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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Day… What day of school are we on? I lost track.

Things are starting to be a blur. (Has anyone noticed how many pictures I’ve posted lately?! Don’t get too used to it. Things slow down drastically as of tomorrow!)

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I had originally planned on today being our first full day of school at home—and then I found out that today was homeschool day at The Oregon Garden. I couldn’t pass it up. The Oregon Garden is ginormous and fantastically beautiful. On homeschool day they set up learning stations throughout the garden. The kids receive “passports” in which they collect stamps from each station.

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We are studying biology this year. The older boys attended a 3-day science camp this past month where they learned about classification and animals. Today was a perfect plant-oriented complement. Between the science camp, The Oregon Garden, and the experiments the kids get to do each week at Classical Conversations, I think I should be exempt from hands-on science projects at home this year. Right?!

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So, we found ourselves at The Oregon Garden this morning. Lola went to hang out with Bambi and Poppy (wahoo!). The day was spectacular (if a little on the chilly and breezy side). Oh, what blues and greens and bright, bright sunshine!! Holly, Ivy, and Jacob joined us up there (whew, it’s a long drive). It was fun to see so many different friends throughout the day. (Shout-out to Danielle and Connie!) We ended up hanging out with my friend Tera and her son Landon for quite a while. Seriously, The Oregon Garden on homeschool day is the place to see and be seen. {grin}

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Bonus points if you can spot the cute little guy in the next picture:

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We spent quite a bit of time in the children's garden. It is fantastic. The kids love the little hobbit house/tunnel with the perfect slope for rolling.

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The sand pit also saw a lot of action.

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But there is so much more to see!

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We even made new friends!

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It had warmed up to a whopping 75 degrees by the time three o’clock came around. The boys had gotten soaked in the fountain last time we were at the gardens—a precedent had been set. So, of course, they got soaked again. And then they weren’t quite as hot as they had been just moments before.

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Then we had no choice to head back to the truck, finally eat our lunch (we just snacked our way through the garden), and drive home. By golly, that was a long day! But a very successful one.

And now it is time to get down to business.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Heidi, We had so much fun :) I can't believe that you posted your pic so soon...what a beautiful documentation of your day! The entire drive home Kara kept saying "we need to see them again and spend some more time together" Love the soaking wet pic...ps we never saw that fountain...funny how you can be there and yet still miss something...
we did end our time with 50 cent ice cream cones at McD's...such a great day...Blessing to you this week...~Connie in Tualatin

Mrs. Pittman said...

After looking at these amazing pictures I doubt anyone would blame you for skipping a regular school day for this extraordinary one :)
I was getting more and more envious until I read the part about the high being 75 (in mid-September). Florida may not have an Oregon Garden, but we are leaving for a week at the beach soon and our never-ending summers make late September the perfect time to go.

Debbie in sunny, super-warm Tallahassee, FL

P.S. I enjoyed seeing your CC pictures yesterday. I tutor a Challenge A class here and we just finished week 5. Love, love, love it!

Christie said...

Well, you've inspired me to take tomorrow off from book work and go to the High Desert Museum.

Christie

Hannah said...

"Between the science camp, The Oregon Garden, and the experiments the kids get to do each week at Classical Conversations, I think I should be exempt from hands-on science projects at home this year. Right?!"

You, my friend, are my kinda girl. :-)

(As I covet the amazing verdure that is Oregon in September!)