Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

Wings of Fancy at Brookside Gardens

WHEN: May 2 - September 20, 2009

You can actually hear the gasps as people walk through the conservatory doors at Brookside Gardens. Hundreds of butterflies cover every surface and float by the crowd. My kids were amazed and couldn't stop pulling me in different directions to see their favorites. But honestly, I found myself oooing and ahhhing too.

The butterflies and moths on display here are all farm raised, and brought in as chrysalises and cocoons. They are tended in a climate controlled case until they hatch, and then they live out their days sampling the flowers and fruit in the conservatory. Not a bad life. There is a "no touching" rule here, because it can harm the butterflies, but apparently no one told the butterflies. They routinely land on people and will hang out for a while on a lucky shoulder or head. My younger daughter was rather upset that none of them would land on her, but when I picked her up and held her higher, a few kind butterflies obliged.

There is a touch and feel station set up where a volunteer will answer questions and kids can touch a few dead specimens. Thank goodness for patient volunteers because, as usual, my son found about a million things to ask.

Meanwhile, my older two (my daughter brought a friend) were busy naming every last butterfly they saw. You can probably guess, we were there for a long time.

After we are checked for stray butterflies, we headed out the door for a lovely stroll through the gardens. A perfect end to the day.

[Note: Bring some extra water; the greenhouses are warm and humid. This exhibit runs every year during the warm season. It may occasionally close during extreme heat advisories. Please call the butterfly hotline for up-to-date details.

"Butterfly Hotline": 301-962-1453

Brookside Gardens - Wings of Fancy Exhibit
South Conservatory
1500 Glenallan Avenue
Wheaton, MD 20902

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Treehouse - Part 1

 

Every kid wants a tree house. It's one of those rites of childhood -- a place to house pirates, or witches, or woodland creatures; a place to perfect secret handshakes and clubhouse rules. We've been wanting to add a tree house for a while, and this year, big projects seem a little more manageable. The twins are old enough to be interested, and maybe even help a little.

Dave's plan (above) was developed after reading Kid's Places to Play, by Jeanne Huber. Dave's idea: keep it simple and base everything on 4' x 8' measurements, so cutting is minimized. The first task was to find the right location. We happened to have a little stand of locust trees that we thought might work well.

Our three trees meant that he needed to plant a post for the fourth leg. The kids helped dig a hole, and Dave used quick setting concrete to stabilize the post.

 

The tree house will rest on cross supports. We have two main concerns about the supports. The first, we want to allow for a little bit of movement from the trees. The second, we don't want to damage the trees and realistically, we know that may happen. To minimize the risk, Dave decided to drill through the trees and install lag bolts, instead of lashing the structure onto the trees. The more the bark remains intact, the better the trees will do.

Then, the deck was built.

 

The next step will be framing the basic structure. We will post an update on that soon, so check back!

[Gentle nagging here, if you haven't voted yet today, please vote for Kid Baltimore here.]

Natural Weed Killer

The poison ivy crop sure is healthy around here. When we moved in to our little house by the edge of the woods, poison ivy was growing up the trees in thick, hairy vines. Dave donned his Tyvec suit (very fashionable), chopped through it with an ax and threw it deep into the woods. Knight in shining armor stuff here, as far as I'm concerned, because I am pretty darn allergic to the stuff.

I have followed up with more chemical weed killer than I would like to admit, but make no apologies. When your kid starts to blister from the stuff, you do what you need to do. I have, however, been experimenting with a more natural weed killer. So far, the results have been really good and I will keep a bottle of my concoction with me in my gardening bag from now on. It seems to kill most anything you spray it on, so spray carefully. But the good news is that I don't worry to much about my "helpers" helping me.

4 c. white vinegar

1/2 c. salt

16 drops liquid dish washing soap

Spray on plants liberally. Repeat every couple of days if needed, or after a rain.

And on an unrelated note, the voting for best local blog is coming to an end soon. If you haven't voted today, please vote here.

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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Jellies Invasion at the National Aquarium

My sister and I recently headed to the Aquarium with kids in tow, five of them age 10 and under, plus a teenager. Let's just say we had our hands full. We spent most of our time counting heads and shouting directions, but we soon discovered it was as much fun to watch the kids' expressions as the exhibits.

We explored all the regular favorites: rays, sharks, dolphins, rain forest. By the time we got to the Jellies exhibit, I knew our crew was tired and hungry. We had to wait a few minutes to enter, but watching these underwater ballerinas was hypnotic. The first tank was a tangley mess of tentacles. The next, short, stout little squirts. I never knew there was so much variety and every one of them was beautiful.

The exhibit focuses on how jellies are "environmental indicators" that let us know when our world is getting out of balance. The population of these prehistoric blobs ebbs and flows as their environment changes. As predators decline or pollution increases, their numbers give us a marker of their habitat's health.

Now I feel kind of bad. I've been dodging these guys at the beach for years. Okay, I will still do that, but I now, I promise, I'll dodge them with a bit more respect.

410-576-3800

The National Aquarium in Baltimore
501 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

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Happy Mother's Day

Look what was waiting for me this morning - a pretty blue pot decorated with ladybugs and a beautiful heather plant. My 10-year-old daughter orchestrated this project, helping her younger brother and sister add their fingerprints. I love every single bug, even the smudgy ones.

 

And a homemade book, again by all three. with each child writing and illustrating different pages. I know how much hard work this must have been, because the twins can't read, yet they managed to sit down with big sis to write whole sentences.

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Here, Bat, Bat, Bat, Bat...

We've noticed a trend. Every year, we head to the beach for a week of calm. And every year, we return to some house/pet sitter screaming about a bat infestation. Wow. What can I say to a person who just removed three live bats, neatly folded in half, from underneath the cat food dish?

Sorry?

Last year, we changed our schedule. The bats returned right on schedule, and we found ourselves with a bat in the living room. Dave and I devised a plan. It involved him tapping the bat with a stick, ever so gently, and me chasing the bat down the hallway with a sheet to try and catch it, screaming all the way. I don't think the screaming was supposed to be part of the plan, but that's what happened. After a few tries, I caught the bat. Hurray for me! Then we scooted it toward the doorway. The only way for us to make sure it was safely outside seemed to be for me to seal off the doorway with the sheet and let poor Dave and the bat untangle themselves.

Now, don't get me wrong. We like the bats. We want to keep the bats. We love to watch them outside swooping down upon unsuspecting bugs. I'm all for natural pest control and there is a certain natural balance, a bug to bat ratio, that I'm pretty sure is a good thing.

But no bats in the house, please. So our goal this year is to establish a more suitable home for our flappy friends. Introducing our new Rubicon Bat House. It's made from 100% recycled plastic milk jugs, which is a double bonus for me because, boy, do we go through gallons of milk around here.

The hole is dug, the concrete is poured, the pole is planted, the bat house is hung, so now all we need to do is wait. Come, my little bow ties, come...

Summer Plans

Every year, about this time, we make a list of summer plans. This year, like most families, I find we are re-evaluating everything, just as a precaution against the recession. I think it's a good thing. Less waste, more time soaking in the summer.

So here is what is on the list so far:

1. More time at the beach. Chasing seagulls, digging our feet in the sand, rescuing horseshoe crabs and spending some much needed time with our family.
2. Make a good ceviche. I don't know why.
3. Day camp in the woods. Muddy, muddy places to explore in the stream, rope courses to climb, nature journals to write.
4. Time in the garden. The collards, cabbages, radishes and onions are already in, but it's not summer until the tomatoes, peppers, and basil are planted. On the more permanent side, we just planted two fig trees. And the blueberries and cherry trees we planted in the fall seem to have survived the winter nicely. We also want to plant a three sisters garden. My daughter has wanted to do this for years, and now that I look into it, I think it makes perfect sense, especially with our many deer "friends." If it works out, I might be enjoying some fresh-from-the-garden corn by the end of summer.
5. Horseback riding lessons, for my 10 year old.
6. Day trips here and there and everywhere with the kids. I have a lovely list of places I want to visit thanks to suggestions sent in by  readers. I'll be sure to share my favorites.
7. Swimming lessons for all. Until I am convinced you won't sink, swimming lessons are not optional. Anyone have recommendations on this one? (Email me or comment on this post to share your ideas.)

And here is what got cut:

1. Summer pre-school for the twins. I plan on keeping them way too busy to miss it. But don't worry, we will fit in plenty of good books, messy projects and our version of "home school".
2. The lawn service. I am learning to love my weeds. Honestly, the kids adore them, especially the dandelions.
3. The pool membership. I did the math. It just didn't make sense.

I'd love to hear what you are planning too. What's in and what's out? Share your list by commenting on this post.