Two birthday girls turning one!

Our cousins Delaney and McKenna just turned one and they were pretty excited for the big day that was ahead of them.  They woke up around ten and they were really happy.  At the night time we had a party at a Pizza Place - too bad they slept part of the time!  They had two cakes, a tiny cake and a big cake.  I think the twins really dug it - especially Delaney.  They got very messy.  We were happy to be with the twins on their first birthday and to hang out with them.    - Ben

The World is like a puzzle

Wait a minute, it is a puzzle!  A little gift from friends in Spain - great geography lesson and good lesson in Spanish too - espana, francia, italia, alemania, polonia - it's all so confusing!

More sculpture

This is my first Nature Sculpture Class.  We used rocks and water.  We also used leaves and a tree stump.  It was a group project.  The class is based on Andy Goldworthy's work.  He is an artist that makes things in nature.  He makes sculpture.  He is very persistent.  He uses what he finds outside to make the sculptures and uses only his hands.  Making art like this is much harder than it looks.  You have to take into account the weather and  the objects you will have to use.  Don't get mad if it falls down before someone can see it.  Experiment to find out what you can do to make it last a day or two or plan on bringing a camera.  Some of the sculptures only last a few minutes (like the leaves in the water).

By Ben

Fort Zink

This is a fort that we made that Sam and I used alot.  The cats come in and have enough room to lay down.  Sam and I use it to trade Pokemon cards and just to relax.  We might work on it some more this summer and make it bigger.

By Ben

Wilderness School

 

These are my friends Sam and Jonas. 

 

 

This is the campfire that I started.  I used birchbark and tiny sticks to get it to catch.

 This is the fort that the kids made before I joined the group.  They build it themselves.

 This is the old fort that was used before the other fort.  It was used by the group as a shelter and to make campfires in. 

This is a red salamander that the girls found.  They wanted me to take a picture of it.  I found one of these too, I found it in the woods next to a big pile of logs.  I am not sure if they are common or not.  We only found two even though we looked for a long time. 

 This is when we made bows for archery.  We made a special thing to shoot.  It was a deer made out of pine branches and we used rope to hold it together.  Me and a few other kids were able to hit the target.  I am good at archery since I have taken a class before.  This is one of the older kids named Ari shooting his bow and arrow.  He was able to hit the target too.

These are pictures from my wilderness class.  It was a class that I learned about how to survive if I was alone in the wilderness.  I learned a lot and if I every get stuck in the wilderness I think I would know what to do.  Some of the things I learned were:  how to make a fire, a bow and arrow, and a fishing rod.  I learned what you can eat in the wilderness like dandelions, fish, and other edible plants like root beer.  I can make my own shelter and I can make animal calls.  There is something called Indian Walk that is a way to walk so silently you can sneak up on something so quietly that it doesn't hear you.  I am able to do this well.  I know because I snuck up on Maisie so quietly that I almost made her wet her pants!

Practical Science

For Science I had to plant some seeds.  It took alot of patience and effort.  I had to remember to care for the seeds and water them every day.  Here are two of the boxes I grew.  One of the boxes is Cilantro.  The Basil and Peas did not grow.  I think it was because the seeds were really old.  You can eat the Cilantro - it is a spice that you use for alot of Mexican dishes like Salsa and Guacamole.  I don't like either so I doubt I'll eat the Cilantro but everyone else is glad it grew.  -Ben

Letting the Salmon Go

Getting on Board

Sculpture Class

I took a nature sculpture class that was about the famous artist "Andy Goldsworthy".  We made sculptures that involved nature and were things that I found outside.  Here is a sculpture that I created out of rocks in a little pit in the Journey School's backyard. The first picture is the first thing I was going to make at first but  then I changed my plan and put grass to make it pop out - my sister Sam found a robin's egg so we added it to the center to really make the color stand out.   - Ben