(not) back to school

What a week! Even though Monday was a holiday, the kids and I packed so much into the rest of the week that it has seemed long. Our Spanish language group is back in full swing now, and we met at Bear Hollow on Tuesday so the kids could learn the names for all the animals en Español. It felt great to get out of the classroom and out into the real world so everyone could really connect the new words visually. We are planning similar trips in the near future, to the library and the grocery store as well as other places. (Grr. I forgot the camera on Monday. But Sarah didn't! She has an awesome post about our outing here.)



Wednesday, the kids and I went over to visit the State Botanical Garden. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time. It is SO nice to be able to get out and go somewhere without everyone complaining about how hot it is for a change! We wandered around and looked at all the plants, and we were able to see a number of critters as well- a toad, some frogs, some fish, and several lizards. We even brought some bubbles to blow while we sat down for a snack under the gazebo. I think we will return again soon- this is a great place to be outside and there is so much to see and learn about. There is a fantastic exhibit of photographs there right now, by Robert Creamer. Daisy and I really enjoyed looking at these together (while we tried to wrangle the other kids, who were clearly uninterested in photos and only wanted to climb on things...) This collection was of digital scans of flowers and was truly breathtaking. Athens folks will want to be sure to get over there and check these out- remember there is no admission cost to the Botanical Garden.













And finally, yesterday was our first day back at ACE (Athens Cooperative Experience), our local homeschool learning co-op. It was so good to be back and see some familiar faces, as well as some new ones. Stella and Lyle thoroughly enjoyed the Preschool Fun group- with apples as our theme we sang some songs and made an art project together. Daisy and Hazel went on a hike and learned about poison ivy among other plants, with the Plant Identification group. This class is taught by our co-op's only dad, who has a wealth of information about plants and animals to share with the kids. I look forward to learning a lot through Daisy and Hazel during this session, even though I cannot attend with them (since I stay with Stella & Lyle).

The icing on the cake of our first day back at ACE was a drumming session with Dr. Arvin Scott, who does a program called Drumming for Success. This was such an exhilarating session! The energy was just amazing as he helped the kids learn a little about drumming. I know Daisy and Hazel got a lot out of participating, and Stella and Lyle got in on things just a little and then went about their playtime to the beat of the drums.







Here is a video so you can hear the drums a little- I think they sounded much better in real life though!


Whew! Today we are going to hit the park and then come home and relax, and get the house cleaned up a bit so we can enjoy our weekend with Daddy. How does the house get so messy when we are gone all week?!



Oh I almost forgot- we've also been working on some crafting this week! Daisy and I are making a duvet cover to go over a quilt for her bed. We are making it like a patchwork quilt, but it will just slip over a quilt we already have. Here is a photo of the squares layed out on the floor- we are in the process now of sewing them together. We still need to track down a flat sheet to use for the backing, and then we'll be almost done. I can't wait to get this in her room to brighten things up and start really making it her own.