Five Green Acres

It was the answer to the question I had posed to her at the beginning of the week: “What do you want to learn about?”

Sulfur, geodes, malachite…even behind glass they capture the attention of the Girl Who Collects Rocks Everywhere She Goes.

The Boy?  He was only in it for the dinosaurs.  Where are the dinosaurs?  No.  Where are they?!? Forget the neat-o room with glow-in-the-dark minerals.  You said there were dinosaurs here, both of you!

Fossils.  We’re getting closer, Boy.

That is definitely like a dinosaur.

That’s what I’m talking about.

Me: Hey guys – look scared.  There’s a T Rex right behind you.  I’ll take your picture.

Me: Perfect. You’d better run – he’s on your tail!

To prepare for this excursion, I trolled the internets for age-appropriate book selections.  The resulting list is still providing us with reading materials. Find the list here, on my Amazon bookshelf.

I also discovered the simple brilliance of sewing a ‘research notebook’ from salvaged kraft paper and a fabric-covered cardboard cover.  She’s used it to take notes while we are reading at home and also while at the exhibit.  That I can whip it out with scrap materials on hand in 5 minutes or less makes the subject-specific research notebook a handy device to inspire a scholarly approach to whatever we’re reading about.  Anyone who knows me well enough might also know of my weakness for blank books, a genetic signature which has made its way into The Girl’s inheritance.  Herein, Folks, lies one enormous advantage I personally have over any other school teacher with regards to This Very Specific Student.  I totally get how her brain works.  And you can bet that I will leverage that understanding at every possible juncture.