Funny Glasses and Cornstarch Packing Peanuts

Holger spent his morning laboring over a pair of very lovely eyeglasses.

And this afternoon was very light--Josephine left immediately after school for a ski trip with her father, leaving me with just Eden and Jacob. There was a package on the front porch, and fortunately it was filled with not only what I had ordered, but also . . . cornstarch packing peanuts!!! These are wonderful! With just a little bit of water, they stick together and can be used to make really fun constructions. Here is Eden with hers:

And here Jacob works away at his creation, combining the peanuts with colored popsicle sticks.

Happy New Year!

It's Children's Garden's first day of 2008!!! As school is not yet back in session, we again had time to go to Cuesta Park. Here Katie pushes Eden, Ryan, Holger, and Lucas on the swings.

Eden and Katie on the monkey bars

Ryan, Eden, Katie, and Lucas enjoying the view

The whole gang on the climbing structure

On the walk home . . .

Once home the kids made shrinky dinks outside. Pardon the bright nature of the picture. The sun doesn't always agree with me in taking pictures.

The manufacturer of these play cars recommend them for ages 18 months through 3 years. I'm sure they never had in mind all the fun that older kids could have with them. For example, pair them up with bungee cords and a lawn chair and, presto! . . . a double-decker car. And by the way, for you worried parents out there, the rule is that nobody is allowed to be on top of a car when they are on the cement--only in the grass.

Shrinky Dinks and Hot Glue Guns

This morning before school Josephine exhibits her newly developed reading skills by reading a book to Monica.

After school, Marie and Jacob make shrinky dinks outside . . .

. . . while Eden and Josephine create sculptures inside using hot glue guns.

Shrinky dinks never lose their ability to entertain.

Iain tries out the hot glue gun for the first time. Very exciting!

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

No School . . . But Plenty of Fun

In observance of Veterans' Day, school was closed today, so we had children here all day. Here is Holger concentrating on building with notched popsicle sticks.

Then Josephine (still in her pajamas with unbrushed hair) and Holger went outside for a little water fun.

They tried to make a river in the backyard. They first lined up all the wood (from a recently cut-down tree), and then poured water one container at a time.

After Jacob arrived, the kids sat down to make shrinky dinks. The weird expression on Jo's face is due to the fact that it was impossible to take a photo in which she was not talking.

Shrinky dinks before shrinking:

Jacob, Josephine, and Holger watch the plastic curl up and shrink.

Magic!

Later in the afternoon Josephine and Holger experiment with warm crayon drawing . . .

. . . and then they try out fuse beads.

Holger and Lucas on the swings

During Ria's snack Josephine tried her hand as a hairdresser. Ria enjoyed the attention.

What a gorgeous hairdo!!!

Holger saw me taking pictures and couldn't resist posing.

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?