CVSR bike and ride

WE went to the Cuyahoga Valley Train and did the bike and ride option. We boarded the train in Peninsula with our bikes on a special bike car, then rode to the Botzum station where we disembarked and then biked the seven miles back to Peninsula on the tow path. While we were on the train Emma discovered the on board snack bar. She bought two sticks of rock candy which are featured in these pictures. During the ride back we saw lots of lovely scenery and wild life. Emma did a great job of riding that far. And as she enjoyed the outing in the national park I was reminded of a statement she made while we vacationed in South Carolina as she was wondering about a species of tree she did not recognize, "it is strange to be someplace I do not know the nature." I think this really summurizes how Emma experiences her life in her environment. She is outside knowing the world she lives in.

the bird feeder

During the winter months Emma and I spend a lot of time watching our bird feeder. On a daily basis we see, wild canaries, sparrows, nuthatches, 3 varieties of woodpeckers, cardinals, tufted titmice,and blacked capped chickadees.

The most amusing is the squirrels who think they own the feeder. We are constantly repairing their damage however they are so funny we do not mind much.

Spicy Lamb Farm

We visited this farm in the Cuyahoga Valley during their celebration of the arrival of all the new spring life! We saw chicks, ducklings, lambs and this pup! On the drive home through the valley we spotted this flock of turkeys, who were nice enough o let me get this picture.

Cleveland Art Museum

We visited the Art museum. Most of our time was spent looking at the traveling exhibit of Native American Art, which inspired Emma to make this mask when we got home. We also enjoyed the armour room.

UWWG 2010

the Unschoolers Winter water Park Gathering was the highlight of the year for us! we spent a week at Kalahari hanging out with friends old and new! Emma was very open to meeting and talking to new people because all the people registered for our conference wore the same color wrist bands, this seemed to be the perfect gateway conversation. we would talk to people as we floated in the lazy river, or wandered the resort, they were all friends! Emma participated in the kids market. She made book marks and chocolate covered pretzels. She sold each item for a quarter. She was able to charge people the correct price for different numbers of items purchased and give change by her self. She also spent some time shopping the other kids tables, buying some items and trading others. I was a presenter, my round table discussion was "Unschooling the single child". We also enjoyed the family dance in the ball room, a carnival and lots of late night play and yak sessions. It was great being surrounded by families with lifestyles similar to ours.

Creativity meets Construction

Here is an example of how Emma's imagination is always engaged. WE used this building set to construct a run for the marbles. a lot of time was spent so that the

marbles went through various ramps and shoots. When the construction was done and After she had experimented with the various paths the marbles would follow, out came the "rubber guys" and this was the background for their trip to the amusement park.

Classes at the CMNH

Emma attended a couple of classes at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. One was about the human digestive system. The students were able to do some hands on experiments using iodine and peroxide to test for various foods present in "vomit".

The other class was about new information regarding dinosaurs. The students learned that some dinos had feathers and how the scientests determine things about dinosaures based on observations of currently living animals. Emma really enjoyed it . I plan to check out the schedule for next year, and sign up for more classes.