takes place at 11:00 am and 12:30 pm. Free tickets are distributed on Grand Avenue at 2nd Street at 10am for the 11:00 am performance and 11:00 am for the 12:30 pm performance are distributed beginning at 11:00 am. They disuade people to queuing up before 9:am.

Nov 17th 12-5pm UCLA’s Annual Explore Your Universe Day on campus. Excellent crafts and interactive exhibits – It really makes SCIENCE FUN!! Free (but up to $12 to park)

4th Annual Family Campout, Potlucks & Talent Show in Sequoia Nat’l Park 9/19

Jessica — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 14:53:17 +0000

Our third Thursday Potluck will be taking place 218 miles North of our regular location. This will be my fourth year bringing Mudpies & Butterflies families up to the awe-inspiring Sequoia & King’s Canyon National Park (I’ve been bringing my family since 2008). What a wonderful place to learn about nature, ourselves and the interconnectedness of it all.

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.

Oooh It’s Too Hot! Pooltime! 9/5

Jessica — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 15:46:30 +0000

It is too hot to do anything but play in water or WITH water. Join us at the private pool complex at the residence of one of our M & B families (pictured here). If you need better directions, just email me at - jessicaran@jessicaran.com).

No direct lesson, but I can help make ingenious water toys below from recyclables as inspired by HowToons. (Indirect lesson on water pressure). Bring whatever is in image to repurpose for FUN: empty soda bottles, balloons, empty bic pen casing, and scissors. Aran offered up his extra tie-wraps. Or make these at home NOW to keep cool and show them off at our Pool Parkday. See you Thursday.

11:30 am – 3:00 pm @ Pool in Agoura Hills

Beach Day or Desalination Day 8/22

Jessica — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 15:39:45 +0000

Time for a FUN beach day! And of course you know me, let’s squeeze a little physics and chemistry into our Fun Beach adventures. Bring a bowl and a tiny cup that is shorter than your bowl when placed in the center.

With your two items, plastic wrap and a rubberband (which I will provide), we will conduct a simple “Desalination” experiment to SEPARATE the pacific ocean into its different parts: water and minerals – mainly salt. 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, but 99% of it is saltwater. When you drink salt water, you get more thirsty because even though you need salt, your body can’t have too much salt.

Evaporating salt water, drinking it, and observing the salt left behind.

But there is a way to take the salt out of the water from an ocean or sea, called DESALINATION , and it is becoming a reality on a large scale no to far from us. If you go to Carlsbad, most people think of LEGOLAND, but now you can consider peeking at the Poseidon Resources Plant, the nation’s largest desalination project which will use a giant turbine and reverse-osmosis to desalinate ocean water. We will just be using SOLAR power at our beach parkday. 12 years in the planning, Poseidon is supposed to make SoCal less dependent on water from N.California and the Colorado river, but many say the billions of dollars will only provide less than 10% of our water needs. A smaller plant is almost done in Huntington beach and is also expected to provide 50 million gallons a day.

[Ethical Portion of Post] Water is a BIG deal. Without we can not survive with out potable water for more than 3 days. And salt is not the problem with most water sources. With all the water in our world, it is surprising that 4 out of 10 people in the world don’t have enough clean water (World Health Organization). Contamination of our drinking water has been occurring for decades all over the globe when companies extract resources like natural gas and other minerals from below the earth’s surface. The ground water gets contaminated.

Fracking is the most recent procedure people are looking to stop where chemically treated water is pumped a mile into the ground to push up and collect natural gas. And it’s very controversial when you realize that more city vehicles are proudly running on “Clean Natural Gas.” Our air is getting less pollutants, while our ground water is becoming more and more undrinkable.

M&B’s 4th Bday & Talent Show 7/25

Jessica — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 01:16:06 +0000

I can hardly believe that 5 years ago in July of 2009, I started Mudpies & Butterflies. It has been a wonderful 4 years filled with learning fascinating info, forging new friendships, creating cool projects, and watching life change. Our camping trips to Joshua Tree, the Big Trees, or the ocean have in themselves been incredible. But the friendships and support from the families are truly what makes M&B memorable and unforgettable. Thank you to everyone who has ever graced the park or any M&B events.

How fun for all who shared in the celebration in the audience or upon the stage to share your light inside. And thank you to everyone who helped devour the Epic, GIANT Banana Split, especially those who brought extra ice cream and goodies to load on top of my 8 organic bananas, 6 quarts of ice cream and caramel and chocolate sauce.

The kids helped me jimmy-rig a stage from previous painting parkdays as a curtain for the kids with a Talent show. Sharing musical numbers, magic, jokes, storytelling, dress up, hula-hooping, and more, alot of kids freely shared and entertained us all.

It was lovely to see many of you who have been a part of Mudpies & Butterflies for one big PARTY. Below the Talent show shots are some epic group shots from the past four years.

MayDay PlayDay Games 5/23 & 5/30

Jessica — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:22:02 +0000

s a child, I remember the end of the school year fondly due to the field day called MayDay Playday. Since the weather will be deliciously cool, let’s play lots of fun games. Here are a few I’ve been dying to try out with the kids in the “Win it in a Minute” style. And you know I’ll be serving up sides of Simple Math or Fanciful Algebra to go with our games!!!

Ula and Esme’s 3rd Cousins doing a Maypole Dance in England last week

EVERYONE is a winner. May I request that you BRING ONE or TWO RECYCLED TOYS per child, that are easy to part with to put on the prize table, so at the end of the events children get to pick a prize of their choice. And at the end of this month… True to Win it in a Minute rules, each child will get a ticket disc if they complete the task in under a minute. Since we will be playing in sets of two, the get another disc if they are the first of the pair to finish. And to add our M&B twist, a third disc will be given out to the one child who was the most encouraging to both players until everyone finished.

Then the kids determined the order in which they picked their donated prizes at the end of MayDay playday by who had the most ticket discs.

Felting & Fiber Arts 2/28

Jessica — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:54:28 +0000

M&B families love the fiber arts. We love to weave, braid, felt, crochet, finger knit and more. This week our lovely M&B Mom Laurie will be bringing supplies for everyone to dry felt. An easy and fun activity for all ages. If you want to try your hand at wet-felting, bring a smooth stone or a bar of soap and a disposable pair of pantyhose.

Feel free to bring any Fiber Art supplies you would like to add to the mix. I will bringing some yarn for those who want to knit or continue making Huichol yarn paintings from a few weeks back.

As it warms up later in the season, families have a tendency to stay, play and snack until sundown.

Laurie and her family will open their Felting Craft Station around 1:30pm.

Free-for-All 12/27 & 1/3

Jessica — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:59:05 +0000

Tis’ the season to bask in Gratitude, Friendship and Parenthood.

Yes there is a Parkday, but no scheduled activities. Come as you are. Kids are invited t to show off and share what they received during the recent holidays. Mom & Dads (and any visiting relatives) come share a cup of tea. Anyone is welcome to bring finger food to share, or as usual, just snacks for your family.