Gathering plankton

We are studying marine animals in class and decided to start at the beginning, with plankton.  We borrowed plankton nets from the middle school (one for phytoplankton and one for zooplankton) and headed to Town Beach to gather some plankton.  

Me and some of the students with the plankton net.
At the end of the jetty after collecting the plankton.  I went on the jetty to find an area with fewer waves.  I put the plankton nets into the water and when I tried to pull them back up they were stuck!  I had to take off my shoes and socks, roll up my pants, and climb down about eight of these big rocks.  Two of them were nice like these, the others were covered with seaweed.  It was quite a sight, I'm sure.  Luckily, it was on the other side of the jetty from Kim and the kids (not a good role model), I didn't fall, and I retrieved the plankton nets!  I even managed to get up the side of the jetty with the bottles of water remaining full.  If there are not plankton for our project in there I may have to manufacture them!  I dried off before lunch and enjoyed our delicious soup from yesterday.

Field Trip to the Farm

Our first field trip this year!  We headed to Coonamessett Farm where we admired and harvested some vegetables (actually quite a few vegetables), saw the animals, picked pumpkins, and ate lunch.

Picking green beans.
Petting Diamond, the baby goat.
Choosing pumpkins.
The class lined up with their pumpkins, Ginger, and some parents who joined us on the trip.

The Upper Elementary stayed and attended classes with the middle school.  We went back to school and baked blackberry muffins (we picked the lsat of the blackberries at the farm) and cut veggies we had picked for vegetable soup.  

Jillian's Party

Sunday dawned cool, but became beautiful and sunny as the day moved on.  Teagan went to her friend Jillian's party in the afternoon.

Mia, Jillian, and Teagan--all in class together, and I've known them all since they started school, before they were two (one longer than that!).
Teagan's gorgeous teeth.

Hannah Montana

On a cloudy weekend that Teagan's requested movie was available from the library, we settled in to watch the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert in 3-D.

The glasses didn't last long, our tv isn't large enough to really make 3-D worthwhile, so we moved to the 2-D version quickly.  Teagan was thrilled with her weekend treat.

Swim Team!

Braeden has joined the swim team at our YMCA.  He is now a Mako.  This requires practices Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and swim meets about once a month.  I am making myself workout while Braeden swims, so this should be fun for him and good for both of us!  The cardio room overlooks the pool, so I get a bird's eye view of practice!  He swims laps and laps almost the whole hour and is starving when he gets home even though we eat dinner before going to practice!  Feel free to contribute to the Braeden I-Eat-More-Than-Seems-Possible-Or-Anyone-Ever-Expected Allen fund anytime :)  We are thinking about changing his middle name to Bottomless Pit!  Luckily he is so hungry most of the time that he forgets to hate veggies.

We'll put pictures up when he gets his gear and lets us take his picture.

Teagan makes dessert

Teagan chose a recipe out of one of our kids' cookbooks and made dessert for all of us tonight.  She made delicious applesauce with cinnamon and raisins.  As you can tell by the pictures she discovered that no matter how much of a cinnamon fan you are, a little goes a long way.

Piano lessons start

Teagan has started piano lessons.  This was at her request--well, sort of.  She wanted to play the violin, piano lessons are offered during the school day at Sandwich Montessori.  People told us that she should learn the piano first and in terms of our crazy schedule, it works best :)  

No matter that it is just a stepping stone, she was thrilled about getting the piano, thrilled about her first lesson, and even excited to practice tonight!  I am not sure how long the excitement over piano practice is going to last, but hopefully it will all continue to be exciting as she progresses.

The first lesson was all about posture--sitting up tall and holding the arm and hand correctly.  We need to continue to practice all of the above!

I can't explain the hair problem.  I send her to before care for 35 minutes.  She goes in with her hair brushed and styled in some way so that it stays out of her face.  She comes into class looking like this--it just doesn't stay in any style long enough to stay away from her face!
Thanks for the lessons Meeps!

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for all of us.  For the first time ever, Braeden, Teagan, and I are all in the same building--Carriage House.  Jeff had a successful start at the middle school with 14 students this year.

Braeden is not sure he is thrilled about the situation, but he finds it convenient sometimes.  Teagan is enjoying being in class with me.  We were both a bit curious about how it would turn out, but I think it will be fine.  She may get a little more work done than she would otherwise and I may get a bit less done, but I think we will all have a fun year full of learning! 

I had to include Braeden's most attractive face.  When you look like this, why would you be embarrassed by your sister and mother?