The Garden Gets a Teepee

We had a sleepover last night with our good friend Samantha, so here are the girls in the morning, along with Emma R.

(L to R, Samantha, Emma, Jo)

And we were later joined by Dylan.

In the afternoon the kids enjoyed the swings.

Katie gives Josephine a ride . . . Josephine looks blissful.

Later Katie helped me to finally erect the bamboo teepee for our garden. Things are starting to come together for spring. We hope to eventually grow some green beans on it.

Ryan and Katie pose in the now completed teepee.

Here's the garden . . . a work in progress.

Later on Katie and Ryan helped me to freshen up the front planters with new plants.

The finished products:

Morning Creations

This morning the kids got straight to work with construction paper, hole punches, and large rolls of brown paper. They were so busy and self-driven! Here are Georgia and Dylan at work on the floor.

And Holger drew a fantastic picture for his mother (too bad I didn't get a shot of it first) and then wrapped it up for her.

A Busy Morning

The kids went straight to work this morning on the hot glue guns. Each time I think I'm out of materials for them to glue, more magically appear. Here is Holger hard at work.

And Dylan (with Jo in the background) also kept busy.

Dylan ended up making these fantastic pirate ships out of shells, artificial leaves, golf tees, and popsicle sticks.

Georgia created a very llllooooonnnggggg thing out of CD's.

And I'm very embarrassed to say that I am posting this a month after the event, and I simply don't remember who the owner of this fabulous masterpiece is. I think it's either Holger or Dylan. If you know, please let me know, and I will give the appropriate credit.

Pollock Painting and Hot Glitter Glue

This morning Dylan and Josephine painted a sculpture which Josephine had made days before. They used the Pollock drip method. Here is Dylan using a dropper to add purple paint. Did you know that Pollock sometimes even used a turkey baster to drip his paint?

Again, in the spirit of Pollock, Josephine began to make her drips from high above, holding the brush and squeezing it while standing.

And here is the completed Pollock Village:

In the afternoon, we tried out a newly acquired art supply . . . hot glitter glue!

Eden:

Josephine:

Katie:

Eden and Georgia:

And while the girls worked on crafts indoors, the boys enjoyed the sandbox outside. Here are Holger, Ryan, and Jack:

Pumpkin Morning and Crafting Afternoon

This morning before school, Dylan came over. Dylan happens to be one of the world's greatest pumpkin experts. Because fall is now coming to a close, I figured it's time to cut up and puree our pumpkins so they can become soup later on . . . yum!

I cut the pumpkin in half, and Jo and Dylan scooped out the seeds.

The kids then asked for knives to do some slicing of their own. They had a blast chopping into the pumpkin's flesh.

The aftermath:

The afternoon was filled with lots of crafting. Here Orianna glues, paints, and glitters wood leftovers from the playhouse.

Jacob and Eden work with their wood as well.

Check out Jacob's tongue . . . such concentration!

A Birthday and a Wedding All in One Day

Before school this morning Dylan and Josephine worked on refreshing the window box planters.

Today was Jacob's 6th birthday, so he got a candle in his banana bread. Happy birthday, Jacob!

And then there was a wedding as well.
Flower Girl: Orianna
Wedding Coordinator: Eden
Bride: Josephine
Somewhat Reluctant Groom: Ryan (with much arm-twisting by his big sister)
Musician: Katie

Halloween

Due to it being Halloween, we had absolutely no children (except for Josephine, of course) at the Children's Garden this afternoon. But I did go to school to watch the Halloween parade, and in doing so, I got photos of most of the kids that are in our program. The 5th grade DI class came over to Ms. Bonnie's kindergarten class to help them change into their costumes and then to escort them during the parade. Here are some snapshots of the day:

Anna gets into her costume.

Ms. Bonnie dressed up as Ms. Frizzle from Magic School Bus.

Eden the cowgirl:

Claire (David's big sister) dressed as Belle and Josephine as Dorothy Gale in the parade:

Princess Monica

Jacob dressed as Julius Caesar, of course:

Marie as a renaissance princess and her mother, Nozomi:

Dylan the pirate and his pirate mother Sandy:

Orianna, more beautiful than Cinderella herself:

Georgia, appropriately enough, was Pippi Longstocking:

Pirate Katie:

And Lucas was a bat:

Check out Katie and Lucas' teacher, Mr. A:

The principal, Carmen Mizell, was the Cat in the Hat.

And could there be a better photo of Ryan as Anakin Skywalker, with his future self approaching in the background?