Free at Last!

Science class is in session!
(Non-Newtonian fluids are so much fun!)

Monkey and Bug's last of school was November 8! They are so excited to be free of the classrooms and back to doing lessons at home. The withdrawal process went very smoothly, and I already have my confirmation paperwork back from the school district.

Their last week of school involved several days off: Tuesday was election day, and their school is a polling place. Thursday was a half day with an orthodontist appointment (nobody's in braces yet) in the morning so they didn't go; and Friday was a day off for Veteran's Day. Monkey seemed particularly relieved to be free of school; her first afternoon without homework found her doing two of her favorite things that she hadn't had time for in a couple of months--curating our gallery wall and practicing drums. Both girls also spent a lot more time reading for fun: Bug zoomed through the first four Jedi Academy books, and Monkey was engrossed in a kid's graphic novel called Rapunzel's Revenge. (They've both read many more books since then!) And, of course, our craft supplies exploded all over the study! Zoe and Lucy created some Thanksgiving and Christmas cards, and Monkey created several pictures using newly discovered stencils from an old craft kit.

Monday, November 13 was our first official day back at doing lessons at home, and the first order of business was to find some workable space in the study. Next we re-organized Monkey's and Bug's lesson binders and discussed our new curriculum and routines (I'll do a separate post on these later). We're falling back into this rhythm of life easily, and everyone's a lot less stressed!

Yellow Belts!
All three girls tested for--and received--their yellow belts in Muay Thai on November 17. These belts are a long time coming, and the girls were so excited (and really nervous). They were eligible to test last month, but we had a conflicting commitment. They did a great job!

Kru (Thai for "teacher") ties on Monkey's new belt.
(Bug and Lion are the students 2nd and 3rd from right.)

Happy Thanksgiving!
This year we accepted an invitation to join the crowd at Aunt S and Uncle J's for Thanksgiving. Thursday was full of feasting, hanging out with family (the girls thought their cousin S was so much more fun this time!), meeting new people (other guests we didn't know yet), watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, and playing a new version of Trivial Pursuit. On Friday, our family and Uncle K headed into Washington, DC to visit two locations the girls have never been: the Building Museum and the Library of Congress. Highlights from the Building Museum included canned goods sculptures in the courtyard, exhibits about building methods and materials in American history, vintage kits of paper buildings, a modern flexible tiny home (movable walls and counters, etc.), and a hands on exhibit for building with Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, and various sizes of foam blocks. After lunch we started a tour of the Library of Congress, but after hearing a brief history and viewing the Reading Room, we decided to branch off on our own.

We spent extra time viewing a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, early maps of America, and an exhibit about female graphic artists. Saturday was mostly a lazy day of hanging out and playing games--except that Daddy, Lion, and I decided to go for a run from Ladybird Johnson Park to the Teddy Roosevelt Memorial. The memorial is on a wooded island featuring hiking trails in addition to the monument itself. I didn't even know it was out there, but it might be my favorite DC memorial now!

Happy Halloween!

Tigress (from Kung Fu Panda), a pirate, and a jack-o-lantern

We actually had two events to attend this year! First, our church hosted a fall festival that involved a petting zoo, crafts, games snacks, a glow-in-the-dark dance party, trick or treating through the pre-k classrooms, and of course several hundred adorable kids in costumes. The girls had a fantastic time and came home with quite a haul of candy. The second event at our local Y was a bit of a letdown. For the girls Halloween is all about the candy and the costumes. There were a few fun games, but no candy. A costume contest had been advertised, and Monkey and Bug were pretty excited about participating. Then the powers that be cut off the contest at 8 years olds. Tears were shed. We assured them that we thought it was ridiculous and that they were very cute.

Visit to Grandma & Granddad's House
It was a short visit--a mere 36 hours--but we crammed in a lot of fun! We arrived Friday night, and most of us spent a lazy Saturday morning. I chatted with Grandma and worked on cross-stitch while the girls played in the basement. Meanwhile, Daddy went bow hunting (he saw several deer but didn't have a good shot on any of them). We reconvened for lunch at the second annual food truck rodeo downtown. We had about 20 food trucks to choose from and live music to listen to. So much good food! After lunch, the girls walked down the riverwalk trail with Granddad to check out the new exhibit at the science center. The exhibits theme was how things move over land, sea, and air. Topics included engines, aerodynamics, gravity, air pressure, friction and hands-on exhibits let them do things like experiment with pulleys and ride a hover craft. They arrived home in time to join Grandma and I for a Christmas card making party (a friend of hers sells crafting supplies). We each got to make four beautiful cards and had a great time playing stamps, embossing, and die cutting. That night we braved a mild drizzle to cook out dinner in the fire pit. Everybody loves s'mores! The next morning we saw them off to church and headed home. Whew!