Cross Bow

Cross Bow

We’ve been studying Leonardo da Vinci’s crossbow design. So naturally my youngest son wanted to purchase a toy crossbow. His dad suggested he make one. Søren mulled it over for a few days then whipped out his design at the…

Basho Haiku

Basho Haiku

Basho wandered by foot through medieval Japan, kept a diary of his journeys—prose woven with haiku. There is sublime simplicity in the poet’s observations:  A hundred years! All here in the garden in these fallen leaves  With plum blossom scent,…

A Bike of His Own

A Bike of His Own

Fixed gear bicycles are all the rage in our neighborhood. I think this means that the bike can’t coast because the bike’s crank and the rear wheel are dependent of each other. What is so great about that? I mean…

Foiled

Foiled

The year I moved back to LA the first thing I did was pack the kids in the car and head to art museums. I had been teaching art for years, but here I was in LA, an art hub…

LEGO Learning

LEGO Learning

Building with LEGOs is academic. I have witnessed my boys following complex directions, engaging in problem solving and demonstrating critical thinking for hours upon end as they engage with LEGOs. When we pour two enormous tubs onto the wool rug…

A House of Many Hats

A House of Many Hats

For the past fifteen years, three (sometimes more) days a week my home is transformed to a co-operative home school! It is tricky for a house to wear many hats but ours has become an expert. We utilize every inch…

When Work Becomes Meaningful

When Work Becomes Meaningful

Taylor began tackling a concerto back in October. The process of moving from notes on a page to music was grueling, not only for him but for all the inhabitants of our home. For the piece to resemble music, he…

Inventions

Inventions

Yesterday I followed a a trail of foil scraps to the table. The tape dispenser was snickering up at me. “Oh Søren…what’s this?” “A weapon.” Okay, I have to admit, Da Vinci would be proud.

Poetic Justice

Poetic Justice

Cloe was a budding poet from the time she could hold a pencil and has grown into a teenager who poetically describes the value of cultivating imagination. boldness fuels creativitylonging for its sweet honeydreaming of liberationimaginationdrowned in a stagnant poolis…

June Bug in July

June Bug in July

Today I gave Søren the job of dusting window sills. Quick as lightening. “All done Mom.” “Great, thanks buddy.” About an hour later, concerned by a large slice of silence, I wandered into the kitchen and discovered my son at…