Martin King Luther, Jr. Weekend ;)

(The title of this post is what Oliver uses to refer to the holiday that will be celebrated this weekend ;)

 Because we were all a bunch of sickies over New Year's, we missed out on re-connecting with the Bluesteens! Luckily, they were available this weekend to come up to Jersey and hang out with us.
Kids LOVE playing soccer in the backyard, taking runs around the Reservoir with the Daddies, and watching movies together in the living room ;)

 We drove out to Trenton to visit the New Jersey State Museum, and to see a show at the planetarium. It was called "Earth, Moon, and Sun" and served to explain some space- misconceptions. They also showed us an image of the current night sky and pointed out the constellations of Orion, Taurus, Gemini, and others.
The kids enjoyed seeing the dinosaur fossils, as well as the "Very Big Things" exhibit upstairs.

For dinner, we had hibachi!!!

 Everyone tried to catch the zucchini pieces in their mouths... a few of us succeeded. BOTH Konopack boys opened their mouths and caught one each!

Onion Fire Volcano!

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And as for the holiday itself, well, I must say... my boys know who Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, and why he was important. And I think that's pretty good for this stage in the game. 

(Although Oliver kept referring to him as "Martin King Junior Luther")

We have a short book that serves to explain to children about segregation, dreams, and equality. It begins a conversation for us to have.

And even though our town had school today (too many missed days due to Sandy), the fact that today was special was still on our minds.

Below are some particularly thought-provoking words of Dr. King's that I found at this blog post regarding the purpose of education. Many points he makes are ones that I think about on a regular basis, as both a mother and an educator. Although written for a student paper in 1947, they still ring true for our country today:

“We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half truths, prejudices, and propaganda. At this point, I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”

“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character–that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. The broad education will, therefore, transmit to one not only the accumulated knowledge of the race but also the accumulated experience of social living.

“If we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, “brethren!” Be careful, teachers!”