Learning This Week

My trail partner

The highlight of the week for me was going to Sobranes Trail, on the north end of Big Sur. While we've been to a lot of Big Sur, I'd never been to this particular area before, and I was enchanted. It was a cool, misty morning - rain threatening for the afternoon, but holding off for us in the morning.

Here is the rusty barn you can see from the highway.

We found a quiet spot right off the trail next to the trail to sit - 

I worked on my journal and my little guy had his snack. 

What's beyond those mountains?

Jack spotted a dew covered spider web and watched it, looking for its owner

We will be back with the husband unit to do some more serious hiking, since we didn't get very far before having to go back to find and then throughly inspect the port-o-potties (Jack has a mini-obsession).

 Other stuff...

My kitchen has been taken over by a construction paper food chain diorama extravaganza... 

or I suppose this is what you could consider pre-k / 1st grade project based learning 

(I will, thanks very much, as I sweep up the cuttings).

It started with my four year old seeing a cool mobile of a food chain in a Magic School bus book - he grabbed his big brother and they got to work...

To the point right? NOT ENOUGH!

There was actually more on here before I took the picture, but I had to move it so I could OPEN THE FRIDGE.  It was a boat (it has to be on top of the water of course - of course!). 

I know, I'm so mean, and totally stifling art, man.

MORE FOOD CHAIN!

Now in my kitchen there is also the human connection - a street lined road with trucks delivering shrimp to stores for people (the apex sea predator) to buy and eat. 

Among other things, one burning question the boys had going down the food chain was what does plankton eat?  I learned along the way on this project were that phytoplankton use photosynthesis to make their own food (although the boys kept shortening this to THEY EAT THE SUN, which I guess sounds more much more dramatic), while zooplankton eat the phytoplankton. Also see the Angler fish on the bottom? Those eat squid, turtles, and occasionally the very lost seabird.

And this isn't even our official science....

That would be anatomy:

Doing skin rubbings from various body parts

Lego digestive system model

Lego nervous system model (both via my 6 year old)

Poetry teatime - keeping it real - yes, it still says "happy halloween" on that board.

My 6 year old observing and drawing the birds at the feeder and listening to the Princess and the Goblin. 

Multi-tasking, yall.