October Life

Contemplating big changes for our homeschool and switching gears a bit this week. We tried to get as much done outside as we could and getting the garlic planted was a big deal. This is real life, after all.

 

While I was out preparing the soil by tilling and spreading compost, the kids were in watching Youtube videos about garlic. This kid is always up for anything where he gets to stick his fingers in the dirt, he must take after his Mom. 

Nahuel and Ada had a fun excursion in preparation for our co-op preparing our own version of Midsummer Nights Dream by going to see the play put on by Snow College. Ada did a lot of reading in preparation and knew who all of the characters were beforehand. Snow College did such a great job of it that we were all rolling in our seats (figuratively) before the end of the night even if it was Nahuels first experience with Shakespeare. It was an historical experience. Never before, and never again after covid (we hope, also we hope that someday covid goes away) will we see an entire troop of actors performing on stage with masks on. Their ability to sing and dance and project while masked was impressive. The fact that the kids caught on to the humor without being able to see their faces was truly a marvel. 

We always seem to find ways to fit science in effortlessly. As we're focussing on DNA alot this year we're talking about different animals and how traits present. Birdwatching is always one of our favorite passive pass-times. This week we got a new bird feeder that sits in our window and book about birds found in Utah. The kids have started marking which birds we see and documenting when in the book. You can just make out the tale of a female housefinch on this bird feeder and possibly the silhouette of a male on the branch. But Ada also saw a beautiful Northern Flicker. 

        

The funnest sightings were of the Great Horned Owl, possibly the same one, which seems to be perfectly comfortable with us at it's feet. Here is Astor, up close and personal. We saw it 3 times in 1 week! Maybe we can figure out where it has it's nest so we can find some pellets to dissect! If we see it again, we're going to have to name it or at least figure out if it's a male or a female. Thankfully, it hasn't taken any of our chickens or cats, there seem to be plenty of voles and other food in the fields for now...