Forty-Four Months of Preschooler Chandler

Not the best picture ever.  Sorry.

Forty-Four Months Fun Fact:

• Extracurriculars:  Chandler and I have taken several classes together.  Almost without exception, I have enjoyed them more than she has.  Frustrating.  Last year, we took a music class together, but I definitely enjoyed it more than she did.  This fall, we took a class at Drumlin Farm, a Mass Audubon site, and attended a playgroup run by Boston Public Scools.  She prefers the playgroup.  Peanut, her big buddy, used to be in the group, but he's moved on to preschool.  She doesn't like it as much anymore, but she does like it.  It's possible she's just not much of a joiner.  We'll see.

Eighty-Three Months of First Grader Frances

Eighty-Three Months Fun Fact:

• Entertainment:  The kiddo likes messing about in water and seems to have a high tolerance for cold.  This is thrilling, and so much better than that phase as a small child when she was cold-sensitive.  She's eating more and more, which is also a change.  Must be a growth spurt.  I'll be the shortest in the family sooner rather than later.

Not even my idea, I swear

Can you tell what she's doing?

Probably not.

She's embroidering!

And it wasn't even my idea.  We'd been reading Ox-Cart Man, as one does in October, and Frances wanted to try her hand at embroidering, like the girl in the story.

A mom can't say "no" to that.

Embroider on, my love, embroider on.

How Chandler Spent Her October

It really wasn't a bad October.

When your mom reads...

Years ago, Barbara Kingsolver published the book Animal, Vegetable, Mineral.  And I'm not sure why, but I decided just now was my time to read it.  I'm really pleased I did.  To sum up, a lot, it was about the Kingsolvers trying to eat locally for a year.  They had excellent reasons for doing so.  I found it inspiring.  And I love fall food.  So, clearly the Hayward-Uptons needed to eat a lot of locally-grown pumpkins this fall.  Clearly.  

Lucky for me, the girls didn't mind dissecting some pumpkins for roasting.

And now we know that smallish pumpkins have about five hundred seeds.

We also are now familiar with the taste of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin chili, pumpkin oatmeal and pumpkin seeds.  The cookies weren't a huge hit.  The girls didn't even notice the pumpkin in their oatmeal, which I'll consider a win.  The pumpkin chili was fabulous.  It was a wonderful October.

Now, I wonder what book I should read next.

More Children's Museum

It took Frances a minute, but she warmed up to the climbing structure at the Children's Museum. 

It really is so cool, in a claustrophobic sort of way.  The kids really have to wedge themselves through tight spaces.  One museum employee is on hand at all times to guide kids out of tight spots, or talk them down when they get nervous.  I am so glad that's not my job.  I'll try to get a shot of the whole structure the next time we go, you know, later this week sometime.

A Walk in the Woods

JP, A Good Place To Be

Trying to make the most of all the good weather, the girls and I headed over to the Arboretum and checked out one of their exploration backpacks.  The backpacks' contents are a tad higgledy piggledy, strictly speaking, but the girls don't mind.  They love using the hula hoop to define a research zone.

And then they practice hulaing for a bit.

My babies!

Not really, but kinda.

I'm cheating here a little.  I don't usually write about anything but the girls, but some things deserve an exception.

Several months ago, I got interested in making my own sourdough starter.  I can't remember what sparked my interest; I didn't even know making a sourdough starter was an option until recently.  But I made one and tried to use it to make real sourdough.  The first starter was a dud, but I got that figured out.  The first three attempts at the bread were duds, too, but the fourth attempt, oh, the fourth attempt!!

Beauties, no?

I have to say, as soon as I produced edible loaves, my interest diminished quite a bit.  The timing of sourdough is so persnickety.  Too persnickety to fit into family-with-young-children life, at least at my skill level.  Still, I'm finding all sorts of uses for my starter, pancakes and hybrid sandwich bread and gingerbread muffins and naan and crackers.  Hard to say where this project will lead, but the process is intriguing.

The Monkey

Our friend Cindy added us to her Children's Museum membership.  Chandler is very, very pleased.  She and I have been several times.  On our first visit, I couldn't tear her away from the museum's climbing structure. 

 I really didn't try very hard, though.  It was too much fun watching her climb around like a monkey.

I've got cousins!

Right here in Massachusetts!

To be technical, he's my father's cousin - my first cousin once removed?  the girls' second cousin? - but he lives nearby with his lovely family.  And we finally got organized to meet up with them.  It was September, so we went apple picking together, of course.

Frances is the orange dot in the dead center.

After picking, we headed to their house for dinner and the girls got to jump on a trampoline.  Very pleasant.  We hope to repeat the experience soon and often.

Babes in the Woods

One of my goals for these girls is regular hiking.  I think it's good for the body and good for the soul.  The girls agree, sporadically.

We found this trail in Jamaica Plain.  Very convenient for after-school hikes.

First Day of First Grade!

While Frances's school started at 7:30 last year, this year it starts at 8:20.  So there's time for things like photos before school.  And, no, blue capes with stars are not part of the school uniform.  Give me time; I'm sure I can bring the school around to my way of thinking.

Forty-Three Months of Preschooler Chandler

Forty-Three Month Fun Fact

• Academics:  None.  The incredibly lovely Montessori preschool that Frances attended closed down.  I found another preschool that I really liked, but everyone else really liked it too.  We never made it off the waitlist.  There were other preschools available, but Chandler is such an easy keeper and preschools are so expensive, we decided to keep her home another year.  I have ridiculous amounts of guilt about this.  Frances had such a good time in preschool and made such good friends, it seems cruel to not give Chandler the same opportunity.  But it also seems silly to spend money on a school you don't adore.  So she's home with me.  I try to get her out to organized groups, so sitting and paying attention to speakers aren't foreign concepts to her when she starts public school.  And I'm trying to teach her letter names and sounds.  Overall, it is not working, but I think that has more to do with my ability to teach than her ability to learn.  We read a lot.  We visit Frances's classes so Chandler is familiar with the routines at least in part.  With my emotional brain, I worry about how Chandler will handle K1 next year.  But with my rational brain, I know it will work out.

Eighty-Two Months of Rising First Grader Frances

Eighty-Two Month Fun Fact

• Academic Change:  For reasons we haven't completely explained to Frances (so I won't elaborate here), Frances transferred to a new school for first grade.  It was a very hard decision.  Frances was very happy at the Trotter and she was thriving, but other factors couldn't be ignored.  We were blessed to get a spot at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a ten minute walk from our house.  The change hasn't been perfect, but Frances has handled it beautifully.  And of course, she adores her teacher.  (Not that it's as important, but I also feel I'm finding a role at the new school.  Still, I sorely miss our Trotter community.)  As far as Frances is concerned, it has all worked out swimmingly.  Onward and upward, Frances!

Home Again, Home Again

Boat Night, cont.

Morning came very early, yet everyone was in remarkably chipper moods.

After a breakfast with exactly enough water (next time we'll remember to turn on the water pump), Frances rowed us ashore for a bit more poking around.

I think the girls had a great time.  They certainly seemed happy.

An old foundation.  I recently found a document describing the history of Barlett's.  The gist of the history was that one family's siblings had divided it up; it was quite inhabited at one point - quite inhabited for an island off an island off Maine.

Frances took this photo.  Thank you, Rockefellers, for taking such beautiful care of this island.

And then it was time to get home, unload the boat and wash the camp fire smell out of everything.

'

It was a really wonderful night, easily one of our best as a family of four.  The combination of room to play and nowhere to be were unbeatable.  Maybe we'll become regular campers?!

We Spent the Night on Sir's Boat

Here's what we took:

We had Cookie Bite, on Barlett's, all to ourselves.  Even got the yacht club's mooring.  Thank you, yacht club!

There was lots of beauty.

And then there were hot dogs.  (We'd also had hot dogs for lunch on another beach.  I'm torn between disgust at eating hot dogs at two meals in one day and conviction that we're doing life right.)  

Some goofing about...

...and some s'mores.  Lots of s'mores, actually.

We discovered that s'mores are not bad made with Ritz crackers.  Perhaps even better than when made with Graham crackers.  It depends how you feel about salt.

And then there were board games.

And then there was collapsing, followed by Chandler falling off her bunk repeatedly in the night.  Next time, she gets the forward berth.  She can't fall out of it (it's a big platform) and then I won't have to crawl into it (it's in a tiny space, hence the crawling).