Origami

 Research the history of origami. Practice a few folds, then jump in. Start by making a simple design like a crane, plane, or boat.

Ironically, the best history of origami I came across was a digital resource public paper-folding history project.  

It arose independently in 3 regions (Europe, Japan, and China).  The traditions began to influence each other between 1867 and 1904 with increased globalization.  The site posits that the development of kindergarten and its paper craft curriculum starting in the 1850's established mass-appeal for paper folding crafts.  

I learned that a simple bird shape was called a cocotte/pajarito.  They were sometimes interpreted as horses.  Cocotte could also be used figuratively as a term of endearment directed toward a child, to imply something was childish, or a higher-class prostitute.  Incidentally, I got the impression that of the European countries, Spain had the strongest legacy of paper folding, with Miguel de Unamuno receiving acclaim for his pajaritos.  This could be from Moorish influence, yet there is no section of the website which covers Muslim or paper folding in the Middle East.  

There also seems to be some debate on if cutting is permissible (or shunted off into a separate discipline of kirigami).  Personally, I am more impressed that such an abundance of shapes could spring from a single material and could be unfolded back to their original shape without corners getting cut.  However, I am also intrigued by the indigenous American tradition of papel picado, or pierced paper which involves more cutting than folding.    

Here is my list of cool things to make a contemporary version of: 

• Mitres of infamy (1394): Public humiliation hat which listed the wearer's offenses.  In my case, I would make them as "name tags" at big parties and maybe they'd get more use if I called them paper crowns!  
• Dollar bill folds in rings, bow-ties or other ornate shapes for cash gifts
• Grocer's cones and other beautiful biodegradable boxes to share food on the go, bonbons, or around the pool.
• Pastry boxes as a substitute for seed-starting flats
• Paper boats to race across water ways or airplanes to race across driveways
• Containers to trap bugs
• Napkin/toilet paper ornamental folding 
• Collapsible lanterns for mood lighting
• An ark of animals 
• A bouquet of flowers

Likewise, while I checked several origami books out of the kid's section of the library, I had trouble following the instructions.  Ultimately, I found previewing and then watching Jo Nakashima's youtube tutorials in slow motion with frequent pauses was the most effective way to end up with a recognizable end product.  I "jumped in" with a frog and some extra sticker eyeballs.  

Civics Challenge

My kid just wrapped up the Revolutionary War unit and we have just embarked on an unconstitutional war in Iran, so this seemed like as good a time as any to brush up on civics.  

Beginner Level 

Research and learn the answers to the following questions: 

• What is the supreme law of the land? The Constitution of the United States of America

• What does the Constitution do? It is the foundation for the federal government and protects individual rights.  

• The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. 

What are they? We the People

• What do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?  The Bill of Rights

• Name two rights or two freedoms listed in the First Amendment (five are 

possible). Religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.  

• What did the Declaration of Independence do? Formally severed the 13 American colonies' ties with Great Britain, announcing their separation to the world.  

• Name two rights in the Declaration of Independence (three are possible). Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

• What is freedom of religion? The ability to to believe, worship, and practice their faith without government coercion or discrimination.  

• What is the economic system in the United States? Mixed economy.  Capitalist private ownership with government intervention to regulate and provide public services.  

• What is the “rule of law”? All people, institutions, and government entities are accountable to publicly promulgated, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated laws.  No one is above the law.  

Intermediate Level 

Research and learn the answers to the following questions: 

• Name the three branches of government. Legislative, executive, and judicial.  

• What keeps one branch of government from becoming too powerful? A system of checks and balances established by the constitution.  

• Who is in charge of the executive branch? The president.  

• Who makes the federal laws? Congress.

• What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?  House of Representatives and Senate.  

• How many U.S. Senators are there? 100 

• Name one of your state’s U.S. Senators and one of your state’s U.S. 

Representatives.  Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff are California's Senators.  We have 52 seats in the House of Representatives and Congressman Lou Correa represents our district 46.  

• What is the term of a U.S. Senator? 6 year terms that are staggered with no term limits.  

• What is the term of a U.S. Representative?  2 year terms with no term limits.   

• What is the term of the President? 4 year terms with a 2-term limit (22nd amendment).  

• Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?  The President, but only Congress can declare war.

• Who signs bills to become laws? The President.  

Expert Level 

Research and learn the answers to the following questions: 

• Who vetoes bills? The President can veto bills.  Congress can over-ride the veto with a 2/3 vote in both chambers.  

• What does the judicial branch do? Interprets laws, applies them to specific cases, and determines if laws or executive actions violate the U.S. Constitution

• What is the highest court in the United States? The Supreme Court

• How many justices are on the Supreme Court? Nine.  

• Who is the Chief Justice of the United States now? John Glover Roberts, Jr.  

• Under our Constitution, some powers belong solely to the federal government. 

Name two (four are possible). Declaring war, printing money, regulating interstate trade, and making treaties.  

• Under our Constitution, some powers belong solely to the states. Name two 

(five are possible). Education system, intrastate commerce, police powers of safety/health/welfare, conducting elections, and establishing local governments.  

• Who is the Governor of your state now? Gavin Newsom

• What is the capital of your state? Sacramento

• What are the two major political parties in the United States? Democrats and Republicans

• What is the name of the Speaker of the House of Representatives now?  Mike Johnson

Extra Credit:  

What are the US Territories?  Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands.  Their members are US citizens but lack voting representation.  

How come Arizona has no DST but California is still springing forward years after voting to end it?  Uniform Time Act of 1966 allows states to opt out of daylight saving time.  This is what Arizona did because the extreme heat would make jobs less safe under DST hours.  Hawaii has a similar arrangement.  California Proposition 7 passed in 2018 giving California legislature the ability to drop out of observing DST.  From there, CA Senate bill 51 was proposed to put California on standard time year round, but it stalled in committee.  

What is an executive order?  A directive issued by the President to federal agencies which has the force of law but does not need Congressional approval.  They can be challenged in court if they exceed constitutional or statutory authority.  They can't contradict existing legislation, spend money not appropriated by Congress, or create new taxes.  They can be revoked or modified by subsequent presidents.  Previous examples of executive orders have been the suspension of habeas corpus (protection against indefinite imprisonment without trial) to address secessionist activities during the civil war and to quell activities of the Ku Klux Klan and creation of internment camps during world war 2.  

Lost Art of Letter Writing

As part of an initiative to get better at relaxing, I followed a whim to purchase a "pocket scavenger hunt" journal at my daughter's Buck a Book sale.  The first item: postage stamps.  

Well, I had plenty of those in a disorganized pile from what has turned out to be four years of correspondence with penpals in Virginia and Poland.  Added to the chaos was all the wonderful sister mail that has accumulated from being a part of the Wildflower henhouse on MaryJane's Farm.  Well.  Maybe this is a nudge toward getting my letter-writing station in order?  

Major enhancements: 

• Rogued out the envelopes for more compact storage (snipped the postage stamps and a "good" version of each sender's return address).  Envelopes were shredded for compost.  
• Grouped correspondence by sender.  Labeled with a post-it note with the return address stapled to it.  Substantial correspondence warranted a binder clip, otherwise a paperclip, or nestle greeting cards into each other as a make-shift folder.  Try to to arrange chronologically.  Remind self to date future outbound correspondence for easy organization.  
• Graduated the penpal folder and MJ Farm folder to accordion expansion-style folders to hold the excess
• Gathered pens, postage, envelopes, address stamper and miscellaneous stationery in a single drawer.  Decided to add checkbook as well because much of my correspondence has been bill pay.  
• Dust letter-writing station to make it more inviting.  Admire work and memorialize with a photo.  

Areas I am still noodling on: 

• Address book in theory and practice.  In a perfect world, I would capture everyone's birthdays, anniversaries, etc. along with a summary of our past correspondence and contact info in one single organized space.  Should it be a physical book?  Something saved digitally?  What fields should I capture?  I find the most frequent use cases for an address book are (1) sending postcards when far away from the letter writing station - so I print out a physical list of addresses to take with me and (2) replying to a received letter - so having their address on a post-it as I file when I received seems like the most streamlined workflow for now.  Sure, I will miss birthdays and not have a consolidated list for Christmas cards, but let's crawl before we run.  
• Thank you notes.  This stationery probably needs its own dedicated drawer, especially if I tackle the gratitude challenge in MaryJane's Farm.   
• Flourishes.  I noticed in leafing through old letters I love the flourish of a wax seal or a lacy paper punch.  Maybe a few of these could be justified "upgrades" to my station.  How cool would it be if my wax candles for ambiance doubled for sealing envelopes?