Monday, February 06, 2012
Friday, February 03, 2012
Inventions on the mind
Last night while driving home from Emmet's karate class through the blizzard he asked me how fast I was going. I told him 25 mph and he pointed out that the sign said the speed limit was 35 mph. I explained to him that the signs post the maximum speed limit and that conditions like ice and snow make it necessary to sometimes go slower. After a minute or so of silence he asked me why they don't put computers in the signs to change the numbers when it isn't safe to go that fast. We spent the rest of the drive home thinking of ways that the signs would know what the outside conditions were and how the computer would know when to change the numbers. So why don't they have smart signs?
How its made
I think I've blogged about this in the past, because it was Emmet's favorite show waaaaaaaaay back when...the show "How its made".
http://science.discovery.com/videos/how-its-made-mini-episodes-vehicles-and-parts/#fbid=yHSdE2JVg8H
Basically, its a glimpse into the mostly industrial production of the things that surround us. The boys don't get to watch too much TV, but this is one that we just re-discovered on Netflix and it usually wins out over some of the sillier shows they watch, like the old Pink Panther cartoons. Right now they're seeing how fig cookies are made and the narrator asked "do you ever wonder how they get that fig filling into the seamless pastry crust?" Next on deck is tool boxes. My favorite is the one on prosthetic eyes. A few weeks ago after a particularly riveting episode Emmet told his mom he'd like to see an episode about how people are made. I don't think we get that channel. (Ah, now I see that Leslie has blogged about this very thing a few entries down while I was away...oh well, its worth the repetition)
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Learning like lightning
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Finn and I were talking in the car today and he informed me he wanted to “study cars” when he grew up. I suggested maybe he could design cars, but he said he just wanted lots of cars, not to design anything. I suggested maybe instead he should be a furry animal vet. “Then,” I said, “if a kitty accidentally eats a golf ball you could go in and get the golf ball out.”
“But Mom!” he said, “I am really big!”
“Yes you are.” I said.
“But I won’t fit in the kitties mouth!”
Maybe the car thing really isn’t such a bad idea.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
How it's Made
Emmet loves the cool show “How its Made” which features industrial factories and machinery of all kinds. Last week he watched one about a chicken plant that farmed eggs and "made chickens". The next morning he said, “I’d like to see one where they make people.” My list of my clever comebacks just piles up, so wasted on the young!
Hanging in there
So begins our second week without Dad, weeks that are surely harder on him than on us, though we really miss him. This week he is in Indiana and should have some good pictures of the cave work when he gets home.
The boys are doing great, fighting like cats in a bag, but also finding more in common as Finn grows up a bit and (most importantly) starts being interested in Lego’s. Finn is doing his “boundary-pushing” thing that apparently all 4-year-olds must do, but still he manages to be the funniest person in the house. He really loves school and today brought his excellent teacher Mrs. Horn a cherry yogurt because “she likes all kinds of food.” Last week I was informed that two girls got into a fight over him (uh-oh) but he seems more interested in his new best buddy, Chet.
Emmet doesn’t admit to loving school, but seems to be thriving anyway. I helped out in his classroom today and he was put into my small reading group with his friend Jackson. They finished their work, but had to write how they would try harder to “do their best work” next time. They both wrote “NOT BE SILLY!!!” on their papers. That, I would like to see…
Emmet really wants an "Entendo D.S."
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
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