My husband's gift buying, and an apology

My husband was in charge of purchasing gifts for his nephews (9- and 11-years old) who are really interested in "army stuff" according to their mom. A trip to the army surplus store is always a treat for Fino (he's a former army guy) and was pleased to show me the purchases he made on Christmas Eve.

This is the conversation that ensued.

"What did you get?"

"Some patches and some other cool stuff."

I pulled out two "Fire Starter" kits, complete with directions on the back on how to start a fire.

"Honey, do you think it was a good idea to buy the boys these fire starter kits?"

"Yeah, why not? This is cool stuff!"

"I'm not sure your sister is going to appreciate you giving her boys this part of the gift."

(He had also purchased a couple of mini-can openers and some army patches.)

"But it's cool stuff! I always wanted this kind of thing when I was their age."

"Did you have one when you were 9, or when you were 11?"

"No, but I wanted one."

"There was probably a reason why your mom didn't get you one ... " (meaningful pause here)

"Well if the boys start causing trouble with it, Margaret can just take it away from them."

Of course this is what every mother wants. To be put in the position of taking away the really "cool" gift from the former-army guy uncle who lives 3,000 miles away. Then, deal with the aftermath of a couple of upset boys who were simply trying to use the gift given to them.

So I have to offer a shout-out to my sister-in-law. Really Margaret, I did try to talk him out of sending those fire starters!

Dec. is a blur, but a fun holiday-filled one

I've been busy at the office, more than ever before, but it wasn't really until this month that I realized how much work has taken over my schedule. There are a lot of things I normally do at this time of year with the kids that haven't happened. There just isn't enough time in a day/week/month to meet deadlines at work AND do all the usual Christmas-related family activities as we have in the past.

But then I went through the family calendar for the past six weeks and I'm actually surprised to see how much we have done that has been holiday-related. Of course if you read my blog you're likely to think, as the kids have, that we haven't done much lately. The truth is, I just haven't made time to blog much the past couple of months.

C'est la vie.

But I gathered up a few photos and will offer a retrospective of our last few weeks to remind the kids that they really haven't been missing out on the holiday fun.

School Band Holiday Concert
After being rescheduled due to snow, the band concert went off without a hitch for the girls. It turned out that although the last-minute rescheduling was a challenge for us, there was an upside - not as many people were muscling around for seats and we actually had a little elbow room to sit back and enjoy the music.

Grandpa's Annual Christmas Card
The car ride over to Grandpa's house was more stressful for Lupus the cat this year than usual and I'm not sure why. Given the choice, I would guess Lupus would much rather prefer to wear his Christmas sweater all day than ride in the car (the girls dress up the cats, as well as themselves, for this annual photo shoot at Grandpa's garage). Dulce on the other hand, was the curious one looking out the window. Toddy Cat's sentiments were similar to Lupus' about the car but at least this year he didn't have to spend any more time in it than was absolutely necessary (a couple of years ago he was mistakenly locked in the car - with the keys - for several hours until his rescuer (Fino) came home with a spare set to let him out). Grandpa was happy with the final result this year and was done in no time so everything worked out fine for everyone in the end.

4-H Winterfest

This is an annual event in December for 4-H county-wide awards and a day of recreational fun. It was held at St. Joseph's College Alfond Center and L. took advantage of the facilities to do some rock climbing while she was there. (The kids have been climbing for years and we all love it.)

4-H Banquets
The girls are in several 4-H clubs and we've had formal banquets with two of the clubs this past month. L. volunteered to make decorations for both, which was OK since she used the same table toppers for both. Smart girl.

Soap-making for holiday gifts
This has been a multi-month project, which I will get to sharing about later, that was dreamed up by Fino and L. back in September. The soap, dubbed "Titus Soap," was named in honor of the pig who provided the fat to render and make this lye-based soap.

Christmas Crafts
One of the kids' 4-H clubs had a crafty-type meeting so they had a chance to make Christmas gifts for family and friends. The girls also attend a weekly craft club at our local library so they have been making a bunch of things this month.

G.'s Photography Show
G. takes a black and white photography class and had her end-of-semester show to display her prints earlier this month. This class is one of the highlights of her week (along with her time at the farm) and she's bummed the next session doesn't start until February.

Christmas Tree Decorations
The set-up was again late this year due to our frisky cats and their desire to climb (and knock over) our tree. But the girls took care of the set-up job yesterday and they're working on deterring the cats from getting near it. I'm taking a hands-off approach and letting the girls manage the futility of this task (and insisted the delicate ornaments won't come out until Christmas Eve).

Then there was the Holiday boat parade, general fun in the snow this month, a bit of Christmas shopping (when the kids purchase small items for immediate family members but often end up buying something for themselves too) and all their other regularly scheduled activities that still go on in addition to the special holiday stuff.

What we have not done (yet) is...

* Our Christmas card photo. Plans are in the works to do this after Christmas for a Happy New Year card instead because the time has flown by and sending out cards was a lower priority on my To Do list (although I feel badly because I have so many friends that faithfully send us cards right after Thanksgiving).

* Make gingerbread houses (we're doing that at a 4-H meeting tonight).

* Make Christmas cut-out cookies and general baking for family and friends. I told the girls I had a grace period for the cookies because we just made animal cut-outs last month. We're going to do this during vacation week and will send out Happy New Year packages instead this year.

* Our annual Christmas Lights Car Adventure. This is a math activity I introduced when the girls were little and learning addition/basic statistics that was such a hit, they still want to do it every year. We're going to do this on Christmas Eve, which might be more fun anyhow.

So even though this month flew by and we didn't fit in everything we usually do at this point, by the end of December I think the kids will have crossed out every item on their Holiday To Do list.

Braved cold for a fun holiday event

The girls and I had a great time at the Boat Parade of Lights on Casco Bay this past weekend. We went with our friend Shannon and although it was a mighty chilly Saturday night, it was a fun way to celebrate the season (we even had a chance to say hi to Julie and BOO on the boat).

There were large windows to view the illuminated boats and fireworks from the warmth of the spacious cabin on the ferry but L. opted to spent the majority of her time outside on the bow. She likes to be where she perceives the "action" to be and prepared accordingly with lots of extra layers so she was comfortable out there. (She lamented she didn't have any long-john bottoms that fit her so her legs were a bit chilly by the end of the night - good thing that item is on her Christmas wish list.)

I realized that after two days outside in the frigid temperatures that I have much more tolerance for the cold when I'm active and moving than I do simply standing around. Ringing a bell in Monument Square (we were, unfortunately, in the wind tunnel area) and standing on the bow of a boat at night in December are not quite the same as moving down the trail on my cross country skis. Or maybe my body just had to get over its shock of the arctic blast we had over the weekend. Either way, I'm ready for winter now with my double-layer gloves and long-johns.

The girls have their cross country skis ready (we picked them up from the Maine Winter Sports Center at Pineland over the weekend) and are eager to get on the trails.

Now it's just trying to find time among the myriad of holiday activities we have in our family schedule to get out and enjoy the snow. Is Christmas really only 11 days away?

Ski goggles are worth investment

My kids are old enough now that they get themselves ready to go out in the snow. I don't need to remind them to bundle up, and I don't usually have to track down their preferred snow gear.

As they got ready to go in to the backyard to do some sledding during this blustery snow storm, I couldn't help but smile when they donned their favorite piece of snow storm gear - their ski goggles.

Those ski goggles were a bit pricey (about $30/each on sale 5 years ago). But I can confirm that they have certainly been worth the investment.

From the kids' creative use of ski goggles while chopping onions in the kitchen to the years of sledding, skiing and our other cold weather adventures, those ski goggles are one of the best winter gear items I ever bought for my kids. It ensures they will be comfortable and enjoy their time outside in the winter, no matter how nasty the conditions can get.

The only one undecided about going outside today was our ducky friend, Quackers (no ski goggle options for him). He perched on the frame of the coop's door for a long time before venturing out to "swim" his way down the path (the snow was deeper than his little legs and it really did look like he was swimming) and back into the coop.

Hope everyone had an enjoyable snow day, whether you ventured outside in the winter wonderland, or not.

Kid Tracks Column: Chill out as a family

Winter is one of my family’s favorite seasons. The girls are waiting eagerly for the flakes to start flying so we can begin enjoying favorite snow-related activities. Our list of must-do outdoor activities this winter includes:

Dog sledding
The top item on our list for the winter of 2010 is going on another dogsled adventure. Last year we went to the Musher’s Bowl in Bridgton (held in January, www.mushersbowl.com) and the girls were absolutely enthralled with the dogs and the sport in general. From watching the races at Five Fields Farm to the ride they took on Highland Lake with a dog sled team, there will be no keeping them away from the event this year. When I asked the girls what their favorite part of their dog sledding adventure was, comments included “running with the dogs” (you need a running start before jumping on the sled) and “the cold wind in your face.” When kids say things like that, you know they had a great day.

My 13-year-old has been begging for years to go to the Can-Am Dogsled Race in Fort Kent (held in March, can-am.sjv.net). And although my family loves Fort Kent in the winter (cross-country skiing at the Maine Winter Sports Center there is great), we need a new car that has four-wheel drive to make the trek. We had some difficulty with snow-covered roads and hills on our last adventure to Fort Kent – in a front-wheel-drive car. So, much to my children’s chagrin, they will have to enjoy the sport locally until we can manage the logistics of attending the international event up north.

Cross Country Skiing
When we dig out our cross-country skis and poles from the storage closet, we will also be pulling out the hula hoops. We spend a lot of time out on the trails skiing through the hoops with our friends. It is always a much laughed-about aspect of our winter ski adventures.

Winter Picnic
Whether we are on skis, snowshoes or simply taking a short walk in the woods in regular boots, planning a picnic out in the snow-covered woods is a seasonal highlight. We usually pack a nylon blanket to keep our bottoms warm, along with sandwiches and thermoses of hot cocoa. The winter woods are a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of our daily life. Plus, the kids think it’s a special treat to go on a winter picnic since it’s not something a lot of other people do during this season. And animal tracks are abundant in the snow, which makes speculation about animals near our picnic spot enjoyable lunch conversation.

Sledding
Although I think cross-country skiing is a safer sport than sledding (really, I think there is less risk-taking for kids on cross-country skis than there is on sleds), the girls have found a few hills that are must-visits each season. Some of our favorite sledding hills are simply a car ride away, while others are off the beaten path. Strapping the sleds to our backpacks and snapping into our cross-country skis and/or snowshoes to visit the lesser-known sledding hills on hiking trails is a favorite winter adventure.

Playing with GPS
The girls enjoy recording speed, distance and time spent on their cross-country skis with the family GPS unit. They are not interested in the competitive side of skiing but do like to figure out how fast down a hill we can (safely) ski. And when mom takes a wrong turn and we end up on a longer-than-planned adventure on our skis, well, the GPS unit can confirm mom’s lack of directional sense.

Snow Sculpting
No winter is complete without at least a few snow people to decorate the yard after a storm. The girls get more creative every year with the details of their creations. And for my 11-year-old, eyelashes on her snow people are a must.

Winter is not a season all families anticipate with the kind of relish my family does, but with a little creative thinking, there is an outdoor adventure suited to everyone's tastes.

Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine, December 2009

Update on DARPA Red Balloons, MIT won

Just in case anyone was wondering, the MIT team found all 10 DARPA red balloons yesterday and did it in 9 hours. Part of this team's approach was similar to other teams - networking on social media sites and suggesting friends tell friends, etc. to find the balloons. But MIT also had this at work for them...

How do you rule out the dishonest reports of spotting the balloons? This is one of the most interesting parts to the challenge! We will use sophisticated algorithms from the field of network science and complex systems theories along with machine learning algorithms to identify valid submissions.

Well, when you're MIT, you've got that kind of know-how and clearly, it was a helpful tool for them. I'm sure the DARPA folks will be very interested in learning more about it when they interview the team about their strategies.

During the day yesterday I was checking in with Twitter via my BlackBerry. L. and I read a couple of reports that there might be a balloon in Portland, Maine, so after G.'s photography show at MeCA, we drove around Portland (and then the Maine Mall) to check things out. It turned out that there was a balloon in "Portland," it just happened to be on the other coast.

We also saw reports of sightings in Rhode Island and Albany, NY, and several other places around the country that turned out to be false. Today I found a map on the DARPA site that correctly identified all the balloon locations, some of which I never saw mentioned on the web at all yesterday.


The team I was part of, I Spy A Red Balloon, was out of Georgia Tech and they came up with eight of the ten balloon locations by the end of last night. Had their been a balloon in the Portland (Maine) area I would have reported it both to I Spy team as well as the 10 Balloonies team (the Geocacher's team). My family has been playing the geocaching game for a few years so of course we were going to share with them too (I wasn't aware they had a team until after we had joined the Georgia Tech folks).

The geocaching team had pledged to donate their winnings (DARPA was giving $40,000 to team for finding all 10 balloons first) to charity as well as an additional $10,000 from Groundspeak (the folks behind geocaching.com). It turns out that even though the 10 Balloonies team didn't win the challenge, they're still donating their $10,000 pledge to charity anyway. I knew there was a reason I like geocaching and the people I've met playing the game.

But it turns out with this challenge that it wasn't the bleeding hearts interested in supporting charity that won. MIT's team split the winnings among their team's members. I am curious if this played a role in putting them over-the-top in collecting all the balloon locations. Capitalist America is this country's bread and butter mentality (as sad as this makes me) and it's possible that piece could have tipped the scales in their team's favor.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I couldn't help but wonder about the DARPA motivations in hosting this challenge and saw this reported on CNN.com today:

Johanna Jones, a spokeswoman for DARPA, said the hunt was designed in part to give the military new ideas on ways to operate in a range of situations, from natural disasters to combat.

The agency said it plans to meet with teams to discuss their approaches and strategies used to build networks, collect information, and participate in the contest.

I have mixed feelings about this because of course I want our troops to find the best ways to stay safe when faced with potential combat issues and glad they have the DARPA folks to help them figure this out. But it's still gives me a chill to think about it (yes, I need to get with the reality of the world program but still, one can hope to be naive about some of these things).

DARPA published a press release (it's in .pdf format) when it announced MIT as the winner:

"The Challenge has captured the imagination of people around the world, is rich with scientific intrigue, and, we hope, is part of a growing 'renaissance of wonder' throughout the nation," said DARPA director, Dr. Regina E. Dugan.

“DARPA salutes the MIT team for successfully completing this complex task less than 9 hours after balloon launch.”

DARPA announced the Network Challenge to mark the 40th anniversary of the ARPANet, pre-cursor to today’s Internet, to explore how broad-scope problems can be tackled using social networking tools. The Challenge explores basic research issues such as mobilization, collaboration, and trust in diverse social networking constructs and could serve to fuel innovation across a wide spectrum of applications.

DARPA plans to meet with teams to review the approaches and strategies used to build networks, collect information, and participate in the Challenge.

DARPA is the central research and development organization for the Department of Defense (DoD). The Agency manages and directs research and development projects for DoD and pursues research and technology where the risk and payoff are both very high and where success may provide dramatic advances in support of military missions.

“We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic.” -- E. Merrill Root

Overall, yesterday was a mixed bag of results. But when looked at from the perspective of large-scale, national connectivity, it was an interesting exercise in the influence of social networking. Yet, it also offered another lesson that viral networking does not always provide accurate information. Sifting through misinformation to find the real stuff requires some really smart people writing some really sophisticated machine learning algorithms. We social networkers play our part but I'm not sure we'll ever be the star players of the team.

The DARPA Red Balloon Network Challenge

I admit at the outset of this blog entry that I am a geek and find the sociology of technology fascinating. I'm not a 'gamer' in the traditional sense of computer video games but activities/challenges that involve technology and the outdoors are periodically on my To Do list. From my family's many geocaching adventures to the GLOBE at Night Campaign to the mapping research project we did last year with Audubon and UMaine Vernal pool project, I'm interested in technology-based citizen science projects of all sorts.

So now that you know my quirky-ness (which is hardly news if you regularly read this blog), you'll understand why I'm really interested in following the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - they're the think tank who started the internet as a military communication project for the DoD) Red Balloon Network Challenge.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Internet, DARPA has announced the DARPA Network Challenge, a competition that will explore the roles the Internet and social networking play in the timely communication, wide-area team-building, and urgent mobilization required to solve broad-scope, time-critical problems.

The challenge is to be the first to submit the locations of 10 moored, 8-foot, red, weather balloons at 10 fixed locations in the continental United States. The balloons will be in readily accessible locations and visible from nearby roads.

All balloons are scheduled to go on display at all locations at 10:00 AM (ET) until approximately 4:00 PM (local time) on Saturday, December 5, 2009. The launches will occur simultaneously across the country. Balloons will come down at approximately 4:00 PM.

A $40,000 cash prize will be awarded to the first entrant to submit the latitude and longitude of all ten balloons.

Should weather or technical difficulties arise with the balloons during the day, the display at an individual location may be delayed until Sunday, December 6, 2009, or later, depending on conditions.

The balloons will fly for approximately 6 hours on the East Coast and 9 hours on the West Coast.

Here's a link to a radio interview with a team leader about the DARPA Challenge

What really strikes me about this project is not only the various approaches people are taking to complete the challenge - connecting on social networking sites like Facebook and TWitter to techies writing scripts to detect chatter on the web of sightings and collect locations - but also what this information will actually reveal about the American public. I guess it would be helpful for the government to better understand how quickly, and effectively, the American population can mobilize and communicate something found in public view, with accurate GPS coordinates, to the masses (it's not like 1947 in Roswell for the government these days).

By the end of the weekend, the challenge should be over and the implications of how it came together for that team should be very educational. Since I work and blog in the social networking sphere, I'm well-aware of its influence over my own personal collection of news and information on a daily basis. I guess by tracking this DARPA challenge, I'm also getting a nice justification for my job as a blogger and content producer for a social networking website.

I decided to join a team for the challenge on the off-chance there is a balloon placed in Maine. I'm not holding out much hope of that but figured that the I Spy A Red Balloon team was working toward a good cause (on the chance they win, the cash prize will be donated to the American Red Cross) and it was an easy way for me to participate and track the progress of balloon sightings on Saturday.

And a final thought about this weekend's challenge... Anyone want to bet how many TV news stations will play, or reference, this little diddy from the 80s once the challenge begins?



Actually nix that, it's a sucker bet.

Hiking Pondicherry Park Trails in Bridgton

We did some geocaching last week with friends new to the game and ended up in Bridgton at some well-marked and very family-friendly hiking trails. There were quite a few geocaches on that trail system and the kids had no trouble finding a couple of the hidden treasures.

The kids especially enjoyed the wooden cut-out shaped trail markers in place of the usual colored blazes. The trail developers did a great job with these details and made this easy-to-navigate looping trail system really appeal to children.

Trail: Pondicherry Park Trails
Nearest Town: Bridgton
Trail head: We parked at Bridgton hospital (N 44° 02.795 W 070° 42.788) and crossed the street to the trails. Parking in this lot to hike trails is permitted.
Elevation Gain: less than 100 feet (a few very small hills)
Mileage: approx. 2.8 miles with another trail in progress
Difficulty: Easy, manageable for young children because of looping trail options
Note-able: The trail blazes/markers are wooden cutouts with different shapes and colors to identify trails. All the kids commented on how much they liked these markers, especially the "yellow birdie" on the Pondicherry Loop. The Stonewall Loop trail was identified with a reddish leaf cut-out and the Willett Brook Trail was a green turtle. Also, the stone fireplace on the Willett Brook Trail was a special treat for the kids to explore.
Other: The Loon Echo Trust has been responsible for coordinating this trail project, which was opened about a year ago.

The map below is not a complete trail map but we managed to find two geocaches with our crew of five kids (the youngest was 4 years old) and leave the trail system with even the youngest kids begging to do more hiking to find geocaches.

Pondicherry Park Trails

The boardwalks (aka "bridges) on this trail system were a hit with the kids.

The signs corresponded with the trail blazes (wooden cut-out shapes) along the trees on this trail system.

The kids enjoyed exploring the old fireplace on the Willett Brook Trail.

The highlight on our adventure was, of course, the discovery of a couple of geocaches.

And if you're looking for a nice picnic spot in Bridgton, you should check out Moose Pond (It's off Route 302 shortly before the turn-off to Shawnee Peak. GPS coordinates - N 44° 03.949 W 070° 48.349). We had a lovely late-fall outdoor lunch at the picnic tables there (with roof overhead that keep the benches relatively dry).

Going to the movie theater - choices, choices

The kids have a movie gift card and a big decision ahead of them about which movie to choose this holiday season. There are so many possibilities. Although "New Moon" is at the top of their list (they have read all the books - I have too - and really liked them), there is some debate about splurging on another one. We rarely go to the movie theater so it's a big event when we do.

I decided to round up movie possibilities so the kids (and I) could compare them all to make a choice (L. is notorious for having a hard time making a decision about anything). I thought other moms might be facing the same sort of debates at their house and figured a round up of movie trailers might help you as well.

In theaters now - New Moon (PG-13)
 

A Christmas Carol (PG)


Planet 51 (PG)



November 25 - Fantastic Mr. Fox (PG)


Old Dogs (PG)


Dec. 11 - The Princess and the Frog (G)


December 18 - Avatar in 3D (not rated yet)


December 23 - Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (PG)


December 25 - Sherlock Holmes (not rated yet)
G. is a big Sherlock Holmes fan and has read and/or listened to many of these mystery books as well as watched any movie she can find, including a lot of retrospectives. But after watching the trailer of the latest movie-rendition of this character, I'm not so sure this is a movie for a young teen. But alas, we shall see once I can get a bit more info about it.

PB&J help kids learn computer programming

Yesterday L. had a great time in her role as an "alien" at her robotics club meeting. Explaining how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to someone who has never made one before (i.e., "the alien") is a suggested activity in the 4-H robotics curriculum to help teach kids about computer programming. The computer is only going to do exactly what you tell it to do and the kids certainly learned that lesson through this very entertaining activity.

Learnings included...

* When telling an alien to get some peanut butter, make sure you tell her to open the lid.

* When telling the alien to dip the knife into the peanut butter jar, make sure you tell her to do it at an angle so peanut butter actually stays on the knife.

* If you want jelly on a different slice of bread from the peanut butter, you better tell her that too.



The club L. is participating in this year is part of a pilot program to introduce children in the Cumberland County 4-H program to the field of science and technology through robotics. It would not have been possible to start this pilot club without the generous help of the Perloff Family's Fast Grant program. The parents are very appreciative of Dave and Sandy Perloff's wonderful work in providing grants to help groups like ours!

The kids have some great equipment and software to work with this year as they explore the world of robotics. And it is really amazing to observe how quickly all of them have learned the basics of the computer programming through RoboLab (ages range from 6-12 years old in the club). L., who has never owned a set of Legos (I really have no darn good excuse why I never bought a set for her), is getting the hang of building different robot designs but is much more drawn to the programming end of things (which she got a taste for earlier this spring at UMaine).

And as all the kids in the group learn how to use the equipment and software, so are the parents. None of us have actually used the RoboLab software and have just as much as of a learning curve as the kids. Although I will admit that the younger set is getting things figured out a whole lot faster. But that's how things seem to be going this days with most technology. The younger generation is growing up with a whole new way of thinking about how to complete tasks with the technology at hand. And as tech-savvy as I may be, it's a much more natural thought process for kids today I think.

There are a variety of opportunities for kids to learn more about robotics through summer camp with the Maine Robotics program. And the Maine State First Lego League Championship being held Dec. 12 at the Augusta Civic Center can provide a great introduction to what other Maine kids are doing with robotics through their schools and other youth programs around the state.

For the parents of a child who likes to "build things," there really are some wonderful opportunities to explore in the world of robotics. You might have to drive a distance to hook up with a team (or start your own as my family did with a couple of our 4-H friends) but the benefits of hands-on engineering and technology experience is key to the future and I'm pleased that L. is so excited about it. I think these skills will serve her well in life and prepare her for the creative thinking she'll need to be successful in whatever career path she takes.

Does anyone else have a child involved in robotics here? Would love to hear about others' experiences in supporting their child's interest in this area.

The "alien" getting directions from the club members.

The kids working with the programming command icons to build a program on a magnetic board.

Writing programs with the RoboLab software to download to the robot so it can perform the sequence.

The robot designs vary greatly and the kids are starting to use lights and sensors so they can learn to program those as well as the wheel movements.

One of the robots in action.

Leadership and the group experience with 4-H

The girls and I taught Susan's new 4-H club how to use a GPS unit and play the geocaching game. I've been working with my kids for several years to find a variety of fun things we can do with the family GPS unit - from geocaching to drawing - and my girls are fairly fluent in the basics of the technology.

Every year the girls' 4-H club dedicates at least one meeting to something GPS-related and usually I'm the "teacher" for that meeting simply because I have a bit more experience with the technology than the other parents in the club (I have to qualify here that my knowledge is limited; I am definitely not an expert). I always ask my girls to be my guinea pigs so I can practice explaining each of the activities I plan to do with the club. Sometimes an activity sounds like a good idea in my head but in practice I've found things can be trickier to explain (or execute) than I expect. Once in a while my girls will assume a leadership role in a group with our GPS activities but I'm usually within earshot. If the girls get confused by a task or are asked a question they don't know the answer to, they can run over and ask me for help.

But when we heard from Susan there would be 14 kids at the geocaching meeting I had planned to teach at Wolfe's Neck Farm for her club, my strategy for teaching the group had to be tweaked. In order for each of the kids in her 4-H club to get a chance to actually use a GPS unit, we needed to break in to smaller groups. And in order to do that, I needed my girls to step up to the proverbial plate and assume a key leadership role with a group of their own.

I wasn't sure how things would go with the girls leading their own groups out in to the woods to find geocaches because I would definitely not be within earshot (we hid the geocaches prior to the club arriving and the four boxes covered about a one-mile radius). But the feedback from the parent helpers that went along with each of my girl's groups once the class was over, was that each of them managed to answer questions and explain the game and GPS unit.

This experience confirmed my believe that multi-age learning environments are great. I think both the younger kids as well as the older ones get a lot out of the experience. And based on my experience with my own children, just because the child's chronological age is one year, doesn't mean they have the educational ability and/or maturity of that particular year. My older daughter, G., has had some learning challenges that were identified when she was younger so she struggled for years to "catch up" to her chronological age in relation to her academics. While L. has not faced the same challenges academically, she has had difficulties with her physical development that had her in PT for several years at a toddler/preschooler in order to "catch up" to her chronological age in relation to physical development.

When G. was 7 I heard about 4-H and their multi-age learning opportunities and knew it was something that had the potential to work well for her and our family (even though she has always been interested in animals, she did not join an animal-based club her first years involved in the program).

The general clubs my girls have been a part of through the years have included kids that range in age from 5-19 years old. The older kids are challenged in different ways than the younger ones and the natural learning opportunities that arise from such an experience as each child grows is really wonderful.

So to watch my girls assume a leadership role with a group of children only a few years younger than themselves was immensely satisfying for me to watch. My girls seemed to simply take the knowledge they had about the GPS unit and the geocaching game and did their best to explain it to people in their group. If it hadn't been for all those 4-H kids through the years (both older and younger than mine), I'm not sure if my girls would have been as comfortable in this situation. But to them, being around kids of all ages is normal. It's what they have grown up with in 4-H.

I agree there are situations, formal school education and organized sports teams for instance, where age-specific groupings is necessary to establish order and/or level the playing field based on physical development. But when it comes to fun, youth-orientated activities outside of school and organized sports, to my way of thinking, there is a whole lot more benefit to multi-age learning environments for everyone involved (and the whole family can be involved which is also a big plus in my book, especially as it relates to the family schedule).

So I have to give a shout-out to Susan and all the kids in her club for giving my girls a wonderful leadership opportunity last week. We all had a great learning experience and were happy to be a part of helping your club start their new 4-H adventure this year!

I am sad to say that I have only two pictures from our day at the farm! My girls and I were so focused on teaching our groups, we never did pull out the camera. I did manage to snap a couple of photos with my phone at our last geocache find of the day though. My group of four boys did a great job following directions and finding all the geocaches. 

Animaniac revival for mom, kids enjoy it too

I was looking for the 50 states mnemonic song to help my girls memorize the US capitals when I ran across an Animaniacs video gem I haven't seen in years. I remember watching it back in the early 90s and totally forgot about it until L. clicked on the link to check out the video.

L. might have laughed at the general silliness of the caricatures identifying each of the presidents but there are some very funny references that had me laughing out loud (again) with a renewed appreciation for the cleverness (and semi-inappropriateness for kids that fly over their heads) of this video.

Animaniacs sing the President's Song


We watched that video three times before L. and I were distracted with other Animaniac clips on YouTube.

Animaniacs video of Wakko's 50 State Capitols song
This was the song I was originally looking for. And although this version is sung way too fast for kids to memorize initially, a print out of the lyrics can be made for the kids to sing-along.



Animaniac's Universe song
When your kids ask you who Mickey Rooney is (when they figure out the reference is a name and the characters aren't saying "macaroni" as L. first thought) and why he's in the song, you can tell them he was an actor who was barely 5-feet tall (I had to look this up because I wasn't quite sure why he was mentioned in the song either).



Animaniacs nations of the world
This video is a little grainy so L. couldn't see all the countries Yakko pointed to but she got the general gist of continent for each reference.



I also thought the video below was very clever because instead of the hazy visual of the world map in the Animaniacs actual cartoon, images of the world flags were used instead. Not that my kids could catch every one, but they got the general gist of different country flags (and used the paused button on the ones they liked).



I do have a blog in the works about an enjoyable outdoor adventure we had earlier this week teaching a new 4-H club about geocaching but I allowed myself to be distracted with the Animaniacs tonight. The kids and I laughed for an hour watching these videos and well, sometimes making time to be distracted is in actuality the best way to spend time with them.

Lipizzaner Stallion Show - big hit with girls

My animal-loving girls were hot to trot to see the Lipizzaner Stallion Show at the Civic Center this past weekend. The show was a great mix of beautiful horses, dressage and general horsemanship along with a lot of interesting historical tidbits about the Lipizzaner breed explained by the host of the show.

The girls are now eager to see the 1963 Walt Disney movie, "The Miracle of the White Stallions," which depicts the story of General George S. Patton saving the breed at the end of World War II (it's a fiction rendition but based on the true story).

The girls favorite part of the show was the, "Airs Above the Ground" segment when the horses did some jumping and rearing. The host explained that these moves were part of the classic training horses received so they could protect themselves and the riders during warfare. The girls learned the names of the manuevers - Mezaire, Courbette, Levade and Capriole - and after the demonstration, the girls were in awe of the Capriole. That's when the, "stallion leaps into the air, drawing his forelegs under his chest at the height of elevation, and kicks out violently with his hind legs."

G. was very happy to hear the host announce at the beginning of the show that although no video recording was permitted, people were welcome to take as many photos as they'd like. G. took that encouragement to heart and took tons of pictures of the horses. The lighting wasn't so great and our digital camera is not an SLR (no manual setting choices to balance the lighting issues) but G. still managed to get some nice pictures of the action. G. definitely enjoys taking photos of live-action shows (which started with the Synchro Nationals earlier this year) and told me after this show that I needed to find another event for her to attend to do this sort of photography again.

OK boss, I'll work on that.

G. took photos of the riders on the horses but this photo was more typical of her cropping choices. The horse was the focus and the rider was simply secondary.

When I took this photo I made a Tweet that G. was in her glory doing what she loved best - taking photos and being around horses.

A couple of years ago we spent a very enjoyable hour watching the Royal Canadian Mounties Musical Ride show at the Cumberland Fair. There were many more horses in that show and the focus was more on synchronized/precision riding rather than classical dressage like the Lipizzaner show. G. took video of the Mounties' show and she and her sister watched it again yesterday to compare the horse's moves between the two shows and what they liked about each one.



If you've got a horse-enthusiast in your family, taking in a horse show can be a very enjoyable experience. The kids are so genuinely excited it really can be worth the ticket price. (And thanks to the Girls Scouts of Maine, we took in the Lipizzaner show for less than $35 for both of the girls and myself with the special discount tickets they offered - and the seats were great!)

Kid Tracks Column: Off-street trails keep family bike trips easy

Even after a few of years of biking with my kids, who are now 11 and 13 years old, I am still not a fan of road riding, even when there are wide shoulders. Since I would like to enjoy myself and not stress about cars whizzing by, I have been motivated to find trails that keep my family off the motorized roadways. Luckily, we live in Maine, where there are several off-road (not to be confused with mountain biking) trails for my family to enjoy a stress-free day on two wheels.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION TRAIL, STANDISH
A formerly packed gravel trail, the 5.7 miles of the Mountain Division Trail from Standish to Windham is now paved, and offers a smooth easy ride. The 0.9-mile Jeep trail in Standish connecting the Johnson Field trail head to the Mountain Division Trail is still packed gravel, but the trail heads in Gorham and Windham have paved trail spurs. There is one big hill near Otter Pond (on the Jeep trail in Standish) that younger bikers may choose to walk their bikes up (or down) because it's a bit steep. But once at the pavement by the rails, it's a fairly level trail.

There are four road crossings from Standish to Windham, and all but one are quiet roads (one road may take a couple of minutes to cross because of fast-moving cars). There are a lot of benches at various points along the trail for water breaks and picnic lunches.

Very often, we share the trail with horses (near the Johnson Field trail head), and my kids think that makes this trail extra special. For mountain bikers, the trail continues over Route 202 in Windham to Bridge Street in Westbrook on a rough gravel surface.

TRAIL: Mountain Division Trail
LENGTH: 5.7 miles one way
TERRAIN: Paved
TOWNS: Standish, Gorham and Windham
TRAIL HEAD: Johnson Field on Route 35 in Standish, Gambo Recreational Center on Gambo Road in Windham and Shaw Park on Route 237 in Gorham.
BATHROOM: Porta-potty at each trail head
DOG-FRIENDLY: Yes, on a leash.
FUN STOP: The Blue Seal store at the end of the trail on Route 202 in Windham usually has a resident animal in the store (depending on the time of year, it could be baby chicks, bunnies, a lamb, dog or cat). There are also some tasty candy caramels at the counter that are worth the sweet indulgence after a fun ride with the family.
13-YEAR-OLD: "I really like the new pavement. It is sooo easy to ride on now. I also like seeing the horses on this trail. It's pretty easy except for the giant hill before the railroad tracks. I really like this trail."
11-YEAR-OLD: "This trail used to be a looooong ride but with the pavement it doesn't feel so long. I like to see the horses and I like to look at the river. I am also happy I can visit the Blue Seal store because they always have animals to visit. And me and my mom and my sister really like the caramels they sell there."

Mountain Division Trail - 2009


GREENBELT TRAIL, SOUTH PORTLAND
This urban trail requires more "stop and go" than other trails we've visited because of the many street crossings. Even though most were in quiet, residential areas with no cars in sight, my husband and I feel it is simply good policy when riding with the kids to stop and look both ways before crossing every street.

There are two major intersections – one at Mill Creek (Broadway and Route 77) and the other on Broadway and Evans Street. The first time we rode this trail, we found one part a bit confusing simply because we are not very familiar with the city. The off-the-road trail ends at Pearl Street with no trail markers to confirm that you follow Chestnut Street (we did spot a small arrow on the road at the end of Pearl Street veering to the left, so we knew which way to go). We continued along the road for a short time before we picked up the trail again.

Not a big deal, but be aware there is a short section of on-the-road riding on a quiet street. The diversity of sights along this trail is fun – from a view of the water and lovely backyard gardens (the trail abuts quite a few homes) to the woods and open fields. And Mill Creek Park and Bug Light are great spots for a picnic lunch.

TRAIL: Greenbelt Trail, which is part of the East Coast Greenway
LENGTH: 5.7 miles one way
TERRAIN: Paved
TOWN: South Portland
TRAIL HEAD: Bug Light Park, Madison Street (off Broadway) in South Portland
BATHROOM: There are businesses with public bathrooms along the route.
DOG-FRIENDLY: Yes, on a leash.
FUN STOP: There is a grocery store, fast-food chain (with ice cream shakes) and other stores to purchase sweet treats and drinks just off the trail in the Mill Creek area, which can be handy when you need an additional incentive with your young riders.
13-YEAR-OLD: "I like how the pavement is smooth. You can hear a lot of birds on this trail. I like seeing Bug Light and taking pictures of the ducks and birds at the pond at Mill Creek. There are a lot of places where you have to cross the street so you have to stop, then go a lot. I don't like that too much but it is OK."
11-YEAR-OLD: "I like this trail because I can see lots of birds like cranes and sea gulls. I like seeing all the mallard ducks at the pond (at Mill Creek Park) too. And the trail is wide so I can bike next to my mom. I like to visit Bug Light because I can run to the lighthouse and touch it and look over the edge at the water."

South Portland Greenbelt Trail


KENNEBEC RIVER RAIL TRAIL, AUGUSTA
This 6.5-mile trail runs through the towns of Augusta, Hallowell, Farmingdale and Gardiner. We typically use the Capitol City Park in Augusta trail head. In Hallowell's business district, my family opts to walk our bikes because this portion of the trail is on the road.

The kids enjoy the window shopping and wood carvings before resuming our ride on the trail just outside the village. This short walk makes for a nice break from the bike seats. There is a semi-steep hill in Hallowell that my kids climb fairly easily by managing their gears, but kids riding bikes without gears may opt to walk up the short hill instead. At the end of the trail in Gardiner, there is a shopping plaza with plenty of bathroom options and a bench in a small grassy area to sit and eat lunch.

TRAIL: Kennebec River Rail Trail
LENGTH: 6.5 miles one way
TERRAIN: Mostly paved (about half a mile between Augusta and Hallowell is packed gravel)
TOWNS: Augusta, Hallowell, Farmingdale, Gardiner
TRAIL HEAD: There are several access points. Capital City Park in Augusta and Hannaford shopping plaza on Route 24 in Gardiner are the main points of entry with plenty of parking.
BATHROOM: There are nearby businesses at both trail heads that have public bathrooms. There are also some in downtown Hallowell.
DOG-FRIENDLY: Yes, on a leash.
FUN STOP: There are several interesting shops in downtown Hallowell, including stops for sweets and ice cream. My kids will also tell you that stopping at the Hi-Hat (diner) for onion rings and fries is a must.
13-YEAR-OLD: "I like the bike path because it is smooth. I also like passing by all the pretty shops in Hallowell."
11-YEAR-OLD: "The pavement is easy to ride on and I like the railroad track crossings. I like the wooden bridge with the brook under it. I also like stopping for onion rings at the Hi-Hat Diner!"

Kennebec River Rail Trail


Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram Sun., November 1, 2009

Kid Tracks Column: The best plans are flexible

Sometimes a day starts out on a downward slope and picks up speed as the day progresses. That was the kind of day I had when the kids and I planned our biking trip to Lake Auburn.

We took a friend's suggestion to bike the trail at Lake Auburn and ran into a few snafus that started with us not getting on the road on time.

First I couldn't find the strap for the bike rack.

Then I realized the car's fuel gauge was on empty and I needed gas.

Then I saw that both my bike tires were flat when the kids rolled it out of the shed.

I'm a glass half-full type so I figured a trip to the gas station could not only fill up the car tank, but the bike tires as well and that all would be fine once we actually got on the road. I secured the bikes on the car rack with the strap I did manage to track down in the basement and printed out driving directions to the trail head in Auburn.

The directions seemed straight forward but I am familiar with the city of Auburn in only one way – driving to Mt. Apatite (the kids' favorite spot to mine for gems). What I did not anticipate was a road work detour that threw me off course and had me driving in circles before I figured out where I had taken a wrong turn.

The kids were mostly silent in the backseat while I was navigating our misguided way to Lake Auburn because they have learned to keep their comments to themselves rather than face a snippy mother while she's driving. Their lessons started as preschoolers when they had a tendency to voice their backseat driving thoughts. I did not find it all that cute then and I still don't have a very good sense of humor when I hear the, “You should have gone the other way instead” from the child who still has trouble finding a favorite toy, in plain site, on her own bedroom floor. Sometimes kids need a little perspective and I'm all too happy to offer some when I'm stressed about driving to a new location. Hence, the girls have learned to keep their mouths zipped in the backseat.

It was not that Lake Auburn's trail head was actually all that hard to find but there are some slight bends in the roads and unless you're paying attention to the changing street names (the last road changes name before you get to the trail head), or are familiar with the city of Auburn, you could get off track.

My missed turns only set us back about 15 minutes from our original plan but with clouds looming we unloaded the bikes quickly so we could hit the trail to get our ride in before the rain started.

The girls liked the rocky trail even though it was not graded like most of the other trails we have ventured on. Comments about “fun bumps” on this trail had me thinking that we should give a beginner mountain biking trail a whirl sometime soon.

The changing leaves on trees around the lake made this a really nice spot to take in the fall colors, and we enjoyed a great ride for about a mile and a half. Then we ran into a “Men Working” sign and large logging trucks blocking the trail. It was not passable and we were forced to turn around and head back to the car.

The kids were not overly disappointed with the shortened trip since it meant they could get to the nearby Wallingford's Fruit Stand for donuts and hot apple cider (a promised treat after our ride) that much faster.

I chalked the whole experience up to a day that I should have just spent at home. My stars were simply not aligned for an outdoor adventure. But the glass half-full side of me reflected that at least we didn't encounter to any leeches (Lake Auburn is actually a public drinking water supply so no bodily contact is permitted anyhow) or poison ivy. Nor were we swarmed by yellow jackets. (We've had “incidents” with each of these things previously).

Maybe I had a couple of small lucky stars on my side after all.

KID'S TRAIL REVIEW OF LAKE AUBURN
The 13-year-old: "I liked the trail. It had a nice view of the lake. There were a lot of bumps but they were fun bumps to go over on my bike. It was a good biking trail if you have been biking for a while. But if you are new at biking, this is not a trail you should go on yet. The bumps can be rough at some points. But it is a fun biking place overall. The donut place (Wallingford's) was close to this trail and those donuts were really good."

The 11-year-old: "The trail was bumpy and had a lot of little hills. It was a little too hilly for me because I haven't ridden my bike much this year and my legs got tired. But then we had to stop because they were logging (on the trail) but that was OK. I didn't mind going early to get donuts."

Biking at Lake Auburn

Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine, November 2009

Biking on new improved Mt Division Trail

The past few days have been ideal fall weather so my family took advantage of the warmth and sun to do some biking. On Sunday we hit the Mountain Division Trail because we'd heard about its latest improvement project - paving the formerly packed gravel surface - and wanted to check it out.

We started at the Standish trail head at Johnson Field and took the jeep trail (which is still packed gravel) to the rail road tracks where the Mountain Division Trail (and pavement) starts. We had only planned to bike a couple of miles to check things out but it was such a smooth easy ride, before we knew it we were at the end of it at Route 202 in Windham (about 5 1/2 miles).

It had been a while since we'd biked the full distance of this trail and were happy to realize it now extends all the way to the Blue Seal store on Rt 202 (actually if you've got a mountain bike you can tackle a rougher surface path all the way to Bridge Street in Westbrook).

But Blue Seal is a favorite stop for my crew, which is a good thing because we saw a whole lot more of the store this past year buying pig feed. There always seems to be an animal resident there for the kids to visit and depending on the time of year, that animal friend might be a lamb, baby chicks, a bunny or a cat or dog. During my weekly visits to the store this past year I also discovered some very tasty candy caramels at the counter, strategically placed so you can't resist the creamy gooey sweets for 50 cents a piece. Since I've never been able to resist anything with caramel, let's just say I ate a lot of caramel squares this past summer.

So even if my crew needed more incentive than pavement, a visit to the feed store is an added inducement to bike the length of this trail.

Per usual we had our various family antics, from L's biking fashion sense that includes tucking her pants in to her knee socks to Fino's bike "tricks" of skidding and spinning his bike around (and other stuff the girls and I have no interest in emulating).

And when we passed our cross country ski club's "favorite hill" on the way back to the Standish trail head, we commented on how long it would be before we'd be on our cross country skis here. The consensus was that would likely be sometime in November. But based on the recent Indian Summer weather, maybe that's too pessimistic a view for the late fall this year.

Either way though, we still have a few weeks of biking weather in us before we put away the 2-wheels and pull out the skis... or at least I hope we do!


Here's a map of the trail I made with my GPS unit so you can get a feel for the trail.

Mountain Division Trail - 2009 at EveryTrail