A Second Look--March 9, 2016

We've had the full range of spring weather this week from snow to temperatures in the 70's. The landscape is still mostly brown with spots of green here and there. Because of the warm weather and a new set of eyes, I especially enjoyed the Second Look this week. I did it with my reading buddy, Kimmy. Kimmy is a special needs girl, who lives next door, and comes over most days to read with me. Her household is oriented much more to the inside and electronics, so Kimmy is very cautious of the outside world. However, she was a very willing student as we walked around the yard and discovered things.

Here are a few things we saw this week 

during a Second Look.

We had about an inch of snow that was melted by the next day as the temperatures warmed up.

With the warm weather, Kimmy and I decided to take a walk around the yard. We started around the house looking for flowers. We found this crocus...

...and this pansy. This is one I planted last fall.

Then we looked at acorns and talked about how squirrels and other animals eat them. We also looked at the oak trees they come from. We have read several books about squirrels, so she could relate to this.

Also, we had just read a book the had pebbles as part of the story. This was a new word for her, so we went in search of pebbles. We found several around the base of a tree. We also found more acorns, eaten walnuts, and sweet gum balls. We looked at the size, shape and texture of each and where they came from, and then we made a collection. We found these things all around the yard, so it was fun for her to identify them again when she saw them.

One of the places we found eaten walnuts, was in the hollow of a tree. We talked about protection during the winter for animals, probably squirrels.

We also have evidence of deer all over the yard and we went in search of this. We started with the ubiquitous footprints.

We also looked at plants they had eaten. We compared the pointed tops to the flat tops to tell what the deer had been nibbling on. In addition, we looked at the different kinds of poop from deer--boy poop-more "log" like, girl poop-more pebble like. In fact, she used her new word and first called it pebbles. (No poop pictures this week. You're welcome.)

We watched the cows eat. For a while, she didn't believe there were cows behind our houses. That's what happens if you never look out the window or go outside.

We found a couple of clumps of snowdrops in the "wild" part of the yard. We compared buds and open flowers and looked inside the drooping blossom. I was running out of time, so we ended our walk for the day.

The next day after our books, she wanted to go on a walk again. She lead this one as she went looking for things we had seen the day before. The first thing we found were these white crocus.

We went along, looking at various plant and animal evidence when she asked about Wally and Theo's old tree house. She was afraid, but I encouraged her to go up. She was afraid to both climb up and climb down, but was very proud of herself for doing it. 

The floor of the tree house was littered with sticks and leaves. We made a game of throwing the sticks into the pile below us. She remembered from yesterday, that rabbits and other animals live in there and was happy to be helping to build their house. BTW, she has a good throwing arm.

As the weather warms, I am looking forward to doing more Second Looks with Kimmy. I think she is too.

Thankful Sunday--January 17, 2016

These are the books Kimmy and I read yesterday.

I am thankful for the library.

Kimmy, a special needs teenager who lives next door, visits me most days so we can read together. She loves the actual process of reading out loud more than listening to a story, so that has evolved into she reads a page and then I read a page. While her reading has improved, she has not progressed beyond the beginning reading stage and that limits our choice of books.  

Kimmy has a very good memory and remembers most of the books we have read. She doesn't like to repeat a book, so that limits our choices further. That is where the library comes in. While we have read hundreds of books together from there, there are still hundreds (thousands?) to go. And for that I am thankful.

Planting flowers

Kimmy examining some of the dug up worms.

Living next door to me is a special needs girl, Kimmy*. The situation she lives in is very complicated and not a very good one from my perspective. However, in their own way, her family does what they think is best for her. This means they withdrew her from school and let her spend her days playing video games. However, Kimmy also visits me almost every day and during her visits, we chat a bit and read a book or two together. Sometimes we play hide and seek.

I have been yearning to do many more hands-on activities with her, but for reasons too complicated to explain here, I can't. However, I did get a chance today when we planted flowers together. Kimmy came over just as I was getting ready to plant some pansies and I asked her if she wanted to help me plant or to read. She chose planting and I was surprised because of all of the things she tells me that she doesn't like to do.  But she was a willing helper. I didn't realize that planting a flower was such a complicated process until I started to teach Kimmy.

This is what we did.
1. Place the plant where we wanted it to go.
2. Clear away the mulch
3. Dig a hole for the plant without mixing the dirt with the mulch.
4. Measure the hole to see if it is the right size
5. Take the plant out of the pot without damaging it. (Squeeze the sides and push the bottom.)
6. Separate any roots that are starting to get root bound.
7. Place plant in hole and fill dirt around making sure there are no pockets of air.
8. Replace mulch or protect plant as we called it.
9. Water around the plant and not on top of it. (The ground was wet, so we didn't water the hole.)

Kimmy was a quick study and corrected me on any steps I forgot--like the time I was talking about what was on the pizza I had for breakfast and forgot step 8.

But the most fun Kimmy had was with the earthworms. I explained about how they were good for the soil (a new word for her) and we examined them. From then on, she was very excited every time she found one. She said that she couldn't wait to tell her family that she found three worms and she wasn't afraid of them. We also collected acorns and pebbles we dug up that she took home with her.

We both had a great time digging in the dirt and it was a wonderful way to spend a lovely fall afternoon.

*Kimmy is 16 and reads on a first grade level. However, she has many other special skills.

A Second Look--May 13, 2015

I have two special needs girls that I am friends with. One of them, Kimmy, lives next door and visits almost every day to read a book or two with me. One day the book was talking about cows and I asked if she had seen the cows behind our houses. She had never seen them and thought the idea was ridiculous. Since then, I have been trying to show them to her. However, that has been harder than expected because but the cattle are rotated from field to field frequently.

Well today, I thought I had hit the jackpot. While doing a Second Look, I found many of the new calves and their mothers right up against the fence in the back. Close enough that you could reach out and touch them if you wanted. I hurried next door looking for Kimmy so we could get a look at the cows that she thought didn't exist. One thing after another seemed to delay us to the point that when we got there, they were all gone. She still thinks I'm a little crazy, but I'm sure soon enough it will work out. However in the meantime, I did get some pictures.

On bird nest front, the wars are on. The wrens are building a nest on top of the sparrows nest. I'm not sure what happened to the sparrow's eggs but there are no new wren eggs yet. Apparently, the wren's nest in the other box, may be there just to prevent other birds from using the box. Survival of the fittest. The bluebird didn't lay any more eggs this week so the final total is four. I have seen the mother going in and out of the box often. Since the weather has been really hot (80's and 90's), she may not need to spend as much time sitting on them to keep them warm.

New things are blooming continuing the beautiful display of spring colors. The rhododendron is the most noted of these this week with new buds blooming every day. Not as showy, but just as beautiful are the lily of the valley that started blooming a few days ago.

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Rhododendron

Elusive Calf

Star of Bethlehem

Notice the twigs that the wrens are using to build a nest on top of the sparrow's.

Lily of the Valley

So many colors of green this time of year.