Saving Tadpoles

We have had our latest eco-friendly science project arrive by accident at our doorstep. A few week's ago, one of the neighbors had a water main leak which kept a constant stream of water flowing across the sidewalk out front. This in turn encouraged the frogs to lay eggs which became a LOT of tadpoles. When the water main was fixed, the tadpoles found themselves trapped in an ever evaporating pool of water. So William, Diego, EliJah, Judah, Evan and Sean found themselves helping to add water every day to keep the tadpoles alive. I posted a request on Craigslist for a free aquarium to move the project away from the street and save as many tadpoles as possible.

A wonderful group of people answered and a huge thanks to Kristee for providing an aquarium, lamp and pump (along with some good advice on temperature)!!!! The tadpoles enjoyed the aquarium, but sometime at the beginning of this week there developed a film on the water. Sadly at the moment only 7 tadpoles are going strong - but they are growing their legs and the kids are excited to watch the transformation! Here are some pictures of the past several weeks and I will take some close up shots of the survivors this weekend!

Peace & Blessings,
kim - mother/cooperative member TRS

Viva Jose!!!!

Last night we said "Thank you" to one of the co-conspirators of The Real School and teacher/friend for the past 2 years. Jose is an amazing person who has created a lasting impression on the children and we adults. His tireless commitment to allowing the children to build their community has inspired us all. We wish him well with his future endeavors in community building and activism and know our paths will cross again! The kids wrote and acted out a play for Jose that Ellie narrarated. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Arboretum and Fire Museum

Last month we spent a wonderful day at the Arboretum. The weather was perfect for walking on the trails. The kids spent a long time at the pond, watching turtles and making pretend fishing poles. They have a Discovery Room that is filled with all kinds of interesting stuff. When we first arrived a woman gave us worksheets with pictures of native wildlife to circle as you spot them in the exhibit. Of course, no one pressured them into filling them out. Some of them had a lot of fun searching while others ignored the papers and just concentrated on the exhibit itself. I didn't notice the other half of the Discovery Room until the group I was with came back from the trails. There was a great selection of local skins, bones, feathers, and plant cuttings to feel and smell. The most interesting part were the microscopes available for use. You could look at slides or use the bigger microscopes to look at water samples, and larger items. It was really nice to have the time to explore all the stuff crammed into the room, and since we went in the middle of a weekday, we had the place to ourselves.


Sean looking at snakeskin under a microscope.


Justin searching for an animal in his packet at the Discovery Room at the Arboretum.


Christopher, Kristin, Troy, Jennifer, Sean, and Max exploring the Discovery Room at the Arboretum.


Max, Isaac, Seth, Justin, Evan, and Ripley peering into the pond at the Arboretum.


Justin and Ripley pretending to fish at the Arboretum.


The day before Thanksgiving most kids stayed at home, so a few of us went on an impromptu trip to the Fire Museum. When we walked into the museum the younger kids were in complete awe. Upon seeing a hose attached to a fire hydrant, Diego gave the most excited gasp I have ever heard.


William and Diego run their firetruck into Abba at the Fire Museum.


Wiliam and Diego getting ready to slide down the pole in their firefighter outfits at the Fire Museum.

- Ellie, Staff Member

All Hallows Eve

Happy Halloween!


Jose, Ellie, Judah, Stuart, and Abba pose in their Halloween costumes on the porch.


Isaac, Justin, Abba, and Ellie pjck up the parachute while Ripley crouches underneath.


Abba, EliJah, Ellie, Diego, Isaac, Seth, Justin, William, and Ripley play with the parachute.

Boys and Girls' Baseball Bat Park

The weather in Houston has been beautiful lately. On Wednesday we made our first trip to the park nearest to us (now nicknamed "Boys and Girls' Baseball Bat Park" by some) in a few months. It is only a 20 minute walk, 10 if you have no need to dawdle and explore every interesting distraction, but with high humidity and heat it can be pretty intolerable. Now I fully expect we will make more frequent trips for swinging, tag, and soccer.

It is amazing how much the energy and mood of the kids has changed since they have started playing outside more! There seems to be less bickering and a much greater sense of community. The kids will often play games outdoors that require cooperation, concentration, and greater verbal and non-verbal communication. They also have a far greater outlet for physical energy and sheer volume, especially when we go to a larger space than our yard.

Expect more photos from our trips to the Renaissance Festival and Arboretum when they are uploaded soon!


William emerging from a successful trip down the slide.


Evan pausing as she pushes Judah around in the stroller. Now that we have a stroller to play with many of the kids were very excited to push Judah around.


William, EliJah, Diego, Justin, Ripley, and Evan working hard to get Seth and Troy fully buried.


Justin's head was all that was left.


Sean readying his X for a game of Tic Tac Toe.


Diego joyfully swinging.


Troy giving a smile while Justin, Ripley, and EliJah continue playing in the background.

For more pictures please follow this link.

- Ellie, Staff Member

Quote of the Week and Photos

"My grandmother wanted me to have an education so she kept me out of school."

- Margaret Mead

Diego, Evan, William, and Steven make a big mess with cornstarch dough and a cornstarch and water suspension.


Caleb paddles through the school.


Stephanie and Charlie show Seth their constructions.



Troy playing the drums.


Caleb gets to know Fred.


Abba, Troy, Melissa, and Evan explore the Children's Museum.

For more pictures please follow this link.

- Ellie, Staff Member

Young Children as Research Scientists

This is a photo of William and Diego painting with watercolors. Later Amanda glanced over at William's painting and exclaimed, "Oh! You made a wheel but it is flat because there is a hole letting the air out!" William beamed at this correct interpretation and I stood there gaping. Sure, I had presumed he was painting a wheel - my adult eyes saw the circle with lines crossing to represent spokes. But my narrowed understanding attributed the trail of paint coming from one point of the circle as totally meaningless, if not just an accident. I was astounded at how these kids have this amazing ability which I unfortunately have lost. They are constantly searching for meaning in their environment and analyzing the world around them. It reminds me of how John Holt describes young children as research scientists in his book, "Learning All the Time":

Children are born passionately eager to make as much sense as they can of things around them. The process by which children turn experience into knowledge is exactly the same, point for point, as the process by which those whom we call scientists make scientific knowledge. Children observe, they wonder, they speculate, and they ask themselves questions. They think up possible answers, they make theories, they hypothesize, and then they test theories by asking questions or by further observations or experiments or reading. Then they modify the theories as needed, or reject them, and the process continues. This is what in “grown-up” life is called the–capital S, capital M–Scientific Method. It is precisely what these little guys start doing as soon as they are born.
If we attempt to control, manipulate, or divert this process, we disturb it. If we continue this long enough, the process stops. The independent scientist in the child disappears.

- Ellie, Staff Member

Quote of the Week and Photos

Quote of the Week: "I remember spending the greater part of my childhood wondering about adults. Were they ever children? From their behavior towards children it seemed to me quite clearly that they could never have possibly been children." - Ashley Montagu


Diego running with a sword, Isaac showing off the moves he learned in his martial arts class, and Evan preparing the stuffed animals to watch the movie.


Evan and Amanda requested I take a picture of them with the puppies.


The kids always arrange the most comfortable, lazy position to use the computer. Here Justin is sitting in the armchair that managed to find a semi-permanent home in front of the computer desk, but currently as I type the kids have shoved the entire couch by the desk.


Caleb told me that he would play with the "fancy ones" and "the...cars" were for me to play with.

For more pictures please follow this link.

- Ellie, Staff Member