World Religions, Wild Birds, Wooly Animals, and more

It's been a very scheduled week, for us. P went to a day camp focused on world religions at our church this past week, so we had a school-day schedule, but with a longer commute. P had a lot of fun at the day camp and made some friends she can see again at church or for play dates. On various days the camp activities focused on Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Earth-centered religions, and Unitarian Universalism. They heard stories, sang songs, learned dances, and visited some nearby places of worship for different faiths and spoke with ministers or educators there. Each day there was time for play, meditation, journaling, and art as well. Getting up early and getting places on time was a little hard, but it was nice that no one would get in trouble for being a little late, and it helped that P was anxious to go, so there was little foot-dragging in the morning.

T and I spent camp times letterboxing, playing outside, reading stories, running errands, and having naps. T is becoming a good hiker for short distances. He loves walking a pretty trail, seeing a new bird (he was the first to see a spotted towhee on one hike), and checking out creeks, boulders, and interesting plants along the way. One day we saw -- actually, we heard its piercing calls first -- a killdeer and were treated to a virtuoso broken-wing display (though which wing was broken was debatable!) as it tried to lure us away from its nest. We took a peek back at the nest to see the beautiful spotted egg, and then left the amazing bird alone. I wouldn't know most of these birds myself, but we're carrying our Colorado bird guide everywhere these days.

In the afternoons after camp, often we'd head someplace with a letterbox and a fun place to play, and take advantage of both. On Thursday afternoon we visited a little mining museum, which a local historical society opens two afternoons per week. We saw a diorama of a nearby coal mine, mining tools, textiles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and implements for cooking, farming, blacksmithing, sewing, and more, all from around the same period. A volunteer docent answered most of our questions; the most mysterious thing we saw turned out to be a cream separator. P, closely examining a rail car formerly used in the coal mines, decided (correctly, I think) that a funny-shaped piece of wood sitting on top of the wheels was a brake for the car.

This weekend there was a wool market in Estes Park, and P and I went on Saturday afternoon. P liked it so much that we went back on Sunday, taking T with us. At the wool market we saw llamas, alpacas, paco-vicuñas, angora bunnies, sheep, and goats on display, as well as fiber from all of them, and got to interact with some of the animals. We watched demonstrations of sheep shearing and sheepdog training, and saw the sheep-to-shawl teams hard at work spinning and weaving their contest entries. In the children's tent, we saw people spinning and weaving on three different kinds of looms (jack, rigid heddle, and inkle), and both P and T tried their hands at inkle-loom weaving. P, who is still getting clear on how buying things with cash works, chose several small things to buy with allowance and birthday money, and she got some real-life math lessons along the way. I find that cashiers and shopkeepers will often take a few moments to provide some consumer education when a child is making a purchase, and I've been pleased with how pleasant and informative they have been.

On the way to and from the wool market, we had great opportunities to talk about a lot of things:

• Jerky and smoked meats and their use for winter or traveling provisions (we stopped at a place where these were sold and tried some)
• Water wheels (the place we bought the jerky had one) and how they have been used
• Windmills and why they are called that (as opposed to wind engines or wind turbines) -- historic connection to grinding of grains
• Local geology -- There are a couple of hard sandstone layers in the local rock column, and depending on how much they've tilted, you can see mesas and hogbacks that have formed. P definitely got this -- she remarked on some such features when we drove back over the same route on Sunday. We also talked about the Front Range's past as a seashore area, and this connected up with some large fish fossils P saw a couple of years ago on a driving trip through Kansas (the erstwhile inland sea).
• Driving etiquette on mountain roads, including the use of pullouts to let faster drivers pass

In addition to our hiking and outdoor play, P recently said she wants to learn to skateboard. I haven't really tried it since I was her age, and I never got the hang of it then. We have a neighbor with a child a little younger than P, and he skateboards, so perhaps he can help out with P learning. I don't think T would be far behind; he was fascinated when we stopped to watch kids playing at a local skate park. I do think, though, that I'll encourage P to finish learning to ride a two-wheeled bike before taking on a skateboard. She's so close, I think another outing or two might get her off and running, and she's excited at the prospect. (Our local topography is so hilly that beginning bike-riding practice requires an outing with a parent to flatter ground, or I'm sure she'd have it down already.) The risk-averse side of me hopes she'll stick with biking and forget about skateboarding, but I think if she wants to do it, I can buy her the appropriate safety gear, find someone to teach her, and give her my blessing. Heck, my coordination and balance have improved since I was seven -- maybe I'll try to learn, too.