The 8-Year-Old

 About a week after we got home from our trip, and way before I was actually ready, it was Hazel's birthday.  Ed's parents and sister flew in that day for a week-long visit, so I feel like the first part of her day got slighted by my frantic efforts to ready the house. But we did manage some blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

 And her friends the Strattons popped by to sing to her.

For dinner we had her favorite - KFC chicken and biscuits.  Banana cream pie for dessert.

And then it was kind of over.  But at the same time, it lasted all week.  The next day was an Easter egg hunt at a park with some friends.  Then the next day, Ed took the day off and we all went to Mount Vernon with our visitors.  Then Saturday, was Hazel's baptism.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, children may be baptized on or after their eighth birthday.  We've been preparing for this day in our family scripture and gospel study for awhile, and Hazel understands what baptism means, and what it's for.  It's a big milestone.  I was a wreck.

We sent out invitations before our trip.  We lined up the speakers, prayers, and musicians.  Printed the program.  Brought tablecloths and cupcake stands for the refreshments.  The white dress we bought a year ago even fit perfectly. 

Many people graciously attended - friends from Church, extended family, even some of our neighbors.  Everything went beautifully.

This is my favorite picture.  The water was pretty cold.

Hazel had invited her whole class from school.  I had included a note to parents with the invitation, to explain as much as possible what it would be like, and to invite their whole families.  Hazel told me when she was changing, that she was "heartbroken" none of them had come.  I had been afraid of that; I don't personally know many of the parents.  But one important person did come, which meant so much to all of us: Hazel's teacher, Ms. Betts. 

The program was brief and beautiful, then there was a flurry of hugs and conversations over cupcakes afterwards.  Then it was over.  Everyone was gone.  We cleaned up, and went out for a family dinner.  When we got home, I had to switch gears to Easter, and get everyone's baskets ready, and start planning Easter dinner. 

I think in the future, I would not prefer to have a birthday, and family event, and house guests, and a big holiday, all in one week, and just after arriving home from a major trip.  It was a lot of work for me, and did not allow me time to process it, on my own or with Hazel. 

I haven't even done an 8-year-old interview with her, and she's already back at school.  Which means I see so little of her, and when I do, it's a lot of nagging about homework, and now also thank-you notes for her birthday gifts.  But I can say a few things to describe her at this age.

Hazel has always had a very active imagination, and she spends a lot of time daydreaming and pretending.  She has been interested in magical things for awhile - dragons and fairies and such, and our family's reading of Harry Potter has helped fuel the interest.  When she disappears in the house, it's up to her bedroom; she sits on her bed with several books open about wizards and magic, and several dolls, mostly Groovy Girls, and she delves deep into imaginings. 

Back in the real world, Hazel likes to laugh and talk loudly, ride her bike, and play rough games with her sisters, mostly Poppy, who is rougher than Ginger.  She loves science, and cooking, and has said for a long time now that she wants to become a pastry chef.  However, in the kitchen she is easily distracted, and it's tricky to keep her focused.  She also has a fascination with skin problems, like rashes and calluses.

She excels at school and has a highly active social life there; some friends have even started calling her at night.  She tells me everyone likes her and says she's the smartest one at school.  Of course I found this boastful and exaggerated, until I talked to her teacher and found it to be true.  Even when I took cupcakes in after spring break, for her birthday, many of her classmates told me things like, "Hazel's so smart, I wish I could think like her," and "Hazel's the prettiest, smartest girl I know."  Some of the girls even asked me directly if they could come to my house for a playdate with Hazel.  Having not been popular this way in school myself, I don't know how to react to it. 

Homework continues to be a struggle for Hazel, and therefore our relationship.  Not that it's hard, but that it's hard for her to focus at 4 p.m. after being in school all day.  Hazel needs time to imagine, think, and play.  I hate to spend that hour, or two, or three, constantly redirecting her.  Luckily, only ten and a half weeks of school are left. 

Hazel and Poppy currently share a room; Ginger has her own, next door.  When Ed's parents were here, we gave Ginger's room to his sister, and Ginger slept with Hazel in her bed.  After they left, she has kept sleeping with Hazel.  I keep checking with Hazel, to make sure she doesn't mind.  She is cheerful and says she likes it; she says having Ginger there keeps her from having nightmares.  That said, those two bicker like an old married couple, or like...sisters. 

It's easy for Ed and I to be hard on Hazel, for things both big and small.  One, she's the oldest, so our expectations are high.  Two, she's not overly sensitive to criticism like Ginger is, so we ride her because we can.  Three, she's boisterous, which is generally harmless, but can be annoying, so sometimes we lash out at her for that.  We are trying to watch that more carefully.  Our biggest complaint, and source of aggravation with Hazel, is her failure to pay attention.  This may be in the form of not obeying something we say, either because she didn't hear, or didn't process it.  Or searching for something and not finding it even when it's right under her nose.  Or not following through on something she started, like putting her art supplies away, or only partially unloading the dishwasher.  We know this about her, and that getting mad doesn't help.  We are trying to find other ways of dealing with it that will.

But mostly, Hazel is happy and fun.  Her enthusiasm and curiosity cheer me up, as does the bridge of freckles across her nose and cheeks.  She loves to eat, loves to play, and loves loves to socialize.  I love her so much.

First Day of School 2012

Aren't they something?  And so big!  After drooling over the new fall catalogs that have already arrived, I decided to go frugal this year.  Neither of them are up a size, the season hasn't changed, and they both have loads of cute clothes from last Christmas or birthdays.  And their shoes and backpacks are still perfectly good.

Ginger's shirt & cardie - Old Navy; belt - Walmart; skirt - Gap, last winter; polkie socks - Boden; sneaks - Zappos

Hazel's dress - Downeast Basics; sneaks - Zappos

Telling abut their clothes is the easy part.  I cried for two days leading up to school.  Then, the morning of, I woke with a weighted feel of dread I could not escape.  I truly did not want to take them somewhere and start not seeing them all day.  Even though the day was cloudy, I wore sunglasses to hide my red eyes. 

We walked there and dropped them off; the whole school was in chaos, it seemed.  Especially the kindergarten hall, where busy dressed-for-work parents were smothering their new kindies with advice and kisses, and trying to get spastic bodies to hold still for pictures.  Others were trying to extricate themselves from terrified, crying five-year-olds at the classroom doors.  Hazel had already made a speedy departure at the staircase; second graders are upstairs and she was anxious to join those ranks.  Ginger and I were a bit stunned by the masses when we turned the hall, and spent our energy on navigating the traffic jam outside her door rather than an emotional good-bye.  But once Poppy and I were back outside, on the long, slow walk back home alone, the floodgates opened, and never really closed again for a few days. 

I hated the second day as much as the first.  By that afternoon I'd talked myself into looking into homeschooling.  Frankly, it's still not off the table.  But my motivation is 99% selfish.  And that night at dinner, as if on cue, Hazel spontaneously exclaimed, "I LOVE being back at school!"  With Ginger heartily nodding her second. 

Don't even think Poppy and I are living the high life, with "just one" kid.  I'm still running the same errands I did with three, or two, plus a few I've been putting off.  If anything, I am getting more work done around the house...a little more.  Last Wednesday I spent 4 hours cleaning, including scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees, washer-woman style.  Not the easiest task with a 2-year-old who wants to "help", but satisfying in its own occasional way.  I've been babysitting for a friend, taking other friends with new babies meals and company, folding laundry eternally, catching up on the bills and budget, and a few other little projects that just need to get done.  Truth be told, I'd rather have my girls.  But I'm trying to use my time well.

I've learned by now you can't get a straight story of "what happened at school today" just by asking.  Most of the stories that trickle home are about the drama and games that happen on the playground.  Occasionally I get an anecdote from specials.  But almost nothing from the homeroom.  So the other night, I came out and asked Ginger, "What do you think of Ms. W?"  I wanted to know what's going on in her classroom.  "Well, she's really nice, but she's fierce with the boys."  Good, I like Ms. W.  To Hazel, "Tell me about Ms. B."  "I really like her because she gives us a writing prompt each day and I love to write them."  I like her, too.  That'll have to do until Back to School night, and later this month, parent/teacher conferences.  In the meantime, I get them going in the morning, pick them up in the afternoon, and try to enjoy the time we have.

Summer Fun Club 10

 I recently read Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman.  And since I'll probably never get around to writing a proper review, I'll give my two-cent version here.  I liked it.  It was a good, and fun, read - don't know when I last, if ever, actually finished a parenting book, but this was like half-memoir, part parenting, part cultural study.  I at times felt self-conscious, but never actually bad, about my own parenting, so that helped me get through.  It certainly gave me some food for thought, and I found bits of wisdom here and there that I would like to adopt and integrate into our own admittedly-American family.  In particular, back freaking off and give the kids some autonomy.  Sage, indeed!

So that's what we did for Summer Fun Club one day last week.  Ginger was on a special trip with Ed, so it was just us three girls.  In Bébé, Druckerman tells how French families seem to bake together every weekend, and how French children can bake many things on their own, particularly a Gâteau au Yaourt (Yogurt Cake.)  Hmpf.  Not to be outdone by any Frenchie dans la cuisine, and already a little ashamed that I haven't taught my girls more about baking, I decided my 7-year-old can absolutment make a cake that apparently any French 3-year-old can whip up.


I helped by laying out ingredients and equipment, and offering tips as we went, but Hazel made this cake entirely, from start to finish, by herself, with a little "help" from Poppy.

Yogurt

Eggs - she's so careful with the shells!

Sugar

Vanilla

 

Oil

 

Flour

Baking Powder

Add dry ingredients

Chocolate Chips

Licking

Clean up

See this post for the full recipe and pictures of the finished Gâteau!

Snapshot

Hazel is really into cooking.  Really.  She currently wants to be a pastry chef and seems to have an insatiable appetite for watching, helping, and learning from me in the kitchen.  We never seemed to have enough time for that during the school year, but we're going to boost her skill set and experience as much as possible this summer.  On that note, here's the conversation we just had this evening.
****

Hazel - "Mom, you know what I want for Christmas or whatever the closest gift holiday is, which is Christmas?"

What.

"A cooking set.  And I want you to sign me up for cooking classes."

What's in "a cooking set?"

"A bowl, a whisk, a wooden spoon, teaspoons, tablespoons, measuring cups, and, if you think I can handle it, a filter."

What's a "filter?"

"Not the thing that has the little holes, but the thing that we squeezed the lemons to make lemonade."

Strainer (not colander.)

"Right."

What kind of cooking classes do you want to take?

"I want to take gourmet cooking classes." (pronounced GER-met)

How do you know that word?

"I read it in The Fran with Four Brains.  She took germet cooking classes."

What does that word mean?

"I don't know.  I just read it.  But I think it means serious cooking.  What does it mean?"

That's pretty good.  It does mean serious cooking.  And fancy.  And sometimes difficult.

"Aah, that's 'germet.'"

Ginger - "Are you guys talking about Kermit the frog over there?!"

"Ginger, no, GER-met.  It means difficult."

What kind of things do you want to learn how to cook?

"A Thanksgiving turkey,
seafood,
every kind of bread,
about every kind of dessert,
and something like stuffing.
Ice cream,
pumpkin chocolate chip muffins by myself (without your help, Mama.)
And that's pretty much all."

****
It's like a dream come true, in daughter form.  I know the county offers all kinds of cooking classes; I've taken a few.  She's totally old enough to do one with me, especially a baking one, like cupcakes.  And she also wants me to shop for her at a cooking store. Christmas for Hazel, DONE.

Easter Girls

How to Throw a Science Party

 Hazel's turning seven tomorrow and last Saturday we had her party.  She knew for a long time she wanted a science party.  So I called my science teacher friend and she pointed me in a few good directions.  I found a few good ideas on the internet, spent about a month planning and gathering what was needed, and it turned out a smashing success.  Here's what we did.

INVITATION: see above.  I put one of Ed's white shirts on her backwards, messed up her hair, and told her to look crazy for about 30 shots.  Then I picked a good one, off-centered it, and added text with Picasa.  Had prints done at Target and mailed them out to the invitees.  We were going to add googly eyes to her face, but I liked it the way it was.

RESOURCES: I got all the experiment ideas from Steve Spangler's science website, which is awesome.  I also bought a few supplies from him - some"baby soda bottles" (test tubes with racks), Insta-snow, safety goggles, and green slime kit.  Everything else we needed I either had at home or could pick up at Target, like Alka-seltzer, plastic bottles, Q-tips, etc.

 We also went to a thrift store and got everyone a white or gray men's shirt for their "lab coat", which they also got to keep and wear home if they wanted.

DECORATIONS:...are not my forté, so we keep it simple.  Hazel chose red, gray and white for her colors, so we did streamers, balloons, and a Happy Birthday sign from Target.  Red plastic tablecloth for the experiments, pink for the eating.  Plain clear plastic cups and plates for the treats. 

THE PARTY:  When everyone arrived, they put on a lab coat and came to the table.  We had an opening activity as guests arrived, five experiments, cake & ice cream, then one final experiment.  The party was 2 hours long.  We would have opened gifts if there was time, but we ran out so Hazel opened them later.

We had eight guests including Hazel and Ginger, and three adults - my brother came and we were grateful for an extra pair of helping hands.  And one of the moms stayed and took most of these pictures - thank you so much for that!

Opening Activity:

The opening activity was scratch art - I got this pack from Amazon.  The pack only came with one scratch tool, but luckily I had some sharpened sticks in the back of a cupboard that had come in a bag of caramels to make caramel apples.  You could also use a pencil or maybe a toothpick.  We cut them into strips so the kids could make bookmarks to take home, which also went with the books they received in their favor bags.

Experiments
Next came the experiments.  The most important thing here was to have everything measured and ready to go so you don't lose the kids' attention.  Each one took roughly 15 minutes.  Ed and I had to talk through the party game plan several times Friday and Saturday so we would be a well-oiled team for the party, and miraculously, it worked!  We also made sure we had a 2-sentence simple explanation to explain each experiment and how it worked.

And before we started the experiments we laid out the most important rule: DON'T PUT ANYTHING IN YOUR MOUTH.  Just to be safe.  But all the experiments were pretty tame and safe anyway.

#1 Instant Snow

 We gave everyone a plastic bowl and stirring stick, then I poured 1 tsp of snow powder into their bowls.  We asked them to guess what would happen when we poured water in it.  Some thought the powder would dissolve - smart 1st graders!  We gave each a test tube of water (2 oz.) and told them to pour in the water all at once and watch it carefully.  It expanded immediately into "snow"!

The kids were amazed and we explained that the powder is like millions of tiny sponges.  Then we poured their white snow into Ziploc bags and refilled the test tubes.  I gave everyone another teaspoon of powder and a test tube of water and this time they put a few drops of food coloring in, then poured water on to make colored snow.

 

 

 They played with it a bit and we discussed how it was similar and different from real snow.  Then we poured it in their bags with their white snow, sealed it up, and they put them in their favor bags which were on a table nearby, labeled with their names.

#2 Bubbling Lava Lamps

 For this one, we gave everyone a 16-oz. bottle filled 2/3 with vegetable oil.  Then we gave them a Dixie cup of water and a funnel and asked what they thought would happen when they poured it in.  Most knew water and oil don't mix.  But it was fun to watch it sort of bubble as the water went to the bottom.

 Then I had them guess what would happen when we added food coloring.  They weren't sure.  So we added some and gently swirled the bottles.  It only colored the water.

 Next we gave them all a small piece of an Alka-Seltzer tablet and watched what happened when they dropped it in - it sank to the bottom and caused bubbles of colored water to float through the oil to the top, where they "popped", releasing carbon dioxide, and then sank back to the bottom.  Just like a lava lamp!  We put the lids on tight and put them in their favor bags.

#3 Slime

You cannot have a mad science party without green slime!

 Ed and I tried all the experiments ourselves at night the week leading up to the party.  And this one was his favorite - he was like a little kid playing with it.  Slime is pretty cool.

We used Steve Spangler's slime kit for this - gave each child a bowl, stirrer, Dixie cup of green stuff, and Dixie cup of clear stuff.  We talked about solids and liquids and they all agreed both solutions were liquids.  So we figured if we poured them together we would also get a liquid.

But after a minute or so of stirring, it gelled up and became slime.  The kids were amazed and thrilled.

 Ed demonstrated how slime has properties of both liquid and solid, so it is both, or neither.

 The kids played with the slime for a long, long time, discovered all kinds of things you can do with it - stretch it, flatten it, roll it, bounce it, etc.  We let them play as long as they wanted.  Then we put them in baggies and put them in their favor bags to take home.

How do you like Hazel's mad scientist wig?  I had to dig around in the dress-ups packed away at my Mom's house for this classic.

#4 Color-Changing Milk

 For this, we gave everyone a paper plate with a rim and poured in some whole milk.  Then the adults came around and dropped four different colors of food coloring close together in the center.  The kids dipped a dry Q-tip into the center and pulled it out.  Not much happened.

 Then they dipped another Q-tip into Dawn soap and placed it back into the center of the milk.  The colors swirled out and around like crazy!

 They could place the soapy tip wherever there was concentrated food coloring and it would go crazy.  Everyone was amazed.

#5 Sink or Float

After the milk, everyone left the table and joined me in the living room for our next activity, where I had a clear bin of water and a variety of objects on the table.  I gave everyone a worksheet with three columns: "Object", "Prediction", "Result".  In the "Prediction" and "Result" columns, each row contained the words "Sink" and "Float".

One at a time, a child came up and chose an item off the table.  Everyone wrote down what it was, and circled whether they thought it would sink or float.  Then that child put it in and we circled our results.  It was fun because some were easy to predict and some results were surprising.  

 

Can you guess what each would do?

 

 I'll tell you in case you're wondering.
SINK: metal spoon, lime (sometimes), cotton ball, penny, regular soda, plastic fork (if dropped in vertically)
FLOAT: straw, lemon, lime (sometimes), sponge, bag of dried beans, diet soda, rubber duck, plastic fork (if placed horizontally)

 

Treat Break

While we were doing "Sink or Float", Ed and Dave cleared the table, including the table cloth which was pretty goopy from all the experiments.  They put on a clean disposable table cloth, and set it with plates, cups and napkins.  For dessert we had confetti cupcakes (from a mix) with strawberry buttercream (homemade, our favorite!) and gummy brains on top.  Also banana split ice cream and Hawaiian punch with dry ice in it.

 

 

 While they were eating, I had one child at a time come over by the door, where they put on safety glasses, the wig if they wanted, and held a test tube, and I took their picture with Hazel.  We are going to have them printed and send each child this picture with our thank-you note.  I told them all to look like mad scientists.  Some just smiled, but some got very into character.  Here's Ginger with Hazel:

#6 "Elephant Toothpaste"

This was our BIG FINALE experiment, very dramatic and mad-science-y.  Every child got a metal pan, a plastic bottle with 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide in it, and a Dixie cup with 1 tsp of dry active yeast.  I went around and added a drop of Dawn dish soap to each bottle, then told the kids to add any color food coloring they wanted.  Then I came around and added 2 T warm water to their yeast and had them stir it until dissolved.  Some of the kids (including Hazel, thanks to some baking lessons at home) knew that yeast eats sugar and expands.  But we didn't have sugar in this solution so it just mixed.

I gave everyone the following instructions:
When I say "GO", put your funnel in your bottle, pour your yeast mixture in, pull your funnel out, and put your hand on the side of the bottle.  Watch what happens and notice how it feels.  GO!

In the back center pan (brown-haired girl), she is just pouring her yeast in but it hasn't hit yet.  In the far left, his yeast has just hit and is just starting to foam.  Front center went before the other two and it is foaming and rising.

 And this is why it's called elephant toothpaste - because it foams up and overflows and looks like big thick toothpaste being squeezed from a tube.

 The kids were dazed and amazed.  The reason I told them to touch the bottle is because it would be very warm.  Something about heat being released in an exothermic reaction.  Thank you, high school science and Steve Spangler.  It was an awesome dramatic finale.

 

FAVOR BAGS:  To take home, each child received - 

• the scratch art bookmarks they made at the beginning
• the bag of instant snow from experiment #1
• their lava lamp from experiment #2 and a packet of 2 Alka-Seltzer tablets
• the bag of slime from experiment #3
• their sink-or-float worksheet from #5
• a booklet I made describing all six experiments so they can repeat them at home or at least tell their parents about it
• a fortune cookie (because I like them...and I ordered more sour gummy brains for their bags but they didn't arrive in time, oh well...)
• Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist #1 Lunch Walks Among Us* 

(Besides the fortune cookie and the would-be gummy brains, no other edibles.  I hate it when my kids bring home bags of crappy candy.  Almost as much as when my kids bring home bags of crappy toys or other crappy favor bag fillers.  This is a party aspect I try to be thoughtful about.  Meaningful favor bags.  Never mind that one child's mom texted me later in the day that he had come home and put the slime in his hair.  Not my fault.)

So that's it, guys.  Hazel's amazing Mad Science Party!  It was so fun to see eight kids of both genders age 5 to 7 ooh-ing, ahh-ing, smiling, laughing, and completely engaged for a whole birthday party.  Yay for Mad Science!!!

*Franny K. Stein is a little girl mad scientist.  Her book series is silly, spunky and a little irreverent without being gross.  She has just enough "normal" qualities to be relatable but is also just crazy enough to be surprising and intriguing.  We read the first two from the library so I gave my girls #3 and #4 in their bags; everyone else got #1.  Each book is about 100 pages, 15 to 20 chapters.  Age 7 to 10 reading and interest level.  My girls love Franny.