Thursday, September 25, 2014

Non Intrusive Learning

Snapshots from yesterday - 

I bought this book last Friday at an independently owned bookstore in Johnson (I am trying to support small local businesses, but books are really hard for me because there is usually at least a 30% difference in price between Amazon.  But then again, a book store on Main Street with a real person to talk with, real books to look through, I think the extra money is worth it.)

Anyway, I was looking through it at lunch and Sarah was interested in looking at it herself the minute she read the title.  She spent the better part of the next hour or so figuring out how the book was set up ("oh they are alphabetical mom", she informs me as I am cleaning out the side barn).  She grabbed her side kick, Abe, and off they went foraging.   One thing we have a lot of on our property is cattails (which you saw the other day - oh, we also learned that cattail fluff does not make a good pillow stuffing - worms, little white ones - yeck!).  So she pulled one up and cut off the root and boiled it and tasted it.  She told me it was ok - not bad, not great, but ok.
I, of course, noticed the nice brown water it left after boiling and tried to dye some yarn, but it didn't take.




Sarah collected some leaves while she was outside to do some rubbings.



Abe relaxing after doing some spinning - surely his brain is spinning too.



Abby made these rabbit toys.  She took two maple branch slices and drilled 6 evenly space holes in each (she had to divide fractions) and then hammered down the dowels.

I am working on documenting what goes on each day so I don't forget that lots of good stuff really does happen without my interference but with my support.

3 comments:

  1. (I apologize if this is a duplicate. I seem to be having problems this morning.). I seek out independent, local businesses even if I spend a bit more, because I don't want them to go away. What is sad, that in my town, which is a resort town with a population of about 200,00+ in the off season has only one bookstore, and it is a big box store. Fortunately, we have a vibrant thrift store culture, with any used books. In fact Goodwill has a stand alone book store, set up like any other bookstore.

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  2. I have been watching Abbies you tube she is doing a great job! I love seeing her rabbits. Are you going to start selling her rabbit toys?

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  3. We try to support small local restaurants especially. We are empty nesters and so we now eat out a bit and really prefer to give our money to those who are not big business. Besides, the food is tons better.

    We have an Amazon distribution center about 4 miles from our house. So, we always think they are little bit local since they employ many hundreds in our town.

    My nephew came to visit years ago and went into our woods to see what we had to eat. He came back up to the house and said he could live in our woods just fine. Later my husband said, 'Live on what?' He is now Army special ops and they could not teach him a thing he did not already know. He was always learning on his own because (public) school bored him silly.

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