Connections and Freezing Fog

ALOHA! The 57th Carnival of Homeschooling is up over at the Palm Tree Pundit . Anne has put together some good reading about Connections for homeschoolers. Visit the carnival and make some connections .


Yesterday, after math and reading, N. came with me to my Neurobiology class because he had boy scouts soon after and I don't like to drive into town more than once. Gas is still pretty pricey and there's greenhouse gases to consider.


Here is a picture of N. relaxing in the new Domenici Medical Sciences Center before class. We went to the Medical-Legal Student Bookstore and found a really neat pen called the PenAgain. It is shaped so that you hold it correctly for neat writing and it reduces hand strain. They can't keep it in stock at the Medical School! Heh, heh.
I was going to buy one for N. and for me--we both have really messy handwriting--but unfortunately I left my purse in the truck. That was the first in a day of forgetting. After class, we went to Borders where we would meet DH and he would then take N. to Boy Scouts. But N. somehow left a bag with his scout uniform and book at Borders (or somewhere!) because by scouts he did not have it. GRRRRR!


Today N. is sick. A coughing, feverish, stuffed-up kind of sick and he has no energy to do anything. We are missing his science class at Explora! as I write. But I don't want to take him out. It is very cold here, and windy, and we have had a freezing fog over us all day.
I am having such a hard time getting us into a routine since the Bar Mitzvah and now that UNM has started up again. But if the kid is sick, he's sick! I will have to adjust and that's all!

I used the extra time today to clean up my office and get organized to study for a test next week in Neurobiology. The test will cover cellular organization of the brain, anatomy of the brain, membrane potentials, action potentials, electronus and propagation along axons, ion channels (in cell membranes), and sensory transduction. I have not taken a test like this in at least 10 years. I'm just a little nervous! I think the freezing fog has entered my brain!


I've got to go study and prepare for my Special Education Law class. I had to download a copy of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution and prepare a definition of justice. That class will not be too bad, although I can tell that I am starting with a different viewpoint about rights than are most of my classmates.

I wanted to close by showing a picture of one of our Juniper trees coated with freezing fog. We just don't get this kind of weather around here very often. This winter has been a bonus for us. And it is really beautiful! A fact of which I will remind myself as I scrape the truck to drive to class today.

Every day in winter during the Amidah (standing prayer), we praise G-d "who

causes the wind to blow and the rain to fall." If we change the word "rain" to "snow", we are getting exactly that. We are grateful for the El Nino and for the precipitation, even the freezing fog.

A Subtle Change in the Light

Yesterday morning when we took the dogs for a Shabbat walk up the ridge in front of our house, we saw the most amazing sight. Fog surrounded our mountains on three sides--covering Juan Tomas to the south, the Estancia Valley to the southeast and Mountain Valley to the North. We don't get a lot of fog here--so this was truly a time for us to "turn aside and see this great sight."
Above is the morning sun above the fog over Juan Tomas and the Estancia Valley.

We noticed something else as well. The light is changing. We are yet one week out from Groundhog's Day, which is the cross-quarter day between the Winter Soltice and the Vernal Equinox. The change in the quality of the light as well as the length of the day is becoming very noticable. The sun is rising about 20 degrees north of the winter solstice point.

It is still cold in the mornings and evenings.
Snow still covers the ground as it has for six weeks. But the light is stronger and is the unmistakable harbinger of the coming spring.
In the old calendar, next Saturday would be the beginning of spring. And we can feel it coming.
And the birds are singing in the mornings in the snowy woods now.
Next Saturday is also Tu B' Shevat--the Jewish New Year of Trees. I am planning a week of study surrounding that holiday culminating in a Tu B'Shevat Seder next Saturday afternoon. This is the first time in a number of years that I have felt excited about this minor holiday. I think that living up in the mountains now, and the real winter we are having, has contributed to my sense of the change of seasons.

One of the rewards of homeschooling is that we can turn aside to see the miracles that surround us everyday. We are not always hurrying. Hurrying to be "on time" according to someone else's schedule. When we were always hurrying due to being oversheduled, I am not sure we achieved more (which is the goal) and I know we often could not turn aside and see the great sights that lie right in front of us.

There is a midrash about the burning bush in Parashah Shemot. The midrash states that the burning bush had been present for anyone to see, but only Moses took the time to turn aside and "see" that the bush burned but was not consumed. If you think about it, noticing a bush on fire is something anyone might do. But it would take someone who had the patience to watch would see that it was not consumed.

I am so grateful we can take the time to notice the change in the light. The fog over the valley. Who knows if we will every see this sight again?

Above is South Mountain as seen from the Via Sedillo. The Mountain is up to her waist in fog.

A Day with the Brain

Yesterday was a good day for N.

In the morning, we did our usual routine--Shacharit (the morning prayer service), then math and critical thinking.

But after critical thinking, we had set up an internet conference with Dr. Cheri Florance in New York City. She is an audiologist who has developed techniques to help very visual people use verbal pathways effectively, so that they can be successful academically. She did this first to help her son Whitney, who had symptoms of auditory processing problems, hearing loss and autism. You can find her story in the book Maverick Mind if you want to know more about it. Click on the hyperlink to go to her website.

Anyway, Dr. Florance tested N. yesterday, giving him an Auditory-Visual Learning test and a Sound-Symbol Associator test. N. did stunningly well on both, indicating that he is very gifted using his visual pathway. The problem seems to be that he uses his visual pathway in ways to interfere with the use of his auditory sequential pathway, this creating problems for reading and other sequential tasks like organizing himself. We are working with Dr. Florance to teach N. how to use the best pathway for different tasks so that he can realize his great potential and become successful in academic environments.

It is interesting. N. carries a diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome (AS) which is a high-functioning form of autism. It is thought that some people with autism are extreme visual thinkers. This appears to be the issue for N. So he has difficulty communicating with people who are highly verbal in their patterns of thinking.

After the internet conference, N. went with me to my Neurobiology class. He goes with me on Wednesday because he has Machon (religious school) in the evening. This week, we met in the Gross Anatomy Lab, so that we could do a brain dissection and learn the major anotomical landmarks of the brain. N. was allowed in the Gross Lab--there were no cadavers out--and the professors were delighted to let him hold the brain and they answered his questions. N. noticed a lesion in the occipital lobe of the brain. The professor said: "See what happens when you eat too much candy! Just kidding--but this brain might have had trouble with processing vision." So N. learned that visual processing takes place in the occipital lobe. He told me later: "My occipital lobe must be very big--I am a visual learner!"

The other graduate students are determined to persuade him to become a neurologist.

The openess of the professors and other students to my son's questions is something that I deeply appreciate about science. When I taught science, I took a student to the Intel International Science Fair. There I saw internationally known scientists and Nobel prize winners on the floor with students in the exhibit hall, tracing pathways, drawing diagrams and having a great time discussing their field.

I imagine that my N. will become some kind of scientist or engineer. He is the son of a physicist and a biologist-turned-teacher, and the step-son of an engineer. His older sister, ML, spend her mid-school and high school years vehemently insisting that she would NOT be a scientist. NO WAY! She'd heard enough of that at the dinner table to last her a lifetime. She is now finishing a B.S. in Chemistry and she is planning to intern this summer at Sandia National Labs with an organic chemist as a mentor. She plans to go for the Ph.D. in Chemistry. You could say the lady did protest too much!

Some statistics show that a child of one scientist has about a 40% chance of going into science and a child of two scientists has a 75% likelyhood of going into science. It appears that certain ways of thinking have high heritability--probably due to differences in brain structure and function that we are only beginning to discover.

We had a great day with the brain yesterday!

Carnival of Homeschooling #56

The 56th Carnival of Homeschooling is up over at The Thinking Mother.
And Christine is really in thinking mode this week with the theme January Musings.
There are 45 entries to choose from.

I am going to curl up with my laptop for the next few evenings and enjoy them all!
I love what I am learning from the diversity of the homeschooling community.
You are all amazing!

Once Again Unto the...Drift!

Weather Report: On Friday night-early Saturday morning, we got about one inch of snow here in Sedillo.

On Saturday afternoon--evening, we got about 3 inches more. The yesterday, from afternoon--night, we got about 3 and 1/2 inches more. (The measurements are approximate because we had strong winds that blew and drifted some of the snow. To the left is snow drifted against the neighbor's fence.

The drift symbolizes where I feel we are right now!

Today, the East Mountain schools are closed, as are the Moriarity schools. Although I allowed N. to go outside and play with his sled this morning, I do feel the need to get some work done today. N. disagrees and is working under protest. So we are having one those days where it is very difficult not to get into a power struggle with him. I think one of the problems is that I did not start the routine right away. We did not pray the morning service and that part of our routine is missing. Missing a piece of the routine really puts N. out of sorts--and of course, the fact that the "school" kids are having a snow day, increases his frustration.


How did I manage to "forget" the morning service? Well, my morning routine was somewhat upset because I had to check the goverment, business and school closure list (at KKOB online--thanks KKOB!) in order to see if there were any delays for UNM (ML, my 21 year old had class today) and Sandia National Labs (for DH). There were no closures or delays for any place in Albuquerque. So ML went off to school. Just as I was feeding the dogs, she called to say that she had slid into a ditch. DH and I began clearing his car so he could pick her up. Then, just as we were leaving to rescue her, ML called to say that a guy with a "mongo" truck got her out of the ditch. She missed French and managed to throw the routine.


N. is not the only person who gets out of sorts when the routine changes. I do too, although I cannot have a melt-down.

So today, we are feeling somewhat out of kilter, and I am feeling very unproductive in the homeschooling department. I guess we have to chalk it up to "one of THOSE days." I know they happen in school, too. It's just that my goal has been to hit the ground running now that the Bar Mitzvah is over. However, it has been feeling more like start, fart, stumble and fall!


We've been rather "drifty" instead of organized of late.


One productive thing I have done today is take a picture (right) of the beautiful ice sculpture in my dooryard.
It is melting now, even though the air temperature is below freezing. The intense solar radiation against the house wall (two feet to the right in the picture) makes it much warmer near the porch than it is further out in the yard. Isn't this pretty?

The snow falls when it is time to fall. The snow drifts before the wind when the wind blows.
I make plans--but sometimes I forget that those plans are not set in concrete. Sometimes the wind changes and my plans need to change too.

"Da' Bears"

There are two times in the year when our household acts like rabid sports fans. They are during the playoffs and World Series for baseball and again during the playoffs and super bowl.

Some years are better for us than others because we are not just general sports fans. We are loyal to our regions.
My DH is from Oakland, so he tends to get really excited when the A's or the Giants are involved in the baseball playoffs. He loves the game of baseball the best of all.
He also can remember the "Hail Mary" pass and some other great moments in football.

I was born in northern Illinois, so my team loyalties are a matter of faith rather than intellect.
And I have transfered that tradition on to my children.
N. is an avid Bear fan and this is a good year for him!

Another piece that adds to our great enjoyment of the Bears being in the playoffs is that Brian Urlacher played football for our very own UNM Lobos before he went "pro" with the Chicago Bears. Lately, we have all sorts of connections to "da Bears."

Here is N. modeling his special Urlacher shirt, printed just for UNM's Lobo store. The front has UNM colors and Urlacher's Lobo number, 44. The back has Chicago's colors and Urlacher's Bear number, 54.

When our relatives were here for the Bar Mitzvah, my mother bought all the adult males in the family these shirts (and Lobo wear for everyone else) as souvenirs of the trip. The Lobo store manager who helped us in this large order was Born in Streator Illinois and taught in Galesburg. He only recently migrated out Lobo way. He told us that the first printing of these shirts had the Bears logo on the back. For some unknown reason, the Bears management did not continue permission for the continued use of the official Bears logo. So now the shirts only have the Lobo logo on the front. You'd think that the team management would understand the need to expand the fan base outside of Illinois! Oh, well!

Anyway, the Bears are currently ahead and, according to my mother, it is good "Bears" weather in Chicago. Cold, windy and some snow on the field. It would be really cool if they go to the Superbowl.

We'll stay tuned!

THEY WON! GO, BEARS!

Fifth Weekend in a Row

Take three guesses. The first two guesses don't count!
It began snowing late last night. The forcasts first said that it would start yesterday by noon on the I-40 corridor. Then they said by 2 PM. I checked just before lighting Shabbat candles and they said it would begin by dark. But it began with a freezing fog late last night.
This morning we woke up to about 1" of new snow. The sun was vainly trying to peek out, but the clouds were lowering again over Sandia Peak as you can see in the picture above.

One person was delighted! When we returned from walking the dogs, N. was out on the driveway, checking out the speed of his new Snow "Boogie". He didn't even wait to have breakfast.

Here is N. ready to begin his run!

He is really loving this winter--which is the first real winter he has known. He was born at the beginning of the drought. Although we had a few snowstorms in the years following, there has nothing like this winter.

And he is really happy now that he has proper snow boots and a sled.

Here he comes!

Here is N. halfway down the driveway.

He is flashing a peace sign with both hands and steering with his knees.

I am sure there must be something educational about this.

Anyway, he is certainly having a lot of fun!

He really loves the speed! And the snow flying in his face.

Look out below!

Here is the big finish!

Look at this happy kid on the ground...in the snow.

He said: "Mom, we have a six inch base and one inch of powder."

I said: "You've been listening to the ski reports on KKOB."

He said: "Sponsored by Wolf Creek."

I think he could possibly have a career in radio.

Here is what it looks like now. This is the view from my dining room window.

We were advised that the wind would shift in the late morning and that the second system would move in. The wind shifted. The second system has moved in.

It has been snowing steadily since about noon.
I think we are going to have a lot more powder when this is through.

We have now had a major storm every week since December 15. This is really unprecedented for us. As I have said, we tend to measure precipitation in tenths of inches, not feet!