Susan Powell's family: Volcano Week

Here is another day in the life of Susan's loving family.

In the afternoon, Charlie called the family outside to see his latest creation. He had carefully shaped a gradually sloping mound of dirt (as seen in the photo). He proceeded to explain that it was a "shield volcano that is extinct." He continued to explain that an "extinct volcano is one that may never erupt again" and the dirt actually represents lava - all his own words. This wonderful creativity was following a week of volcano fun surrounding the 30-year anniversary of the Mt. St. Helens eruption.

Grandpa Steve commented, "It warms my heart to come home from work and be greeted at the door by two beautiful and affectionate little boys, who want to show Grandpa what they learned or built with their daddy." Charlie had learned about shield volcanoes and extinct ones almost a week ago, but he remembered every detail. In this case, Charlie had built his shield volcano without any prompting. Charlie is so happy and proud of his creations.

Braden chatters with the best of the three year olds. He knows what a volcano is. It is really endearing when he runs up to a friend or neighbor to tell them things like "volcanoes make fire and smoke."

Later in the day, Charlie also built a dirt replica of Mt. St. Helens complete with its crater in the side of the mountain. Entirely without prompting, Charlie had even built the newly forming lava-dome in the middle of the crater exactly as he witnessed it last week. Considering it was an overcast day when the boys and their daddy visited, it is excellent just how much they got out of the trip. The visitor's centers certainly added to the experience.

Teaching Opportunities

Current events can be the perfect teaching opportunity for two wonderful toddlers. Last week was the 30-year anniversary of the Mt. St. Helens eruption in Washington State. Josh took Charlie and Braden to the blast site to celebrate the event and to enjoy nature. Throughout the week, Josh and the family spent considerable time teaching the children about volcanoes. They also watched several documentaries about volcanoes. Charlie and Braden get so excited with each of these adventures.

For years, Josh and Susan have undertaken activity weeks such as last week's "Volcano Week". Some other activity weeks have been related to dinosaurs, gardening, farming, religion, sea life, woodworking and many more week long topics. The children love it and it really brings their education to life for them.