Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

Sealed Terrariums

My daughter recently brought home a science project... a sealed ecochamber, made of 2 soda bottle bottoms, one inverted to fit inside the other. The chamber was filled with soil and plants. Despite its green plastic ugliness, the plants lived happily for weeks. The idea was simple. Plants give oxygen. Bacteria in the soil gives carbon dioxide*. Water cycles through. Trapped inside, is a whole little world. No need to water, at least in theory. In real life though, the water level needs to be checked every few weeks.

We decided to take the same idea, and make an ecochamber of our own, otherwise known as a sealed terrarium. We used a glass canister and put some rocks in the bottom for drainage, a layer of activated carbon (optional) on the next layer, and finally, some potting soil. Then came the fun part – planting. We added just a little water. If you add too much, just leave the lid off for a day or two.

Clockwise from top left: White Rabbits Foot Fern, Corsican Mint, Pincushion Spikemoss, and Blue Baby Tears.

The Corsican Mint has a wonderful scent when we open the jar to check on our little world. The tiny Rabbit's Foot Fern adds a bit of height. The Blue Baby Tears have miniature blooms for color, and the pincushion spikemoss, well, I think moss is a requirement in a little terrarium like this, and for some reason, it's my daughter's favorite.

 * To make a completely sealed terrarium work, you would need an animal to provide carbon dioxide. See here for details. With its removable lid, ours is only partially sealed. And no, I don't recommend adding any critters to the terrarium.

Winter, I Am Ignoring You...

I'm not a winter person. I am good for about one heavy snowfall, and then I'm done. I know I should try and embrace it, but winter always seems to last about three months too long.

So, Winter, I am ignoring you.

But in order to properly ignore Winter, I needed a plan. First, I bought a lemon tree from Four Winds Growers. It arrived about a month ago in a brown cardboard box labeled "live plant". I opened it to find the happiest little lemon tree you can imagine. It even had small blooms, which were followed by more blooms, and then little tiny lemons. Way too many lemons for those little branches to support, so I'm sure I'll have to thin them, but I can't quite bring myself to do it just yet.

 

Forced bulbs are practically a requirement to make it through the season. The paperwhites are in full bloom, and since my daughter has inherited the same winter problem, she is forcing both paperwhites and an amaryllis.

And the latest addition is an AeroGrow Garden (a gift from my parents to my most passionate gardener). The first crop of cherry tomatoes is growing nicely, and while I think these hydroponic gardens are a little pricey, they are a lot of fun, and practically guarantee success.

 

So spring is what, a million months away? We'll wait... and in the meantime, we will be memorizing the seed catalogs... and planning our gardens... and ignoring Winter.

For the Birds...

 

Thanks to the mountain of snow that fell on us this weekend, we were pretty much stuck at home today. In between playing outside and mopping up puddles of water that were tracked throughout the house, we decided to sneak in a messy project, for the birds...

I've been watching them flutter up to our windows. They seem intent on coming inside, and I don't blame them. I was out of birdseed, so we improvised. We smeared bagels with peanut butter, and then sprinkled them with treats: Cheerios, flax seed, and oatmeal. The list of bird friendly ingredients you can use is pretty long. Here are some suggestions, but raisins, nuts and grains all work.

 

We hung them from the trellis near our deck, so we can spy on any feathered dinner guests. Enjoy the snow everyone!

Mums and Sundials

A recent trip to the Conservatory revealed two new surprises. First, the chrysanthemums, still in full bloom and crazy beautiful. I'm only showing one here, because I don't want to ruin the fun.

And second, this bizarre sundial. It shows multiple timezones, one on each plane. I think it's brilliant, despite the tree stump base. Surely the base was an afterthought.

Baltimore's time was dead on.

 

 

410-396-0180

Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens
3100 Swan Drive in Druid Hill Park
Baltimore, MD 21217

[Directions from their website]

Campfire Clam Bake

There is already a crispness in the air. Fall is right around the corner, which means winter is right around the corner, which means I'm going to make extra-sure we sit outside and enjoy the backyard. Campfire time.

 

Take a look at our swanky setup: a stone fire ring, two cinder blocks, some metal rods and the grate from the grill balanced on top. Yes, we were improvising a bit, but that's half the fun.

The kids helped fill aluminum foil packets with the following:

15 shellfish (we used clams and mussels)

1/2 ear of corn

a few canned potatoes

1 pat butter

a drizzle of olive oil

salt, pepper and oregano

Then we placed the packets over the wood fire for about 15 minutes, until the shellfish opened. The smoke from the fire gave this a wonderful flavor. Even the broth left over in the bottom of the packets was amazing and we ended up dunking pieces of sourdough bread in it. So good.

 

Of course, no campfire is complete without s'mores. We did that too.

Summer Wrap-up

Summer is dead and gone. School starts Monday and while I am looking forward to it (the old Staples commercial is ringing in my head) I am a little sad about it too. Looking back, I think it's been the best summer yet with the kids. They have become so independent, and so strong.

At the beginning of the summer, I shared a brief list of summer plans. We accomplished almost all of the items on our list. Next year, I hope the list is even longer. Here is a recap of what we did (and didn't) do.

1. More time at the beach. We did a pretty good job with this one. I can say this with some confidence since as I type we are at the beach. This year my kids "graduated" from the bay to the ocean. Once you have experienced the ocean (or as my kids call it "strong water") there is no turning back.

2. Make a good ceviche. Okay, big fail. For the life of me I can't figure out why this one is where I fell short. It seemed so easy.

3. Day camp in the woods.  Oh yes. It was muddy, and therefore good.

4. Time in the garden. Despite some tomato blight, we had a pretty good crop. Some things, like the pineapple tomatillos, did very well. Maybe a little too well.

We also managed to clear out a huge area in the front of our property where we planted a three sisters' garden. It was a little too far into the season, but still early enough to qualify as a success. But the best part was watching my daughter's enthusiasm for gardening explode. She is already planning next year's garden and a honestly don't know how she will survive the winter. Now the younger two are following big sister's lead and carving out their own gardens.

 

5. Horseback riding lessons, for my 10 year old. We started lessons at J-Mar Stables. The twins draw pictures with me and play with the dog while we wait. I like what I'm seeing after just a few lessons. Not that I care if she can ride a horse or not, just that I see a quiet confidence in the way she takes charge. I like that.

6. Day trips here and there and everywhere with the kids. Larriland Farms, Brookside Gardens, Artscape, the National Aquarium, CALs Miniature Trains, Shaw Orchards, tubing down Gunpowder Falls River, a visit to see a long lost friend. A fine list, if you ask me.

7. Swimming lessons for all. Thanks to a reader's suggestion (hey, I really do listen to you guys) we went to MAC for lessons. I'm very happy with the teachers, and the super-clean facility. The kids are not all sink-proof. In all honesty, we have a looong way to go for the twins, so we will probably continue next year, but we've made some progress.

If you had a favorite summer accomplishment, I would love to hear it.

The Treehouse is Finished - Part 3

Dave's summer project is completed and I have to admit I am impressed. My kids are considering moving in permanently and as my daughter pointed out, "Mommy, you can still visit." Good to know I'm still welcome.

According to Dave, the whole project only cost about $300, due to the large amount of re-purposed items. He had to buy all of the 2 x 3s and about two-thirds of the siding and some new hardware. The rest of the siding was left-over scrap from a gallery show. The corrugated metal roof was left-over from a 10-year old renovation at the studio. (The man throws nothing away. Ever.)

The ceiling tin was salvaged from Second Chance. 

Because our home is located at the site of an old farmhouse, we have collected a lot of miscellaneous scrap. Trash to some, but treasure to us. The entrance sign, expanded metal mesh, tricycle wheel and the handle (made from and old industrial drill bit) were all found on our property, before we built our house. It's nice to see them find a new home. The sculpture on the upper left was a piece of found art with a few additions. The metal flower boxes were nabbed from Ikea's tent sale for a mere $4 each.

The baby head mold, on the top of the post, was a flea-market find from the eastern shore.

And their favorite part? The bucket with the pulley, hands down. No treehouse is complete without that, right?

Larriland Farm

The humble potato is my son's nemesis. Broccoli, asparagus, lima beans... no problem. But the potato, at least in any recognizable potato form, is his downfall.

Now, I'm thinking ahead, way ahead, to the day when I will have a teenage son. I hear they eat a lot. I hear they will eat you out of house and home. My son needs to learn to love potatoes, right?

When I announced that we were heading to Larriland Farm to dig potatoes I wasn't sure what reaction I would get. Farm = good, potatoes = bad, but apparently, the farm carried more weight and all of my kids were happy to come along. We followed the signs to the potato field and were met by a helpful farmer. He gave us a quick potato digging lesson. There are lots of weeds around the potato field, which is a sure sign that this farm does not use a lot of herbicides. That's a big plus to me, and our farmer friend explained a little bit about the farm's pest management philosophy. Then he handed us a shovel and we got to work.

Muddy work = good. Every shovelful of dirt is met with greedy little fingers that are snatching potatoes like they are buried treasure. By the time we stopped, we were the proud owners of 34 pounds of potatoes.

And yes, potatoes still = bad, but I haven't given up yet.

There are lots of other crops to pick at Larriland. In fact, they have the largest collection of pick-your-own crops that I have seen. Current options are peaches, blackberries, sweet onions, leeks, blueberries, red beets, potatoes and flowers. Check their website for daily updates.

410-442-2605

Larriland Farm
2415 Woodbine Road
Woodbine, MD 21797

[Map it]

Worm Bin

My dad recently handed me a quart-sized carryout container and told me to help myself to some European Night Crawlers from his worm bin. As my kids dug through the castings and scooped the worms into the container, I couldn't help but think that this image would resurface somewhere down the line in my nightmares. Or at the very least, turn me off of carryout food for a few months.

Despite their squirmy sliminess, I love worms. I really do. And I have wanted to start a worm bin for ages. When I saw how easy it was to do, I just had to give it a try. You don't need those fancy vermicompost bins with 3 layers that you rotate. After all, it's not like the worms in the yard work that way. You might, however, want to do a little research and Mary Appelhof's book, Worms Eat My Garbage is a great resource.

I started with a plastic bin. You can add a few ventilation holes if you like, but with a lid that is not completely airtight, you might not need to. Locate the bin somewhere where it won't get too cold or too hot, like a basement or garage. I added a few inches of peat moss to the bottom for bedding, but shredded newspaper or cardboard also work well. Mix with water to moisten. The right level of moisture is important, similar to a sponge that has been wrung out. Add some worms (European Night Crawlers or Red Wigglers are best) and some tasty table scraps (no meat, dairy, eggs or oils) and you are in business. Replenish the food as needed, but don't overload it.

The first night home, my worms tried to head for the hills, climbing straight up the sides of the bin, a sign that something was not to their liking. I had added my worms too fast and the bedding/food mix was not decomposed at all. The quickest fix was to cover the top with something translucent, and hang a dim light above them (a great tip from my dad). As I got the moisture and bedding adjusted, I found they stayed put and started to thrive.

Soon, we should have some nice fresh worm castings to add to our garden. The kids, meanwhile, have started to bond to their newest creepy crawly pets. Maybe this will postpone their requests for a dog. Okay, probably not, but it's fun anyway.

Sketchbook

Kids know how to draw. Why is that? They start life knowing, just knowing how to make something look so right, but over the years, it gets muddled until finally everyone is hunched around Pictionary making poor excuses for their stick figures. Oh, I know grownups can still draw too, they just won't. It's too scary.

One of my many goals this summer is to go out and draw, just draw, with the kids. There are so many places to talk about shapes and colors with my little ones. Or figure out perspective and line quality with my 10-year old. Where to start?

On a recent trip to the beach, when we loaded up our regular sand toys, towels, and beach chairs, I threw in a few sketchbooks, just to see what would happen. No pressure. Drawing should be an easy joy, maybe even a guilty pleasure. I have way too few moments in my life where I just sit and sketch these days. I need to take time for my drawing too. My daughter gathered all the shells and fragments she could find and spent some time just noticing the differences and similarities. Beautiful.

  

Then again, who needs a sketchbook?

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