Gaga's Summer School went into full operation mode today. The headmistress and the teacher and the teaching assistant had a brief strategic planning session (meaning I talked to myself at the kitchen table this morning) and a plan was put in place.
The morning was a little hurried. Animal care is easy enough -- half the cats don't show up for their breakfast anyway (the two little guys have run away from the terror teenagers, and some of the terror teenagers are out hunting mice in the wee hours of the day) even as the cheepers are as reliable in their behavior as a Caesium Atomic clock.
A quick look at the garden...
... leads me to conclude that I must water the pots and so I do that, some thirty of them -- a mishmash of recycled planters and once pretty now rather run down tubs, but who cares, it's what grows inside that counts.
(Walkway, lined with white bloomers: phlox, begonia, campanula.)
And finally breakfast...
And now I'm ready for the arrival of Snowdrop and Sparrow.
I have very enthusiastic pupils.
We cover a lot of ground, starting with a nature hike along mowed paths of the farmette. Snowdrop is proud to show us her own secret path to the patch of daisies growing in one of the meadows..
... and I'm happy she considers is her own secret path. I remember well my secret spots in a country garden. They have a dusting of magic as you return to them again and again for secret thoughts and quiet moments. They're yours.
(A meadow with grasses as tall as Snowdrop...)
(Sparrow with daisy)
Inside, we do a group meeting, to go over the plans for the day. Sparrow tries really hard to copy his sister's "criss cross applesauce."
There's no question but that the little girl wants to begin with the paints at the new easel -- an investment on my part for the summer. I had often picked up a Snowdrop absorbed in her painting at school. Having a comparable art venue here makes this summer less removed from her school experiences.
Sparrow takes a shot at it as well. I limit him to one color (his favorite appears to be yellow) and he does a fine job covering his canvas with bold brush strokes.
(Unquestionably, Snowdrop is much more sure of where she's heading in her painting.)
One student begged for some free choice time then, and the other student had already taken out his favorite books for me to read and so after a quick wipe down of all splattered surfaces, we move to our regular play-read cycle, infused with some more structured learning. (I write that with a wink wink, since I do believe that for kids this age, learning happens without interruption whether or not you choose to call it that, but there is the basic reading/writing/arithmetic that seems more schoolish, no? In any case, Snowdrop loves this stuff, even if Sparrow felt a little like the curriculum had suddenly taken a turn in a direction that left him out. I must correct that tomorrow!)
Lunch.
The goal is to get both kids back home in time for Sparrow's afternoon nap. We nail it, but just barely. I swear, two more minutes in the car and the little guy would have zonked out.
The rest of the day? It's still a busy one for me. Groceries, sister in Poland, mom in Sun Prairie, friends in Florida and New Mexico.
All important stuff! But definitely it's an evening for an easy supper of chicken brats, salads and corn.
I know we're in for the more typical weather of heat and scattered storms right on the official start of summer, but I have to say, this has been a stellar ending to my favorite season of the year. Spring has been just spectacular!
The sun sets, the popcorn is popped, the couch feels like the most comfortable place on the planet. Feet up, glass of wine next to a glass of fizzy water.
I have not forgotten that we are the lucky ones. That our family has not been harmed. That food comes to our doorstep and the grandkids have radiant smiles and plenty of love to fill their days. I have not forgotten that too many others have a significantly sadder and stress filled spring behind them. I wish it weren't so. I wish everyone had a shoulder to lean on and a bowl on their lap. Filled with popcorn. And a day filled with love.
The morning was a little hurried. Animal care is easy enough -- half the cats don't show up for their breakfast anyway (the two little guys have run away from the terror teenagers, and some of the terror teenagers are out hunting mice in the wee hours of the day) even as the cheepers are as reliable in their behavior as a Caesium Atomic clock.
A quick look at the garden...
... leads me to conclude that I must water the pots and so I do that, some thirty of them -- a mishmash of recycled planters and once pretty now rather run down tubs, but who cares, it's what grows inside that counts.
(Walkway, lined with white bloomers: phlox, begonia, campanula.)
And finally breakfast...
And now I'm ready for the arrival of Snowdrop and Sparrow.
I have very enthusiastic pupils.
We cover a lot of ground, starting with a nature hike along mowed paths of the farmette. Snowdrop is proud to show us her own secret path to the patch of daisies growing in one of the meadows..
... and I'm happy she considers is her own secret path. I remember well my secret spots in a country garden. They have a dusting of magic as you return to them again and again for secret thoughts and quiet moments. They're yours.
(A meadow with grasses as tall as Snowdrop...)
(Sparrow with daisy)
Inside, we do a group meeting, to go over the plans for the day. Sparrow tries really hard to copy his sister's "criss cross applesauce."
There's no question but that the little girl wants to begin with the paints at the new easel -- an investment on my part for the summer. I had often picked up a Snowdrop absorbed in her painting at school. Having a comparable art venue here makes this summer less removed from her school experiences.
Sparrow takes a shot at it as well. I limit him to one color (his favorite appears to be yellow) and he does a fine job covering his canvas with bold brush strokes.
(Unquestionably, Snowdrop is much more sure of where she's heading in her painting.)
One student begged for some free choice time then, and the other student had already taken out his favorite books for me to read and so after a quick wipe down of all splattered surfaces, we move to our regular play-read cycle, infused with some more structured learning. (I write that with a wink wink, since I do believe that for kids this age, learning happens without interruption whether or not you choose to call it that, but there is the basic reading/writing/arithmetic that seems more schoolish, no? In any case, Snowdrop loves this stuff, even if Sparrow felt a little like the curriculum had suddenly taken a turn in a direction that left him out. I must correct that tomorrow!)
Lunch.
The goal is to get both kids back home in time for Sparrow's afternoon nap. We nail it, but just barely. I swear, two more minutes in the car and the little guy would have zonked out.
The rest of the day? It's still a busy one for me. Groceries, sister in Poland, mom in Sun Prairie, friends in Florida and New Mexico.
All important stuff! But definitely it's an evening for an easy supper of chicken brats, salads and corn.
I know we're in for the more typical weather of heat and scattered storms right on the official start of summer, but I have to say, this has been a stellar ending to my favorite season of the year. Spring has been just spectacular!
The sun sets, the popcorn is popped, the couch feels like the most comfortable place on the planet. Feet up, glass of wine next to a glass of fizzy water.
I have not forgotten that we are the lucky ones. That our family has not been harmed. That food comes to our doorstep and the grandkids have radiant smiles and plenty of love to fill their days. I have not forgotten that too many others have a significantly sadder and stress filled spring behind them. I wish it weren't so. I wish everyone had a shoulder to lean on and a bowl on their lap. Filled with popcorn. And a day filled with love.
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