First Day of School 2011

We had a great first day! We've been off much longer than normal and are in a new house so it's going to take a while to get back into our routine, but I'm happy with today. We did a little review and started our unit study on chocolate. What better way to start off the year than learning about chocolate? I definitely had the kids interested immediately.

We started our morning with chocolate chip pancakes (something fun for the first day and it goes with our unit study).

Then we headed outside for those first day pictures. Cute signs came from here. Molly was so excited and said she couldn't wait to start school because she's never gotten to do 1st grade before.

Colin

Caleigh

Molly

Here they are working on their about me posters I found at the Dollar Tree.



Red Robin for dinner

For the past few years, I've made a special cake for the first day of school. Previous ones are here and here.

 

New York City

I've already posted about the toy stores we visited and visiting Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. This is for the rest of our time in NYC.
It was the first visit there for all of us. I'm so glad we decided to stop on the way back to NC from Maine. It was so neat to see two such different places during our trip. We really enjoyed our visit and will definitely go back again in a few years to see all the things we didn't have time for during this short trip.

On the ferry coming over from NJ

 The girls said they needed hairbows to keep their hair out of their faces, but we didn't have any.

Times Square

Kids in Times Square

You have to have a slice of pizza (or 2 in Colin's case) when you're in NYC

Hotdogs in Central Park

Chad and I in Central Park

See more pictures from our trip to NYC here and here.

Not Back to School Celebration

Yesterday was the first day for public schools here. I like to make that a fun day for the kids to celebrate that they don't have to go. We went to lunch with friends and then met our homeschool group at the bowling alley for a fun afternoon of bowling.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Last week of summer vacation

This week we've tried to do fun things to enjoy our last week of summer vacation. School will be starting on Monday.

Monday: We just stayed home and the kids played while I worked on getting the last of our school things ordered.

Tuesday: We met friends at the park for an afternoon playdate. It was actually a little cooler so it was great being outside.

Wednesday: Molly and Colin had their first tennis lessons. The tennis courts are right next to a playground so we went over to play with friends after. Then Colin went to a Pokemon Club with a friend and I brought the friend's sister home with the girls and I while they were there for some more playtime.

Molly during her tennis lesson

Colin during his tennis lesson

Thursday: We had lunch with friends and then went bowling with our homeschool group. It was the first day for public school here so it was a "Not back to school" party. See pictures here.

Friday: I worked on lesson plans for next week while the kids made a huge mess in the playroom. They say they've cleaned it up and are now playing outside. I had planned to take them swimming this afternoon, but I have a headache so I'm not sure if we'll go. If not I'll try to take them this weekend.

NYC Tour of Toy Stores

What are kids most interested in seeing in NYC? The awesome toy stores, of course. So that's what we spent most of our day there seeing.


FAO Schwarz



Playing the Big Piano




Toy soldier made from jellybeans




Lego Statue of Liberty




Barbie Foosball Table  $25,000



Toys R Us

The ferris wheel

Riding the ferris wheel

Meeting Geoffrey

Lego Empire State Building with King Kong

Candy Land

Life size Barbie dream house

American Girl Store

This is where the girls had been waiting to spend their money

Disney Store

We also stopped at Buid A Bear, but I didn't take any pictures. The girls did find a Statue of Liberty costume and an I love NY shirt and shoes.

I think even the kids were tired of looking at toys after seeing all these stores in one day.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

Earlier this month, we drove to Maine. On the way home we stopped in New York City for a couple of days. None of us had ever been there so it was exciting for us all. We spent one day visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

On the ferry

We were able to go inside to tour the museum.

Ellis Island

Chad and I could have spent a lot more time seeing everything here. The girls are a little young to be really interested and Colin was too worried about getting to the Statue of Liberty. In the Immigration Museum, you go through different rooms that show some of what the immigrants would have experienced.



Here we were able to participate in a demonstration of a hearing.



Molly saw people with these hats and just had to have one. Here are the kids with their hats on the way home.

Molly also got her new doll a Statue of Liberty outfit from Build a Bear.

 

Caleigh with her doll. It has cute shoes to match the shirt too.