Swimming Progress: Clownfish!!

Julia showed up for her swim lesson a couple of weeks ago to find out that her instructor was out, it worked to her advantage because she ended up with a private lesson with the owner of our swim club instead. 

He started out doing her normal lesson stuff but quickly began to run her through an evaluation of everything she has learned. She swam freestyle 2 lengths of the pool, she swam breaststroke 2 lengths of the pool, she swam freestyle streamline, she swam backstroke streamline, she swam backstroke 2 lengths of the pool, she floated on her back for a minute or so! Then he demonstrated a flip turn and had her try it - she nailed it (she had been practicing her flips in the Greenwich Club pool all summer). 

And then I saw him demonstrate a dolphin kick and have her try it. She did and did pretty well. Then he demonstrated the butterfly stroke. On her first try, she was trying to figure out how to move both arms at the same time but on her second, after a few strokes, she nailed that too. I was so impressed! And clearly so was her instructor because when the lesson was over he told her that needed to be moved up a level to clownfish! And that she wouldn't be staying there long because she was already doing most of requirements for that level. 

Julia could not have been more thrilled! She rarely gets over excited about things like this but the smile did not leave her face for the rest of day. It was clear that she was proud of herself - as she very well should be! 

Clownfish

She also told me that she can't wait until she can race on the swim team! That's only two levels from now so swimmers - look out!

Julia's Gallery: A Flock of Flamingos

flamingo with eggs

flamingo with egg standing in the water

Mama flamingo, baby flamingo, and egg (the text says "my picture is mine")

In case you couldn't tell Julia's latest animal obsession is flamingos. She has been studying them pretty closely both on shows and in person at the zoo. These are a few of her latest creations done in crayon.

Summer's Last Hurrah

The last weekend of September was incredible - 80 degrees and sunny, cloudless skies! Of course, we had to make one last trip to the beach. It was worth it even with our sniffly noses!

Sunday Morning Puzzles

He'll be moving onto the crossword soon!

Mud Pie

I think the photos speak for themselves!

Fall Fun

It's apple picking time! This year we went to Steere Orchards. We hadn't really planned on picking apples on this particular weekend as we had another goal in mind - finishing our RI Farm Scavenger hunt. 

Since the beginning of the summer we have been visiting farms, orchards, and wineries all over the state to complete a scavenger hunt that is organized by the RI Fruit Growers Association. There are 28 farms participating and our goal was to go to every one! It took all summer and lots of help from Grandma Laurie but we did it!!! 

Anyway, Steere Orchards was one of the last three stops on our list and it turns out that it's a great orchard. The apples were delicious and we had a fun hay ride! 

Are you looking for us?

A Boy and His...

...goat!?!?!

Benj's new friend at the Zoo

School Days!

As I think everyone knows by now we have decided to homeschool Julia. We kicked off our school year back in June right after she had finished at the Little Red Hen. We started then because Julia was excited about it and wanted to "do school." We also know that our kids do better with routine and structure and were sure that just starting off the way we meant to go on would be the best path. And it's been great!!

We had a wonderful summer. We did school work but really, Kindergarten is mostly fun stuff! So while we had our challenges with reading we also just eased our way into homeschooling. And it turns out that it was a good plan. In September we had a bunch of activities and groups start up and  while we had been doing school all along, we still had a bit of the "back-to-school" transition as we adjusted to a new schedule.

We have found a fantastic homeschool group in Rhode Island. We are making lots of new friends and have found them to be a valuable source of moral support and advice, ideas, etc. The group also organizes lots of activities, field trips, and classes. We've found lots of fun ways to break up our weeks!

We kicked off September with a "Not Back to School Beach Day!" on the day after Labor Day. And yes, I was very grateful that day to be packing my kids in the car and heading to the beach rather than waiting for a school bus!

Beach Bum

mastering the boogie board

We also are attending a six-week co-op where I am teaching a Nature class for 4-6 year olds (including Julia and Benjamin) and Julia is also taking a Spanish class. Both kids look forward to it every week. Julia loves her classes and Benjamin likes playing in the huge gym! A couple of weeks ago we had a crazy hat day where Julia's crazy hat made its reappearance.

crazy face to go with the crazy hat 

Benj preferred dapper to crazy!

I'll be sharing lots more of our adventures in the months to come!