Real Quick

Last weekend was the Pancake Heaven fundraiser at the boys' school.  Great time and a very successful fundraiser.  One of the attractions was a photo booth.  The boys had this pic taken after their faces were painted as lions.  They pretty much spend hours a day pretending to be lions.  I love the way this captures Alder conducting one thorough "RRROOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRrrr", while in that same span of time Heath realizes the camera is snapping, that it is time to do something, roars, and then waits to see what is next.  Do not be deceived though, Heath has every bit the roar as Alder.   

You should see them around the house, completely immersed in fantasy.  I wish I could see what they see. 

And today, Lesley and I got to meet with Heath's and Alder's teachers and hear about all that they have been up to.  Much like adults with work, when the boys come home in the afternoons, they do not talk about school.  A thing or two here or there, but no real download of all that happened that day by any means.  We know that this is because they work so hard there, and are exhausted at the end of each day.  There is plenty of freedom there, but within some very set structure.  They just want to put it behind themselves and unwind.  I can totally understand.  So it is nice to talk with the teachers and hear what works they are choosing, what subjects and concepts they are gravitating towards.  It always makes us proud.  The teachers like to hear about the other side too, just as amazed at how the boys are at home.  We know from talking to other parents too that all our children are apparantly significantly different at school versus home, for various reasons. 

Anyway, next week includes Continent Day.  Their classes are constantly learning about other cultures from around the world and about twice a year, they prepare a Continent Day for the families to come in and see what they have learned.  We share ethnic food, sometimes visiting performers come in, we look at art and other longterm projects they have put together, the older kids will sing and dance, etc.  These days they are learning about the Native American Indians.  Each class learns about the same culture in a way suited for their age and speed.  One of the things that Heath's class is building is an encampment.  So funny how the buffalo are said to be doing various things to accomodate the way each child had to manipulate them to make them stand up: some are eating grass, some are looking at the sky, some are sleeping, some seem to be going potty...

                                 

All this makes for some tired cats...

Here is our family photos from the booth - as an aside, what a cool business this lady has with her sister.  They set up this simple booth at weddings and all kinds of various events.  It is quite popular in the area...