Spring Break

We are taking a "spring break" this week, along with the regular schools.  It's far too hard to try to interest anyone in math when the neighborhood kids are squirting each other with squirt guns, or playing a high-energy football game in the front yard.

It also gives us a chance to do some fun things that we otherwise wouldn't have time for - like painting eggs, or making these little seed books to send to our out-of-town friends.

We never used to have much chance for correspondence.  Of course there are out-of-state relatives, but it was hard to get Mirin and Rose to write or send letters or cards to people they had seen maybe once or twice.

Last year several families we saw often moved away (and our elderly neighbor, Ms. Penny, too).  There are more to move away this year!  It's sad saying goodbye, but we have been having fun with pen pals and sending cards.  A pipsticks subscription this year has inspired a lot of post-cards, too.

We worked on these little seed books a few days ago, and I just bound them up and am getting them ready to send.  I can't remember where I got the idea first...it wasn't an original idea.  You make a paste with flour and water, and stick the seeds on to the pages (you have to be generous with the paste).  When the paste dries, the pages can be sewn up into a little book.  I perforated the edge close to the binding with a pin, so they can be easily torn out and planted.  The whole page is planted (or can be torn up and planted), kind of like a 2-D seed bomb.  We haven't tried planting one ourselves, yet, but I like the idea.