Well planned sick day

Friday, Alder came down with what turned out to be a stomach virus.  I must say he was quite tough through it all - obviously feeling terrible, but hanging in there as best he could.  He actually went to work with Les on Friday.  He loves doing this, so he forced himself.  And how he picks the day to be sick!  Two years ago about this time, he stayed out of school sick on a day that Les and I had planned to go out to a study site and band some sparrows.  So his sick day turned out to be a field trip, again!

Same thing this year coincidentally.  Today was pigeon disection day.  We thought he would be thrilled... Not so much.  Looking back, perhaps this is because he was nauseous and didnt care to see tables filled with pigeons corpses splayed apart.  Makes sense.  But he did enjoy some red-tailed hawk talons.

Luckily again, we thought, was that there was a Darwin Days talk on dinosaur and bird evolution.  Unfortunatley it was not so exciting, Alder got particularly miserable that time of the day, and he and Les left early.  Then, he finally puked in the car, but we were all very pleased that he managed to grab his lunchbox and fill that instead of his lap and the car.  Yay, Alder !!!  Once he was done, he reported that this was the third vomit of his life.  He's right!  Unforgettable, that vomitting!

On such a sick day, Heath would have intensely protested going to school alone.  But, this week was parent visitation week, and on this day, I was scheduled to spend an hour with him  in class.  I always LOVE seeing the work they do, and watching them do it.  Sparing many details...Heath could not contain himself.  He was so excited when I got there, and put on quite the scene when I left.  Havent seen that in awhile...

Here is Heath matching some consonants with various objects beginnign with that sound.  Cool thing that in the box of objecs are also pictures of their friends.  So an "o", is "o", "o", "o" for "Otto", one of his classmates.  "Guh", "guh, "guh", "goggles" and so forth.

Then Heath and I traced sandpaper letters and he made them into a book.  He did this with Les too.  She visited two days prior.

Here is a pic of the Primary III class, Alder's class.  Heath's class has a big view of them down below.  These classes are so very abuzz with activity.  All the friends are so deeply and excitedly engaged in everything...

Here is Heath with the Hanging Teens work.  He loves this work; the trip to Alders class to take it from the shelf, the careful trip upstairs carrying it, working through it, talking through it, the trip back downstairs to restore it.  The works throughout their classes are so simple and brilliant.

The rest of the weekend treated us well.  We spent lots of time together, Alder is about 90% now...

Oh, Lesley got both the boys on a roadtrip craft they love: a little embroidery with burlap and yarn.  Alder took his all the way to a little pillow.
 

Here's Heath last weekend.  What a trooper.  I tackled a full brake job on the Honda, and he was right there, the whole time.  Sometimes a bit TOO right there, but I set him up with a tarp on the cold ground and myriad tools and magnets, and he was in a zone.  (I didnt let him spray the brake cleaner by the way.)

He is Heath this weekend, on a Spiderman kick.  He wore this for aobut 48 hours straight.  He will be working on us in the morning, to try and wear this to school.  We made the mask hands-free with an old underwear wasteband.

He is really thinning out these days.  Still a chunk though.