A Life of Learning

We watched "Herod's Lost Tomb" on Netflix tonight, chosen by Liam. I wasn't sure it would hold his attention, but he was transfixed for the whole hour it was on! They talked about Herod's architectural genius and his building of the port city of Caesarea Maritima using newly developed waterproof cement. The city was thriving and then suddenly collapsed. As they discussed the possible reasons for the literal collapse of the city walls, Liam and I made our own hypotheses.

Liam first came up with the idea that a very large shark had pushed the walls over. I steered him towards a more climactic or geologic explanation and he took it from there. His eyes lit up and he said, "maybe a hurricane...or wait! You know when the earth's plates move and make those big waves?" Yep, a tsunami, I said. "Yeah! Just like in the tub last night when I tried to clap underwater. The faster I clapped the harder the water was!" We had indeed discussed the affect of water on motion the night before, and that he used this knowledge to predict what happened in this instance amazed me.

He then made a series of "predictions" about Herod's tomb and what may have happened to it.

"I predict that the sarcophagi they found IS his and they haven't found the inscription on it yet because pieces are still missing," he said.

He also referenced his knowledge of ancient Egyptian burials when he said, "And I predict that the sarcophagus they found was all smashed because the robbers thought he was buried with treasures and they wanted them." They did not talk about this possibility at all in the show. It was completely his own comparison!

I love his interest in history and his love of learning. He is like a sponge for it all and I hope it never leaves! He is definitely the child of historians...the same historians who spent the evening discussing World War II, The Geneva Convention and the circumstances of liberation and called it a pretty great night! We are planning a family trip to Gettysburg next summer...and our kids may be the only ones to consider this on par with Disney World!

Max' First Field Trip

I took the day off from work to take Max on his first school field trip! We went to the Wildlife Sanctuary for the afternoon, hiked the trails and went on a nature scavenger hunt.

 

 

The naturalists brought out an opossum to show the kids. Max especially liked finding out that opossum's play dead when they are afraid, and poop to scare off prey. :)

 

There was a group of kids and parents from Aldo Leopold School and two other groups from the YWCA, so quite a large group! Max and his friends kept running ahead together and finding things on their scavenger hunt list. He was so excited to see his classmates!

 

He and his friends Isaac and Cole were buddies for most of the hike.

 

Several times during the hike, Max's "legs were SO tired," so we stopped and took some breathers!

 

Isaac and Max

 

Max, Isaac and Konj Chenj

 

Max and his friends throwing corn to the geese.

 

Max got to choose a few souvenirs from the gift shop. He decided on an insect coloring book, a butterfly and moth field guide, and two bags of marbles. One bag of marbles he insisted he needed to get for Liam. He took a long time deciding what kind of marbles to get, and finally settled on ones with a wolf on the front because "Liam likes hunting." He's such a sweet brother and always thinks of Liam first.

"Three of a Kind"

Liam's spring musical "Three of a Kind" was today! He stood next to his buddy Justin and friend Brianna and did very well!

He spotted us right away!

There were costumes related to threes (three blind mice, three little pigs, three bears) and the second graders had most of the speaking parts.

Our neighbor Kaylee sang with the kindergarten class.

She is a sweet girl and the boys love playing with her!

Liam was VERY into projecting his singing voice!

Liam had his hand on his hip for most of the show!

Liam's artwork was on display in the hallway!

Max and his good buddy Owen!

Liam and his very best girl friend, and Owen's sister, Ari!

Easter Morn

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