Monday Meanderings

We had a nice but busy weekend! Friday afternoon was spent running errands. We experienced a truly momentous occasion! After seven years in this house, we bought plants for possibly the first time (not counting the veggie garden). As you might suspect, a gardener I am not. Yet, all these years I have anticipated the time when we would begin planting things. Our house deal included a landscaped front yard, but we were responsible for the sides and back. It turned out to be quite an undertaking WAY beyond our wildest dreams. Took us about three years just to put in the rest of the sprinkler system and grass. Next came a wooden play structure and three raised garden beds. Rain gutters and cement borders. Now, I am finally mentally ready to begin the task of adding plants and trees. We bought AND planted two bushes and two ground coverings! Humble, small, meager beginnings? Yes. Exciting? Yes. I already have several other plants I plan to buy on our next trip to the nursery!

We also began preparing the garden beds and bought seeds, seed potatoes, and onions. We did a TON of weeding, cleaned the carpet in two of our rooms, and I finished the prep work for class today. Speaking of which…

I had the kids do a craft for Mother’s Day! Each child picked out a box that included everything needed to make one paper flower plus a card to write in and a ribbon to tie around the box.I even put fake grass in the bottom of each box to make them a little more festive. We used our extra time at the end to play a few button games:

Threading ButtonsEach child was given 5 buttons and a piece of thread. They raced to see who could get all the buttons on the thread first. Surprisingly, the youngest child won!

Hit Parade
The individual buttons each child had were different, but they all had matching "sets." In this game, I arranged my set of five in a certain order where no one could see. I asked them arrange theirs. Then, each child received a point for every matching button in the same spot as mine.

The class went well, although doing a craft didn’t hold their attention as well as I had hoped, meaning that some degree of chaos ensued, especially since one student finished a good deal later than the others!