Fall Family Fun List

There's a chill in the air...You know what that means...The magic of a new season is beginning to stir.  

Here comes FALL!

List making is a normal thing around here...We're always making To-Do lists ( both at home and around the office), but a seasonal list of things to do is something new.  We tried it this summer and it served as the perfect guide for summer fun making...so here we go again! 

1.  Explore a pumpkin
2.  Carve pumpkins
3.  Visit Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA (http://www.dutchwonderland.com/plan-a-visit/about-dutch-wonderland) to participate in their fall festivities
4.  Take a trip to Salem, Massachusettes
5.  Bake up a storm--starting with Pumpkin Pie
6.  Read one of our very favorite books for fall:  The Perfect Pumpkin Pie
7.  Make a bird feeder
8. Visit a pumpkin patch
9.  Go on a leaf hunt
10.  Make leaf rubbings
12.  Listen to our: Should I Stay or Should I Go Bird Migration song  (www.toucheedi.com)
13.  Listen to our Hibernating Kind of Bear song  (www.toucheedi.com)
14.  Learn about Bird Migration and Animal Hibernation with Preston
15.  Decorate the house with mums, pumpkins and Scarecrows
16.  Go to a movie or host a movie night
17.  Watch:  "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" 
18. Drink Apple Cider
19.  Go on a hayride
20.  Visit the Bloomsburg Fair

Painting on Rocks…It’s not Just for Kids

Posted by: Lori Laniewski

      They come in all different shapes and sizes.  They’re free, and fun to find, skip, and collect.  They’re also perfect for painting on! 

      Who would have thought that rocks would make such an excellent canvas for the imagination?  Klutz, that’s who (okay and maybe grandma, too)!  

      Made up of crystals and minerals, each backyard treasure, with its own unique shape and size (and a little imagination) has the potential to become a painted masterpiece.  In their book, Painted Rocks, Klutz provides “tips, techniques, and inspiration” for painting on one of nature’s most abundant resources.  The book comes with paints, a brush, and even a rock as well as a few googlie eye accessories…The rest is up to you!

      I purchased my copy of the Klutz book a few years ago, and found myself completely inspired by all the colorful examples of rock art!  Since then, it has become a family-fun favorite activity.  Over the years, we’ve used this craft as an inexpensive addition to birthday parties and backyard picnics.  Our rock painting booth was an especially popular addition to the Country Fair themed birthday party we threw one year.

Nice Clean Rock: Before

From dinosaurs and monsters to pirates and frogs…the rock painting possibilities are endless.  So gather up the kids, your paints, brushes, some water and rocks (of course), then get out your creativity and begin!  Before you know it, you will have a beautiful collection of painted rocks to share or keep.   

For us, searching for the perfect rocks to paint was as much fun as painting them.  I hope you enjoy it, too!  

Check out these sites to learn about rocks:

Geology for Kids 

Mineralogy for Kids

Check out these rock themed books:

 Do you know of a good book or website about rocks or rock painting?  Please share it with us!

Owl Talk

A Barn Owl

This blog post is inspired by both Owl Talk (our factual song about owls) and my own somewhat freaky fascination with owl pellets.  

Extraordinary adaptations of vision (similar to the night vision of a cat), hearing (acute enough to pick up a mouse's footstep under the snow), and silent flight, make owls an especially interesting topic for classroom study.

A few summers ago, while doing research for our song, Ted and I spent some time observing and learning about Barn Owls.  A Barn Owl (as shown in the photo to the left) has a scream-like call and often nests in abandoned buildings, church towers, and barns.  

During our time with the owls, we learned how their dish-shaped faces help them to pin-point the direction from which a sound is coming.  We also learned a bit about the legends and myths that surround the owl.  We've all heard of the saying, "Wise old owl, " which comes from the owl's large round eyes that make it look so wise.  Apparently, in addition to looking wise, its mysterious nocturnal habits caused even the ancient Athenians to regard the owl as an astonishing creature.  They chose the owl as a companion for their patron, Athena, the goddess of wisdom. 

From reading stories about owls and their powers to actually observing these amazing creatures, one of my favorite experiences was dissecting an owl pellet and labeling what I found inside.  From this hands-on activity, I learned that owls usually swallow their prey whole, sometimes eating creatures almost as large as themselves.  They digest the edible parts, and the rest—bones, fur, and teeth is compressed by the owl's stomach into a pellet, which the owl then regurgitates.

Although Ted was not quite as excited about dissecting owl barf, I know that most kids are!  This is why I was completely thrilled when I found the Kid Wings website which invites kids (and adults like me) to virtually dissect owl pellets.  How exciting!! The latest version of this site makes pulling apart and sorting the pellet simple, educational, and fun. Interactive instructional pieces along with teacher resources make this site a terrific addition to any lesson on animal adaptations and owls.


Snowy Owls

Snowy Owls: Photo taken at Zoo America in Hershey, PA

According to National Geographic, "These magnificent owls sometimes remain year-round in their northern breeding grounds, but they are frequent migrants to Canada, the northern United States, Europe, and Asia."

 

Do you know of another good site,  book, or song with interesting information about owls? We'd love to hear from you!  Please, leave a comment below!