Judd the Red Chicken was studying the map -- not wallowing in lethargy. I'm happy to report that the fever was gone this morning, so we were able to resume our studies.
The highlights of those studies are:
The Sister taught them about the anatomy of a frog complete with a simple discussion on how the digestive system works. They then created a gelatinous, dissectible-friendly frog... and then dissected it... in a friendly way.
They worked on their drafts from their writing assignment inspired by our trip to the Met on Wednesday. I was soundly impressed with the drafts, and I was even more pleased that both were so proud of their drafts that they wanted to read them out loud (even though that's only a requirement for "final" drafts).
We went to the Jewish Museum. Which is housed in one of the 5th Avenue mansions -- the Warburg's. It is in the French chateau style... and it is shockingly beautiful when you cross the street and get a view of it in its entirety.
Highlights of this highlight are:
Our health science lesson. Judd the Red Chicken called me over to look at "the cool butter knife." Not being squeamish I launched into circumcision. I explained it from a religious perspective and a medical one. I shared the information I collected prior to his birth and the reasoning that went into the decision that was made for him. I mentioned that our pediatrician recommended to "circumcise or not circumcise based on what the father is." And it was at that moment that I caught the pained, fully disgusted look on The Sister's face.
"TMI?"
"TMI."
Currently there is an exhibition featuring manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries. They are beautiful. We loved getting super close to the glass and looking at the tiny, tiny details that were done by hand. There was a reference made to how many people see ebooks as the great shift/advancement of the written word, but the argument could be made that the truly monumental transition was from scrolls to codex (the bound book as we know it). I guess if I lived back then I would have been the crazy lady shaking my scrolls at people and kvetching about the nuances that would be lost by converting to those new-fangled codexes...
The exhibit that I think meant the most to the kids was the video of Yom Hashoah -- Remembrance Day -- in Israel where an air-raid siren is sounded for two minutes at 10am. For those two minutes people stop doing whatever they are doing -- walking, driving, talking -- and freeze, thereby each and everyone becoming a monument to the Holocaust. It is a tiny screen tucked in a corner, but it's very striking. The importance of standing as a witness.
Until I shared with somebody this evening that we went to the Jewish Museum I was unaware of the recently escalated turmoil happening. Holy crap. According to NY Daily News:
"The war drums in Israel were being heard Friday in New York City as police stepped up security at synagogues and other Jewish institutions." We did not hear the war drums (no TV, self-absorbed (obviously, I have a blog)), or we certainly wouldn't have haplessly chosen today -- of all days -- to wander around the museum like total knuckleheads. Though having the museum virtually to ourselves was kind of nice...
I can't think about it. Moooooving on. Next highlight: walking home through the park.
Three things of note happened:
1. The Boy almost broke his neck when he inadvertently did this crazy somersault-thing out of his swing. His comment: "I don't know what happened." My comment: "All of a sudden his electric-blue skinny jeans were up in the air, and in slow-motion -- after flipping -- he crumpled head first into the ground. I was worried he broke his neck." Bottom line: we are not an athletic people. (Picture taken moments before the incident.)
We walked past some birders, and as we consider ourselves one of the tribe we stopped and asked what they were observing. A barred owl.
At the lake we saw a pair of Khaki Campbells! We googled to see if they are common in Central Park and discovered that there is just the one pair! Allegedly they were domestics that were released in the park to save their lives! When we were up by the Reservoir we saw American Coots, Shovelers, and Mergansers... but the Khaki Campbells in the lake were the most exciting find -- after the owl. (This is a picture at the lake -- when the Khakis showed up I was too excited to pull out the camera... Yes, because we are THAT level of nerd.)
Last highlight of the day:
On this day eight years ago I had an ultrasound. November 16th is officially It's-A-Girl-Day. We celebrated accordingly.
