This was one of those perfect Colorado days. We were outside almost the entire day, and the boys were worn out by the end.
Morning: We had a playdate with Isaac's good friend Louis from school. It was our first visit to his house, and the backyard was like a child's wonderland and a thoughtful learningscape all in one happy, safe and vibrant space. There were egg-laying grown-up chickens (and I wish I had a video of Isaac's stammering surprise and open-mouthed expression when Louis's little brother came running back from the coop holding two still-warm eggs), and there were two-week-old baby chickens that the children could hold and carry around like kittens. There was a piecemeal climbing structure with a playhouse on stilts, a slide, two swings, and a ladder. There was a waterfall running into a pond, complete with rocks for tossing and water that the kids were free to stand and splash in. There were two tables for outdoor eating, some grass for running, and a workshop area for Louis where he had real tools (and Isaac of course requested his own real tools on the way home - hammers, nails, pliers and a saw like Louis has). There were garden beds that will be bursting with homegrown food in a few months. And all this was in a space no bigger than our own yard. Isaac and Louis stayed busy and happy, and Jonah loved getting to know his free-spirited, barefoot future classmates - Louis' twin siblings will be Polliwogs with him at Steele in the fall.
We had so much fun that we were late walking over to Steele for the grand finale of the ocean unit: a beach party in the sandbox.
Afternoon: Isaac's teacher had asked the kids to wear beach clothes, sunglasses and of course sunblock because they would be outside most of their three hours together. There was beach music, and there were beach games and a scavenger hunt for edible treasures - pretzel sticks were driftwood, for example. It was creative, educational as always, and the kids were so excited.
Afternoon part 2: We played briefly with friends after school, and these pictures of the boys on the Steele playground are the only ones I have from this fun-packed day. I love to see them choose to play together even where there are other favorite friends around. Here, they were on the climbing structure, "fishing" with the "fishing pole" Isaac and Louis had made. They had attempted to attach various hooks to the end of it, but really, all they needed was this piece of twine and their vivid imaginations. For the record, Isaac got up early the next two mornings in a row and was quietly outside on the balcony when we woke up, "fishing" for sharks, much as he looks in this picture.
Jonah is always happy to help with Isaac's games.
We left the playground and headed to a neighborhood park to meet Kari, Brandy, Shawn and all the boys. The sun was still warm at 4pm, and though Jonah was getting pretty worn out (probably from the morning alone, which he spent splashing in the little pond at Louis' house), it was fun to see so many good friends all together. From the park, we headed a few blocks north to a Mexican restaurant with a big patio, where we had a rather loud but fun dinner at a long outdoor table of moms and boys, chips and happy-hour drinks, with the last of the springtime sun keeping us warm.
No comments:
Post a Comment