Nate Rides A Two-Wheeler!

Kids are born prewired to learn, right? Here is an example of what can happen when we get out of their way. A couple weeks ago Nate decided to teach himself how to ride a TWO WHEELER (without training wheels)! He refused all offers of assistance; talk about intrinsic motivation! It was so exciting. Watch him here:

An interesting book about motivation is Drive - The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink. You can also hear the author in this TED Talk.

Spatulatta Remote Reporter Blueberry Peach Cobbler!!

Here we have done yet another remote reporter cooking show!! Enjoy...

Valedictorian Speaks Out...

It would appear that this teen from New York did some studying "outside of the box". I am pretty sure John Taylor Gatto is not on most High School "Required Reading" lists. Read her "out of the norm" valedictorian speech!

If you are moved by Erica's speech and you haven't already seen the film Race to Nowhere, you might find it worth a watch. It will be officially released this fall.

Photos ~by Micayla

I recently got a camera! Here are a couple of my favorite pictures that I took:

Allie took this one of me and Gracie..........................

One day I may post some of my artwork or photos on this site: www.redbubble.com (you can sell your work here as prints or notecards).

Two Tiny Turtles

Nate now has two tiny friends, Joe and Frankie, his box turtles! They are both uber adorable, and about the size of a silver dollar (or a large brooch)! If you'd like an easy cute pet, our neighbors have 2 left! Grab 'em while ya can! Here is all the info regarding their habitat, and what to feed them etc...

Habitat:

While they are small they live in a container (outside during the day and inside at night because of the nocturnal creatures that might want them for a meal). In Joe and Frankie's container we have soil, moss, a small shallow container for water, a plant, a rock and a hollowed out log. Right now they are a year old; once they get big enough they will be set free to roam in the yard.

Eats:

Right now they are primarily carnivores. They eat mealworms that we bought at the pet store (we feed them one each daily) and we toss in pill bugs from the yard for them to hunt down in their habitat. As they get older (we are told) they will become more omnivorous, eating fruits and veggies such as bananas, apples, and green leafy things. And when they are eventually released into the yard they will help us keep our gardens free of snails and slugs!

Frankie is the smaller, brighter colored turtle, and Joe is the big one.

Their habitat (can you spy Frankie and Joe?).

~written by Carly

Remote Reporters for Spatulatta

So a couple weeks ago my friends Katie, Meagan and I spontaneously decided to do a Spatulatta (a kids online cooking show that I have enjoyed watching for several years) cooking show! -Last year they published my story on their website, and told me that I could do a video for them if I'd like. We made BBQ Chicken Pizza! Annndddd, Spatulatta liked it so much, that they asked us if we'd like to be official "Spatulites" who do a cooking show from CA once a month! =D We are SO excited!

Here is the link to Spatulatta where we are featured:

http://www.spatulatta.com/remote-reporter

And the clip on YouTube! the recipe is under "info" on the youtube site...

HOT Rocks!

Nate said, "This is more fun than drawing on paper!"

Nate had a blast coloring hot rocks recently. We got the idea from this great blog:

A Magical Childhood.

Then we found the same idea in this fun book on Summer Crafts.

If you'd like to try it, here's how:

Find a smooth, fairly flat rock and put it in the oven at 450' (we used a toaster oven) for about 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove the hot rock (place on a heat-proof surface) and color with crayons (we discovered it helps to remove any paper on the crayon first). Use crayons that aren't too small because they can melt fast! Be careful not to touch the rock with your bare hands!

Nate's rock was steaming when he first started working on it and he loved how the waxy crayons melted and sizzled. The rock retained the heat for quite awhile; he was extremely careful and knew to touch the rock with his crayons only. Fun stuff!