Barbie, Life in the Dreamhouse: Where education really begins.

Do you know what 'alliteration' is? My kids do, they are 5 (Icky) & 9 (Z). is this a huge academic deal? not really. But what I love about this fact is HOW they learned it. 

**while driving in the car and listening to a song by Cowboy Mouth.

Z: Hitch hiker hike home. Mom, that's alliteration.

Me: (a little laugh) Yes, sweet girl, it is.

Z: Just like Barbie.

Me: (laughs again)

Icky: Hot tub Huge. (quoting Barbie)

Z: we get it. You like alliteration. (quoting Barbie's friend Raquel)

Would our family have had a discussion about alliteration, had Barbie and friends not introduced it to my kids? Probably, eventually, but when? Who knows! Maybe years from now. But no, we had it sooner rather than later. Z asked what alliteration was after hearing Raquel say it. We explained by repeating Barbies' lines. We then were able to talk about it and revisit it a few times as it came up in daily living. Then the Cowboy Mouth song came on one day, not the first time she's heard it, by the way, and BAM! A connection, a deeper understanding of whats going on around her. A way to link things together. 

THESE moments are why we will continue homeschool as long as we can. I got to be part of that and many more like it. I got to SEE it. Nurture it. Laugh at it as we all quoted Barbie as part of a "lesson". 

There are days that we watch some form of tv MOST of the day. After an exhausting week, or when I'm sick, or if we're just having a fun movie day full of popcorn and singing and playing. It's ok. Is it our daily routine? Of course not. We're WAY to involved in a million different things to get these 'tv days' often. But I'm alot less afraid of them given what we learn from these silly shows. I'll name just a few. 

Barbie: you already know my favorite lesson from her ;) 

Phineus and Ferb: We've learned about eternal optimism from Phineus and from Ferb the ever effectiveness of keeping ones mouth shut ;) They've also learned about schematics, planets and general kindness.

Rescue Bots: Is all about 'doing what's right'. We all have our favorite character and we all know that My mom needs to meet a real life Chief Burns, cause he's the perfect guy... being cartoon is his only flaw ;)

Backyardigans: we learn to accept everyone's way of playing. We also have learned more than our fair share of little ditty's. 

Wild Kratts: Easy to learn here, the animal facts are presented in such fun and playful ways that my kids never forget them!

Octonauts: Again, silly and playful, while presenting facts about ocean life. 

What are your kids watching? What are you Loving about it? Share with us! We're always looking for our next favorite. 

ING

!jen

Bishop Museum? Yes Please!

Quick Tips.

**Located at 1525 Bernice St, Honolulu, HI 96817, the Bishop Museum is close to town and still easy to get to as it's right off the free way. 
**I believe parking is now paid, so be prepared for that. There is a main lot to the left of the entrance gate and a secondary lot if you follow the road to the right after the entrance gate.
**If you get a membership, it includes a parking pass, I believe.
**After a day's fun is done, you can put your ticket purchase toward a membership. So save your receipt.
**The gift shop can help you with daily stickers after you're a member if the ticket window has a long line.
**The gift shop also always has a few items themed to the changing exhibit.
**The cafe is fabulous!! We liked planning our trip for first thing in the morning and eating before we headed home.
**Before the cafe opened (and sometimes still after it had opened), we packed a lunch and ate on the grass, or tables or ramada.

Shortly after arriving on Oahu, my brother and sister in law gifted my kids (and lets be honest, ALL of us) with a family pass to the Bishop Museum. We have seen every exhibit over the last 2 years. Every. One.

My kids never tired of going, even the exhibits that didn't change were always a big hit. The psychedelic tunnel of Hawaiian creation, the volcano, the lava, the wind experiments, and the stage with bug costumes...the giant whale with the half exposed skeleton! never gets old.

The changing exhibits were ALSO amazing.
The very first one we saw was the Roller Coaster exhibit, possibly the best exhibit I've seen at a museum, ever.

But since all those pictures were on a hard drive stolen from our old house... I'll just give a nice Bishop Museum overview.

Comprised, largely, of 4 exhibit buildings, and a massive central lawn, it's never a bad day when you visit.

The entrance is a good place to start (hehehe, get it?). 

So in this building is the: J. Watumull Planetarium. 

We've seen several of the shows available there (not all because we usually have a the baby and chancing it is always out voted). But the few we HAVE seen were SO fabulous. The kids loved them and I learned a few things too. Also, while waiting for the show, there are a few hands on activities regarding the planet. My kids are a big fan of the 'sand pit'. They move the sand around to create valleys and peaks and then hold their hands over spots to make it rain. This activity uses a thermal sensor... maybe. Now that I think of it I'm not sure what the camera is that hangs above the sand pit. Way To Go Blogger. nice research ;) 

Hawaiian Hall

This hall has an amazing display of royal Hawaiian artifacts. Head dresses, paintings, jewelry. Very impressive to see.

Across from the artifacts, is a changing exhibit room. Last time we were there, it was all about birds of Hawaii. Native and invasive species, how to identify them, how to assist in population efforts, lots of neat information and a few interactive elements. 

Continue through this room and you come to the "The Realms of Hawaiian Hall". This three story exhibit follows many years and areas of Hawaiian history. Not a nook or cranny is left uninformed. 

 

The Pacific Hall

Attached to the Hawaiian Hall, this two story exhibit focuses on the oceans role in the islands of the entire Pacific. Again, every nook and cranny is full of information and there are a few hands on activities that explore boats and clothing. 

MAN! were they excited when the sign said "Please" touch.

Paki Hall

As I'm going over the map... I realize, I don't think we ever went in that hall. I assumed it was offices and such. So someone go there and let me know. Mahalo Plenty!

Castle Memorial Building

THIS is where we spent most of the last 2 years. It's the location of the changing exhibits. The roller coasters were here, then dinosaurs, then World of Wearable Art, then Candy, then Sharks... non-stop fun for my kiddos and their homeschooling friends. 

Hale Ikehu

This is a great little ramada. We have met here for a story with our co-op. We have eaten here when it starts to rain a bit. A nice little resting spot.

Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center

Explore wind, lava, volcanoes, wildlife, Hawaiian creation, Earth and Water relations and take a break at the stage upstairs. This kids put on costumes and play out invasive species taking over or being thwarted by the "good guys". My kids love the costumes!

Hangin' on the Goose outside the Science Center

That's all the Halls. I hope you're able to enjoy some time at the Bishop Museum and by 'some time' I mean two entire years like we did ;)

ING

!jen

HWK changed my life... true story.

It stands for Hiking With Keiki.
Keiki is Hawaiian for 'child(ren)' and is used for both singular and plural.

OK, that's out of the way. But what is it and how did it change my life??

Hiking with Keiki is a facebook group that my dear friend Elsbeth introduced me to when she learned that my "church" was being outside. They are a group of volunteers who plan, recon, schedule, lead and share hikes all over the island of Oahu. If you want to get out but are unsure of how or where or are afraid of getting lost alone.... HWK is the best resource I can recommend on island, you DO need to be on island or heading there soon to be added, this helps ensure our members are active. HWK was started by Chelsey and Kati as a way for them to heal through the pain of post-partom depression, general depression and the loss of suicide. A way to share the adventures of life with friends and family in hopes those experiences and connections help someone through their struggle and healing.

Sounds like Hope to me. These are MY kind of people! I started joining several hikes a week. Before I knew it I was leading them too. These ladies have helped me see SO much more of this island than I ever would have.

Would we still have hiked? Of course. Still gone to different beaches? Yes. Would it have been as easy? NOPE. Would it have been as frequent? NOPE. Would it have been as fulfilling? No.

Hawaii, is the first place in our 10 years of Navy life, that I have had a bigger community than my husband. Think about it. We move somewhere new, he gets an instant group of people that at least have a few things in common with him just by showing up to the ship. Me and the kids? We have to go out and FIND our place, our friends, our shenanigans....

HWK helped me and my kids find our place, our friends and OH! The shenanigans.

#LunaScout and I walking the end of Likeke Falls as we arrive back at the car.

So! I'm gunna blog about each of the hikes we've done with HWK. First Up!??

Likeke Falls

: not to be confused with likelike falls, which is non existent ;) people often get the free way (likelike) mixed up with the trail to the falls (Likeke), it's totally understandable, they're VERY close in name... but now you know and that is half the battle ;)

Once you are a member of HWK, you can find info about every trail they hike to, what ages are best, terrain, driving and parking directions... everything! Really guys! Are you tired of reading how HWK is Amaz-Ballz?? Well, too bad. Cause they are. 

I'm going to attempt my very own trail guide for Likeke Falls (from the golf course). 

First!! Prep.

Stuff to bring:

water

snacks

BUG spray, trust me on this one!

towels (to leave in the car)
wear shoes you don't mind getting muddy and then throwing in the wash. I wear my rain boots and just rinse them off when we get home. 

extra shoes (we always take flip flops as we hike this muddy trail in rain boots, and like to change before heading to lunch)

We park at Ko'Olau Golf Course (45-550 Kionaole Rd, Kaneohe, HI 96744). I do NOT suggest going on sunday. The golf course is home to a church. On sunday all parking is for patrons there of. You can still hike but you have to park WAY down the road and walk in. We did that ONCE. Cause we were SO excited to adventure with our friends that we didn't care. That particular day Lacy introduced us to Cinnamon's! A MUST visit restaurant on the windward side of the island. And maybe the topic of another post ;) we'll see. 

Alright: Park at the golf course. Check. Don't park close to the building, park at the end of the lot where the road is blocked to cars by several hanging chains. I know this sounds 'trespassy' but once you see it, it's not :)

Those hanging chains mark the beginning of the trail. Step, over, under, or around them and follow the road to the water tower. Feel free to stop and take a picture, we usually do.

The water tower.

The trail turns left here... so going to and then behind the tower to find the trail will not help you.  

After turning left, follow, follow, follow the trail. It will soon turn into a 'rocky road' as my five year old puts it. This is how you know it's time to start looking for the last turn. On the right, there is a GIANT tree with lots of graffiti and carvings, step down off the 'rocky road' by that tree, and follow that trail. 

>>>>>Special Tip: if you don't turn at the giant tree, the trail heads up to Pali lookout. You can keep going to the lookout instead of turn to the falls, OR you can do this water fall hike from the lookout, but we have yet to do that as of this writing. 

You've turned at the giant tree, and now you just follow a bit more and listen for the falls. 

Once there, you will usually see 2 pools. The waterfall is not HUGE by Hawaii standards. And it still never ceases to amaze me. Looking to the top, water falls down in a wide spray across a giant rock exposed in the mountain, into the first pool. It's the largest of the two pools, neither of which are large enough for swimming or diving. Just big enough for splashing kids. From the first pool, water falls down into the second and smaller pool. My toddler jumped and played in the smaller pool the last time we went. And that was JUST after Darby's near miss of Oahu, so rain shed had made all the falls and natural pools explode with water. 

Play here. Let the kids get soaked! Let them try to "slide" down the smaller waterfall. I've seen a few who've tried with shenanigans type results, including a stuffed penguin that loved his 2 or 3 trips down the fall ;)

>>>>>Special Tip: as you stand in the smaller pool and look at the falls, turn around. You will see the creek fork in front of you. The little patch of earth with the tree and bushes where the creek meets the pool? Climb up there. Go around the bushes for a pretty nice view of the city. No one ever looks over there and they miss a sweet little view on a clear day.

Once everyone is soaked and has had a snack (we usually eat before getting wet cause soggy fingers don't hold sandwiches very well), then you head back. Don't forget! Going back: the Turn Here tree means go left, and once you see the water tower, go right, walking away from it.

I hope you have many fun adventures on this trail!

Comment below and tell me your favorite Likeke Falls memory, or tell me about a water fall hike you LOVE.

ING
!jen

The Dream of Tiny Living

In our effort to raise more socially aware children in hopes they will be global citizens who make choices for the betterment of all… we have started the journey to tiny living. Is it a necessary component to making the next generation better than us? No. Of course not. It’s just the path we’ve chosen to facilitate that future in the strongest way we see. 

The logic behind it is this:

Stuff wants more stuff.

Buying more stuff means less money for experiences.

Experiences (in daily life but also global travel and immersion), is how we truly learn to be better humans.

Experiences behind a screen (if too frequent or prolonged) make my kids NUTS!

So if we limit stuff (to necessities and a few special things) and we limit ‘boob tube’ moments, we increase our ability to afford more adventure and the (screen free) time to do so.

So I began first looking for ways to simplify what we have, organize it into manageable piles, contain it somehow.

http://www.clutterclearingchoices.com/id2.html

http://extension.illinois.edu/clutter/ahome.html

I quickly found it wasn’t enough. I needed to purge with reckless abandon. And I do, regularly. 

http://www.december.com/simple/live/purgestuff.html

https://www.onekingslane.com/live-love-home/marie-kondo-book-declutter/

I especially like this one. I started the method (on instinct, we'll call it ;) without knowing and now need to read the book. 

I started with my closet. I revisited my closet every month or so for the last six months. With my closet in constant flux of purge, I started throwing out toys that were left in places they didn’t belong. I warned the kids first… in case you’re thinking that I’m the heartless mom ;) And even still I will through away things that I know they don’t care about or need, the rest I will try to assist them in remembering to clean it up. Or I may take it, hide it away and then 3 days later, when they go looking for it… say ‘Oh, that was left out so I threw it away.’ This seems like a mean trick, I know. But hear me out. If they respond with sadness or even justified anger at having lost something dear to them, I’ll return it with a conversation about cleaning up what we care about. Many times though? They don’t even bat an eye. So I toss it. I just did the second to final purge on my closet (the final purge being when we leave the island and I toss my million flip flops, swimsuits, and few other things that are only used daily in Hawaii). 

We have a move coming up. I’m using it as a ‘fresh start’ kind of thing for everything else we own. Anything not completely joyous to us, stays here (sold, given away, donated, etc.). This includes, our hodge podge collection of plates, the million old pillow cases that no longer have matching (or even coordinating) sheets, old wash clothes that we’ve kept as ‘car washing’ clothes… seriously, there’s a ton of them! We DON’T wash our cars that much ;) 

As we saw the amount of stuff we can leave behind without batting an eye, and coupled that with a TON of research and brilliant options and solutions for minimalistic living, we naturally ended up at tiny houses. Now, that’s just what we’re planning to DO next.

What else are we planning to leave? Guest furniture… any furniture actually, that we’re not FULLY in LOVE with. And?! Two pieces we ARE in LOVE with but know our tiny house will not have room for simply because they are SO ginormous. We had to be realistic when we realized that we do NOT want to be stuck buying a house that’s too big for us simply because it needs to fit a bookshelf. We may even leave it ALL here. We're contemplating moving into the RV before retirement, using the last few years in service to prep, upgrade and learn the RV life. 

Right now we live in a 5 bedroom… mansion. It’s just over 2,000 square feet spread over two stories, in the main house. Yes. You read that correctly, main house. We also have an Ohana Hale attached to our garage. It’s just a room with bathroom and closet, no kitchen. But it’s another 200 sqft. Don't believe me? We're in the process of selling it to prepare for leaving the island... check it out. And please! Let me know if you wanna buy it ;) Cause, while I may think it's ridiculously big... someone, somewhere wants or even needs this much space ;) 

www.zillow.com

For the record, we bought a giant house because when we moved in we had extended family living with us and it was nice for a time that everyone had their own space. We now know that we could have easily gotten away with half the square footage and taken our “own space” in trips and excursions. We’ve also since realized the power of a bed as being a private space. It’s all about how you use it and how you organize it. 

http://www.suitcasesandsippycups.com/2012/09/creating-privacy-in-an-rv-or-camper-tips-for-long-term-travel.html

This blog post gives GREAT ideas on privacy!

http://letsrv.com/yes-you-can-create-personal-space-in-an-rv/

And this fabulous post written by a 12 year old rv'ing, roadschooler!

I truely marvel at what people are able to do with such minimal space. Wish us luck!

ING

!jen

Chores for my FIVE year old? Folding laundry....

What CAN he do??

In this day and age when parents are SO eager to get back to teaching their kids to be responsible, we find ourselves asking, HOW??

How do we know when they’re ready for chores?

How do we know which chores?

How to we start?

How do we teach?

How do we survive waiting for them to learn it properly?

How? How? How?

There are SO many cute guides to age appropriate chores. Just google 'age appropriate chores'... a step further is to search images specifically. There's a TON. Like this one:

by Heather at Sports Mom Survival Guide

But these are simply that, guides. Each child is their own person. My oldest was reading 2nd grade books as she entered 1st. My middle one is almost 5 and barely getting around to caring about the sounds letters make. So why would they be able and ready to do the same chores at the same ages?? They’re NOT. PLEASE remember, these info graphics are guidelines.

So #IcarusRex is now able to fold laundry. How do I know?? I watched him ‘fold’ blankets and napkins and saw that the manual dexterity was there. The concentration was there. The desire was there…. so I gave him a lesson. Guess what?! He was able to do it without fussing, with a certain amount of ease, and still with a bit of room for improvement. 

SO what IS our ‘laundry folding’ lesson?

Step One: 

Lay out the shirt ‘picture side’ down. I do this part during our first few tries. (I know he can do this part because he does it for getting dressed daily, but since this is a new lesson, I do the first few for him)

Step One

We place the picture side down, for 2 reasons. 

1. picture side down is how he gets dressed, it ensures the picture is on his front instead of back. 

2. we can see the picture when it's in the drawer, making choosing it easier.

Step Two:

Fold one side over to the other. (left to right or right to left, doesn’t matter)

Step Two

Step Three:

Fold arms over body of shirt. (just so the sleeves no longer stick out)

Step Three

Step Four:

Fold bottom up to cover sleeves. (create a rectangle/square)

Step Four

Folding in Action ;) 

He LOVED that he did every shirt alone. We also had a lesson on folding bottoms that day. So #IcarusRex was especially accomplished by the end of our chore. 

 

There is NO task in our day or life that can’t be broken down into manageable, age appropriate, steps. All we, as parents, need to do is think logically about the task and assess what each child is capable of. My youngest (now 2 years old), can move laundry from basket to washer to dryer to basket. LOVES to in fact. Would I expect her to fold and return the clothes to the dresser? Of course not. But SO many parents do this, or something similar. They see their child doing part of a chore and assume they can do all of that chore. Take it easy folks! 

Have fun with each stage of each child’s go at life. Through that fun… you’ll witness and observe, not only their abilities and skill but you’ll observe SO many moments, otherwise missed. 

ING

!jen

Comment below and let me know what chore you're planning to give a lesson on or loved giving a lesson on previously. OR let me know which chore you have NO IDEA how to teach effectively and I'll blog it ;) I'm all about helping you Montessori your life and lessons.