Summer 2007
6/8/07
That long awaited season of ease is upon us! Today is the first day of summer vacation for us and my mind is bubbling with possibilities. Our theme for this summer is "Explore Minnesota". This choice was driven by two factors: 1) the cost of gas! and 2) Minnesota is truly the greatest place in the nation to be from June-August (the other months are a different story!).
We will be spending many 3 day weekends at the great state parks that Minnesota offers. The camping schedule includes:
- Jay Cooke State Park, near Duluth.
- Split Rock State Park, North Shore of Lake Superior
- Madeline Island, part of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior (Wisconsin side)
- Itasca State Park, where the might Mississippi River begins
- Tetteguche State Park, North Shore of Superior
- Bear Head Lake State Park, near Ely - where the true Northern Wilderness begins...
We also hope to do some day trips to see things that the Twin Cities has to offer that we never seem to find time for during the hustle of the school year. We've also planted a large garden this year - with a fence this time to keep the deer and bunnies away. The Hennepin County Library has so many great offerings this summer, that we will be there several times a week too!
Of course each of the kids have their own things going on too, see below for details.
Wishing everyone a wonderful summer!
Annabelle.
Annabelle is growing up! She will turn 9 this summer and starts 4th grade
in the fall. She still loves to perform, and enjoys singing in the
Wooddale Choir. She will also play the part of Gretel in our local
community theater's summer production of Hansel and Gretel. Reading is
still Annabelle's favorite pasttime, and she has joined a book club at the
library this summer. A distant second to reading is a growing desire for
computer time...AmericanGirl.com is her favorite site. She also has an
e-mail account now - if you'd like to communicate with her - you can e-mail me
and I will share her address with you. See Annabelle's personal page (Annabelle's
Anthology) for her perspective on things and news.
Nathaniel
Nathaniel recently graduated from his second year of preschool. He had a
great year and made some excellent progress. He will attend kindergarten
next year at the same school Annabelle attends. He will still be receiving
some special help for his sensory integration issues and social
inhibitions. We have already met the staff and are thankful for the great
resources our schools offer.
I will be hosting a playgroup this summer for kids attending kindergarten at Nathaniel's school. We will meet at school and play - as a way to feel comfortable with the school and each other. I am very excited about it
Nathaniel is obsessed with Legos! He plays with them exclusively now, with only an occasional romp with the Brio trains he used to adore. He loves putting the models together, taking them apart and putting them together again. I am amazed at the complexity of instructions he can follow, and he often has to correct my mistakes if I help him build! Visit our video links page to see him playing with Legos!
Books are still a big part of our day and Nathaniel loves reading humor! We sometimes get giggling so much we have to stop for a laughter break mid book!