Impromptu park day.

Okay, so we skipped music. But doesn't this look like a worthy distraction? The girls built a city for butterflies, and decorated it with wildflowers. And before we left, they demolished it because they knew it wouldn't last.

Fossil hunting.

No weapons required. You just dig. And the teacher tells you what kind of prehistoric clam you found. Fossils blow my mind. (This was a class offered by the parks and recreation department of...wait for it...Plano.) We also took a Geology class there, which was excellent. I learn as much as she does, I admit it.

Martial arts.

She's kicking that green guy's ass! Enough said.

Ice skating!

We signed up for an 8-week class for homeschoolers. In Plano! Man, I should really move there with as much as we make the drive. I wasn't sure what to expect, but she's doing great. In case you're wondering, that is a skirt she is wearing over her shoulders. It's the newest fashion craze sweeping the nation...didn't you know?

Plano Environmental Learning Center.

Today we went on a field trip with two cub scout packs, plus our girl scout troop. It was at this little tucked-away place in Plano that I'd never heard of, maintained by the city for educational purposes. I was very impressed with the woman who ran the class...she knew what she was doing. She had this "calm assertive" way with the kids. (Yeah, I stole that from Cesar Millan.) Anyway, they looked for insects, talked about various plants, searched for worms (that's what the picture shows), learned about recycling paints and chemicals, and made their own natural cleaner. We are definitely going back there to explore on our own.

Irving Arts Center.

Today we spontaneously decided to check out a puppet show at the Irving Arts Center. It was a nice show, incorporating many types of puppetry. It was called "The Willow Girl," about a Chinese immigrant family back in the gold rush days in California. Then we walked through the museum displays of kids' artwork and outside to the sculpture garden. Mia is wearing the dress that Grandma made her, and isn't fazed at all by the giant metal hawk about to scoop her up.

Astronomical adventures.

Today was family day at UNT and the topic was Astronomy. We met some co-op friends and had a lot of fun playing with all the different science-related stuff. Mia set off a water bottle rocket, rode a hovercraft, measured her weight on different planets, made a constellation, and looked at meteorites. We saw a fairly new planetarium show (with music from Coldplay!) that I was rather impressed by. I'm not sure what the point of the giant bubble was, but it was fun! Afterward, we all met at Beth Marie's for ice cream and walked through an antique store because the boys saw knives in the window. Apparently boys cannot resist knives. It was really a nice day. Whenever I'm in Denton, I want to move there. But I know what it is...the university. Someday I'm going back to school!

Friends and a creek, what else do ya need?

I wonder what my mother will think when she sees this. Remember, she has a top-notch immune system from all that breastfeeding! This is our favorite park, so far, in the Metroplex...Cottonwood in Richardson. It's got it all. And the kids never touch the "play structure". It's all about gettin' dirty. Today she played with Ethan and Ehlayna, and you just know they're awesome cuz they love Obama!

The Raven.

Mia has a class at co-op based on Poe's The Raven. Yep, that one. I didn't know what to expect but she is enjoying it. Today they made costumes and howled "Nevermore!" on the playground. Really, you can make a class out of anything at that age.

Oh no! What happened to February?

Oops. I guess we didn't do anything for a month. But if I had to miss any month, it would definitely be February! Anyway, I know what happened. Co-op started up again, and I'm teaching two classes. Plus my husband thinks our daughter isn't learning anything, so I'm trying really hard. And blogging less. Actually I should blog about what she learned, and kill two birds with one stone. (I promise, no animals will be harmed in the creation of this blog.) Oh, and another less productive thing happened. I discovered Facebook. It's taking up way too much of my time, but it's fun! So...right now we have to go slog through a few consignment stores to look for a martial arts uniform (a gi?) for Mia, since I refuse to pay the full retail price. But I wanted to post something hilarious that Mia said a few minutes ago. She was reading one of her billion decodable books, and the focus was "-dge". She kept forgetting it was "j" and asked me over and over. Then she goes, "Then why don't they just put a 'j' instead of three letters?" And I said, "Well, that would be simpler, you're right. But it's not how the English language works." To which she replied, "That's the answer I got from Daddy. I need a different answer!" Really, she has a point. Sometimes I wonder how anyone learns to read and write English.