Let the Experiment Begin!

I'm not sure if it was elementary science fairs or just my incredible curiosity but I love experiments. Kind of weird, I know but also super fun! 

We have been planning our out of state move for years - 4 years! In fact our first scouting trip was 2 kids ago ... unless you count our first trip which was pre kids. One of the things holding me back the most was the growing zone. We are a 6 here and were a 9 where we moved from - 3 zones difference is huge! Plus we were moving from great soil to sand! Would we be able to garden here? I began to read every book I could find on improving soil and every pin I could find too. Something that came up over and over was biochar. It fascinated me, but also seemed like some hippy nonsense. In all my searching I found one person who did a cool experiment but there was no update posted.  So, I decided to try my own! 

We have garden boxes in the backyard that are about 2 by 7 and the soil is super sandy. Oddly enough our soil varies widely from clay to silt to sand all over our yard, but the garden boxes are all very sandy.  

Last fall we mowed up the leaves and piled them up in all the garden boxes and the flower beds. Great and free way to incorporate organic matter. We had a good 4-6" of chopped up leaves covering everything. We also added 2 bags of manure and a bag of compost that we got on super clearance from Walmart (75 cents and 25 cents - couldn't pass that up!).  There was an odd lack of earthworms when we started looking at the soil after we moved and after the winter with the little bit of manure, compost, and lots of leaves the worms are impressive! Already our soil is improving! 

This Spring I ordered biochar from Amazon and got "Cowboy Charcoal" - Royal Oak brand to test out the difference and to see if either one makes a difference from all the other stuff we are doing to the beds to improve the soil.  

 

 

The biochar was an amazing consistency and was almost dust free! Cowboy charcoal had to be crushed which was a pain, but it was HALF the cost - much more manageable of an investment.  

If what I have read is correct, then this amendment will last for a long long time so the investment will be worth it!  

Biochar is also know as terra preta and was first found when researching how the poor soils of the Amazon could support such a large population. They used charcoal from their fires along with waste (kitchen scraps and human waste) to feed their soil. The difference between other ancient populations is that the Amazon soil is still super fertile. Still, which means this soil improvement lasts a very very long time. 

I added each to a (separate) bin with a bag of steer manure and filled with water. This is to charge it so it doesn't take nutrients from the soil. The idea is that biochar can hold onto water and nutrients better than the soil can and it releases it when the plants need it. So, it is especially good for sandy soil which lets water and nutrients flow right through. 

 

After a month of letting them sit, I added the mixture from each bin to a separate garden box and used a garden fork to turn the soil. It was about 2" on top of each bed and I mixed it as deep and evenly as I could.  After it was mixed in I added compost to fill the bed - it was about 4-5" of compost, which I waited to mix into the soil until right before planting. 

About a month later it was time to plant! In our area the average last frost date in MAY 15th.  I tried to plant the beds similarly so I could eliminate as many differences as possible and focus on just the biochar and cowboy charcoal. 

I'm so excited - will they make a difference? 

Quick and Easy Tips for Summer Learning!

How is it already summer break?  Didn't school just start?  The school year seems like it drags on yet is over in the blink of an eye!

I get asked a ton what to do over the summer by friends, family, and parents, so here goes!

The summer slide is a phrase used to describe the loss of learning that happens over the summer.  Think of it like your kiddo is at the top of the slide and at the end of summer they are at the bottom. I've lived this every year of my 12 year teaching career.  It doesn't happen with every kid, but to those who don't pick up a book or even see a book during the summer.  If you don't use it (skills you learn) you loose it!  I also see it happen with skills that have been practiced but not mastered.  However, here's the beauty of the slide analogy - there are stairs to get back to the top of the slide!  It's not like these kids will never get back to where they were, it's just that it takes a bit of time.  But, if you are reading this then you probably want to prevent that.  You can ever up your kid's skills over the summer and it's easier than you think. 

Almost enough yapping ... I honestly believe that parents are kids most important teacher.  As a parent that is a hard pill to swallow because then we think we get blamed for our kids not learning but it's not like that.  There is no blame game in a good education.  Kids ARE going to struggle and that's ok.  Parents are going to struggle and that's ok.  If we (parents) just know how to support our kids in learning then our kids will excel!  As a teacher I get a child for a year (or two if I am lucky enough to loop) and I can make a ton of progress in that time but as a parent I get my child for a lifetime!

On to what to do to prevent the summer slide and even get your kid to academically grow over the summer:

1 - READ - I say this to ever parent every year - the most important thing you can do to support your child's learning is to read to them/with them EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Seriously, it's that easy!  Read, read, READ!  This develops vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and promotes a love of reading.  My one year old sitting on my lap while I read him a book is teaching him so much but the most important thing is that it is developing a love of reading and learning.  

If you have a beginning or struggling reader I LOVE BOB books - they are great with phonics and are easy to see where to progress to next - start with set 1 then move on to set 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.  You can usually find them at a local bookstore but I also love the Costco version because they are bigger. Check your local library too before you purchase!  For a beginning reader it is hard to choose books because the leveling varies widely but BOB books do a great job sequencing their books for the reader's success.  

2 - PLAY - what?  Play?  I thought we were talking about how to keep your kid learning over the summer ... focus Sarah, focus!  Let me let you in on a not so secret ... play is the work of the child - play IS learning!  This book - Play and The Power of Play are on my to read list but I've read Purposeful Play and it's eye opening!  The more open ended the play is the longer it will last and the deeper the benefits.  Plus play is fun and summer should be fun!  Sneaking in learning while having fun is a win win!

3 - Pick something to focus on - one academic skill.  Maybe your kid struggled with 2 digit addition or subtraction with borrowing (that is hard!) or maybe your kiddo has not mastered their math facts.  Maybe their handwriting needs work (this is my lefty!) or they are having trouble remembering the states or maybe they are struggling with phonics.  Whatever they struggled with the most - work on it over the summer.  Not the hard core study session right before a test kind of work on it either.  15 minutes a day should be good - you want small chunks of time that are going to add up to big progress.  If your struggles with 15 minutes cut it to 10 or 5 - the important thing is a little bit of time each day adds up to a lot of learning over the whole summer.  Just as important as progress is the confidence boost they will get when they go back to school and are better at something they struggled with.  You can google worksheets for the skill you are working on or look on Teacher Pay Teachers or Amazon - there are so many workbooks out there!  You can also try Khan academy or a whiteboard and pens.  

If you don't know what to work on or your kiddo didn't struggle with anything but you still want something for them to do then try the summer bridge books, they are great!  Click the grade your child will be in NEXT year (in the Fall) for the book to buy this summer - Kinder, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade.  What's great about the workbooks is that it is 15 minutes a day - that's perfect to keep skills sharp but still have time for fun and less structured learning.  

4 - Pick something non academic to focus on.  Let me be very clear here - by non academic I do not mean they will not learn from it - they will!  I mean cooking, sewing, woodwork, chess, any instrument, gardening, origami, really anything that they love!  Maybe they could try one recipe a week this summer and by fall you'll have a kid who can cook or bake better that many adults!  Buy this book or this book and work your way through it - so much fun and such a huge life skill!  Let them pick something they love and support and encourage them to practice often.  

5 - Get outside and explore!  Bike around your neighborhood, take a walk down the road or hike up a mountain.  Stay close to home or explore far away - getting outside and off a device is always a good idea!  

6 - Limit screen time.  I know, it's hard - I have 3 kids!  But, when your child (or you) have a screen in front of them it's not just what they are seeing on the screen that is bad for them (there are some great things about screens too) but it's the ball they are not kicking, the cloud they are not looking at, and even the boredom they are not feeling ... limit the screens and let them create some entertainment!  Don't eliminate it (unless of course you want to) just limit it.   

7 - Listen to audio books - I know, I just said limit screen time - but audio books are amazing and perfect for summer road trips!  Plus, your kid isn't really on a screen just listening to one!  Similar to the benefits of reading aloud to children, listening to an audio book builds many skills - vocabulary, models fluency, comprehension (especially if you talk with them about the book), and a love of literature!  We LOVE audio books for car rides or cleaning.  

8 - Family game night! I love board games for kids!  In fact, I used board games for my whole math instruction when I taught transitional Kinder!  I did Math groups and a small group of kids and I played a game while the other kids were playing other centers.  We played the same game every day for a week or more.  It is a fun way to learn Math skills!  

Some of my favorites for little ones are:

 Count Your Chickens - yes, I love chickens but this game tricks the players into counting twice a turn ... this helped the kids in my class that struggled with counting objects.  It's cooperative too, so you all win or you all lose.  

UNO - colors, number recognition and matching all in one game!  My daughter beats us pretty much every time we play. 

Race to the Treasure - the builds a path to the treasure (a cooperative game) and the players have to get there before the ogres do.  It's really good for spatial thinking which is such a hard concept for some.  The best part of cooperative games is the adult can share their thinking as they play.  "I am going to put this path here because we could go up to get the key or down to get the treasure."  It helps kids know what the adult is thinking and think a little more critically also.  

I could go on and on about games we love, but that is a different post.  Playing any game is great!

9 - Get a pen pal - How fun would it be for your kid to get and send mail!  Writing in context is the best way to improve it.  Bonus points if it is an older person to model correct letter writing!  (It is the skill that is important here - don't pick the oldest person you know, let your kiddo pick an adult to write to)  An alternative would be a mommy and me or daddy and me journal - grab a regular notebook and write a letter to your child and stick it under their pillow - when they write back they can stick it under your pillow and it goes back and forth.  

10 - Check out your local library - They usually do a summer reading program and have fun events planned for the summer.  Ours has a weekly program set up where the kids can go and learn about animals.  My kids love animals!  While you are there, check out some books and see #1 - reading really is the most important thing you can do with your child.  

Simple and doable - my kind of summer learning!  

Happy summer!  Let us know if you have any tips in the comments!

Disneyland during COVID restrictions

As a big Disney fan, I was ELATED for the park reopening. And with my kiddo having a big birthday, we decided to make a quick trip to celebrate and get what we hoped would be a little sense of normalcy.

While we did have a great time, it was by no measure anything like the magic of a pre COVID trip. And the tips on how to prepare were pretty limited, so I wanted to share based on our experience.

We flew down the day before and enjoyed some time exploring Downtown Disney. We did a full day at Disneyland park - open to close. We did not park hop over to California Adventure. Then we slept in the morning after before heading home.

Here are my Disneyland tips from our visit on 5/26:

1. Neck gaiters are not an approved mask at Disneyland. They of course will sell you a replacement at the entrance. The mask has to hook on your ears to be approved. When I went back to look at the rules there is also language about layers but I did not see that enforced. 

2. Arrive early, like way earlier than usual. We like to be in the park for rope drop and are typically there early, but with the prescreening line I would suggest arriving 1.5 hours before the park opens. The health screening began at 8:10 for a 9 am opening. The screening is quick but the line to get screened is the slow down. 

The great news is they are opening the park earlier than advertised so we were actually riding Millennium Falcon when the park technically opened. We were inside the gate at 8:30 and proceeded directly to Star Wars land. And we got more rides in the first two hours than we did all of the mid day. 

3. Stay late and get the popular rides in quick. This is always true but seemed especially useful while there were no fireworks to stay for. I hear fireworks are back soon so perhaps this will be different.

4. Get in the queue for Rise of the Resistance promptly. The 7 am time filled within 30 seconds and we just missed it. I was faster at clicking buttons at noon and we got a spot. The ride was really cool so don’t miss it. There is not a walk up option for this ride. 

See my screenshot from 7:01 am. 

5. Order your afternoon food way ahead of time. Most food requires mobile ordering. You order for a pickup window and then have to check in when you are close. When it says the food is ready then you get into another line to wait for your food. This was a mess at the dole whip location. The dole whips had sold out for the day by about 4 pm. The kids meal milks, yogurts and applesauce also appeared to sell out by the afternoon. So at noon you need to be thinking about dinner and ordering. Only churros and popcorn seemed to be served after 8 pm. It appears there is an option to cancel your order but we did not try that feature.

6. Planning for the sun is more important than ever. The distancing requirements mean than there was a time when we stood in the direct sun for 30 minutes and weren’t allowed to drink water (see mask rule) per the cast members constant reminders. That was bizarre. So have your sun hat and sunscreen ready to go. 

7. They aggressively enforce the mask rule. You cannot eat or drink in lines for the rides. In fact you can only eat or drink in approved areas of the park. These approved areas are marked in person but not marked on the map. So you have to just search for allowed eating areas. We snuck in some drinking with a straw since we didn’t have to remove our mask for that. This is also important for kids. Cast members were stopping even children whose mask had fallen below their nose. They were as pleasant as they could be and we didn’t see any altercations, but they are very strict about the masking.

8. Bring a battery backup for your phone. You have to mobile order food.  They no longer hand out maps at all, so you will need the app more than ever. It will eat away your battery. My 2 month old phone did not have enough battery for our day. 

9. The lines appear longer than they are since the lines are kept outside. By the time you reach the interior of a building, you are minutes from the attraction. They are not lining people up indoors hardly at all. So don’t be alarmed that some of the lines will appear to be the longest you have ever seen. It is just all the spacing.

10. The character experiences are fairly limited and in some cases hard to get photos with because the character is located high up. The only ‘loose’ character we saw was Goofy. The princesses were behind a fence but they were speaking with kids so the interaction was much better there. 

11. Bring lots of food and water flavor packets. We usually bring more food but with a short trip and limited hotel food (by the way apparently Orange County is limiting the ability of hotels to serve food so breakfasts are limited or completely eliminated at hotels) that was hard to do. That became an issue in the evening when they ran out of food. We actually ordered a pizza to be delivered to the hotel when we returned. And water flavor because I swear the water tasted worse than normal. H even noticed. Rancho Zocalo and Hungry Bear were both closed but were approved areas you could sit and eat. They appeared much less crowded than other areas.

12. Don’t expect the amazing food. There are fewer food service options and the menus appear to be reduced. I was really hoping for a Monte Christo sandwich but that was not to be. That restaurant wouldn’t even indicate online if there were tables open until you were in close proximity. And the general quality of the food was just not up to the normal standard. 

13. Buttons are no longer picked up at City Hall but instead can be found in any of the stores. 

14. Pack your patience and go with the flow. It won’t be like your trips before COVID. So plan on that ahead of time. But it will still have some of the Disney magic and I expect it will get better as restrictions lift.