Early Spring

Our family went on a backpacking trip the weekend before last. By the end of the trip, we saw lots of blackflies (thankfully not biting so much yet!). Normally, if you go anytime up to about the 20th of May, you'll be able to avoid biting insects, so this was a month early.

We had walked the same trail a *few* years back at the same time of year. We needed to keep the water filter in a sleeping bag to keep it from freezing, and had to crack ice around the edges of the lake to pump water. Not so much this trip--we hiked in t-shirts and wished we'd brought shorts along.

I have noticed the same thing at home. The blossoms are about 3-4 weeks early, and the magnolia trees have blossomed and dropped their petals already. During March break, the weather here was warmer than in Florida.

I am not a winter person, and spring is one of my favourite times of year. I love being awakened by birds calling, I love the smell of the earth and the lilacs. I love the golden fields of dandelions. However, this is making me nervous. I'm not ready yet to do serious gardening, yet the early spring is demanding just that. It's really less about me and my preferences though. It's alarm at what is happening to our climate. Spring is coming earlier, not just this year, but with a visible change across decades. Weird weather is becoming the norm. There is a great deal of concern about our latest human-caused disaster, the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, which is absolutely horrible and terrifying in its destruction. There is also the acidification of the oceans. This is caused by the increased absorption of carbon, that is causing rapid loss of species and if left unchecked will destroy the world's coral reefs within the next few decades.
It would really take a great deal of determination to fail to see the connection between the health of our oceans and our own welfare.

There is so very little political will to do anything--it's all a game of quick profits and one-upmanship with not a trace of concern for the future, the planet or the basic needs of its inhabitants. The right-wingers laugh at the rest of us for caring, and go out of their way to make the problems worse. I find it difficult not to get discouraged.

And yet-
the birds are singing, the sun is shining, the lilacs are out and it's incredibly beautiful out there. Perhaps one of the most important things to do about it all is to enjoy it, now, and share that enjoyment with others.

The Powers That Be--Is This Really the Best We Can Do?

There is just so much more political will when it comes to oil drilling than renewable energy.
The massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico? Viewed as nothing compared with the "noise problems" of wind farms.
I remember being shocked beyond belief to find that several years after the Exxon Validiz oil spill, Exxon was still allowed to do business. Others laugh at my naivity. Money does rule, esp. the money of a select few elite; the Powers That Be.
We'd be livid to learn of a mass murderer simply slapped on the wrist and given a tiny fine. Isn't this much worse? The situation is unbelievable to me, but sadly true.

And we still let our RRSPs support this destruction. As long as they continue to grow, we're happy. Well, some of us are happy. I, for one, am not. But my voice is weak and easily drowned out amidst all the greed, and bad habits die hard.

And will BP be held responsible in any way? Likely not. Certainly not if past spills are any indication. Perhaps there will even be a government bailout to help BP recoup their associated losses. That's the way our society works.

We are slaves to "our economy", which IMO is an excuse that has been overused far too often by the POWERS THAT BE. Never mind that viable alternatives to an oil based economy exist. Never mind that regardless of your position, there will be a time when it has to come to an end in one way or other. We're just too cozy with out clothes dryers and gas-guzzling cars, our air conditioning (turned low enough that we need a jacket for comfort), our air travel when a video conference would have done as well, our reliance on cheap labour and subsidized oil to buy items that travel thousands of miles that we use once then throw away, our glossy flyers and ads printed on pulp from ancient forests, our gas-powered lawn mowers, our seemingly unlimited ability to create new ways to trash the planet.

The planet's systems are showing signs of failure, and we're celebrating it by throwing a party.

Have I mentioned that our solar panels are being held up by red tape? They are now in stock, sitting in a warehouse, while we wait for a sign-off.

Cool New Chemistry Site I Found

Just a quick post to share a new chemistry site I found: http://www.creative-chemistry.org.uk/index.htm

I especially like the forensic section under "activities" that has instructions for flame tests and urine analysis. It seems aimed fairly young--I'd say grades 4-8 but does expect a full chem lab, so will be a little challenging for us as homeschoolers. I know you can get "portable" bunsen burners (with their own fuel cannister) and required chemicals but I've yet to find a local source.

When I get to it, I will add this link to my website as well.

Education, Philosophy and Religion--an Opinionated Post!

If you have been reading this blog, you will know by now that I am a strongly opinionated person, especially when it comes to the environment and education.


I feel strongly that one of the major goals of education, and parenting for that matter, is to raise children to do their own thinking. This means that they need to be taught how to research, to evaluate information, to detect potential biases based on the sources of the information (including parental biases, which we often talk about), and to draw their own, considered conclusions. It also means being open to reviewing those conclusions when new information becomes available.

Because of this, I am one of "those" people who strongly advocate against the recitation of prayers, pledges, etc. in schools. There is a great power in the spoken word, particularly when children are taught to memorize things (prayers, pledges of allegiance, etc.) before they are able to fully comprehend the meaning and ramifications of those words. Who are we to make such presumptions about the beliefs and values of our children, to force our own upon them without allowing them to participate actively in the discussion? Surely such an attitude undermines what education should be!

I am not against teaching religions in the classroom, but I am strongly against teaching religion. The difference here is in the presumption. If we teach that Christians believe x, Buddhists believe y, Hindi believe z, Atheists believe a, Muslims believe b, Zoroastrians believe c, Wiccans believe d, Jews believe e, etc. and attempt to explore the various interpretations of each, then it is educational. When we favour one over the other in our teaching, it becomes manipulative indoctrination. Presenting it such as, I am Buddhist, and I believe y and this is why and this is how it affects my life--this is transparency and this is educational. Presenting it as "but we all know...", "God says / wants" or even, "they believe" is manipulative. It is important to let students learn, reflect, evaluate, decide and revisit their own beliefs. Are the adults "in charge" really so afraid that their own beliefs and values will not hold up to scrutiny that they must exert this control on the next generation? Life is not worth a lot if you must live in constant fear of losing your convictions.

What prompted this was a recent trip to the library to research mythology. I noticed that in creation mythology there were myths from many groups, and they even included evolution as a myth, but good ole Adam and Eve were nowhere to be found. So I looked a little further. Although there were myths from some major religions, there was a conspicuous lacking. Other resources didn't mention evolution as a myth, but they were careful to skirt around modern religions as well. Are the Cosmic Egg, Turtle Island, or the Big Bang any more likely to be story than Adam and Eve? Can we not learn something of value from each of these perspectives?
It does not seem to me to be disrespectful to view Judaic stories as myths (at least not any more than Nordic, Greek or North American Aboriginal stories). According to the New Testament, Jesus taught with parables. A parable is a story; can we not call it a myth? Does the point made become weaker with the label? I would think it might even add some strength. I don't think that the majority of Christians and Jews see the bible as something to be taken completely literally, but perhaps I am making too many assumptions.
There are those who see "other" religions (esp. Islam and Wicca at the moment) as "evil" and "wrong", and a few who like to spread misconceptions about these. Some even call Harry Potter a handbook for Wicca, which is like calling "The Night Before Christmas" a handbook for Christianity IMO. Some aspects may be similar, but Harry Potter has as much to do with Christianity as it does with any religion. I suspect these reactions are born of fear of losing faith in their own beliefs as well as fear of those who are different than themselves.

So we live in a world where Adam and Eve are to be taken as "non-myth", evolution is no longer a theory but a "modern myth", the "Big Bang" is a "scientific myth" and children are not permitted to question the wisdom of their elders in order to learn more. Scientists are to be mistrusted, politicians know best, and the media never lies. Thankfully, there are pockets of reason to be found in which critical thought and discussion is still valued and encouraged.

How to Make Cheap Stencilled T-shirts

Today I am making dragon shirts for a birthday party. Kids will be randomly sorted into red and yellow teams, determined by the colour of the shirts they find in their paper mache dragon eggs.

To make the shirts, I found a dragon graphic I liked on the internet, then adapted it to a simpler design that would be easy to cut out. I reversed the image and flipped it so it would suit our purpose better, smoothed out some lines, make it taller etc. until I had what I wanted. Then I adjusted the image to the size needed right on the computer screen and traced it out onto printer paper (because my tracing paper has gone missing since our move). Then I put a sheet of clear plastic (binder cover, but a page protector or any other thin but somewhat rigid plastic would work) and traced out the image using a fine exacto knife (actually, my DH helped with this part).

Once the stencil was cut, I laid out the first shirt and slid a sheet of newspaper inside to keep the paint from soaking through to the back of the shirt. Then I put the stencil in position and used a small sponge to dab on black tempera paint. Once the paint has set and dried, the shirts will be ironed to make the paint permanent. For the first washing, they should be washed separately, but after that, regular washing will be sufficient.

Making shirts this way is inexpensive compared with using ink-jet transfer paper or fabric paint. It is also permanent once ironed and will not melt in a hot dryer or bleach away in the sun (at least, purple and black colours won't--I haven't yet tried red in the sun).

A word of warning though: never sell items that have a "borrowed" image from the internet. The shirts I am doing are for personal use only and I will not be making any money from them. Even though I have edited the image so that it is quite different from the original, it is still close enough that it would constitute unfair usage were I to profit from it. If you want to sell shirts made like this, you will need to make your own image or obtain permission from the owner of the image that you wish to use.

Click here for instructions on how to make the dragon's eggs.

Side note: I did pre-test the tempera paint stenciled t-shirts that I posted here on the blog earlier, but my most recent batch ran when I washed them. I suspect I did not use a hot enough iron this time, or it could be that I accidentally used washable tempera. If you try this one out, you may want to try out a piece of test fabric first.