Scouts - Into the Woods

1. My Mom and I talked about trees. Some trees are coniferous and some deciduous. Coniferous are the ones that drop cones. The other kind loose their leaves in the fall. I took a drive in the car and we found a bunch of different examples. Trees have different parts. They have roots, truck, branches, and some have leaves.

2. Four types of trees that we found nearby. 

This first tree is a willow. This is a great tree because it was in the Harry Potter movie. It helps to house birds and gives them seeds to eat. It can also help humans build houses. It also sends seeds to other areas so more trees can grow. This type of tree is native to Utah.

This next tree is a birch. You can build cabins out of this type of tree. You can also cut it down for firewood and the tree is a great one to climb. Birds build nests in it plus if deer get hungry they can eat the bark. This tree is also native to Utah.

This is a pine tree. Pine trees are very common in Utah. People can use pine to build houses. I have also used pine wood for my pinewood derby car. Squirrels and chipmunks love to eat the seeds.

This last type of tree is a very weird one. It is not common to Utah, and you don't see it very often. One of my neighbors just planted this tree in their yard. It's called a contorted filbert. People wouldn't be able to climb it, but birds could when it is a little bit bigger. Birds can also make their homes out of it. This is the kind of tree that doesn't help people out very much. But people look at it and think that it's so cool.

3. I found a dandelion. The dandelion is green and it looks like a weed. This one had yellow flowers on it. Bees use dandelions to suck up pollen. They also probably move some of the seeds around. Cows, horses, and goats also love to eat dandelion. 

This next one is a three leaf clover. It had only thee leaves on it. The rain gave it a lot of nutrients. One fun thing is that it can trick you into thinking it's a four leaf clover. Cows, sheep, and horses also eat clover.

Then this type of plant is normal grass from my backyard. Grass is a plant. Cows, sheep, and horses love this type too. We use it so our lawn isn't just dirt. I also use it so I can get paid $10 for mowing it. Our type of grass is not native to Utah. I also like to play on grass.

This plant is called moss. It grows in dark, wet places. I found it on our hike to the Grotto. I learned that most animals actually don't eat moss because it doesn't have many nutrients. But, they do like the use it in their dens and nest. One animal that actually does eat moss though it Arctic birds. They don't live here in Utah though. 

4. I got a plant - it's called a fushia. I got it when we went on a fieldtrip. I get to plant it outside after Mother's day. It will help to reduce pollution. My plant will suck up the pollution from cars and spit out healthy air. If you are driving a car and you don't have any plants you should plant a few.  My plant will also give us flowers to look at. The flowers will also make the bees very happy. 

7. I got to go on a visit to a nursery. It's a place where they have a lot of different kinds of plants. The guy we talked to told us a lot about plants that live in the jungles. We even went into this special building that was super hot and wet inside. We got to see some jungle plants. 

Plants are very important for our air because they help to keep the pollution out. They also help our yards and cities to be more beautiful. They also help bees and other animals to have homes and food. 

Scouts - Earth Rocks

1a, Talked about geology. It's the study of the world like water, volcanoes
, earth quakes.
1b. It is important to study so people can plan for volcanoes and earthquakes. We talked about the recent earthquakes in Draper plus the volcanoes that can impact airplanes traveling their normal routes.

2. Collected some rocks on a hike to the Payson Grotto

3. Investigated all the rocks I found on my rock hunt. There were so many kinds. I separated them into bowls depending on the type of rock they were. The ones on the towel are special ones. One of them my cousin found for me. It has crystals on it.

4. Chose six rocks and did the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. My favorite were the ones that I could scrape with my pocketknife. A lot of my rocks were also able to scratch glass.

5. My Mom had me investigate this map of Utah. It's a topographical map. That means you can see super high mountains that are different colors. I was able to find the Uintah Mountains. Plus, I was able to find lots of deserts.

6a. We talked about the materials that our homes has. For example, the foundation of our house is made out of concrete. Also, we have stucco on the outside of our house which is something that is made out of little bits of sand and other stuff. Also, on our fireplace we have some tile.

6b. We talked about some things that are made out of geological materials. My Mom and I looked up pictures of the Provo City Center Temple (made of lots of brick), Salt Lake Temple (made of quartz), rock fences in England, and the Ashton-Driggs house in Pleasant Grove (build out of rock slabs). My Mom also showed me the Lincoln Memorial Building in Washington D.C. That building is made out of marble. I think it must have cost lots and lots and lots of money. 

Grotto Trail Adventure

We decided to take a family drive up the Nebo Loop to check out the damage done by the wildfire that happened there last summer. I was really hoping we would get a chance to go up and see the Payson Grotto. We were super disappointed when we came up the canyon and saw the road had been closed.

We were not discouraged and lots of other hikers had the same idea. We soon found out why they still had the road closed. There were trees that had blocked the road and in many places erosion looked like it could easily bring down more.

These boulders  made a great resting spot on the way up and down.

Honestly, I wasn't sure that the boys would make it all the way to the trail head. They got exhausted pretty quickly. Even though we were walking on asphalt, it was a steep incline. It took us an hour to make it to the trail head. Literally, I was trying to distract Luke enough so that he would keep putting one foot in front of the other. We talked about what the Elk would be doing if they were living on the mountain and we tried to find him a walking stick made out of birch. We also saw many, many butterflies and contemplated the ways they would stay warm during this time of the year. We are convinced they find little hollow areas away from the water where they can sleep.

Papa finally hiked up to the trail-head and then came back to tell us we were just one more bend in the road away. Luke was especially excited to see the snow. We were all so happy. It ended up being a 3.5 mile hike up and back. WAY longer then we ever intended to go.

The parking area for the Grotto

It was so sad to see how much damage the fire did to the trail. This is a trail that we know so well and most of it is unrecognizable. We had to climb over and under trees that had even fallen on the alternate trail that had been created. 

It will be interesting to see how much of it will grow back before Autumn comes. I'm hoping the forest service can get up there soon and take care of some of the trees that have fallen over the path. Hopefully, they will also be able to get the bridges back in working order. There was one particular part that was quite frightening for Mom & Luke (literally one misstep from falling in the rapids), but we were super careful, said a prayer for the trip down, and made it with everyone feeling very brave for making it. I did manage to get a little video of the area where you would enter the Grotto part. Brandon and Peter also scrambled up to get a view of the river falling into the grotto. It was amazing to see the video he got. 

Once we got past the scary part Luke and Peter were as happy as clams hiking down. They both know this area so well that I let them take the lead and most of the time I can't even see them. On the way back to the car Luke and Papa zoomed down the road. Peter was exhausted and then needed to go potty and then wanted to rest after every bend in the road. It was okay though. We weren't in a hurry and it gave me time to get a few more pictures. 

For perspectives sake, this is what the area looked like in September of 2017. Sadly, the boys and I didn't make it up there early enough in 2018 to see if before the fire.

Scouts - Aware and Care

1. Used a blindfold to simulate visual impairment. I had to go into my room, get dressed in pajamas, and put myself to bed. I was able to successfully to it, but I bumped into a lot of walls, Luke, and toys on the floor. I was also not able to tell the color of my pajamas.

2. I did a project that simulated dexterity impairment. I used spoons to do it. I taped them to two of my fingers. Then I tried to do my normal things with the spoons on. My conclusion was that it was a hard experiment because it was harder to do things, but my brain was smart and worked it out.

3. We played the potato game. It helped us to realize that people can look different on the outside, but on the inside we are all the same. I also realized that scars never show up on the inside like they do on the outside of the potato. 

4b. I got to talk to my Grandma about her disability. 

Her disability is that she has to stay in a wheelchair for like a year. It is really, really hard for her. She doesn't have her wheelchair in the house because her foot is a weapon because she has to keep it lifted up. She uses a walker to get around the house. 

She also has grabby arm that she can use to pick up things. 

She also has a really hard time bending down. She also needs help with eating her food because she can't carry milk, bowl, and a spoon by herself. She also has a very hard time taking a shower. So she has a bench to help her. 

4d. I was able to go on a field-trip to BYU. My Mom's Uncle works with people who need help at the University because they are deaf. This is what I learned. 

Luke glasses part #2

So the glasses frames that Luke wanted were back ordered. Sadly, they weren't even given a date on when those frames might be available. So, back to the eye doctor we went to pick out different ones. Hopefully this time they will come in and be perfect for him.

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, his glasses finally came in. He looks so adorable in them. It's taken him a bit longer to get used to them, but it is going well. He is obsessed with reading the Magic treehouse books right now. I am trying to keep up with his library requests for them. I try and check 4 or 5 of these short chapter books out for him every few days. 

Also, today Luke took a the DIBELS state reading test. It's a test that all 2nd grade kids take. I decided it would be good for my kids to experience tests this year and it was his first time ever taking one. He did it online so I was able to eavesdrop on the other side of the office door while he was doing it. His teacher told him that he was a "reading genius". I was inwardly so grateful. I have been quite discourage with school this past semester and her words were a reminder that I am a worthwhile teacher. I think Luke is reading near a 4th grade level because he and Peter are both reading the same "school reading book" right now. His love for stories makes me so happy. At night I am reading them the Sassafras twins book about Botony and Brandon is reading us Book #1 of the Rangers Apprentice. I hope family book reading time will always be a treasured memory for both my boys. 

Game night fun

Last night we had a game night. Luke was so bored. To keep himself entertained he took pictures with filters. Peter and I were laughing so hard when we found them on my phone this morning.

BattleCreek Falls with snow

On Monday we had the time to go up to Pleasant Grove. We had some time to "kill" and I decided to take the boys up to Battle Creek Falls. I thought it would be a fun and enjoyable hike. It was but....there was snow!

The first part was perfect, even if it was a bit muddy, but then we started hiking on snow. It was slushy, melting, and then quite slippery. This time we only felt confident until we reached the little pond. The boys were perfect even hiking in shorts, but coming down it got a bit treacherous. At one point Peter decided to slide down on his bottom since his shoes had no traction.

Even with the snow, it was a fun hike. We even saw a beautiful butterfly. I had no idea butterflies would be out this early in the spring.