November 19 – Weekly Photos

This week, Wilder helped me test a few recipes from Twist on Tofu by Corinne Trang. Having gone to H Mart last week for ingredients, we made Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches with daikon pickles and the Crispy Tofu Salad Rolls. He also mixed up the dough for scallion flatbreads while we waited for our pickles

November 12 – Weekly Photos

We’ve cried over eggs so many times, feeling responsible for their failure to thrive. And then, this batch. It felt different. Firstly, they WERE pink in the light the way YouTube and our book said they should be. Secondly, the eggs got bigger, instead of rotting or molding like the others. We wondered if our male was simply too young, rather than infertile, earlier in the process. After 80 days of watchful care, two tiny geckos emerged from the eggs. We held our breath, watching with wonder. They’re amazing!

November 5 – Weekly Photos

Later in the week, the inevitable post-Halloween cold stilled our activities. We mostly stayed home, recuperating quietly, wondering who’d get it next. (No one, as it turned out.) But we turned our plans into at-home experiments with art + cookery. We used new art supplies, listened to audiobooks while painting, and felt inspired to try making fresh pasta, a whole-day experiment with delicious results. Being home for a few days, just making sure we didn’t have Covid + trying not to spread germs, gave us more time to dig into projects we’ve abandoned. Both Rosetta and Wilder seemed to feel inspired by digging around, unearthing + organizing the art closet. I am hoping to do more of these things as the weather cools + we’re indoors more.

October 30 – Weekly Photos

With a focus on science this week, we managed to squeeze in a ton of experiments. We made the strawberry DNA work (finally), exploded some soda, engineered taller, more solid buildings by using celery + apple chunks with the marshmallows, and are (hopefully) growing some rock candy in the cupboards of our rental space. We also visited Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, where all the animals came out to say hello! After a long-awaited trip to IKEA, the kids also assembled their individual desks + other pieces. Rosetta put together a chair + Wilder a shelving unit.

October 22 – Weekly Photos

This week we crafted terrariums together with our homeschool group. The kids shopped for plants initially, then overrode that idea in favor of other things. Wilder chose a remote island beach, driftwood and seashells, complete with a lost message in a bottle. Rosetta’s beach featured colorful, poured sand, along with a concrete toad who’s laying her eggs. All turned out nicely + we’re enjoying them at home now.

October 15 – Weekly Photos

Science this week focused on Grenade, the tomato hornworm we found in the garden. He was already three inches long at discovery and is now, a week later, five-and-a-half inches. He’s named after the shape of his poop, which he can really use to fill a jar every day. We’re hoping he cocoons soon as we’re running out of garden-fresh tomato plant leaves for him to eat.

October 8 – Weekly Photos

It’s fall + we all seem to have more energy for projects. Things started this week: wooden model, Wilder’s costume, Rosetta’s baby plant propegation, kombucha flavoring tests, + Rosetta’s calico critters Halloween remodel.

September 30 – Weekly Photos

Last camping trip of the year, sniff. We headed off to Stagecoach State Park in Oak Creek with a set of grandparents in their RV. It was glorious weather, 70s by day, 30s by night. I love when you need the fire to survive. It feels more primal, even tho we had a camper to retire to in desperate times. We explored, and made mud, and fished, and wandered through so many ecosystems.

September 24 – Weekly Photos + Tracking

One of this week’s highlights was a rainy trip to Matthews/Winters Park, where we found all kinds of moss and lichen to ID. There were also baby snails everywhere, and the discussion about where they came from included some fairy input from the younger group members. Follow-up research on snails proved that they hatch from eggs and wasn’t quite as magical, but very explanatory. We then searched unsuccessfully for snail eggs in the water. We also ID’d some bittercress, but based on the water’s dirtiness, decided not to eat that one.