Our Roxaboxen Adventures

6/4 Nature Class & Geocaching/ Mommytography

On Saturday we had our nature class. This months theme was animal habitats. I didn't take as many pictures.

We toured and examined all the different habitats on the property and talked about different animal needs.

 

 

Back inside, the students created theri own habitats  in a "shoebox".

 

They they came together to create a habitat collage.

 

and when it was over, we played in the trees waiting for daddy to pick us up.

 

Later during the day we went to a geocaching workshop put on by this wonderful organization. A few years ago we were introduced to letterboxing, which was a success and figured we'd try our hand at this.

 

and then we were off hunting....

 There are different levels to geocaching, I believe we were looking for a level 2. Needless to say, at the end of the day we all did some thorough tick checks.

 

and here we're very very close to the treasure. Eventually we did find it. 

and once it was over, we decided to just let the girls play for a while.

 

 

We've signed up as a family online at geocaching.com and look forward to tracking down many geocaches in our area.

 

6/1- Mommytography

At times I feel like I'm running out of things to photograph but I'm trying to stay consistent and use my camera everyday.

On Wednesday,  I snapped Alex doing some type of forest research at the table.

 

On Thursday, the girls put this giant lego castle  together. (Thanks Mary)

 

and played in this emtpty box, which I was told would soon be converted into the pirate ship to attack the castle.

 

On Friday we went out for a little celebration. Alex's last day of first grade :)

 

and here's my meal, a seafood pasta medley.

 

then off to the pool for  some major relaxation....

 

Saturdays are always full days for us, I'll make that a separate post :)

5/29-5/31 Mommytography

5/29, Alex (inspired by Aunt Jenny) wanted to work on her garden. I have about 20 seed packets of various vegetation I keep in a drawer. We gave her a small plot of space, some tools and let her go for it. She had to read the packets to see which were in season for planting and do a little research & work with daddy on soil. Here's she's taking all the rocks out.

 

Later we were at grandmas where they drew pictures in the driveway.

 
and Kennedy seemed to have the best time of all.

 

On Monday, we went to Bush Gardens (Memorial Day). It was amazingly empty. There were no lines and we couldn't believe out luck. Many times we got to ride twice in a row becuase there wasn't anybody waiting. Mostly though we staying in wildlife park though.

First up, the Grey Wolf reserve....

 

Then some quick meet the animal talks w/staff....

 

I was really hoping this Frilled Lized would stick out his face flaps. Considering it's a defense mechanism, I  probably should be glad he didn't.
 
This old tortoise....poor guy couldn't get away quick enough.

 

Took in an animal "tricks" show. This parrot knew all his math facts (additional, subtraction, multiplication & division).

 

we rode the air tram all across the many parks.....can you see Kennedy's afro puff silhouette?

 
 

I enjoyed watching the May Day Pole activities
 
and the girls enjoyed riding as much and as often as they could....it's nice to see all 3 ride together....or should I say nice that daddy and I can just sit back and watch.

 

and here's my favorite picture of all (it's a picture of a picture).

 

Needless to say, Jordan was pretty much done for the day after this ride and Alex became instantly addicted to the adrenaline rush of roller coasters.

 
But for now she'll have to settle on finding simplier ways to satisfy her need for speed/excitement.

 

 

5/28 Mommytography- A Day in the Garden

 
We spent this particular Saturday in the botanical garden, primarily to play in a new wonderful exhibit, Diamonds in the Rough. I had taken Alex by it earlier but wanted to go again as a family.

These wonderful stick houses were collected from the forests and twisted together (no nails, etc.).You can view a time-lapsed video of it's 3 week building here.  Jordan was so excited and just ran in and out, hiding and playing house. 

 
Kennedy was more amused by a standing on a piece of concrete out front. She more into balacing activities right now. 

 Here's a pic. of Alex from earlier this week taken from inside the house.

 

The sculpture sits in the meadow area of the gardens, where (sshhh, don't tell) the girls like to pick wildflowers.

 

We bought some feed for the fish in the pond....

 

Crossed over the rocks of a "mini" waterfall....ok, well it's not really a waterfall.

 

Took time to stop and smell all the flowers & watch the bees collect pollen

 

the girls are allowed to wander away from us (I'm usually not too far away though w/my camera)
 

Here they were playing in the water and Jordan was trying to build a bridge for the forest animals. 

 

Kennedy & daddy enjoyed the coolness of the forest.

 
The rest of our time the girls just hung out.

 

and enjoyed the blooms.

 

 (disclaimer to our friends at the garden- this rose was  found on  ground, or so I was told by Jordan)

 

 

 

5/23-5/28 Mommytography

Still playing catch up, but I'm only 2 posts behind now :)

On Monday, the girls helped put their wagon together - it's been sitting in the box for nearly 2 years now.

 

and playing hide-n-seek  in its' box.....

 

while big sis attempted to skate in the grass and do some bird seeking.
 

On Tuesday Alex had an early dismissal so we played in the rose garden to a little while.

and back at home we went for a walk/skate after dinner

 

The skates only came off to walk barefoot on the rocks

 

while Jordan made "sand" pies.

 

and back home we went.

 

On Wednesday, daddy went with Alex on her field trip to colonial Williamsburg. Here the kids look like their playing tug-o-war....but really......

 
They are learning how difficult  it was to haul water daily from a well.

 
and they heard about other aspects of daily life

 
and learned all the latest dance moves of the time...

 

On Thursday, Alex had another field trip to tour the Va. Governors Mansion. She chose to wear her pink birthday dress to meet him in.

 
Later in the day, I discovered why my seeds in one particular pot never seemed to do anything.

 

 On Friday, my school had a big community-wide assembly.....

 

to celebrate our "Schools to Watch" redesignation.

 On Saturday, we were busy out and about. I'll share a snipet here and do a second post for Saturday- I have too many pictures that I love and want to share.

But- we started the morning off in our favorite cupcake shop....

 

and devouring these summer treats. If these don't make you smile, I don't know what will.

 

Sprinkles (Alex), Banana cream (Mama), Salty Caramel (Dad), Chocolate ho-ho (Jordan).

a hodgepodge of all (Kennedy)

See, I told you they'd make you smile!

 

School Decisions

I've been waiting until school was out to write this post.

First grade was a tough one for Alex. We had been warned that the transition from primary to lower elementary was a difficult one and we expected a transitional period. However, we went from a very nurturing environment where students were given lessons on a daily basis and had free choice of their works to an environment that was rigid, repetitive, highly teacher-directed and had elements that we found to be discouraging in the end. The school is still a wonderful place and I highly recommend it as an alternative for self-motivated students.

  We were unable to change classrooms, so we decided to change schools altogether. The new school  sits nestled among a 100+ acres woodlands, farm, & streams. It's very small, probably no more than 25-30 students. They have 3 teachers (two of whom are AMI certified & trained in Italy, and the third being a former teacher at the school we're leaving). It is also a year round school.

(the elementary building)

The school really uses the environment the nurture their students. The students are helping to raise & care for farm animals, gardens, etc. and there's a hope to oneday even branch out to include a erkinder school. My daughter was taken by the school right away and fell in love with the animals, land and even her future teacher...which was a little surprising because she's never had a male teacher. When asked the main reason why she prefers this school  the reasons included "becuase I'll get lessons everyday, more challenging work, be able to learn something new & play with the baby chicks whenever I want."

 

(the primary house for 3-6 year olds)

A big plus is that her sister Jordan will be joining her in the fall. I'm super excited about Jordan being able to start & do a full 3 year cycle. Alex came in at Kindergarten since we were forced to send her somewhere & homeschooling wasn't an option. We're looking forward to the new school and eventually having all three girls there together.

 

***The pictures above were taken from the school's site, they are not my own.

Birthday Weekend/ Alex (5/20-5/22)

Here are some pictures from Alex's birthday weekend (5/20-5/22). She turned 7 years old.

Friday night, we went to see the African art exhibit. Alex has a poster of this hunter's shirt in her bedroom so it was very cool to see it in person.

 

 

and here are a few shots (I had to sneak them/no flash) of the Ancient Ife exhibit.

These lovely ancient masks, formed with amazing craftsmanship in both metal & clay.

 
 

 

On Saturday (Her birthday), she chose to clothes shopping, playground and out to dinner.

 
 
 
On Sunday, we had a small family gathering to formally wish Alex happy birthday.

Alex's requested nature themed cake.

 

 

The little cousins came over to play/party in the backyard...

 

and I believe the favorite presents of the day were her new roller skates, Thanks Uncle!

 

and these binoculars & bird book & journal for outdoor explorations.

 

everyone had a great time celebrating and spending the day together....