good tree montessori homeschool

we joined the national wildlife federation’s
4th annual
great american backyard campout.

ishaq set up the tent granddaddy ishaq bought for
the girls
(and himself).

the girls helped ishaq a bit
and rode bikes…

and a horse.

i took it easy on myself.
we did a leftovers-dinner inside, as usual,
then shortly after dusk and maghrib prayer…

we headed outside
with quilts, pillows, books, colored pencils, paper,
and a couple of push on/push off lights
that you see in late night commercials.

we read books until the lights went out
– i guess they weren’t meant for extended use –
then saw a beautiful crescent moon above our house.
they went to sleep before 11pm…

and woke up with the birds.

whew! the ground was hard.
i think i slept on an incline, too.
but, we made it through the night,
short as it was.

we went to that pottery place in decatur,
one of those paint-your-own-pottery studios
in which i LOVE exercise my creative juices.

it’s right next to decatur marta station
and lots of fun.
they currently have a summer art camp for ages 6 and up.

sanaa and rahmah
painted ballet slippers.

we added the ribbon at home.

i made alien salt and pepper shakers.

i did this BEFORE wall-e came out!

we’ve had three outings this month.
all of them glorious.

first: imagine it children’s museum of atlanta

i’ve checked out just about all the museums in atlanta-proper.
if you can get to it in a reasonable time frame by marta,
we’ve probably been there.
by far, for the 3-6 age range, imagine it! is the BEST.
we spent a good three hours there
with ALL my girls
by myself
and i had to pull them out
because i knew they were tired.
they spent a good hour in the waterplay area alone.
if i were to stay here a bit longer
i’d get a membership.
since we don’t plan to,
their target free second tuesdays will suffice,
every second tuesday from 1 - 7 pm.

don’t come at 1 pm.
the line will be down the street and around the corner.
come at 12:15 with a sack lunch and eat while you wait
if you want to get in at 1 pm.
i think the better thing to do
is let the “i-need-to-get-in-first” crowd do all that waiting
and come after 3 or 4 pm.
even so, as crowded as it was
– probably AT capacity –
even i had a wonderful time just watching my children explore.

second: zoo atlanta

the weather was perfect.
hot with a cool breeze.
it must have been the effect of being amongst the dense vegetation of the zoo
and the fact that i had a 50% off coupon
AND a military discount.
we packed a lunch, took marta there and back
and ended up staying until closing.
the animals must have been loving the weather too
cause they were all out for us.

the only (small) disappointment was there were no animal shows.
an owl or eagle had escaped in an earlier show
and in order to keep the animals in the other shows safe
they canceled the remaining shows.

near the end of our visit we took a rest from walking
and rode a few rides.
the carousel operator let us ride the carousel twice.
we took the train around the zoo.
by the time we’d played for 30 minutes at the children’s playground,
we heard a closing announcement over the loud-speaker.
i couldn’t believe that we’d stayed that long!
the girls had happily skipped or ran throughout the entire park.
for one of the first times
it actually felt EASY to be with
all of them by myself
instead like a labor of love.
subhanAllah!

…is this how people end up having 7 children?…

third: grandma alice invited us to ride down with her
to mama tine’s
– “tine” as in ernestine –
in sandersville, GA, for the weekend.
by this time, the girls knew the drill:
if older cousins are around they can go exploring
without adult supervision.
and they were GONE!
even aya.
it was the second day that topped it off.
uncle troy is a country cowboy
and we all rode out to OUTSIDE of sandersville
– can you GET more country? –
to check out his horses.

subhanAllah, what beautiful, powerful creatures.
pet — some country cowboys lack imagination — on the left,
is due any day.

ishaq reconnected with his inner cowboy.

sanaa was singing “riding the range” from backyardigans during her ride.

even mama alice got up on a horse in her skirt.
she’s a country gal, y’all.

we left sandersville that night dusty,
our spirits uplifted from connecting with the rhythm
of these powerful, handsome animals.
we might come back down for the round up at the end of july.

ATLANTA, May 28, 2008 – Georgia’s public libraries and Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites are making it easier than ever for patrons to “Get Out. Get Dirty. Get Fit.” in the state’s great outdoors. In advance of the June launch of the “Get Outdoors Georgia” (GO Georgia) campaign, a valid library card now allows any patron to borrow a Georgia State Park “ParkPass” and Historic Site pass from their local libraries. The passes are good for free parking or admission at any of the 63 parks and historic sites statewide.

Any Georgian who holds a valid library card from a participating public library system (including PINES) can check out a ParkPass folder for up to seven days. Folders include an annual ParkPass that exempts visitors from paying the daily parking fee at any Georgia state park, an annual Historic Site pass good for free admission for one visitor to any of Georgia’s 18 state historic sites. It also includes a copy of the “Guide to Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites” featuring descriptions, photos, directions and a map of all 63 state parks and historic sites. A joint initiative of the Georgia Public Library Service and Parks, Recreation & Historic Sites Division (PRHSD) of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the public library ParkPass Program will begin on Monday, June 2….read more

more: www.getoutdoorsgeorgia.org
or http://atlanta.daybooknetwork.com/story/2008/05/28/9848stateparkpassesatlibraries.shtml

alice in fairytale land
the musical
(written and directed by barbara and lon williams)
is only on for two more days
– 24 - 25 may 2008 –
at theatre decatur,
a community theatre
on 430 trinity place in decatur, georgia.
it’s very near the decatur marta station,
and they also have free parking for drivers.

in this musical,
mother nature takes alice
and her invisible pet cat
down the yellow brick road
on a journey through fairytale land
meeting all the fairytale greats like
the little white rabbit and the queens of hearts,
pinocchio (eva sophia ramirez is excellent!) and gepetto,
four of snow white’s seven dwarfs,
cinderella,
the old lady in the shoe,
3 three blind mice
and a fierce farmer who tries to cut off their tails,
and little red riding hood.

this is theatre decatur’s latest children’s program
and it does and excellent job of making theatre accessible to children
in several ways:
the duration of the play was manageable;
the audience was asked to get involved physically and vocally;
and there were children 7 years and older
performing on a stage within a few steps of the audience.

they have a children’s theatre summer camp
30 june - 12 july,
monday - friday, 10 am - 2 pm.
for ages 7 - 15.
(sanaa will have to wait another couple of years…sigh…)
see theatredecatur.com
or call 404.373.3904

cinco de mayo, a celebraton of mexican heritage and pride, commemorates the victory of mexican forces over the french in the battle of puebla on may 5, 1862.

we had our own cinco de mayo on the 5th of may
with a piñata and home-made tacos.
since it fell on a monday this year
we were able to prolong our celebration from the sunday before when
ishaq took the girls to, fiesta atlanta, a huge celebration in centennial olympic park.

sanaa came back with a unicorn:

on 13 may 2008
the fernbank museum of natural history
offered complementary admission to the community
and you know i was there.

my only dilemma was that
the imagine it children’s museum free 2nd tuesdays
was on the same day.
(i think that was planned.)
since the children’s museum
offers a free day every month
instead of once a year,
AND considering it would have cost $41
for just me to take my two girls
($15 + $13 + $13)
to fernbank any other day,
i opted to check out fernbank instead.

i admit, i’m spoiled by the free museum admissions
we’d enjoy at the museums that surround the mall in D.C.
after being able to visit the smithsonian national museum of natural history
and then coming to fernbank and seeing just the
argentinosaurus and the giganotosaurus in the Great Hall
(as well as a few other flying reptiles)
i was like, “that’s it?”
i didn’t feel the jaw-dropping awe
like when i first entered the national museum of natural history.
that aside, it was an o.k. visit.

for our visit that day
i decided to focus on the giants of the mesozoic
and a couple of other kid-friendly exhibits:
sensing nature and the children’s discovery rooms.
we also took an enjoyable pit stop by the reflections of culture exhibit.

they were all pretty enjoyable as far as museum exhibits go.
the best part of the sensing nature exhibit
was making bubbles with big wire rings.
i think this exhibit is for the middle or elementary age child
who doesn’t mind reading instructions to find out how to do everything.
other than the bubbles, few stations within the exhibit seemed intuitive.
this exhibit would be best experienced if children are allowed to
take their time, read, and play around.
i found that my children quickly moved from station to station,
fiddling with the object trying to see if they could figure out how it would work,
and then moved on if no explanation was easily understood and immediately forthcoming.
trying to manage all three of them by myself,
i don’t think i was much help
decoding the paragraphs of instructions.

after a picnic lunch on the terrace
and bathroom break,
we concluded our visit with macGillivray freeman’s “dolphins” IMAX movie.
the IMAX theatre experience
– not as steep and scary as the other one i’ve been in –
did not disappoint.

there were other exhibits that i’d be interested in seeing,
but, truthfully, none worth the $41 just to get in the place
or the additional $11-13 for an, admittedly optional, IMAX movie.

last sunday [ 18.may.08 ] we went to the
“sky dreams” planetarium show.
at the fernbank science center
– not to be confused with the
[bigger, and higher entrance fee at the]
fernbank museum of natural history.

“sky dreams” is the current children’s planetarium program
and it was almost magical looking at all those stars
that we can barely see for the smog of our dear, urban city.
i almost got a little nauseous
as the star projector moved the stars across the domed ceiling.

in addition to the planetarium,
there are several live and “stuffed” animal exhibits
throughout the center
as well as historic artifacts that have been in or come from space.
the live animals included several reptiles, amphibians, and
a bee hive where you could hear and smell the bees at work
with the touch of a button.

the fernbank science center easily warrants more than one visit.
in addition, many parts of the center
can be enjoyed for free:
the fernbank forest, rose garden, compost garden, and observatory.

speaking of which, the observatory offers free public observing open houses
every thursday and friday evening
from 8 pm (or dark) until 10:30 pm (weather permitting).
this observatory houses the largest telescope in the southeastern U.S.!

for older children
– middle and elementary –
there are meteorology and seismology labs
as well as an aerospace education lab
funded by no other than NASA.
what a great, affordable community resource.

i don’t know how a homeschooling family might
get involved with these science labs,
but something tells me they may be open to working something out.

Sign up to send your name to the moon. Names will be collected and placed onboard the LRO spacecraft for its historic mission bringing NASA back to the moon. You will also receive a certificate showcasing your support of the mission.

The deadline is June 27, 2008 for the submission of names.

http://lro.jhuapl.edu/NameToMoon/index.php

i believe in summer camp.
it’s a time for children
to develop themselves
and reconnect with the rhythms of nature.

there are hundreds of camps in the atlanta area
– atlanta parent has over 400 listings!
while most are probably legitimate,
it seems that many are set up like school-in-the-summer
or are baby-sitting disguised as “enrichment”.

my summer camp growing up
was usually grandma’s house.
i got up when i smelled breakfast,
stayed outside ALL day in the garden
with all the insects it entailed;
i sneaked green fruit off the trees,
and came inside only for snacks of sugar, banana or mayonnaise sandwiches.
dinner on the stove just before sunset
signaled the closing of another day full of self-structured, spontaneous activities.

but, alas, everyone is not so blessed.
now as a self-proclaimed urban woman
whose children are not old enough to go to an
out-in-the-woods-with-a-cabin-and-bunk-beds-summer-camp
YET
(besides, i don’t have wheels,
and i’m on a budget).

here’s my favorite option:
camp believers.

the camp site is atlanta masjid of al-islam
and has 5 theme-bases sessions:

• would would the prophet (pbuh) do?
• proud to be polite!
• big changes! big choices!
• doing your best!
• children of faith…worshiping, playing and learning together.

it runs from 2 june to 1 august
for muslim children, ages 4 - 13,
seeking “a traditional camp experience with a G-d conscious environment”.
camp activities include quranic studies, hiking / environmental studies,
arts & crafts, vocational training, culinary arts,
scrap-booking, photography, dance & fitness,
swimming, field trips and roller blading.

two-week sessions are $210 with a $50 registration fee
and run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., monday through friday,
with before and after-care available.

for more information:
email hajja ameenah sabree at littlebelievers [at] hotmail [dot] com,
call 404.207.9916,
or attend the camp round-up
on saturday, 17 may from 3-5 p.m.
at the atlanta masjid.