All Categories

2/28/2019

The Roving Rovers

Read Now

Joke of the week: What do you call a cold dog? *Answer is below the pictures.

The Roving Learners have new pups! Meet Cedar and Emma. They are joining Eudog as Roving Rovers. The Roving Learners plan on training the pups to be therapy dogs.

The mama had a litter of 11 puppies!

Cedar meets Phoenix

Chow time

Chilling out

Cedar takes her job seriously.

The kids love the pups!

...siblings...

Emma

Daily physical activity

Took Eudog a few days to want to play

Answer to joke of the week: A Chili dog!

2 Comments

2/14/2019

My First Impressions of the Roving Learners

1 Comment

Read Now

Joke of the week: What is the opposite of a waterfall? *answer is below the pictures

By Silas Weber

I started at the Roving Learners on February 6th. I thought that all of the kids there were very nice. One of the first excursions I went on was on friday the 11th . We went to McKinney Falls. There are lots of animals at the park such as snakes, white tailed-deer, coyotes, etc. My favorite part of the the trip was that John could put his hands in the fire it was so hot that none of the kids could put their hands in the fire. It was so hot that it burned the hair off of John's hand.

At the beginning of the day we got chairs and tables out of the shed. We tidied it up after that. Everyone was so nice while we read and while we did math. Then we ate snack in the backyard. The backyard is like a jungle and we played capture the flag. John called us in after a while. We packed up and then we’re ready to leave to go to McKinney Falls.

It was fun to ride out in the van with everyone. When we got there, John made a fire and showed us that he could put his hands in the fire! Then we hiked down to a river and we tried to cross but we couldn't do it. We hiked down the river more to find a way to cross but we still found nothing. We went in a rock shelter that I suggested we explore. After that we headed back to the van and played a game to see all of the different license plates from different states; Alabama, California, Colorado and Louisiana.

We got to home base and had to clean up. I did the trash and Charlie did the recycling. We all had a job, like, doing the dishes and sweeping and we put away the chairs and the tables. When we were done we went outside and waited for our parents. My mom got there and I left.

I thought that everyone was very nice and I love being there. I love their system of two days of learning and three days of roving. I like that they grow chickens and herbs and vegetables. I like the places that they go. Same with all the other kids they have a system where there's an older group that does math, history, blog writing, and cleans and a younger group that still does math but it’s easier.

Hand Warmers

Searching for the Rock Shelter

Rock Shelter

Answer to the Joke of the Week: A firefly!

1 Comment

2/7/2019

Williamson Creek Clean-Up

0 Comments

Read Now

Joke of the week: What car has four wheels and flies?
*Answer is below the pictures.

Please leave comments or questions

by Theo Van Haren

My school, the Roving Learners, has been on many trips to Williamson Creek. Every time we go, we clean up hundreds of pieces of trash. The creek bottom has been improved to the extent that there is not much garbage left. We eat lunch near the creek and play games. The class usually finds interesting things among the trash. The last time we went, I found a pond of water. We will continue visiting Williamson Creek to do regular maintenance and clean up.

Our teacher, John, lives next to the creek. We park at his place for our excursion. When we got to John’s house, we started eating lunch. After lunch we played Bananatag, which is a game where everybody is it. There is a field where we play tag and running games. The field was recently mowed, so we could play in it.

On this trip Kaysie came with us. Kaysie is the co-owner of the school, along with John. She helps run the school. Kaysie comes in on school picture days, and other times because we are doing something fun, and she has a lunch break.

Once we got down to the creek, we started cleaning up trash. Charlie and I were picking up recycling, and the rest of the group was picking up trash. I found all sorts of rusty cans, like mango juice cans, beer cans, and paint cans. At one point I found a third of a manhole cover. The cover was rusty and l got red dust on my fingers and hands. I had to drop my bag off at a pillar that was supporting the bridge. I put it there because it was a landmark that I could easily remember, and I would not have to carry the bag to the end of the hike and back. I filled up about a bag and a half.

I discovered a place where water was flowing down the side of the slope of the support of the bridge above us. At the bottom of the waterfall there was a large pool that was really cold. The pool was full of mucky cans, algae covered plastic bottles and other disgusting stuff. The water was green, and dirty.

While we were picking up trash, John said that there was a dead dog somewhere around there. The dog was not where John had last seen it. He said the coyotes had moved it. He could figure that out because if it had been vultures, the grass would have been trampled and brown. The grass was not trampled and brown, but green and lush. When we found the dog, the flesh was torn away to reveal the white bones, which were stripped. The only fur left was on the snout and paws. The dog looked about the same size as Eudog.

While we walked back we talked and had fun. I picked up the bag I left behind bag and put it inside my half full bag. With all the trash on my back I could barely get out of there. Coming out, I stumbled at least twice.
Once we got back, we started loading up the trash from previous cleanups. We loaded up bags that were full of trash. With it we loaded up some wet, disgusting cardboard. The cardboard was covered in muck. Once the cardboard and trash bags were all loaded up we took a picture to record how much trash we hauled out of the creek bottom.

We have been on many trips to Williamson Creek. We end up cleaning out hundreds of pieces of trash. The section of the creek we have cleaned looks much better. We eat lunch near the creek and play games. The class usually finds interesting things, like the dog skeleton and a pond of water. As we keep on going to the creek, we will keep maintaining the cleanliness of it.

Creek Trash

Nico Doing His Part

Filling Up Bags

Truck Load

Answer to the joke of the week: A garbage truck!

0 Comments

1/31/2019

Martin Luther King Jr March in Austin

10 Comments

Read Now

Joke of the Week: What do you get when you walk behind a car?
*Answer is at the bottom of the post.

Please leave comments or questions in the comments section.

By Phoenix Johnson

On Monday January 21st, I went to the MLK march with Roving Learners. Before we marched we heard speeches from people, at the University of Texas in Austin, next to the MLK statue. My mom and I got to the march with a Lyft. Then we started walking. While we were walking, John gave us one of the CB radios so we could split up from the group. We overheard what the police were saying. Then we could only use it for contacting John. After a while, we had to go back with John for the rest of the walk. While we were on our walk we got our picture taken next to the Chief of Police, Brian Manley. The weather was so cold that I saw people with thick jackets. There was a very big crowd. I’d say about a thousand people were there that day.

   After we walked, they ended the march with a festive party. It was very fun when Theo and I walked around. At the party, they had food stands, games, music, and more. Before we walked around, we ate lunch. For lunch I had a ham and cheese sandwich. But before we ate lunch I bought girl scout cookies. Then after lunch we walked around. There was a lot of free candy. Theo and I climbed a really tall tree, we went all the way to the top. It was very exciting. After that we tried picking oranges from a tree but we weren't successful. The party was at Huston-Tillotson University it was about a two mile walk. When we had to go, we had to wait at a our gathering point for everyone to come back. Then after that we got in the Roving Learners van and left.

   During the march I saw a lot of friends of my mom and mine. I saw people from both of my old schools. I also saw friends from outside of my old schools that I know. Here is a list of everyone who I know that I saw at the MLK march: Nico, Aiden, Lucy, Peter, Olivana, Hailey, Kathlyn, Sara and more.

There was a food drive hosted by Central Texas Food Bank. My mom and I brought canned food such as beans, green beans and more. My mom told me to bring canned food so we could help people in need.

This wasn’t my first, nor, hopefully, my last MLK march. Over my life I’ve been to two different MLK marches. Last year I went to the march with my sister and her dog. We didn't go all the way. We went from the Capital to Huston-Tillotson. Next year I want to bring my dog Prince. I will be in Lamar Middle school. I hope to bring my new school friends next time so they can enjoy it with me.
Roving Learners and I went to the MLK march on January 21st . I enjoyed the party and the free candy at the end of the march. It was cool seeing old friends during the day. There was a food drive at the march hosted by Central Texas Food Bank. It made me happy to donate food for people in need. I hope this becomes an annual tradition for my family and friends.

Roving Learners & Friends with Chief Manley

Answer to the Joke of the Day: Exhausted!

10 Comments

1/24/2019

Building a Fleet of Bikes at Yellow Bike Shop

3 Comments

Read Now

Joke of the Week: Why can't a bicycle stand up on its own?
*Answer is at the bottom of the post

Please leave feedback or questions in the comments.

By Brayden Brown
My school went to the Yellow Bike Project on Tuesday, January 9th. The Yellow Bike Project, also called YBP, is a volunteer run organization founded in 1997. YBP started in a garage, but it quickly came out of the garage and into a building. It is now located on 1216 Webberville Rd. If you want to learn more, click the following link. (www.austinyellowbike.org)

After you walk in you see a curved desk with a computer facing you which you use to sign in on. If you sign in, it helps keep track of when you’re there. If you turn to your left you will see a staircase leading up to a double decker bike rack with bikes that are ready to be sold. When we first walked in it was dimly lit. There are about ten work tables with a lot of parts and tools, and a double decker bike rack with lots of bikes on it.

We went upstairs and John chose bikes for the Littles. The Littles got bikes that did not need to be worked on because it would be too complicated for them to fix their bikes. Nico got an all black bike. Oscar got a red bike with yellow stripes and the word “rocket” written in yellow. Hunter got a black and white bike, and Ceil got a light blue bike. We brought their bikes down stairs and John put them in the van. Then we went out to the back of the Yellow Bike Project building and the Olders chose their bikes. Sal got a purple bike with gears. Pepper also got a purple bike with gears. It was kind of hard to find our bikes because some of the bikes looked like they would fit me but they didn't have seats. When I found my first bike it was a green BMX bike. John sent out a mechanic to see if we would be able to fix our bikes easily.

The mechanic, James, said that Terran’s bike and my bike both had a brake problem since they were BMX bikes, so that would make it a bit harder to fix. So Terran and I chose new bikes. Terran found an orange bike. When I found my second bike I had to lift up a crusty grey tarp. When I lifted it up, I saw a jam packed bike rack with lots of old bikes. I found one that fit me and was in moderate condition. My new bike is blue and purple.

Afterwards John gave us tags to put on our bikes so that no one would sell them. The tags have our names and Roving Learners below. Then we put the bikes into a walk-in storage container. Every Wednesday in January we are going to go to the Yellow Bike Project to fix our bikes. I like going to the YBP and helping fix bikes. When we are done fixing our bikes I want to ride them at Zilker Park.

Our Bikes

Bike Art with Madison

Getting to Work

Answer to Joke of the Week: Because it is too tired!

3 Comments

1/17/2019

Williamson Creek

0 Comments

Read Now

Joke of the Week: What's brown and sticky?
*Answer at bottom of post

By Pepper Toft
Our class went to Williamson Creek on monday. It took 15 minutes to get there. On our way to John’s house we went on a bridge that went over the creek and John told us, “If you look to the left of the bridge, we were going down there.” I thought he sounded like a tour guide at a zoo.
When we got to John’s house we played tag in the big field for 20 minutes with Terran,Charlie,Brayden and Theo. It was fun. After that we ate lunch outside. At lunch we told scary stories and warmed up by the fire. It is a tradition to tell scary stories when we are at John's house.
When we went on the hike we walked in the woods and under the bridge. I saw two shoes that didn't even match. One was checkered and one was blue. We saw a lot of trash; glass bottles,beer cans,plastic bags,etc.
When we were under the bridge the sand was wet so it felt like you were walking on memory foam, it was cool. All the Littles called it quick sand and it annoyed John he ended up telling them to stop. John told them to stop because he did not want them to tell their parents we played in quicksand, when they really weren't.
John brought the CB radios so we could split up but still be in contact. Brayden went up on the hill with some of the littles but all the Olders except Brayden crossed the creek. One of the times I fell in the water it was warm, surprisingly. Then we climbed up the hill of debris and met up with Brayden and the littles.
Then all the class actually got to go off by our self without John. John taught us how to stay on the trails with the trail markers. When we went off John could still see us but it was a start.
Eudog came with us and Kept running off. One of the times Eudog went to John and John told Eudog to find us and she scared us bad; she came up behind us running through our clump of children.
The trails started to get a little confusing, because there were a lot of forks in the trail. Trail markers were getting more spread out and a lot harder to figure out where we were. But most of the times Eudog had to show us where we were. She was like a future Google Map that you did not have too read.
We got to this place where there was sand mixed with mud the Littles walked through it instead of going around the tree, and ended up not being able to walk. Uma got stuck in the middle of the sand-mud so we had to contact John with the CB radios. John had to help her get out of the sand-mud. When she did, Brayden had to get her shoes out with a stick. She needed new shoes she could barely walk in one shoe. So we had to wait 5 minutes but it felt like 20 minutes for them to clean their shoes off.
On our way back we went the wrong way and instead of coming down the left fork we ended up on the right. John told us we were all going across the creek to rinse our shoes off instead of walking around the creek. We all ran to the van. We were late to come back to school. All the parents were already there.
We went to Williamson Creek. It was fun. We are going again to pick up trash.

Answer to the Joke of the Week: A stick!