Permanently Frozen

May 14, 2013 - Mama 2 Comments

In Kansas, sometimes it seems that the frost will never go away. It seems like, when it’s still snowing in May, the ground will stay hard, and the moisture will never sink into the ground. But then, just days later, we end up getting sunny, stellar weather, and the hard ground softens with warmth and rain, the temperatures getting back to normal.

There are many parts of the world where this isn’t the case, though! In Siberia, for example, there is a thing called “Permafrost,” where the ground never fully unfreezes. Even though the top of the ground will soften during the warmer seasons, deep down, it stays frozen, hard, and impossible to soak or build down through. When we were studying Russia, we encountered this fact, but we never fully understood how this would affect life.

Luckily, we encountered this great experiment in our My Father’s World curriculum that gave us a better visual representation of what permafrost looked like, and it used simple household materials: a bowl, Jell-O, dirt, and ice.

Start by making Jell-O! Any flavor will work, including the unflavored, but we just happened to have some Cherry Jell-O on hand. You’ll want to prepare it in a glass or otherwise clear bowl so you can see the effect it creates!

Once it’s set, it’s all ready to go!

Cover that perfectly good Jell-O with a layer of dessert (if you’re smart, unlike us, you’ll make a second set of Jell-O before getting to this step… because you’ll sit there craving it through the whole lesson!)

Once you’ve got a good couple of inches of dirt, you’ll want to top that with some ice!

Now that you’ve got the ice on there, you’ve got a fairly decent representation of Siberia. It’s time to sit back and wait.

You see, the Jell-O represents the permafrost. The dirt is, well, dirt. It represents the ground in Siberia. And finally, the ice is the frozen tundra, which will thaw and melt, and you’ll see how the permafrost affects it.

At first, from a side view, you’ll notice nothing is happening. There will be an ice layer, a dirt layer, and a permafrost layer.

As the ice melts (as though spring and summer are coming!), you’ll notice that the ground gets soggy…

…but the sogginess doesn’t permeate or soak into the Permafrost (Jell-O) layer at all!

Eventually, your ice will totally melt! Summer has arrived!

But look… it still never fully permeates the permafrost! There is always that layer there– meaning the ground will be very soggy.

So what does this mean for people who live in Siberia? For one, paths are really muddy! But the worst part is that muddy ground like that will obviously provide a very unstable surface to build on. It means that many of the older homes are uneven and sinking into the ground. Newer buildings must be built up on stilts that sink far into the ground, allowing them to stay sturdy and stable, so they don’t sink or fall into the ground. It can cause some major problems when you spend time dealing with all of the water on the surface or extra mud.

Permafrost is a difficult concept to figure out or explain sometimes, but this is a great, visual way to show how permafrost works, and the effects that it has on structures and surfaces in Siberia.

Two Days with the T-Bot II

November 30, 2012 - Mama 2 Comments

Typically, school follows a pretty set routine where we continue on in our My Father’s World lessons. This week, however, dad has been off work for a random vacation, which meant it was a good opportunity for Jeffrey to deviate from his standard lessons and give dad an opportunity to teach.

We’ve had the Pitsco T-Bot II for several months now, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to open up the box and get to work on it, and the time was finally there. What better way for dad to teach a school lesson than to do something fun for both of them, involving a very fun lesson in hydraulics.

The T-Bot II challenge kit came with a lot of parts. In addition to the entire robot kit, the challenge kit included some items for additional challenges plus a teacher’s guide for activities.

Jeffrey and dad got down to work.

They popped all of the laser-cut pieces out, one by one.

They measured parts and cut them.

They got everything organized and in order.

Then, the real work began.

He glued the pieces and worked with focus on each piece. Jeffrey has a natural instinct when it comes to putting things together. He can usually figure out that sort of thing without looking at the instructions. However, in some instances, he did double check his work against the very detailed images and diagrams in the instruction manual.

Because the T-Bot II is powered by hydraulics, it takes water to make it move, rather than solar, battery, or other forms of power. That means that it needs some sort of connections to power it. These syringes provided the link between the control panel and actual movement.

It was great seeing dad and Jeffrey work together to build the project, side by side.

Jeffrey had the reins, but dad stepped in to help when needed, sometimes providing a stabilizing hand or clarifying something in the assembly instructions.

Jeffrey was able to do a lot of the work on his own, though, with dad’s watchful eye.

Over the course of a day, the robot started to come together, piece by piece, screw by screw, syringe by syringe.

Finally, it was time to connect the syringes in the robot to the syringes that control it.

By the time the tubes were connected and the robot was mobile, it was finally time to stop for the day. The next morning, both boys were up and at it, ready to construct the control panel and the challenges for the T-Bot II to perform.

One of my favorite parts of the T-Bot II project was the little details. For one, the robot actually looks like a person, with arms and eyes and everything. Additionally, the control panel tells you exactly what each syringe controls and how pushing or pulling on the syringe will effect the movement of the robot.

The syringes were filled with colored water so we could see how things worked and moved and distinguish the parts of the robot’s hydraulics.

The robot was able to easily manage challenges with the help of Jeffrey’s hands on the controls, showing the robot exactly what to do.

I would explain more, but really the images don’t do it justice. I’ll just let you see for yourself…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KobxB1Ce-S0]

The T-Bot II from Pitsco provided hours of entertainment and education to both Jeffrey and dad. Additionally, the teacher’s guide is filled with challenges that will help Jeffrey continue to learn math and science while providing a tangible enhancement to his education.

It was amazing to see how he had learned how to build and operate the T-Bot II, and it was fantastic to see him working side-by-side with dad. We’ve already decided we will be getting more products from Pitsco in the future, because this was truly one of the best projects we’ve worked with all year. Jeffrey’s fascination with it truly showed that this is an area that interests him.

On the Pitsco website, there are plenty of options for amazing projects to help kids learn about robots, engineering, math, science, and more, in very tangible, hands-on ways. Jeffrey is such a hands-on learner that this is a great supplement to the other parts of his curriculum.

The best part is that the Pitsco items are pretty darn affordable. Oh, and you can buy the T-Bot II in a 10-pack so it could be used for classes, large families, or boy/girl scout troupes. Or, you can buy it with the challenge set (shown in the video) or you could even buy the challenge set separately if you decide to add it on later.

I couldn’t recommend this set even higher. It’s an amazing tool to teach kids a lot of great technology. Honestly, at 23 years old, I had never really understood hydraulics, and I was amazed at how this robot worked. Even Zach at 18 months old loved watching the T-Bot move back and forth, up and down, with just the push of a syringe.

I am so glad Jeffrey got the opportunity to build the T-Bot II, and I can’t wait for him to continue using it in activities throughout the rest of our school year.

DIY Brazilian Carnival Masks for Kids

November 7, 2012 - Mama 5 Comments

Recently in our trip through Exploring Countries and Cultures from My Father’s World as part of our homeschooling lessons, we “visited” the country of Brazil.

Brazil is near and dear to our heart because of our exchange students… in fact, Jeffrey and I have a brother from Brazil! It was so exciting to get to learn more about the country, and while we were there, we decided to make some fun masks for Carnival!

To start, you’ll want to make sure that you have tissue paper, paper mache paste (we like the combo of glue and water!), and some base masks. We found a 3 pack of masks for less than $2 at Hobby Lobby.

We started by re-using some tissue paper from my tissue paper clouds that hung from the ceiling of my Rice Krispie party. We decided that, since we needed white tissue paper anyway, that it would be better to re-use our paper from a previous project than to purchase new paper.

Those strips of tissue paper were then dipped into our paper mache mixture. We typically use a mixture of glue and water, but, of course, you can use any kind of paper mache mixture that you prefer for this project. If you use a flour paper mache mixture, though, be sure that you store your masks very carefully to avoid any bugs or animals getting into it.

Press the excess liquid off of the tissue paper, and then…

Lay it on the mask, smoothing out air pockets and bubbles. The tissue paper will allow you to paint with watercolors on the mask, since the mask surface is too slick for traditional watercolors. It also adds some stability.

Continue until the mask is entirely covered. Consider a second layer to be sure you’ve gotten all the spots taken care of, and make sure to smooth out the strips as much as possible.

Let those masks dry completely. Overnight works best, if you can wait!

While you wait, take some time to read about Carnival and what it really means.

Carnival is held 46 days before the Easter, marking the beginning of the Lenten season, and ends at the beginning of Lent. It’s considered a big feast and major celebration throughout Brazil. Carnival often includes major parades led by samba schools, which have great rhythm and festivity, as well as costume. These are for the public to view. In other areas, there are smaller parades that encourage the public to participate! Different music and costume are found in different cities of Brazil, so the Carnival experience is different from state to state.

Because Carnival is such a huge part of culture, aside from the Carnival-related businesses, things almost shut down completely so everyone can enjoy Carnival, with activities going on almost 24 hours a day for the entire week.

But why the masks? Well, when Carnival first started, it took inspiration from some of the activities in Europe, where masks were common. They are used to disguise the appearance. You can regularly see the party-goers wearing masks, which come in two basic styles. A full-faced mask often exaggerates facial features or may even take on an animal form. These are beautiful, but often heavy or hot, so only the most dedicated carnival-goers tend to wear those.

The other alternative is the one you see here, the half mask. It’s a great way to get in on the fun of wearing a mask, without it being too hot or heavy!

Now, it’s time to PAINT!

Standard watercolor paints work well on the paper mache surface, but use whatever paint you have on hand or prefer working with.

Use the motif and colors that you like, or take a look at Carnival Masks online to get some ideas. We decided to just paint ours using our imaginations.

Let the paint dry completely once you’ve finished, and then feel free to add other embellishments, like glitter, feathers, beads, gems, and more! We decided to go with glitter and beads for ours!

Didn’t they turn out great?

Carnival as we know it actually started as a Portuguese tradition. In Portugal, it was a time called Entrudo, where everyone threw mud, water, and dirt on each other. But modern tradition actually started later, in the 1800’s, when a cobbler started having parades with his family and friends. Later, more organized parades got started, and by 1870, they started wearing masks and costumes!

The Samba schools actually didn’t start until 1928, so it is a relatively new start to a celebration that got it’s roots in the 1600’s. Not only do the influences come from European celebrations, but they also have some heavy African influences.

You can celebrate Carnival, too! While traditional Brazilian Carnival preparation starts as soon as the previous Carnival ends, you still have plenty of time to plan for Carnival 2013! Carnival will start February 8, 2013, and will end on Fat Tuesday, February 12. And, you can check out my Carnival pinterest board for awesome ideas for your very own Carnival celebration at home. While you’re there, be sure to follow me on Pinterest for plenty of great ideas for kid’s crafts and food ideas.

Mexican Paper Flowers

October 16, 2012 - Mama 6 Comments

Recently, we got done with a great unit on Mexico. This year, Jeffrey is going through a curriculum from My Father’s World called Exploring Countries and Cultures. We love the program, especially having so many exchange students in our lives, because it reinforces some of those cultural principles we’ve already been blessed enough to learn, while introducing many new cultures to us.

Our Mexico unit was a fun one because, while we’ve had many students from Spanish speaking countries in our lives, we’ve never actually had a student from Mexico, so even though it’s a close neighbor, Jeffrey has yet to have it play a direct role in his life. During our unit study, we learned about Cameron Townsend, who was a major pioneer in translating the Bible into many new languages. Jeffrey also worked on a report and powerpoint about Mexico, and learned many new things about the similarities and differences between Mexico and the United States.

While studying Mexico, we had a great opportunity to make Mexican Paper Flowers, a traditional craft that has been a part of Mexican tradition for over 200 years!

Paper crafting actually came to Mexico from the Philippines, and sometimes tissue paper is called papel de China (paper from China) or papel de seda (paper of silk). Many Americans know about Pinatas, which use tissue paper in bright colors, but these pretty paper flowers are another great craft using these papers!

Paper flowers were popular back when Spain ruled Mexico, before the 1800s, but back then the paper flowers were smaller and they weren’t brightly colorful like the ones we so often see today.

They used to be used in churches and homes, and were often white or cream in color, but when candles were used frequently in churches, the paper was so much of a fire hazard that churches ended up banning the flowers completely! After that, they became a lot less religiously-related, to the point that the flowers were considered “secular,” and from there, they ended up getting much brighter, too, using bright and exciting colors like the ones we chose for our craft project.

Paper flower artisans didn’t just stop with one type of flower, either… most of them started to look to nature and copy the shapes and styles of flowers like carnations, zinnias, and more! Many of the artists had skills passed down from their grandparents and parents to teach them the craft today, and the trade is very much woven into some artisans’ family history.

Start making your own Mexican paper flowers by stacking six sheets of tissue paper on top of each other. You can go with bright colors, like we did, or you can use a monochromatic scheme (all white or all black might be cool), or even try it with pastels, metallic tissue paper, or even newspaper; however, if you use newspaper or other thick paper, you may want fewer than six sheets, due to the extra thickness.

Fold your stack of papers accordion style, just like this.

Cut the folded papers in half– this gives you two paper flowers for the price (and effort!) of one! If you don’t cut them in half, they’re a little too big to really work with, but if you start with smaller paper to begin with instead of a full sheet, then you shouldn’t have any problems if you decide not to cut it in half. We are working with full sheets in this tutorial, so cutting it down helped us have a more manageable flower size.

This gives you two straight edges on each flower, like this…

Trim the edges down to points, like this…

Alternately, you could trim off the point I have there to make a different style point (more like an arrow) or you could round the corners, depending on the style you’d like. Use a string, a twist tie, a pipe cleaner, or some staples to attach the middle of the flower together, so you can fan out the sides easily.

Fan out the sides. If you see someone trying to take your picture out of the corner of your eye while you do so, make a ridiculous face in the process so they end up only having this photo of this step to put on their blog.

Goofball.

Once you have it fanned out, you can use some more staples or small pieces of tape to keep the sides together while you fluff out the layers. This is optional, but we decided on a little tape for each layer to keep it together.

Fluff the layers up. Crinkle them a bit. REALLY dig your fingers in between the layers and pull them up, being careful not to tear the paper too much. Fluff them up nice and fluffy, almost to a ball shape.

Here are four of our finished paper flowers. You can fluff them up more, if you’d like, but we decided ours were just how we wanted them!

These crafts aren’t just for fiestas, either, or for homeschool projects. You can literally use these at any party, just as long as you make them in the colors of your party. They’ve become very popular in weddings, and they look great at baby showers, birthdays, or any other fun party you can think of.

In Mexico, you often find them decorating homes, graves, altars, and parties. Tourists sometimes find these flowers to greet them when they arrive at a hotel, and in some regions, these flowers are even popular on cakes! It’s up to your imagination what you do with them, and since the color scheme is so open to customization, the sky really is the limit. Hang them from the ceilings, make small ones with pipe cleaner stems to put in a vase, tack tons of them to the walls as a backdrop.

Mexican paper flowers became popular in part because they’re much cheaper than actual flowers, and they look really pretty. No one has to know how easy they were to make, either… your secret is safe with me.

However you use them, these are a perfect way to honor Mexican tradition and artistry with a fun project that is easy for even young kids to work on.

Project adapted from A Trip Around the World, as part of our study from My Father’s World: Exploring Countries and Cultures.

Like Nailing Jell-O to a Tree: Sensory Activity for Little Dudes

August 22, 2012 - Mama 3 Comments

I recently posted about my intentions to start homeschooling my one-year-old son. Remember, I’m using the term homeschool very loosely in this instance, as a word to describe the structured play activities that Zach will sometimes participate in.

Our very first day of school last week was exciting. I wasn’t entirely sure how Zach would respond to the new layout of our day, but of course, it was very important to me to work at his pace and really focus on his own personal emotional state. Learning won’t be fun if you sit there and force a child to do it.

Because last week was a “partial week” in school, since we started on a Thursday, I didn’t get Zach started on some of the lessons I planned for him yet. Instead, we focused on one very exciting task for his first day of “school.”

Jell-O. Yes, Jell-O.

To me, it is important to give a child opportunities for messy play. After all, they’re washable for a reason. So, I stripped Mr. Zach down to his diaper, and put him in his high chair for a fun, wiggly jiggly structured playtime.

I first have to stress the fact that due to… who knows what… my Jell-O didn’t actually fully set. I don’t know if I just did it wrong, or if it was the humidity and heat at our house that week, or whatever reason it might have been, but my Jell-O was more of a slime than an actual Jell-O. I do plan on repeating this activity again sometime, with Jell-O that actually sets up.

Zach munched on some Chex while I got the Jell-O out of the fridge and ready for play, which is why his face has a few Chex stuck to it. My son just can’t eat without saving a little for later!

He stuck his hand tentatively into the blue slime. He looked at me with a puzzled expression, I think almost questioning if it was okay for him to really squish into this slimy blue stuff.

It didn’t take much coaxing, though, for him to start really squishing, smacking, splashing, and trying to pick up the Jell-O, which only seemed to ooze out of his hands…

Perhaps it was the texture, or perhaps it was just the fact that this cool blue gel was quite refreshing in the 100+ degree temperatures we were having last week, but this stuff was really cool to play in! Plus, because it hadn’t quite set up, it was easy to trace letters in, or just run your fingers through it to make drawings. Zach and I both worked together to draw in the Jell-O mixture and really play with the goo, and I have to admit, it was a lot of fun for me, too.

After taking some time to squish and play with the Jell-O, Zach decided perhaps it would be worth a taste. He was pretty pleased with it!

Then he decided to throw his goldfish into the Jell-O!

I must admit, the cool blue definitely looked like water for fishes to swim in, so I thought it was pretty creative of him to come up with that! Of course after the goldfish crackers went for a swim, he decided to eat the Jell-O coated goldfish, and that idea was a little less appealing to me…

Of course, the activity ended like this, face first in the Jell-O. Because the Jell-O was both tasty and hard to pick up, Zach finally decided just to remove the middle man and go for a direct-to-mouth approach. This was accompanied by a lot of slurping, followed by a nice warm bath to get rid of the blue stuff.

Here’s what I learned from this activity:

1. Not everything is going to go as planned this school year. My Jell-O didn’t set up. Instead of tossing it out, I decided to see what Zach would do with this Jell-O. As I mentioned above, I will try to repeat the activity with completely set Jell-O in the future, but I feel like it’s going to be a completely different experience. This Jell-O, being very liquid, was incredibly difficult to pick up, which gave us more of an opportunity to do things like run our fingers through it as though it was a finger paint.

2. It’s important for Zach to lead the activity. I didn’t show him what to do with the Jell-O, instruct him to put the goldfish into the Jell-O, or anything else. Everything he did was purely the product of his own ideas of what to do with the Jell-O. This gives him a chance to be creative and to figure out exactly what he wanted to do with a very new and unique substance. He’s never felt anything like this before, so it gave him an opportunity to form his own conclusions and decide exactly what he wanted to do with it.

3. It was important for me to follow his lead. As the parent, I could have chosen to walk away and let him enjoy the activity himself. Instead, I sat there with him and decided to participate by following what he did. When he used his finger to draw in the Jell-O, I did the same. When he splashed the Jell-O, I mimicked his play. This gave him encouragement that he was doing the right things with the Jell-O, and gave him the confidence to continue exploring with it.

4. Sensory play should involve as many senses as possible. I like the Jell-O activity because it’s not just stimulating one sense, but instead, all five. Zach could see the bright blue Jell-O and visually notice what it looked like, that it was translucent, and perhaps a bit gooey. He was also able to touch it and reinforce what he was seeing. From there, he could hear the sounds that the Jell-O would make as he did various activities like splashing it. Even though it had a similar color and reflectivity as water, it didn’t sound the same, nor did it feel the same. He was also able to smell and taste the Jell-O, which helped him to understand more about what properties Jell-O has, and to realize that sensory play is something that involves each and every sense.

After trying this activity, I know it is one we will repeat again in the future. I also feel that it will be interesting to try the same activity with Jell-O that is actually fully set, because I think it will have an entirely different learning experience for Zach, due to a chance in texture and appearance.

What do you think? Have you tried a Jell-O activity with your kids? Tell me about it in the comments below!

I’m Homeschooling My One Year Old

August 17, 2012 - Mama 2 Comments

Yesterday was the first day back to school for our 11 year old student… that means it’s time for all of us to hit the books and study countries and cultures, the topics of our curriculum this year. But that could mean that there’s a one year old feeling left out because attention is taken away from him. And that’s why, much to the frustration of many other parents, I’m starting him in a homeschooling study, too.

Let’s get one thing straight. When referring to the little one, I’m using the term “homeschool” very, very loosely. His homeschool consists of the following:

-Some reading time, both with mommy and by himself

-Some music time, both dancing to the rhythms on a CD, and making our own music with store-bought and homemade instruments

-Art time, allowing Zach to color, paint, look at paintings and photographs, and explore messy art activities (like shaving cream bath paints)

-Structured play, such as play involving sensory boxes, his sand and water table, homemade crafting, sensory games using taste and smell, and more activities that we play and work on together.

-Free play, where he can do whatever he likes (provided it’s safe!) both indoor and outdoor, whether he’s climbing or crawling or playing with the dogs, or choosing to spend more time making music long after our lesson ends.

Zach won’t be in any formal structured schooling for more than 45 minutes each day, split into 4 short lessons to keep his attention span, with plenty of free play, napping, and time with momma in between. For our homeschooling, we take inspiration from several books, from Pinterest, from other homeschool families and bloggers, and from my own creative inspiration.

I am not going to have lessons where I say “Okay, Zach, time to sit down and do math for 15 minutes.” Instead, I pose an invitation, such as “Look, Zach! Here are some pom poms and tongs. Can we put some pom poms in this muffin tin with the tongs?” I’ll demonstrate the activity, and then give him an opportunity to try it, or to make the task his own, or to work on a different task. If he turns down the invitation for an activity, we just move on.

It’s all about following a child’s leads and helping him have a positive learning environment, and giving him invitations to learn.

But why, you might ask. Why am I taking time to homeschool a one year old?

Because, kids get bored with free play. Zach likes to play with his cars and climb on his playset and spin around in circles, and roll balls across the floor. But after a certain amount of time, this makes him fussy and frustrated. Giving him structured activities throughout the day show him that mommy values him, and values learning, and wants to give him a new experience or activity.

Kids also look up to other kids. Even one year olds have their idols and heroes. Zach’s uncle is his hero, and crazy enough, if his uncle is working on a writing project, Zach wants that pen so he can do his own project. If Jeffrey is working with clay, Zach wants some clay. Learning is a very good skill to encourage him to emulate. I want him to know that it is very cool to mimic Jeffrey’s learning.

And, honestly, it gives Zach a chance to practice the skills he’s already good at, stimulating his self-esteem and sense of accomplishment. It also gives him a chance to be challenged and learn new skills he doesn’t yet have, which will help him develop.

When homeschooling a one year old, you have to remember that it is all about play. It’s about play that is just for fun, about play that helps teach new skills, and about play that really enforces skills we know. It’s about staying consistent, but also moving forward.

We Live For It

August 3, 2012 - Mama 4 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWmzNKugwHs]

My family takes that video pretty seriously. Whenever a Sporting Kansas City game is on television, we’re glued to the screen. If I were able to be at every single home game, or better, every single game, I would be. That’s why, when my family was given the opportunity to tour Livestrong Sporting Park, home of the team I love the most, we jumped on the opportunity.

Livestrong Sporting Park is the first, and right now, the only, major league stadium in the state of Kansas. All of Kansas City’s other major league stadiums fall on the Missouri side. But that’s not the only thing that makes Livestrong Sporting Park special. When LSP was built, it was made in partnership with Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong foundation, and over the course of the next six years, over $7.5 million dollars will be donated. You see, every time you purchase anything there, from merchandise to food, you’ll be helping support cancer research in association with Livestrong.

One of my favorite places in the stadium is the Member’s Club. After a win, hundreds of fans flood the Member’s Club for an all-out party, cheering, hooping, and hollering about our win, and singing the chants that express our love for the team. It’s in this club where you feel less like fans and more like a family.

One of my favorite features of the Member’s Club is the scarf wall. If you’re not familiar with soccer, you’ll need to know that instead of baseball caps for baseball, or jerseys for hockey, Stadium Scarves are the item to have at a soccer game. After the game, it’s traditional that fans will trade stadium scarves. For example, if we play Chicago, then after the game, I could chat up a Chicago fan, and we could trade scarves. The teams also trade scarves, which is where they got such an extensive display of scarves not only from the MLS teams, but from around the world.

From the Member’s Club, you can enter the Cauldron, which is arguably one of the loudest, rowdiest fan supporters in Major League Soccer. On many occasions, it’s been said that they are the 12th man of the team, intimidating the other team and supporting our own players so much. When the stadium first opened, the Cauldron was the only one who knew the chants and cheers of the stadium, but surely after a few games, the chants spread like wildfire, and now the entire stadium lights up with song at the games, starting with the legendary “I believe that we will win” chant, and not stopping until full time.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Sl4qTSwjh4]

Even the players recognize I Believe That We Will Win as the chant that really exemplifies the fan spirit, but each and every cheer for the team gets the players and the fans even more pumped up.

The Cauldron has a great view of the field, as well, overlooking the entire stadium. They are right there behind our goalkeeper for half of the game.

When the stadium was first built, there were 400 season ticket holders. The stadium was built to accommodate 18,467 seats, with additional space for standing room, and when I first got into soccer, there was a little bit of question as to whether or not it would really ever get filled. Kansas City had a very small, but very loyal fan base. In the second season at Livestrong Sporting Park this year, there are 12,000 season ticketholders, and almost every game ends up being standing room only.

On one wall of the stadium, you can see some of the championships that the team has won. In addition to the team being award-winning, though, the stadium is also an award winner.

Just this year, Sporting Club received four awards for Livestrong Sporting Park. First, the Venue of the Year award, which they beat out many other incredible stadiums to win, including the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in China. The CEO of Sporting KC, Robb Heineman, was awarded the Executive of the Year award. It won the Community Award, beating out Miller Park in Milwaukee. And, most importantly, in my opinion, they won the Product Innovation Award for something called Fan360.

Fan360 is an incredible fan experience, starting with a very technologically advanced park. Because of the multiple wifi routers, they have made it so that every fan in the stadium, all 20,000 of them, can actively be using their cell phones at once, for calling, checking in to the stadium with things like 4square, Tweeting, updating their facebook statuses, or whatever else they would do, and not a single call would be dropped or connection lost. In addition, the stadium is state of the art, allowing fans to easily interact with the stadium and with each other.

While we were at the stadium, we had a chance to sit in the very seats that the players sit in on game day. These seats are the same seats you would find in a Ferrari. I loved that my shirt matched the seats perfectly!

Right after sitting in the seats, we headed through the doors to the Field Club. It is a beautiful room off right off of the field, and it’s open to anyone who is sitting in a specific set of seats in the stadium (the average cost of those seats? $3,000 per game, and they’re sold out for the rest of the season and next season… popular place!)

This is also where the team prepares to head on the field before the game, with their young soccer buddies. Each player from the teams, home and away, walks onto the field with a child, and before the game they give the children words of encouragement, ask them about school and about sports, and really talk to that child one-on-one.

Right off of the field club is the interview room, where the coach and a few players talk to the media after the game. This air conditioned room stays very cold, but then again, if you had just finished playing a soccer game in 115 degree weather, wouldn’t you want a very cold room?

Our next stop on our tour of Livestrong Sporting Park was the locker room. I was so excited to get to take a peek inside the room, because I really feel like this is where players get amped up for the game. Each player has their own chair and locker space. The table in the middle is where they put their laundry (SKC has a kit man who takes care of the laundry, and he has a pretty funny twitter account). Like the chairs outside, these are also very expensive chairs from a sports car, and each chair has it’s own power source so players can plug in their iPod before the game and chill out, getting in the zone for the game. So who has the best and worst taste in music in the locker room? The players talked about that very subject on the Sporting KC Youtube channel.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On7JVQCU8ZY]

While the jersey for the great Jimmy “Puma” Nielsen and many of the other starting players’ jerseys were not there, there was one very special jersey I was excited to see…

Michael Thomas is one of my favorite players at the moment, and one of several hometown heroes on our team. There are five players from the Kansas City area on the team, and I love each and every one of them. He’s also one of the newest players on the team, and he went to school literally 15 minutes away from me. Too cool!

Before the game the players are only allowed to drink water or Gatorade. At half time, they have access to a smoothie station where they can get a smoothie tailored to their specific needs. If they feel a cramp coming on, they can have a smoothie with extra potassium. Are they needing to re-hydrate? There’s a specific recipe they can get for that, too!

The training room is another place that is crucial to the team, considering it’s where the players go when they need healing or relief. There are massage tables lined up so after a game the guys can get a massage and relieve the tense muscles. Ice baths and whirlpools are available to the team, and there’s even an on-site pharmacy in case anything happens. Players have to be kept at peak physical performance, and the training room is the best location for them to work on that.

From the Field Club level, we were able to go up to the Signature, Executive, and Shield club areas. Each of them has it’s own specific type of accommodations. In the signature level, there are suites available to rent out. Each suite in the Signature Level is controlled by it’s own iPad, and each has it’s own refrigerator. On nice evenings, the entire suite walls can be opened so you can enjoy the fresh air as you watch the game. The refrigerators are fully stocked with adult beverages, sodas, and water, and if you start to run low, all you have to do is order more via the iPad; it will be restocked, on average, within three minutes. If you have a Signature Level suite, not only can you use that on game day (they’re rented by the season rather than by the game), but you also have access to it any time for business meetings and more… you just have to give a little bit of advanced notice and you can head right into your own suite.

The Executive Level is very similar to the Signature Level, but there is one very important, special difference on that level.

Lance Armstrong, the founder of Livestrong, has a special reserved seat that he is welcome to use whenever he’d like. It’s the same sort of chair that the players sit in, but this time, his own seat is in Livestrong’s signature yellow color. The seat is the seventh seat from the end in it’s row, one seat over for each Tour de France Lance Armstrong has won. While Lance has not made it out to the park yet this season, there is talk that he will be coming in the fall. When the seat isn’t in use by Lance Armstrong himself, a special person is honored at each game with a chance to watch the game from Lance Armstrong’s seat.

Also on this level is the owners’ personal wine collection, including a very special gift. The bottle with the red leather around it was a gift from the German Bundesliga as a congratulations gift on the opening of the new stadium.

As the tour continued, we left the Executive Level and went to the Shield Club.

I feel like the ceiling is one of the coolest features of this part of the stadium. I seriously just love it.

Also in the Shield Club, there is a very unique painting. Last year, the MLS Super Draft was held in Kansas City. Each new player who was drafted was asked to go to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art to collaborate on this piece. Each of them dipped their toes into paint and touched them on the canvas. It is a very interesting piece of art, and you’d never know that it was done with their toes until you’re told.

The stadium is simply incredible. It’s beautiful, and fully-equipped. There are 370 televisions in the stadium, and the Members’ Club has 30 of them. Need to use the restroom? If you’re in the Executive or Signature areas, even the restrooms have televisions!

Every television, light, camera, wifi connection, or anything else is controlled entirely from an iPad. Essentially, if you were sitting over in the Cauldron cheering, if you were using that iPad, you could be turning the lights on and off in the Executive Level bathroom. You could literally be anywhere in that stadium and controlling everything.

Another unique thing about Sporting Kansas City? All of the owners, the builders of the stadium, and the designers who designed it are all from Kansas City. It’s the only entirely locally-owned team in Kansas City.

And, each of the five areas I told you about today (Member’s Club, Field Club, Executive Club, Signature Club, and Shield Club) can be rented out for wedding receptions and private parties.

Honestly, if you haven’t been out for a Sporting Kansas City game yet, I don’t know what’s stopping you. There are many great chances to check out Livestrong Sporting Park, whether you’re experiencing the roar of the fans at a Sporting Kansas City game, or headed to a concert, it is definitely the new hottest venue in Kansas City.

Want to see for yourself? Check out tickets to the Journey and Pat Benatar Concert here, find out about booking space for your upcoming event here, or, my favorite option, support your Kansas City team by getting tickets, single game or season, here.

And, there’s one very, VERY important event coming up for Sporting Kansas City.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frFYUyDFKXc]

This video from earlier in the season talks about how Sporting KC was on their path to the US Open Cup Final Game… and it’s here. We’ve made it, and there’s only two teams left vying for the cup.

August 8, the Cup comes to Kansas City for a final game. I only have one thing to say about it…

I believe that we will win.

A Gooey Trip to Chip’s Chocolate Factory

January 29, 2012September 12, 2014 - Mama 4 Comments

As most people following my blog know by now, Jeffrey is in the middle of a homeschooling unit all about chocolate. We’ve been working it into his math, science, writing, reading, and social studies, and trust me, it’s a sweet topic! When we first started gearing up to do this study, it was important for us to schedule a few field trips to really reinforce what we’ve been learning. One of those great field trips was a chance to head to Chip’s Chocolate Factory and watch the demonstration.

When we first emailed Chip’s about setting up an appointment, the owner, Mike, was very accommodating. He helped us plan our visit, and gave us an idea of what to expect. We decided that to get a nice-sized group, we would open the field trip up to other homeschooled students in our area. We found 12 other students that were interested in attending our sweet day!

Some people may be aware of Chip’s if they live in the Kansas City area. After all, it’s the home of Kansas City Fudge, and has been a part of crown center’s second level since 1983.

If you aren’t from the area, or don’t spend a lot of time up at Crown Center, you may also know Chip’s Chocolate Factory from an episode of Food Network’s “Kid in a Candy Store.”

I couldn’t find a clip from the episode, but I did find this great Crown Center video from youtube, all about Chip’s!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJKsrOQhT4I]

Chip’s is committed to making all of their fudge by hand, and it isn’t introduced to machine processing at all, start-to-finish. On the tour, we started out learning some facts about chocolate. For Jeffrey, a lot of it reinforced what he had learned over the first half of his unit, but some of it was new information to us, like the cost of certain items using chocolate!

During the demonstration, our host, Cliff, showed us examples of a cacao pod, as well as the seeds, nibs, chocolate liquor (which has no alcohol- it’s just puuuuuure chocolate), cocoa butter (used not only in chocolate, but also in suntan lotion and hand cream!), cocoa cake (which is not actually a cake, but really just the word for chocolate that has had all of the cocoa butter pressed out, so it becomes a thick cake- kind of like a large hockey puck, and gets dropped so it turns to powder), and semi-sweet chocolate.

While he was introducing these parts to us, molten chocolate was cooling on marble slabs. Why marble? Because it’s naturally cool, which helps cool the chocolate during fudge production!

Before our presentation started, they poured the chocolate onto the marble table out of a big copper kettle.

Finally, after the presentation, it was time to see if the chocolate cooled enough. Cliff pulled a small hand paddle through the fudge and checked the doneness by seeing how long it took for those holes to close in.

And, it’s finally ready! So he cut the bars off of the chocolate…

Time to paddle! Cliff was a great paddler, tossing the chocolate high into the air. Using this method whips all sorts of air into the chocolate, to make it creamy and fluffy, the perfect fudge!

The chocolate soared higher and higher, and he nearly missed the lights hanging from the ceiling. He quipped “Sometimes the chocolate hits the light. That’s how we make light chocolate…” It quickly preceded another joke, “We have fat free fudge here… you buy the fudge, and you get the fat FREE!” The humor was very engaging, and the kids were really interested in the fudge process.

Cliff tossed the chocolate even higher, doing fun tricks like catching it in his mouth. When it neared the ceiling, he said, “Look! Our quality is through the roof!”

He added “Don’t try this at home. Try this at your neighbor’s home. All the fun, none of the mess.”

A lot of people have been to the St. Louis Arch, but not many have seen the Kansas City Chocolate Arch. “They did a taste test between the two… ours won.”

As the fudge began to come together after more tossing, it was time for Cliff to show us all some things we could make at home, that would be far less messy than throwing fudge!

One easy recipe involved taking melted chocolate, and making chocolate “puddles” on a sheet of waxed paper, then sprinkling on some brightly colored sprinkles, or some M&Ms minis!

He also made several delicious recipes using graham crackers (Take a graham cracker, put a little melted chocolate on, then put a marshmallow on it, drizzle it with melted chocolate, and crumble up some more graham cracker on top), and something called “S’moreos.” This was a similar recipe requiring you to take an Oreo, twist it apart (I know, that could be painful for my readers who happen to be dunkers instead of twisters), and laying the half with the cream on the waxed paper (cream up). Drizzle that with chocolate, add half of a large marshmallow, drizzle it with more chocolate, and crumble the other half of the Oreo on top! Yum!

See those marshmallows in the center, with the chocolate and sprinkles? Those also include a very special ingredient, for brave souls only. I’ll be posting the recipe later this week, but here’s a hint as to what’s beneath that yummy chocolate…

Yes. Those are REAL food-grade crickets. Salt and Vinegar flavor. (The candy store in the lower level of Crown Center also sells Bacon and Cheese flavor, as well as Sour Cream and Onion. You know, if you like your crickets like you like your potato chips). One soul was brave enough to try the chocolate cricket goodness…

Mmm… crunchy!

The other kids stuck to less crunchy bug-related samples, by snacking on the other recipes he showed. With the extra melted chocolate, he drizzled it over the audiences tongues- no spoons required! Yum.

We also all got to sample plenty of fudge, at different stages of the fudge process… and I NEVER pass up free fudge!

Zach didn’t pass it up, either!

After that, nuts were added to the fudge, and it was almost ready to be put into a loaf! Cliff comes from a long line of “loafers.” Did you know when the fudge hits your shoe, it’s what’s called “Sole food?” Yeah, me neither… these jokes just keep getting better and better! Haha.

The trip to Chips was incredible. I think it really reinforced the principles that we had been learning about in the past month, and it also really helped show us some of the things we had seen photos or videos of, in an actual, physical item (like the pod). Our guide was nice, and incredibly funny, helping drive home the educational points in a fun way.

If you’re in Kansas City, I strongly encourage you to stop by Chip’s Chocolate Factory for a group tour (contact them in advance on their website at www.chipschocolatefactory.com) or visit them to buy some fudge! You can also find them on Facebook by looking for Chip’s Chocolate Factory, or on Twitter, @ChipsChcltFctry.

After our tour at Chip’s, we decided to head to Fritz’s for lunch.

If you’ve never been to Fritz’s, it’s a really unique restaurant that delivers food by train!

After Fritz’s, we enjoyed looking around. If you haven’t heard, Crown Center is expecting some new arrivals this spring… the Sea Life Aquarium and a LegoLand! For LegoLand, they have a statue of Legos in Crown Center’s main entrance, and Jeffrey decided to take a guess of how many Legos might be in the statue. The winner gets a family pack of tickets!

Then, the boys had some impromptu learning time, by throwing their Fritz’s hats over the air vents in the front entry of Crown Center. I really enjoyed watching them play and learn themselves. They experimented with placing the hats closer to the vents, and then just tossing them higher into the air stream. They also experimented with putting the hats upside down, right side up, or flattened out, to see if it would cause different flight patterns.

Zach mostly just sat there during the experiments…

We finished the day off with some smoothies, but Zach opted for some chocolate custard!

Special thanks to Chip’s Chocolate Factory for letting us bring our group for a visit! Don’t forget to check out their Facebook, Twitter, and Website!

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