I just got home from the AVID (Authors Visiting In DesMoines) launch of Sara Gruen’s new book, Ape House. Gruen’s talk was wonderful. It’s a good thing, since I am running on 4 hours of sleep in the last 24. As soon as I finish writing this, I’m going to bed with my new copy of the book. Ape House is a novel loosely based on the Great Ape Trust right here in Des Moines. It’s not an easy place to visit, but Gruen’s talk certainly piqued my curiosity.

The AVID book launch took me back to the libraries of my childhood. When we spent summers on our grandparents’ farm, the Bookmobile dropped off the only books available at the little store in Woodlawn. I’m sure Braxie’s business really picked up when our family was visiting!

I loved going there with grandpa to pick out another week’s worth of books. He usually bought me an orange soda too! I got in trouble many times for hiding out on the couch with a book when there were tomatoes to be canned.

So, tonight I got in touch with my inner “Library Geek” and intend to stay that way! What are YOU reading?

After the garden workshop in my backyard Tuesday, Carol and I talked about criteria for selling our homes. I told her the old neighbors to my back interviewed potential buyers to find out if they would tend the garden to their satisfaction. The new neighbors have done well; that garden has flourished and is constantly being improved and expanded. I’m vigilant about keeping the creeping charlie from creeping through that fence!

Saturday my daughter and I planted eight shrubs and perennials for fall interest. Yesterday morning they looked like they had always been there. That’s a wonderful compliment: when Bill Dirkx saw my pond for the first time, he asked the same thing, “Hasn’t that always been there?”

September and October are the months for putting your hope in the ground. I bought some quick growing greens so we can have fresh salads into frost. I still have roses and bulbs to plant. I won’t see any results of that investment for six months, but I am excited about planting anyway. Winter will go faster, knowing there will be daffodils.

• Service learning
• Litter free schools
• Character
• Environmental education

…all organized around the Iowa Core and the Common Core State Standards. I’m using this post to run things by the Steering Committee, get reactions and involve them in pulling it together. I’ll make changes to the resources and continually update the committee as the program comes together. Download the Clean and Green k-2 Timeline; help us stay on task by posting comments to this page.

On March 31, the Steering Committee met for the first time and requested that the guide include a separate matrix for each grade level. The committee met again July 7; download the Clean and Green Committee notes.

Here are the resources we are using to develop the program guide–

• Environmental books and DVDs from University of Northern Iowa
• Celebrate Urban Birds Kit from Cornell University

Right now we’re focusing on Kindergarten–

• Download the Cricket Thermometer Lesson Plan
• Download the “Thinker’s Scavenger Hunt” Lesson Plan
• Download “The Worms Escaped!” Lesson Plan
• Download the People to People Lesson Plan
• Download the Collaboration with Nature and Math Lesson Plan
• Download the Exploring the Rainbow and Nature Lesson Plan
• Download the Program Processing Form Lesson Plan
• Download the Program Processing Form
• Download Litter is Waste Out Of Place Lesson Plan
• Download Composting with worms Lesson Plan
• UNI book list for environmental education
• Flat Stanley recycled art project with activities; the OFFICIAL Flat Stanley Project (he’s been all over the world!)

First Grade–

• Download the Papermaking Lesson Plan
• Download the Photographing a Math Problem Lesson Plan
• Download the Making Connections Lesson Plan
• Download the Power Animal Puppets Lesson Plan (making puppets)
• Download the Nature Recycles, Shouldn’t We All? Lesson Plan
• Download the Critter Building Lesson Plan
• Get the Edible Aquifer Instructions

and Second Grade–

• Download Collect and Recycle Lesson Plan
• Download Recycled Art Lesson Plan
• Download The School is a Mess Lesson Plan
• Download the Celebrate Urban Birds Lesson Plan
• Beginning Playground Pickup—Lesson from one of these sources–Save Our Earth: Alternative Uses for Common Trash or  The School Rubbish Patrol
• Square of Life–Field Trip to Your Square (two hours)
• Square of Life–How Are We Alike and Different? (two class periods)
• Square of Life–Making a Class List (one hour)
• Square of Life–Reconstructing the Squares (2-3 hours over a 2-week period)
• Making Maps—(A Different Point of View from Discovering Barnegat Bay, No Student Left Indoors: Creating a Field Guide to Your Schoolyard, p. 98)
• School and Playground Map—Making Maps—A Different Point of View; Where I fit in My School

Download the KIB Matrix by clicking here, or on the grade level you want to look at.

So far I’ve gone for a few bike rides, enjoyed some ice cream cones and visited the Des Moines Arts Festival. Twice. I’ve helped facilitate The Ultimate Family Challenge where Culture Inc. took 12 families to Pilgrim Heights for the first weekend of June. It was especially fun to see the kids enjoying the out of doors. Here are some outdoor updates–

• If you’re a new bicyclist, get “The Guide to Your Ride”–FREE–to help you get the most from your bicycle. Go to the Iowa Bicycle Coalition to order your copy; it’s only for Iowans. Learn tips, techniques, and street smarts to make your ride safer and more rewarding. The guide also has information on essential accessories, dressing right, bike shops and other handy resources to make your biking more fun. This guide is only available for a limited time, so act fast.
• Dove Haase and Brittan Alford were delegates to the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival in New York City June 19 & 20.
• The DNR has created a Go Outside Iowa! page on Facebook™ for Summit participants to share what they are doing.  Others can join too and learn more about efforts around the state, as well as ways to get involved.
• The Iowa Outdoor Youth Summit brought together 25 youth and 15 adults to make a plan for reconnecting Iowa young people with the outdoors. The group discussed barriers to kids going outdoors and identified strategies to overcome those barriers. Each team identified specific activities they want to initiate in their own community during the next year, which included a “get outdoors” challenge, developing outdoor classrooms, and mentoring programs. You can find the Iowa Outdoor Youth Summit notes, recommendations, a Facebook page, and the Outdoor Bill of Rights Survey.
• Apply for a Disney’s Friends for Change grant and take steps to help the planet. YSA will award 75 $500 grants to youth-led service initiatives around the world that demonstrate youth leadership and the commitment to making a positive impact on the environment. Projects must be completed between September and November and connected to International Coastal Cleanup Day, National Public Lands Day (both September 25), or other environmentally-focused days of service. Disney Friends for Change Grants are open to schools, organizations, and individuals. Grant applications are due Thursday, July 15, 2010.
• My company, Next Step, Inc., just joined The No Child Left Inside (NCLI) Coalition, which supports legislation to include environmental education (current version better known as “No Child Left Behind”).  If you would like to learn more about NCLI and the proposed legislation, visit www.nclicoalition.org.
• The 9^th annual River Run Garbage Grab is a chance to help clean upthe Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. It begins at all sites at 9a.m. on August 14 and event empowers volunteers to remove trash from the river and trails. Paddlers, boaters, hikers, bikers–all are welcome!  Sign up and learn more here.

The Fort Des Moines Museum celebrates the heroes who brought gender and racial equality to the United States Army during World War I and World War II. The Museum honors the U.S. Army’s first officer candidate class for African American men in 1917, and the establishment of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC’s) in 1942. Videos show an African American soldier and a WAC (Women’s Army Ausiliary Corps) telling about their training at the Fort and their lives overseas.

It is a great place to go to celebrate one chapter of this history, and to learn more about the history of civil rights. The Museum has age-based learning programs and exhibits for students and adults. Museum programs focus on kids in Kindergarten through 12th grades. The Museum sets up scavenger hunts that help you try out antique record players, typewriters and horseback riding. You can even try on a World War I backpack.

Schedule tours by contacting Michael Kates or at 515-280-8060. The Museum hosts meetings, parties and offers educational programs. During the summer, they offer a number of day camps–Fun at the Fort. You can download the brochure and registration form here.

• Yellow Banks Park Survey
• Thomas Mitchell Park Survey

…and you can see the survey results here–

• Yellow Banks Park Survey
• Thomas Mitchell Park Survey

On this post you’ll find the Evaluation Tools for Chrysalis After-School Programs for Spring 2010

• Spring Survey–Due May 31
• CAS Parent Survey–Due June 10, 2010. Please have at least ten parents complete the survey online. You can also download the Parent Survey, have parents return it to you and input their answers on the online survey yourself.
• CAS Data Collection Template, Middle School–Due June 10, 2010
• CAS Year-End Facilitator Survey–Due June 10, 2010–You’ll need to locate your Program Improvement Plan Form to complete this survey. All middle school groups must complete one of these forms per group–

1. Brody Middle School
2. Carlisle Middle School
3. Children and Families Urban Ministries
4. GEEZ Louise!
5. Goodrell Middle School
6. Harding Middle School
7. Hiatt Middle School
8. Holy Family School
9. Hoyt Middle School
10. McCombs Middle School
11. Merrill Middle School
12. Moulton Whyld Girls
13. Southeast Polk Junior High School
14. Woodside Middle School
15. Young Women’s Resource Center

Evaluation Tools for Elementary School Groups–

CAS Data Collection Template Elementary 09 to complete before June 10, 2010.

CAS Year-End Elementary School Group Facilitators Survey to complete before June 10, 2010.

I hope this will make it easy for you all to provide honest feedback about the program. Please leave your comments as well as completing surveys and spreadsheets. I appreciate all of your hard work.

• Culture Inc. Sign In Form
• Culture Inc. Parent Survey

and results as we have them…

• Culture Inc. Sign In results
• Culture Inc. Parent Survey results

Like Elinor Smith, who was born just a few years before my mother. Both of them were born before women were allowed to vote in the United States. Smith set a number of aviation records when she was still in her teens. She got in trouble for at least one of those records, flying under the four bridges that spanned the East River in New York City. Ms. Smith died at 98; her obituary on National Public Radio described her as a woman who started flying lessons when she was ten years old! I had never heard of her, but for a while she was more famous and accomplished than Amelia Earhart.

It might be hard to believe that women did these things nearly 100 years ago, but women have been flying since 1784 when Elisabeth Thible went up in a hot air balloon. Such achievements did not come easily. Women have fought for the right to do them. Winged Victory is a great place to learn more about the fight, as it was and continues.

During the long winter, I read a book called “Gone to Soldiers.” One of the characters was a woman who ferried planes from factories to air force bases. The women were never recognized as military personnel until 1977! They received few benefits for their work, but they loved to fly and wanted to contribute to the war effort.

Here’s hoping that each of us can learn to fly in her own way!

The other night I watched the movie, “Amelia.” Before I watched it, I really had no idea of her marriage, her writing or her fight to achieve her dreams of flying. Her first flight across the Atlantic was as a passenger.

Mrs. Frederick E. Guest, the woman who financed the Friendship Flight, hired two men to do the actual flying. Amelia didn’t even get paid. The real accomplishment for a woman then was just making it across the pond by air. If they could see us now! Earhart did, however, fly solo across the Atlantic a few years later.

We take flying so for granted now, it’s really an awakening to see the movie’s depiction of the genuine risk and fear people had. Never knowing if they would return. And finally, Amelia Earhart did not return.

People are still looking for traces of her and her plane, lost on July 2, 1937. TIGHAR has some fascinating video and scientific information about the organization’s 20-year search for a trace of what happened to Earhart, her navigator Fred Noonan and their plane, the Electra.

The movie “Amelia” is described as a biography, and I understand it is fairly accurate. But I’m always a little skeptical, so in addition to the links on this post, check out Earhart’s official Web site as well as the books on which the movie is based–

• East to the Dawn by Susan Butler
• The Sound of Wings by Mary S. Lovell