GaGa Sisterhood
January 2011
GaGazine Contents
2011 Calendar
Feb 10 Sew & Chat Night
2011 Programs
April 12 Filoli Tour
Science Experiments with Your Grandchildren
Mother-Daughter Workshop
Persimmon Bars Recipe
The GaGa Zone
Quick Links
2011 Calendar 

Date      Presenter     Host
 
Mar 6     Helena        Nancy Wulff
May 1    Michele
       Mixer  
July 10   Marcie       Julie M.
Sep 17   Kathy         Open
Nov 6     Dee            Ruth O'Hara

 


Feb 10 Sew & Chat Night

 

A year ago some of you asked for an informal get together in between our regularly scheduled meetings. We had a potluck dinner at Carol Field's in February 2010. There was plenty of time for great conversation and the chance to get to know each other.

 

We had such a good time we're scheduling another "in between" meeting. This time Dee Gustavson has offered to host:

 

Sew and Chat Night on Thursday, February 10 at 7 pm.

 

Bring a sewing project (optional) to work on while we have an informal conversation about books, movies, ideas for activities/projects, and of course, our grandchildren. We are NOT doing dinner, but Dee will provide tea and fruit.

2011 Programs

March 6
 
Artist Nancy Wulff will discuss the different stages of art development and the creative process in children. She'll also teach us some art projects to do with our grandchildren.
 

May 1
 

We're going to have a member mixer instead of a presenter. We'll have small group discussions and opportunities to get to know each other.

July 10
 

Author and grandmother Julie Matsushima will share the inspiring story of her granddaughter who was born with cerebral palsy. In her book, For the Love of Aimee, Julie writes about the disappointments, challenges, and amazing achievements Aimee and Julie experience as they embark on a journey to find a breakthrough for Aimee.   

November 6

 

Dr. Ruth O'Hara, research professor at Stanford School of Medicine, will discuss some of her work on sleep issues and give us some suggestions for improving our sleep.

We still need a speaker for September 17.


April 12 Filoli Tour

FiloliGarden
Filoli


It's back by popular demand! A tour of the beautiful gardens at Filoli on April 12 at 10:00 am. We had such a great time at Filoli last April, we decided to do it again.
 

Get your taxes done early and reward yourself with a morning going gaga in the gardens! We'll have our own private tour of the estate and gardens led by our own docent GGS members Judith, Betty, and Julia. The cost is $15 or $12, if you're over 65.
 

After the tour, we'll gather in the cafe for lunch. I'll be taking reservations starting March 1.
 

Greetings!

 

Happy New Year!

 

Our first meeting of 2011 was so much fun I wish you all could have been there. Our first reward for trekking up the steep hill to Donna's house was a spectacular view of the bay and beyond. Her husband is a pilot and loves being able to look out their dining room window and see San Carlos Airport where he often lands.

 

For introductions we each said something we're looking forward to in 2011. It sounds like it's going to be a great year for travel (England, Canada, Viet Nam, Hawaii, Spain, and Ireland,) home improvements, weddings, births, and reunions. 

Our second reward was Jeannie Lythcott. She has been teaching for over 30 years and it's apparent she loves what she does. I got many emails after our meeting, raving about Jeannie's warmth, enthusiasm, and "amazing teaching style." We all wish we'd had a chemistry teacher like her.  

Jeannie just "retired" from the Stanford Teacher Education Program where she spent 10 years teaching science educators from kindergarten through the doctoral level. Then headed right back into the classroom to teach high school chemistry at Summit High School in Redwood City, CA.

You'll find a brief description of Jeannie's science experiments below as well as her handout that you can download.

For those of you whose New Year's resolutions may be waning, I offer you GaGa Janet's simple yet all encompassing resolutions: moisturize, accessorize, exercise, and prioritize

 

 SigColor
Science Experiments with Grandchildren

It's All About Water 

 

How do you feel about science? If your experience in school was less than positive, you may be intimidated or reluctant to teach your grandchildren some simple science experiments. But with Jeannie's help, you can make it fun, interesting, and simple.  

She gave each of us a folder with six experiments. (You can download her handouts for more details.) Then had us do the experiments in small groups and notice what happened. With delightful anticipation in her voice she told us to just "notice what happens." We crowded around Donna's large dining table like a bunch of preschoolers  doing "water play."

Jeannie began by explaining that there are two things involved in talking about science: 1) doing and seeing, 2) how to talk about what we see. We "fall apart in the second category because it becomes confusing and befuddling."

GaGa Science
GaGa Scientists at Work

Experiments

  1. What happens when salty water is left in the open air? We put 1 drop of 4 different solutions on a black plastic plate and labeled them: Epsom salt water, baking soda, sugar water, Crystal Light. Then we left them to see what would happen. When we came back, we looked at the dried drops with a magnifying glass to notice the differences in evaporation.
  2. How many drops of water can you put onto a penny before it spills over? Predict the number before you try it. Then count as you slowly squeeze drops from a dropper one at a time onto the penny. This experiment demonstrates surface tension.
  3. Can you put more water in a tube when a tube is full? Fill a glass tube with water then slowly add drops of water. The "muffin top" shape that forms shows us that it should have fallen off earlier but gravity holds the water in place. 
  4. What happens to floating pepper grains in water? Fill a Petri dish or custard cup with water then sprinkle a little black pepper onto the surface. Dip a toothpick into a soapy solution and touch the soapy end to the surface. Watch what the pepper grains do. (This experiment was my granddaughters' favorite.)
  5. How does water hold onto itself? Drop 6-8 drops of water in a tight circle on 4 different surfaces: black plastic bag, glass, newly soap-washed surface, Formica table and watch what they do. This experiment also demonstrates surface tension.  
  6. How many pennies can you float in an aluminum foil boat? Make a small boat out of 6x4-inch piece of aluminum. Flatten well and make straight sides. Put the boat in a bowl of water and slowly add one penny at a time. Watch for two things: how many pennies will it hold before sinking and how big a wall of water can you make at the side of the boat as it sinks lower and lower? This is another experiment in surface tension.

After we finished doing the experiments, Jeannie spoke about some of our observations. She suggested using words like "the water disappeared" instead of "evaporated." She advised against getting too technical with young children or you'll put language between them and learning. For example, water can "jump on surfaces because of the attraction that reaches across a space like magnets."

If you want to delve deeper into the world of science, GaGa Sandy recommends My Big Science Book by Simon Mugford.  There are 40 experiments for early graders with step-by-step, easy to follow instructions. All the projects use everyday materials and explain the relevance of the experiments to real life. 

  
Mother-Daughter Workshop
 

My daughter, Deborah, and I are co-leading a mother-daughter workshop with yoga teacher/therapist Jackie Long, Saturday, June 11 from 8 am - 9 pm at Stillheart Retreat Center, Woodside, CA.
Stillheart
Stillheart Retreat Center
The daylong retreat will consist of yoga classes, communication seminars, and interpersonal exercises to explore and nurture the mother-daughter relationship. There will also be time for self-care. Participants will have the option to soak in the hot tub, take a dip in the pool, hike in the Redwoods, curl up on the couch, and/or read a book in the library.


Since all women are daughters, this retreat is open to all women interested in exploring their mother-daughter or mother-in-law daughter-in-law relationship, whether they come alone or with their mother or adult daughter.

While developing the content for the workshop, I wrote a post on my blog:
10 Tips for Improving Mother-Daughter Communication
 
Lemon Glazed Persimmon Bars
 

GaGa Dee brought these bars to our meeting and everyone enjoyed them so much I asked her for the recipe.

 

1 cup persimmon pulp (about 2 large, very soft, elongated shaped Hachiya type)*

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg, beaten

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup salad oil

1 cup raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

 

Glaze

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice (orange juice works OK, too)

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 10x15" jellyroll pan with nonstick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together persimmon pulp and baking soda and set aside.
  3. In medium bowl, combine egg, sugar, oil, and raisins.  Add to pulp mixture.
  4. Mix cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, salt, and cloves, and add to pulp mixture.  Blend together, and add nuts (if using), and stir again.
  5. Spread into pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before glazing.
  6. To make glaze, blend confectioner's sugar and lemon juice. If mixture seems too thick, add more liquid (lemon juice or water) one teaspoon at a time between stirrings.  Drizzle evenly over the top of cooling persimmon bars.  Wait until bars are completely cool and glaze has set before cutting.

 

*To remove persimmon pulp, no need to peel first or remove stem. Wash, then make a 3/4" wide cut on bottom end, and squeeze pulp into measuring cup. Remove any seeds and throw away with skin and stem. Stir with fork to make smoother.  It's OK if some rather large pieces of pulp remain. Will be similar consistency as applesauce or jelly.

The GaGa Zone
 
Please continue sending me pictures and stories of you with your grandchildren for the GaGa Zone.

Lucas
GaGa Marilyn's grandson, Lucas, sporting his new tattoo.