Tvini, the Tired
I have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning, which wouldn’t be an issue except that I also have a Girl Scout meeting tomorrow afternoon which I don’t have supplies for. Frankly, I’m really, really tired today, even though I got to bed at a semi-reasonable hour last night. Sleep deprivation from the time change has finally caught up with me. The appointment couldn’t be rescheduled without a fee, so I’m going anyway, and I’ll make do with the scouts.
Some of our girls are going to an overnight camp in April, and they’re required to learn a song to share with the other campers and also to make some swaps to trade with the other girls. Six girls are going (including little sisters of some scouts), four girls aren’t, so it’s kind of weird to be running a meeting to take care of the needs of half the girls. A half which doesn’t include my daughter, who elected not to go after she found out just how much her nighttime routine would be disrupted at camp. Oh well. There’s a daytime camp coming up, so I think I can sell it as something they’ll still use in the future. And I found a page with some swaps I think my girls can make that won’t require too much in the way of supplies.
Although Emily doesn’t want to sleep under the stars, she has expanded her astronaut interest to include the constellations. It’s a pretty natural fit for her. She’s already interested in space, and she loves sets of things. When she goes to bed at night, she likes for us to lie in the dark for a few minutes and point out imaginary constellations on her ceiling we see. Well, the constellations are actual constellations, it’s just that obviously they are not on her ceiling. Maybe I should invest in one of those little planetarium orbs like my dad got for my mom when I was a kid. I’m sure it couldn’t cost that much for a kid-friendly version of one. (ETA: Sky Turtle? Wow.)
Em keeps asking me to tell her a new constellation I haven’t told her before. I’m having to really reach at this point, for more obscure things like Saggita the Arrow. As a result, now she knows unusual things for a 9-year-old girl, like that Gemini contains Castor and Pollux. I’m having to brush up myself, too, so that I can recognize more constellation in the night sky. So this is good for both of us.
It also gives me something quick to put on her lunchbag in the morning – provided I can remember what the various constellations actually look like. This might also be a good intro into the Greek myths. Hmmm, maybe it’s time to check out the D’Aulaires again…
For my own reference, a few constellation links:
http://www.abc.net.au/children/space/games/skypictures/default.htm
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/st6starfinder/st6starfinder.shtml
http://stardate.org/nightsky/constellations/
http://www.kids.union.edu/fsnCannedConstellations.htm (if you know anyone who still has film canisters)
Possible books:
H.A. Rey’s “Find the Constellations”
Michael Driscoll’s “A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky” (includes glow in the dark star chart)
D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths (may be a little advanced)
Thanks for the links! I put this in my memories because they will definitely come in handy for my own little stargazer.
Good luck with the dentist and the scouts.
Thanks for the links! I put this in my memories because they will definitely come in handy for my own little stargazer.
Good luck with the dentist and the scouts.
Have you thought about getting Emily something like this?
Have you thought about getting Emily something like this?
ooooh! I had rejected regular glow in the dark stars because I didn’t feel like calculating where the constellations should go, but… hm! Maybe!
ooooh! I had rejected regular glow in the dark stars because I didn’t feel like calculating where the constellations should go, but… hm! Maybe!
That’s what sold me on that particular one. So (relatively) easy!
That’s what sold me on that particular one. So (relatively) easy!
I’ve had a set of these (or something similar) for years — we never got around to putting it up, because so far Philip has been totally uninterested, and has been insisting on laving the light on at night anyhow. D’you want it? I think I even know approximately where it is… 🙂
There’s a company out here (I encountered them at the state fair, so there might well be others) that will come out and paint an accurate night sky (for a particular place, date and time) on the ceiling (and an option to go partway down the walls). They have stars of different brightnesses and a Milky Way dusted through and it’s practically invisible in daylight. It’s pretty awesome, but also several hundred bucks.
I’ve had a set of these (or something similar) for years — we never got around to putting it up, because so far Philip has been totally uninterested, and has been insisting on laving the light on at night anyhow. D’you want it? I think I even know approximately where it is… 🙂
There’s a company out here (I encountered them at the state fair, so there might well be others) that will come out and paint an accurate night sky (for a particular place, date and time) on the ceiling (and an option to go partway down the walls). They have stars of different brightnesses and a Milky Way dusted through and it’s practically invisible in daylight. It’s pretty awesome, but also several hundred bucks.
That’s a really thoughtful offer – but do you think he might want it at some point? I’d feel bad taking it and then having him suddenly want them.
That’s a really thoughtful offer – but do you think he might want it at some point? I’d feel bad taking it and then having him suddenly want them.
Maybe some day, but I can’t imagine it any time soon — we have to get him sleeping with the light off first (boy was that no fun during the huge power outage of 2006). E-mail me an address!
Maybe some day, but I can’t imagine it any time soon — we have to get him sleeping with the light off first (boy was that no fun during the huge power outage of 2006). E-mail me an address!