science is real!

Deb and I took the the gang to Boston’s Museum of Science today.  I fell in love with the place all over again (we used to visit the butterfly garden regularly), in large part because of the new “senses” room, which kept us all very busy for a good while.

First to the Discovery Center:

I love Jacob’s concentration tongue:

A lesson in making hoop gliders:

Simon is always “in search of…”, so this seems appropriate:

To the “senses” room.  Here I found Enzo flashing his belly at the camera; he loved seeing a time-lapse video of himself.

Sound waves are so cool!

Sasha had the scents matched up in no time:

Henry and Romeo at a listening activity:

Henry is the T’s biggest fan.  I think he could correctly answer any navigation question posed.

Don’t ask– that’s Enzo.

public garden

I took the 4 boys to the Public Garden, with the promise of a ride on one of the swan boats, only to find they are finished for the season!  Hard to believe on such a gorgeous fall day…

They still had a grand time chasing squirrels, climbing monuments, feeding ducks and digging in the dirt.  We were so happy to have Tania, Henry and Sasha meet up with us!

Those boys can really spot an injury!  I would never have noticed the head, arm and hand missing from this scene:

Success!  The duck took the bread (actually part of Jacob’s bagel he willingly donated) from the stick:

Success again!

Simon chasing squirrels:

Looking for fossils:

Simon was convinced he had found his ancestor’s (yes, his use of the word) tooth:

Romeo and Henry chasing squirrels:

Adorable:

unschooling – day 2

I’ve already posted about Simon’s discovery on our walk; here are some pics from the rest of the first Thursday at our house.

That’s Jacob as Wolverine:

Sasha snacking; we had staggered snackers that morning:

Romeo, Simon and Enzo building:

Henry, Jacob and Sasha with the trains:

Lunchtime (that’s Stewart and Alisdair on the right):

Outside at last!

Alisdair and Evyan:

Romeo, Tania, Enzo and Jacob:

Simon sharing a discovery (I can’t recall what it was):

Simon continues his search:

This time it was a fly:

After our friends left, I played a book on tape.  Enzo was wiped out!

it’s a frog! it’s a horse! it’s a roasted pig head!

Our first day hosting the unschoolers was great fun.  Lots of time was spent “discovering” our toys, but we did finally make it outside: up the “mountain” and into Franklin Park.

Simon made an interesting discovery.  Romeo’s account goes like this: “Simon said to me, ‘Hey, you gotta check this out!’ I saw it and I said ‘Is that a frog?’ Simon said, ‘That’s no frog, that’s a horse!’ Then I went closer and I said ‘That’s no horse, that’s a pig!’”

They ran over to us and when they said “Come look! We found a pig!”, I thought, ‘What could they possibly see out here that resembles a pig?’

It was quite surreal.  And stinky.  Its position and location as well as beer bottles nearby suggested it was part of a deliberate activity rather than just tossed off.

busy tooth fairy

The first had been loose for quite a while.  In the car on the way to the tire store, Romeo claimed he thought it would come out soon.

In the tire store he tugged at my arm, then quietly held out his tooth.

Romeo and a 6-yr-old boy discussed tooth loss:

Telling Daddy:

4 days later…

chalk heroes

The Flash and Wolverine:

happy 4th birthday, enzo! (part 1)

We enjoyed a quiet dinner with Memere and Pepere at our vacation house in Saco, Maine.

And Memere brought the cake!

e-n-z-o

Enzo proudly writes his name:

baby phoebe!

Sylvie and Marlo have a new sister, Phoebe Bay Sacks, born July 12th.

With mama Marcy:

Marcy and her nanny (not pictured) brought the girls out for music in Franklin Park.

Phoebe enthralled Romeo and Sylvie:

Marlo and Enzo enthralled each other:

the big screen

We spent the weekend with Nonni, and a highlight was taking the boys to their first movie-theater experience: Toy Story 3!

Popcorn is an essential element, but the boys opted for blue cotton candy: