Going Batty!

The latest Young Adventurers program was on the topic of bats. Miss Cyndi did a fantastic job of dispelling the myths surrounding bats and educating the kids about their unique traits. She made some great models to help the kids visualize the largest and smallest bat species. We then watched and discussed a very informative video on bats. Afterwards, we took a short walk and saw some of the places where bats had recently spent the night, as evidence from their bat droppings. The kids then did a follow-up craft of a bat with movable wings which they could take home to remind them of what they had learned.

After the program, the kids had an adventure of their own in the dry creek bed. It is one of their favorite places in the park.

Drumline Community Performance

Our lovely babysitter, Chelsea, invited us to attend the community performance for her winter drumline at the highschool. It was a great opportunity for all the kids to see and hear the different percussion instruments and learn what a Vangaurd looks like when it performs. Between 8-10 other local highschools came and performed in a variety of different styles and showed off their musical and theatrical talents. There was even a local adult special needs group who performed a rendition of Micheal Jackson's "Thriller" that they had worked on for the past three months. This is one of those things that only comes around once a year, and I am glad we were able to attend it!
"Thriller" Vangaurd dance performance with batons and sword throwing.
Much darker and "futuristic/out of this world" themed performance.

This group did a "Sword in the Stone" themed song complete with a castle and Renaissance costumes.

Chelsea's group performed a really energetic song that had a theme entitled "Keeping Time". They went on to win fifth in the state the following day! Congrats, Chelsea! Great job and we appreciate all your hard work!

Fun at the Forestry

We were blessed to attend another Young Adventurers at our State Forest this month. This time we learned more about insects and how they survive the winter. We then went on a hands-on field trip/experiment to try to find some of their winter hiding places. We found some under the ground, inside old decaying logs, under some bark, and even wrapped up in a leaf. The kids just loved this activity because it combined two of their favorite activities: digging and getting dirty! We are so grateful to Miss Cindi at the Nature Center. She is truly a gem!

Some More Updates

Here are a few more pictures of our adventures at the history museum. All the kids thoroughly enjoyed the dress-up clothes.
These are only a few of our photos from Christmas. We celebrated this year at my sister's new home. It was the twin's and D's first Christmas.

Long, Long Time, No Post!

This is definitely the longest I've gone without updating the blog. I've been trying to focus on staying home more and staying on top of the housework, as well as, school work. It has been easier said than done. I apologize for anyone I've disappointed with such a long delay in my posts. (JOE! that means you!) I will attempt to post some of our highlights over the past few months.

Grandpa come over to visit for R's birthday and posed for a photo with one of her gifts.

A picture of our home-made Advent wreath.

D with B, and R. He is almost 4 mo. old in this photo which was taken back on 11/30/11.

B was in her first play called The Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever. She joined the other three oldest kids in this production at our local theatre. They did 10 performances and were excellent in all of them. So very proud of how well they did!

Here is a cute photo of D in his Christmas outfit and Santa hat. This was a week or two before Christmas.

That is E grinning. Did you notice that the Wise Men from our Little People Nativity scene are riding on his John Deere tractor in the background? That is not quite historically accurate, but I don't think he cares.

The kids with some of their home school friends after a free play called "Madeleine's Christmas".

We then went to a history museum to see an exhibit on the Civil War, called My Brother, My Enemy. They also had some hands-on activities for home schoolers. This was the highlight of the day! The kids got to try-on some of the helmets and armor.