Fun day at Fernbank (the Jr. edition)

Hazel and Aaron recently enjoyed a fun morning at the Fernbank Science Museum. Usually when we go out to a museum, we have to balance Juniper and Hazel's different interests and speeds. It was nice for Hazel to have the opportunity to enjoy the things that captured her attention, at exactly her own speed.

It's always interesting to watch the chambered nautilus.

A new exhibit about Marco Polo and the silk road includes a yurt. Hazel was fascinated by the yurt and spent about 20 minutes hanging out inside it, doing more or less what you see in this photo.

Hooray for puzzles!

All in all, it was a good day.


Stay tuned soon for photos from another Fernbank trip, this one with just big kids.

Happy Birthday, Violet

She turned six a couple of months ago, and she just lost her first tooth. What a big girl!

Practice

There are so many skills we grown-ups take for granted. Knives are hard.

Sassy

Irrepressible

A few weeks ago Juniper had her second turn as the UUCA chalice lighter. She carried out her responsibilities calmly, efficiently, and with as much poise as this particular kid can muster. Once the chalice was lit and she had led the congregation in saying the chalice lighting words, she starting walking back to her seat. As she left the main floor of the sanctuary to go up into the pews, she burst into a giant smile and loudly proclaimed, "Well that was fun!"

As part of our bedtime routine, I often sing the simple hymn "Come, Come Whoever You Are." One of Juniper's earliest experiences in the UUCA sanctuary was being amazed to hear this bedtime song sung by everyone in "the big church" (as opposed to the nursery). She and Hazel still often call it "the big church song." Saturday night as I was singing to Juniper, she suddenly got something new out of the song. She excitedly interrupted my singing: "Hey, this means that whoever you are, you can come to church! And, and, even if you're on a different path, you can still come!"

Play-doh bakery

Not pictured: the part in the process where the cookies spent several days baking on a cookie sheet in the girls' play oven.

Birthday party fun

A few photos from Luke's third birthday party. You'll never guess what color the cake was.

Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend we went to a pumpkin patch with several UUCA families. Of course, there were scads of pumpkins...

 ...and wagons (for pumpkins or kids)

 ...and a fire pit. Moving stones and logs from point A to point B kept the kids mostly occupied...

 ...while we waited...

 ...for a hayride!



We got to feed goats, cows, geese, a pony...

...and catfish!

Juniper was inspired by the prices written on the pumpkins. When we got home she covered our pumpkins with equations and proclaimed, "They're math pumpkins!" The nerd is strong with this one.

Big girl on the bus

One of Juniper's many new adventures in kindergarten is riding the bus. She's the little blonde girl on the steps, with her flame backpack. We're late posting it, but this photo was actually taken on her very first bus ride, on the second day of school.

Hazel is already looking forward to getting to ride the bus, "when I'm a big kid like Juniper."

Proper

"I'm puttin' them away pwopawe." I love that my very proper child can properly use the word properly, even though she cannot pronounce it properly. She put all those dominoes in their box, all by herself.

Hazel is a good Applegath kid--she loves her dominoes.

Quotable Kids

[After Juniper explained that it's more fun to hang out with just Leo, or just Thomas, but not both at the same time]
Sally: Why?
Juniper: Because there's less chaos. When there's all the kids, sometimes there's just too much chaos. All three is the most chaos, and just Leo is less chaos or just Thomas is less chaos. And just me is no chaos.
S: I don't know, Juniper. You can get up to some chaos even when it's just you.
J: Yeah, but I like my chaos. And Leo likes just his chaos. And Thomas likes just his chaos. [pause] You know, there is one thing. We do all like to play superheroes.


Henry: Can I have the scissors when you're done?
Hazel: You don't have to keep asking because I'm gonna be done soon.


Juniper: Are you going to say any more bad words? Like idiot?


Hazel [spotting a convertible]: Look! It's a car with no lid!!


Violet: I'm going to spy on you!
Juniper: Then I'm going to stay close to my mom all day.
Violet: That will make it easier for me to spy on you!


Violet: I've got some lettuce because we got to pick lettuce and bring it home!
Sally: Did you also pick some lettuce Juniper?
Juniper: Yes, but I think my lettuce and Violet's got mixed up.
V: No, you just accidentally lost yours.
J: Ooo-oh, right!!!


Juniper: [petulantly] Well then I won't be happy for the rest of the day!!!
Violet: I don't think that's true?


[After Juniper passed some hand-me-down shoes on to Violet.]
Sally: You and Juniper have kind of different styles of clothes that you like to wear.
Violet: I like kind of fashion clothes.
Juniper: And I like superhero clothes!


[While trying to get Juniper to clean up the living room]
J: There's so much fun stuff to do, I just feel like I should do it now, instead of later.
[Half an hour later, the time spent reading a dinosaur book}
J: There's a lot to do when you can't concentrate, or don't want to.


Juniper: Vocabulary is a place to store the words you like.


Sally: Can you tell me about that picture you were drawing with the crayons?
Hazel: No.
S: Ms. Lonnette said that you and Henry both had something to say about your pictures, and I already heard Henry tell me about his picture. I'm very interested in your picture.
H: It's not interesting. It's boring.


Juniper: Well, then, let's play library where you read and read and read.