The story of Jack Frost

I am in the midst of the 12 holy nights. This winter break I am grateful that  I have  had time to go inward and reclaim stillness that was shaken by the Advent season. I am also grateful that while regaining purpose and stillness I was able to accomplish many projects and be present with my family. Now my mind returns to the Nursery. 

 Though there has been no snow to speak of as yet in Philadelphia, King Winter is in the land. I went through my notes from last year to see what if any I will rekindle and bring to the children. The making of pinecone birdfeeders still resonates with me. Starting end of this week or beginning of next week we shall roll some pinecones in sun nut butter and birdseed. I think this year I will string them up near our windows outside to perhaps see some of the wildlife coming to snack. Circle songs will be full of images of King Winter, Jack Frost and crystalline snowflakes. I just cobbled together this story of Jack Frost:

King Winter now is in the land he reigns with cold and freezing hand.

In the days long ago, many moons before this one, King Winter had alot of work to do.  He not only sent father sun to the other side of the world, but painted doors and windows with frost..white white frost.  He pinched noses and toes and gave cheeks a rosy glow.   But after many long years King Winter tired of this work.  

oh little mouse, little mouse..come to me.

King WInter’s favorite pet mouse, Snufkin ran up his leg.

Yes, king WInter. You called.  And King WInter gave Snufkin an important job to do.  Snufkin scurried and scurried all the way to the village at the end of the world.  there he sat down beside an old tree and waited.  Soon, as King WInter had told him, a boy named Jack came along.  He was a pale boy, with silver hair and white pale skin. He had no parents and was alone in the village  he was small for his age as he was often sick.  He sat down by the tree and admired a blue flower there.  Oh what a pretty flower you are.  Just then snufkin said, dear boy I see that you like that flower.  oh yes said the boy, but soon it will be covered with ice and snow and will be no more.  The mouse touched Jack’s finger with his little tail and jack felt a funny feeling in his finger.  What have you done to me little mouse?  Touch the flower with your finger now, Jack.  Jack did..and the flower became encased in ice.. he touched the tree and the branches were covered in ice. He ran through the village touching windows and doors and they became white with frost.

Jack didn't feel sick anymore, he didn't feel chilly anymore.  and as he leapt into the air he found he could fly and with little Snufkin he flew all the way back to King WInter’s Castle.  

Now dear boy, Jack, said King Winter.  I shall care for you.  You are a son to me and together we shall make the world a  beautiful wintry place for a time until Lady Spring comes.

and you shall now be call Jack Frost…...

King Winter now is in the land, he reigns with cold and freezing hand.  He makes Jack frost touch nose and toes, and gives our cheeks a rosy glow…..

Jaaaaaaaack Froooooost

Circle songs for the next week or two will be:

Jack Frost

Jack Frost

Came in on a winter’s night

Jack Frost

Jack Frost

Painted all the windows white

Jack Frost

Jack Frost

Leaving diamonds in the lane

Jack Frost

Jack Frost

Jaaaaaaack  Froooooooossssst

The winter tells us little bulbs

To tuck our heads in so

So we don’t need to shiver

When the cold winds blow

Cradled cozily, cradled deep

The seeds and bulbs are fast asleep.

Resting Song:  

Snowflakes so white

in the darkness so bright

See how they’re dancing singing

Flitting and flinging flinging

Snowflakes so white

in the darkness so bright

Please forgive my lack of references. The snowflake song, I believe, is from Wilma Ellerseik. Jack Frost and the Little bulbs might be from Gateways. The story I thought up, but I do believe it has some shades of Tolkein's , Farmer Giles of Ham in there. The beginning phrase of the story..King Winter now is in the Land.. is also I believe, from Gateways. (And of course, the name Snufkin is from Moomintroll)

Feel free to use these with your class, or to use them as a springboard for your own imagination!

Stay Warm, get enough sunshine exposure and blessings on your work.

P.S. In a later post, I'll show the puppet set up

Michaelmas in the Nursery

Well it has been quite awhile since I posted to this blog. But now I am called to start writing posts again. I have finally become a full time lead Nursery teacher with my own class at a Waldorf School and have completed both the Level I and II training at Sophia's Hearth for Childcare Birth to 3 and 3 to 7. The children I teach are aged 18 months to 3 years. By then end of the year sometimes, some may have turned 4 years old. This is my second year teaching this program. I have ten children. We just finished celebrating Michaelmas. I was not comfortable bringing the little ones to the all school play so I created a celebration in the classroom. in lieu of our circle time, for three days starting on Michaelmas (September 29) I offered the children a puppet play adapted to their developmental stages. Here is what I wrote and performed. I m sorry I forgot to take photos of the play setup Michaelmas Puppet Play for toddlers The boy knew he must go out in search of fire. The boy did not want to go out in the dark and the cold. But he looked upon his sleeping feverish parents and knew that he must. So he put on his coat and his hat and his gloves and boots and out he went. He walked into the forest and went deeper and deeper and deeper. He came to a clearing where there were no trees and looked up at the sky. There in the heavens he saw the stars shining bright. Oh I wish with all my might that you would send down your fiery light. And the stars in the sky heard him and raced down to the earth and made a big fire in the center of the clearing. But this woke the sleeping dragon nearby who came out growling and snarling. I am the keeper of fire and light and the stars shall not give this to you. And the dragon planted herself firmly in front of the glowing fire. “Oh whatever shall I do,” said the boy. “I cannot fight this dragon. I am so small and weak.” And the boy thought he heard a song, “Micha-el, Micha-el, Be with us, Be with us, Give us courage, give us strength, to do what is right and good.” The stars heard and saw..and sent a golden beam of light down to the earth. Upon this beam rode down from the stars a shining knight on horseback. The knight stood before the boy and smiled. Then he turned to the dragon and said,” You may move away from the fire.” “I shall not,” said the Dragon. The knight again faced the dragon firmly and said, “You may move away from the fire.” The dragon said, “No!” The Knight said, “You may move or I shall help you move.” And the dragon hung his head and said, “Ok.” Then he slunk off back to his cave. The knight, hopped off his horse and took a branch from the ground and plunged it into the flames. When he took it out, it was a burning golden sword. “Here hold this and ride with me, I shall take you back to the cottage.” The knight rode swiftly through the dense wood, the boy held tightly to the flaming sword and soon reached the cottage. The boy thanked the knight for his kindness and asked his name. “I am called Mich-a-el,”said the knight and he turned his horse and galloped back up to the stars. And the boy heard in the distance , “Micha-el, Micha-el, Be with us , Be with us. Give us courage, give us strength, to do good on earth.” The boy started a great fire in the hearth and the next day his parents woke and were well. The fire in the hearth never went out again. I wrote a version of this same story last year, but cannot find a copy so I rewrote it this year. I believe last year I had the little boy turn into St. Michael...finding the courage within. At first I wondered how I was going to have Michael subdue the dragon in an age appropriate way. I came up with the dialogue above, which in effect mirrors many interactions with two and three year olds and their adult caregivers. I feel this spoke to them. On the fourth day, one little boy was disappointed that we would not be having puppet play again. Interestingly enough, this is the little boy (3 yrs old) that I most often have those "dragon interactions" with. Please feel free to share this story with your colleagues or use it yourself. Just note where it came from. Blessings on your work.

Musings on the summer program

Well I made it through all eleven weeks of the program. I am proud that I finished. I was worried there for Bit when recovering from my bout in the hospital. I started the program pretty hung ho. I haas all my weeks organized by themes and wanted o have a corresponding story and craft each week. That worked well for the first four weeks. After the hospital, I just felt like I was playing catch up for the rest of the summer. As a matter of fact here is the second week of September, and I have just finished posting my observations from the last two weeks of camp. That was another thing I had hoped...every Sunday morning, time alone to recollect and blog. This is still my weekly goal. I was never much of a journal writer, but if I have a focus..observations on the children I work with or watching my own youngest son, I find journaling, a.k.a. Blogging, very therapeutic, calming and clarity providing. So nice to share the digital pictures too. Kind of like a digital scrap book of sorts. I have no intention of running a camp next Summer. This was my third year and now Curtis will turn six soon. The camp was great in that it allowed me to have a summer income, pay for my training, have hands on training with the children in my camp, and provide playmates for Curt. But he is entering a different stage now. He wants boys his age or older or girls who have that boy like quality to their play. He wants playmates to build with him and climb trees really high, or play pirate ship. I think next Summer will be the summer of more organized play dates, camping trips and swim lessons. He was able to accommodate the younger ones quite a bit with Princess Kitty, trains, and hide and seek for instance, but I am feeling that he needs me more now. Isn't that odd, one would think he would need me more when he was younger. Maybe he did, but with so many things going on...moving to Mt Airy three years ago, entering training at Sophia's Hearth, I just had to ignore that and include childcare in my day aside from my work in the Nursery. So no extra childcare for twelve months...this is what I am experiencing intuitively right now. And my training is all paid up...no worries there. This last best summer camp was a wonderful learning experience for me though. I had almost a year of training under my belt, and a shopping bag full of reading material I am still working through. The magic of. Sophia's Hearth has brought me to a new place in such a short time. The training reminds me of the mediation Intensive weekends I was so fond of participating in at the Yoga Ashram in New York State many years ago. Such intense focused work, really can bring you to new levels of understanding. Of course, the more you know, the more you know you don't know. I was having a conversation with one of the former course participants a few months ago. She incidentally provided childcare for my Curtis when he was three years old, two days a week at her home. One of the first things I had to do was to Apologize to her for my extreme ignorance. I would linger too long at pick up, when she needed to have her own time. I also couldn't understand why she needed so much time to diaper her then 12 month old. The amazing thing was this woman was so gracious with my ignorance...ok she is also a trained Waldorf Grades teacher, but still. She was also gracious to accept my apology. I also look back at my first year in the Nursery. My lead teacher was very helpful in offering me reading material and discussing many things such as movement, speed and task focus. Some things, I just couldn't understand though...training has helped greatly and I look forward to my final two weeks next summer. What I have discovered is that I have my own personality my own sense of being which I enjoy transmitting authentically when I work with children. In my own program, I feel I can present myself authentically to the children and trust my own intuition without worrying what the other adults in the room are thinking. I can let situations breathe more. I find this to be one of my strengths. There were so many instances this summer of my letting the children work it out while I was on a focused task. Gosh, I even sewed three sleep sacks on my sewing machine. I am not able to let situations breathe like this in the Nursery, because there are many more than the five children, and because I need to follow the lead teacher's signals. I am following her intuition and reading her clues as to what supplemental assistance she needs if any. This is hard on my growing intuition as I find I send it mixed signals...there are two layers:intuit the lead teachers clues or sense the feedback I am experiencing directly from the children. This is something I want to be conscious of this year...how to hold on to my authentic self and do a good job as a Nursery Assistant. I guess it is timing really. I find this with my own children also. I can sense other adults near me when I am working with my own children, who are getting a little anxious..as if they would have stepped in already. But again and agin, I find, if I just trust my own gut, often the situation resolves itself naturally. It is a great affirmation for me to know that my timing and my own style, really do work in creating a happy environment for children. I am hoping that my reaffirming of my own personal yoga practice...it has gotten a bit sloppy over the past two years, will bring my consciousness back up again.I also realize that feeling the energy of the adults around me throws me off a bit. I am very sensitive to negative adult energy especially when directed at me. I tend to over think my actions or second guess, instead of being in a happy, centered naturally flowing space which is the place I need to be as I work with children. Human beings are human beings and there will always be misunderstandings, gossip, assumptions and judgement. I am glad to have regained my self-confidence with children this summer and will make every attempt through diligent yoga practice and meditation to maintain my center and stay in touch with my authentic self during the school year. I am still delving into the Steiner type meditations, but I am pretty comfortable with yoga work. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

Week 11: Frogs and Toads

This post is for the last week of camp, the week of August 29th. I was not Le to start camp on Monday the 29th as I was delayed in Rhinebeck, due to Hurricane Irene. Philadelphia and New York were hit pretty hard and traveling was a nightmare. Kim and I decided to extend our stay and wait out the storm. The OMEGA campus flooded a bit. At one point after the morning class, there was an actual river that formed down the main path...with quite a strong current. Kim and I waded across this river...up past our ankles...we did it .. But others were losing their shoes! We were all so blissed out from the yoga retreat that we didn't care so much. ... We were somewhat insulated from the fear that was permeating most of society as we were so busy practicing yoga asanas, chanting, eating well prepared vegetarian food, and we were away from televisions. Kim and I were booked at a hotel in downtown Rhinebeck and would plug into the crazy fear stuff in the evening. True it was an event to be prepared for, and during the event there was a bit to keep track of, but unless you were in an area being evacuated, it was better, in my opinion to tune out the media as much as possible. But on Monday, once the Tapanzee Bridge and Taconic were open for business, Kim and I ventured home. On Tuesday, morning play focused around the wooden IKEA train set. This set is two train sets put together. There are twelve trains. R, M and Curtis were together that morning. There is usually conflict over the trains..someone wants all the trains, someone wants the blue train, someone doesn't have enough track. But on this particular morning, Curt counted out all the trains and gave each girl four of them. If they wanted a different color, he negotiated swapping. They all traded and played fairly for about 15-20 minutes. Curtis also negotiated when the tracks needed to be cleared for another train. There was no hitting or crying, not even once! Another beautiful moment from that day was during storybook time, just before rest time. Curt was in Princess Kitty garb and as the children gathered on the rug in a semicircle facing me, he rested his head on R's lap. And she petted his head during the story. Curt had a buzz cut about two months ago, but it is still short enough to be furry, just like a kitty cat. What a beautiful picture that is in my mind's memory album. On Tuesday , Curtis and M were together for a while before R arrived. They played so well together, she's becoming like a little sister to him. He enjoys showing her how to build with the TREO blocks. She is a very attentive listener and follows his directions to the letter. Curt often has a lot of directions to impart to his playmates. He also enjoys pushing her high on the IKEA swing...M really loves this and asks him to do this again and again. She will call, "Turtis, come push me on the swing.". He will stop what he is doing and push her. I notice how often he leaves what he is doing to help her, more often than I leave my tasks when he calls to me to watch or help. This is food for thought for me. At Carpenter's Woods, the stream was soooooo full after all the recent rain storms. It seems very cleaned out and fresh. A little waterfall developed under the fallen trees in our special spot. This spot was not a place to be when the stream rain low and it was hot and muggy. But this time we all climbed under there..it was like a little hidden cavern with a waterfall. Curt loved it. The girls were happy o see it, but then wanted to return to our regular spot. But they had so much fun with the high water and tossing mud balls into the stream. Our last day was September 2nd. Part of me is happy to have completed the 11week program...even with the bout of viral meningitis...and part of me is sad it is coming to a close. Once again, M and Curt had some time to play together before R arrived. Curt tried to teach her hide and seek. I forgot how much un it is to experience hide and seek with a two year old. Finally they started playing hide the raccoon doll. They took turns. M would hide it and then go find it herself or keep hiding it in the same spot. What was fun was seeing Curt's reaction. He was totally amused that she was not quite getting the idea Nd was learning. He was having so much fun, laughing and reminding her not to tell us where she had hid the doll. This made me really happy to have decided to do this program this Summer...that moment right there. Thank you to all the parents who trusted me with their beautiful children this summer. And thank you to all the camp participants, whether for a day or the whole eleven weeks...for bringing your beatific light into my home and providing a bunch of playmates for Curtis. See you at school.

Week 10: Bees

This post is for the week of August 22. MA and NA two sisters that I have sat for many times in the past came this week on Monday and Tuesday. MA is five and NA is three. Curtis is very used to playing with them and truly enjoyed their company. NA spent a year in the Nursery program at school with M, the two year old girl, so they enjoyed playing together as well. R did not join us until Tuesday afternoon this week. Monday the 22nd, I turned 40 years old. This is an exciting milestone for me. I am actually quite content at reaching this age. My dear, friend and neighbor, Kate invited me and the Curtii over for "breakfast for dinner.". That was really sweet of her as Big Curt and I are really not good at throwing birthday parties. Tuesday, the 23rd was interesting because Philadelphia was hit with the effects of a 5.5 earthquake based in Virginia. I was sitting with the children at the dining table and we were having lunch. We didn't feel the earthquake at all. I just heard the kitchen door jiggle a bit..as if someone was repeatedly pulling on the door handle. I remember wondering out loud who was messing with the door. I had no idea until much later that there was an earthquake. How strange. It seems some people felt it and others didn't. Feeling the earth's movement was really dependent on location: if you were in a high rise downtown, outside, in a tree, etc, your experience was different. Well, we we all just fine. Earlier that day, M, Curtis, MA and NA and I walked along the stream bed at Carpenter's Woods and collected all the broken glass we could find. It is amazing how much old glass can be found there sometimes..it is definitely old, thick, colored glass. In reading some history of Carpenter's Woods, I have found that there were three buildings at one time in these woods... Can't help but wonder that the glass is sometime of fill leftover from demolishing the buildings. Anyhow, the children and I were focused on the work and we were all in high spirits cleaning up the stream bed. Once again, the afternoon held alot of tree climbing in the courtyard with Urtis and Baigal. How strong they are becoming. Friday, I did not have camp as my sister Kim and I were off to OMEGA Institute in Rhinebeck, NY for Being Yoga Retreat. Kimberly paid all expenses and we had a great time. It was so wonderful on the tenth anniversary of my practicing yoga to attend this retreat and meet some teachers I have been aching to meet for years. I remember starting yoga practice just before my thirtieth birthday, and soon realizing how this practice can help me bea better mother to my Gregory, my oldest boy who was five years old then. Wow, how time flies.

Week 9: Bees

This post is for the week of August 15th. I had children only Monday through Wednesday. Thursday and Friday little Curt and I got a chance to be just we. But Monday through Wednesday there were a total of five children each day:
K a 6 yr old girl,
M a 2 year old girl
R a 3 yr old girl
H a 3 yr old girl
And
Curtis a 5 11/12 yr old boy.

The Summer storms continued this week. Monday morning there was a huge storm, but by the time R and M arrived the rain had subsided. K and H joined us and we went to Kitchen's Lane. Instead of going down to the water as it was cool and wet already, we hiked upwards to the place "where the couch was." If one hikes up the hill from the footbridge and then immediate,y up hill again and turns to the right, one would have found an old IKEA couch up to a year ago. This place is accessible by hikers or bikers, and seems to be a clearing where younger folk would hang out on the couch and have fires and drink, etc. Then last year, the couch disappeared. I like hiking up there...it feels like a mysterious spot, a hidden place. There is also a big quarry like pit. There are many saplings up there and mushrooms. I spread all our raincoats on a log and we had our snack. There were also many acorn cap spottings and the collection of many interesting leaves. K liked it up on that hidden hill. She started to make a clubhouse out of sticks, but the younger girls were kind of unsure what to do. Curtis had not yet joined us so he was not there to lead play.

The next day was very challenging. There was another impending storm and I believe it affected everyone's mood. Getting to Carpenter's Woods and getting rained out didn't help much either. The day before I had brought all the rain gear with us and this day I had left it all at home. Note to self: bring a folded tarp in my outing bag! Gosh, by the end of the day, even Curtis and K were at each other, and those two are usually very good playmates together. The highlight of the day, was M running all the way from the bathroom with a potty she had filled with poop. She had pooped on the potty. She has been working on her toilet-ing and was so happy to show me.

Wednesday, all the same children were together, but it was a glorious day. We went again to Carpenter's Woods which was so fresh and clean after the huge torrential rain...I think Philadelphia will set a record for most rainfall in August soon. R asked for a story, and I said I would tell Snow white while theynplayed with the mud at the stream. R, M and H all played happily with the mud. H enjoyed talking with her "friends" the small green plants on the stream bank. M needed to poop but was Leary of going in the woods. So I just stripped off her clothes and let her be. Eventually, she squatted in some bushes and di what came natural. She was very pleased with her self. All the girls were able to water the plants well. Heidi would water them, but not the ones that were her special friends on the stream bank. Meanwhile, K and Curtis were enjoying the freedom of being able to walk down the stream bed a little way and find treasures on their own.
Carpenter's Woods:
In the mornings and afternoons this week, we did lots of wet-on-wet paint. The paintings were lovely. Lots of red, dark yellow, light yellow. It really feels like the heavy end of late summer.
Painting: Summer nature corner: K and Curtis make a cafe: Let's all be bunnies: Let's make an Invention:
Thursday and Friday, Curt and I were able to explore the Wissahickon trails at our leisure. I like having the other children around for Curt to play with, but sometimes, it is nice to just be the two of us. I know his limits, and we are able to travel farther distances and mange steeper cliffs than the little ones. I actually feel like I get my exercise as well during our outings! We hiked back up to "where the couch was" and navigated down a steep slope to Forbidden Drive. We travelled on Forbidden Dive almost to Mt. Airy ave and then back up the slope and down a horse trail ending at the Walnut Lane Bridge. We made it back home in time for delicious hot crockpot bread with butter. We had worked up an appetite so we were ready to eat!
What a beautiful spider web: A snack at Lover's Leap Lover's Leap: Under Walnut Lane Bridge: Under Henry Ave Bridge: Mustachoed Mice:
The next day, after inspecting the map, I realized we could travel on the horsetrail..noted as the yellow trail on the map..to pass Walnut Lane to go to the Henry Avenue bridge. We hiked all the way there...Curtis was even barefoot the whole time! We even got to hang out at Lover's Leap! I told Curt the very abbreviated story of how that lookout point got it's name. Then we hiked all the way bsck. On our way down to the river to cool off and swim, we ran into some friends and stayed at the water for two hours. What fun! The river was so wild and full from all the rain that we couldn't even wa across to TeePee rock. Curtis was upset about that. I just didn't want to chance swimming across with him. I really need to take him for swim lessons. But he found enough to do on the shore until it was time to go. All total, we were in the woods for 5.5hours that day...what fun. I really find being in the woods energizes me. It brings me a calm center. It is almost like a coming home to me. What a wonderful end to a trying week.

Week 8: Merfolk

This week, the week of August, 8, was the second Merfolk week, and water once again played a huge part. This week the Summer storms began, how the grass and gardens love it. M started today a 2.5 year old girl. She remembered me well from the Nursery and had had a trial visit the day before with both her parents in tow. She transitioned in quite well and asked for Momma just a few times in the morning. This day R wasn't with us, whom M knows from school, but C and Curtis were with us. M is learning to use words to get a toy she wants instead of scratching or pinching. C and Curtis were very understanding with her on Day one. The boys begged to return to Kitchen's Lane so we did. M did very well and ran to keep up with the boys even on the trails.



This IKEA swing was one of the best absolute investments I ever made. M loves to swing on it and put her head way back.

Afternoons in the courtyard, with bikes and chalk.





The second day, we had an overcast morning, the clouds were heavy with an impending rain storm and the children's moods were heavy as well. But we had a brighter lunch anyway. Ms. Claire was kind enough to give us her week's share from her CSA as she was on vacation. Wow, I haven't had a CSA share in about ten years when CSA was new to the City and let me tell you, a half share was a meager few radishes, a turnip and some green salad. Well, the CSA half share I picked up was from Lancashire Farms was huge, it fed us well into the weekend. There was yellow squash, tomatoes, jalapenos, two heads of lettuce, red beets, eggplant, carrots, small heirloom cherry tomatoes, dill, and that's all I can remember. When we came home from the woods, I sautéed lots of the veggies that I had cut up that morning with olive oil, salt and garlic. Then I made a quick pound of thin linguine. I added a salad and offered lots of fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Well, the results were fabulous. The children even dredged the yellow squash in cheese as if it were bread, and gobbled it up.







I never thought I would be able to manage quickly cooking up lunch for the children upon returning from the woods, but I was happy to see that with some minor food preparation in the morning while the children were playing( since I haven't been doing a puppet play), I was able to pull it off. So the next day I did another pasta meal and that went off without a hitch as well. I still rely on the magic orange crockpot, but adding in some fast yummy pastas in the middle of the week seems to work well. So we still have a rice dish on Mondays, Thursdays is magic crockpot bread which is a favorite, and Fridays is magic crockpot oatmeal.

That's what I like about working with young children, things need to stay the same for added comfort and security in a lot of ways, but there is always room for improvement, and you can tell right away when something needs improving and when something works.

Another things, that I am changing a little, is rest time expectations. I allowed C and Curtis to have quiet restful play...looking at books, drawings, etc in the living room, while I worked in the bedroom with the younger ones who need actual sleep. It went quite well. Curtis and C have been working a lot with a Pirate theme lately ( notice a lot of jolly Rogers, skull and crossbones, on kids clothing lately? anyone?) and they created a wonderful pirate ship right in my living room!



Though some days, even the big boys sleep. How to know when it's worth the effort to have them lie down. I really don't think you can gauge it by how much they resist...or how little...you just have to know the child and feel it intuitively.




As a matter of fact, after all the children left for the day, Curtis and I needed to make a Rite-Aid run. Now Curtis always asks to just look up the toy aisle. I almost never buy any treats for him in a store...I have been on the wrong side of setting that precedent with my older boy...but I let him look. And believe it or not, I found a foam, DIY pirate ship model that required a glue gun for assembly...for $3.25. I bought it and what fun we had assembling it after dinner. They had a few other varieties and I am sure you can find them online. It was recommended for ages 6 and up and Curt was interested and helpful enough that I knew it was a good project for him...he will be 6 in September.

On Wednesday, I decided to take the children to the "frog pond" or rather catchment basin located at the end of Mt. Airy Ave. You might be wondering why I haven't been taking the children to Carpenter's Woods everyday, as I promised in the beginning of the Summer. Well, I didn't go to Carpenter's woods, the week they sprayed herbicide. And then I just needed an adult change of pace. but also, I found the Carpenter's woods, after a long dry spell, gets kind of funky near the footbridge. There are too many mosquitoes because the water in the tiny stream gets too low and don't move enough, also the smell of dog urine, etc becomes noticeable. But after a huge rainstorm, Carpenter's Woods becomes fresh again.












Anyway, back to the frog pond. Curtis loves this place. We have taken nets here and caught and released many frogs. The frogs are huge..so big, they can jump right back out of a net. Curtis learned to tug on the net and close off the top to avoid such escapes. But those frogs are healthy, big and strong. There are also big logs floating out upon the green frog water where they like to sit and sun themselves. As the children walk around the basin, camouflaged frogs leap from the grass and make big splashes in the water much to the children's delight.

M was astounded to hear the sound frogs really make which is nothing like Ribbit. I can't even phonetically figure out how to write the sound the make...but if you have heard it you know it.

Also, there are a fair few horseback riders that go past and wave to us from atop their mounts. The children join in a chorus of "Horsey, Horsey!".

After finishing with the frogs, we walked on until we met up with Forbidden Drive. C and Curtis were collecting many worms along the way and even found a beautiful moth caterpillar who looked just like a rolled up Maple leaf. The best phrase of the day was C saying about a worm, "Sorry, Curt, I broke it by accident." Luckily nature is forgiving.

On Friday, they were all just so tired. I had a quick errand in chestnut hill, so I decided to stay down that end and just go to Jenks Playground. Curtis was thrilled to play with some older boys and the girls were content to swing on the swing set. This excursion seemed to fit well with their mood.