Bringing it all back home

During our week’s review during morning circle, it became clear that we have learned a tremendous amount about Peru, Japan, Australia and Mongolia!  One of our kids summarized, "all the countries we learned about are really close and connected to nature."  Spark Explorers discussed ways to bring that connectedness to nature into our lives right … Continue reading Bringing it all back home

Building a Mongolian Yurt

In the afternoon, Kyle met us in the back yard to teach us a traditional Mongolian game featuring nomadic Mongolian horses (wooden clothes pins!). After an energetic game with lots of cheering, we set to work constructing our very own yurt, which is a nomadic house built from canvas and a wooden frame. While a … Continue reading Building a Mongolian Yurt

Mongolian Tuvan Throat Singing

A Mongolian Tuvan throat singer performing before an audience in Paris.

Tuvan Throat Singing is an ancient Mongolian musical tradition. Not for the faint of heart, seasoned throat singers sing several tones simultaneously! Using ancient techniques, singers sing a drone in their resonant, chest voice while manipulating their throat, mouth and lips to sound overtones above at the same time. We listened to recordings of Tuvan … Continue reading Mongolian Tuvan Throat Singing

Exploring the Mongolian Culture

Mongolian women in traditional cultural dress.

San Ban Oh!  That’s Mongolian for “hello”!  Today we travelled through one of the world’s highest countries, Mongolia, to learn about its fascinating culture and way of life. Like nomadic Mongolians, we moved through the vast lands to the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, the Gobi desert, the grasslands and mountains.  Mongolians have traditionally been nomadic, … Continue reading Exploring the Mongolian Culture

Freeplay

Playing with wool can be satisfying, and so can making bouncy felt wool balls out of shapeless wool!  Our kids learned the process and science behind wet felting and rolled together colorful balls from loose wool roving (combed wool) and warm soapy water. We examined more objects under the microscope, wrote in our journals, glazed … Continue reading Freeplay