Helicopter Ride

On the Saturday following Jonathan's birthday, we went to the banks of the Ohio River and boarded this helicopter to fly over Cincinnati. It was a short ride, but the view was spectacular! We were the first passengers of the day so we watched the copter fly in and land on the helipad. I thought Jonathan might be a little nervous, but he was just excited!
We talked to each other through headphones during the ride, Jonathan thought that was cool.

We flew over Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds, and Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals. What little boy wouldn't love that? We also enjoyed views of the city and the river, and also the Newport, Ky. area.

Jonathan said it was the best gift ever, and wanted to know when we could do it again. Much better than another toy! I agree. It was a wonderful experience to share with him.

Hot Wheels Fun At The Library

Spring break started with the library's annual Hot Wheels Races Extravaganza. Last year was the first year we attended, and Jonathan couldn't wait to go this year! It is always held on the first Monday of spring break.
The room is transformed into little boy heaven! Little girls, too, but the boys especially get into all the races and neat track set ups.

Some of the track for Hot Wheel races

Jonathan prepares to race his car

Racing with his friend Elise

I was surprised when I looked out and saw this:

Yes, they brought a real race car into the library!

The kids were allowed to get inside the car. That was the highlight of the morning for Jonathan! 

After the races and the experience of being a "race car driver", we had lunch with friends. It was the perfect start to spring break!

Irish Dancing at the Library

It is no secret how much I appreciate our library. We love to take advantage of all it offers! Last Thursday, we attended a performance of the Celtic Rhythum Dancers, a local Irish dance troupe. I didn't know how interested Jonathan would be, but he really enjoyed it, and so did I. The group was made up of a wide variety of ages, from preteen to senior citizens, and their timing was spot-on.

After the performance, audience members were given the opportunity to try their hand at a dance. Jonathan jumped right in there to see what he could do!

I love that he will step outside his comfort zone and try new things. I wish I did more of that! It was another fun evening and a new experience for us, thanks to our library.

Our Weekend

It was a busy weekend around here, following a hectic week. Last week was filled with doctor appointments, oil change appointments, cleaning and more! There was no school on Friday, so we went to lunch with friends and then went to see the movie "The Lorax". Take your child to see it, it's a really cute movie.
Saturday began with Jonathan's last class at NKU. He brought home a meal worm pupa, which I am hoping matures into a beetle which will will release back to nature. This is one of the projects they did in class while studying metamorphoses. I love how the different pasta shapes were used! For some reason, he wrote his "p" backwards when writing "pupa".

We stopped for a haircut on the way home, and my boy is sporting a new 'do! I am still not sure how I feel about it. It does look cute, but he looks so much older! He is very pleased with his new look.

In the afternoon, my grandchildren arrived to spend the night. It was fun! We played outside, did some crafts, took a walk to the park and searched for four leaf clovers. Each child found one, I was really surprised! We ordered pizza for dinner, and later we watched the movie "Rio" and had popcorn. The kids went home around noon on Sunday and Jonathan & I went to another fun party at the library. This one was "Aliens & Monsters". Once again, the library did not disappoint!

Dusting mitts with googly eyes decorate the table. Brilliant!

Pie tin spaceships

Feed the monster game, toss balls into its mouth

The walls were decorated with aliens and monsters for the kids to color

Pin the eye on the alien

They were given a cupcake then they chose various candies to make their cupcake look like a monster

The party closed with a monster pinata

An action-packed weekend meant one tired little boy and one tired Mommy Sunday evening, but it sure was fun!

Sugar Camp!

On Feb. 27, we were fortunate enough to get to go to Sugar Camp, a free hands-on morning with costumed guides sponsored by our county parks system. It was so much fun! The camp was from 10-11:30 AM, so we went before his afternoon kindergarten class. We had lunch with friends after camp, then off to school!
We learned how maple syrup is made and how this was done in the 1790's by both Native Americans and settlers. The group was limited to about 20 and the weather was beautiful. The sap was running freely!
We were able to drink sap from cups, straight from the tree. I thought it would be sticky and thick, but it was just like water, with a hint of sweetness to it.

We sampled the end result, delicious maple syrup!

We watched wooden spiles being made, and Jonathan got to help make one and to bring it home with him.

We followed our guide through the woods to the trees to collect the sap. Also, we got to help hammer the spile into the trees, carry sap back to camp and collect firewood.

Following our guide

Holding the hammer to put the spile in the tree

Showing the kids how to identify a maple tree when there are no leaves

Collecting sap

Collecting firewood

Building a fire

With his friends in a wiki

The sap is boiled into syrup in these kettles

We sampled venison sausage and eggs cooked over a wood fire. It was surprisingly good!

I don't know which one of us had more fun! I would highly recommend this to anyone! It would be a great class for children who are homeschooled and I will absolutely take him out of class for the morning if they do this next year. A photographer from the Cincinnati/Kentucky Enquirer was there taking pictures, and guess who was in the newspaper the following day?

The camp was open to the public on Saturday so we went back for a little while after his bug class. It was much colder Saturday! There were lots of demos: blacksmiths, weavers, and more. He got to make a cornhusk doll (with a little help) and knitted a bookmark all by himself using straws and his fingers.

The blacksmith and his tinker's cart

Knitting

His cornhusk doll and bookmark

I am so happy to be in area that offers such great free programs. I am sure most areas do, I just never searched for them until I had Jonathan. What fun we have!!

Thank You, Theodor Giesel

108 years ago, a baby boy was born in Massachusetts. He grew up to write books that have delighted generations of children with their silly rhymes and characters with funny names. Suddenly, reading is fun! Jonathan loves Dr. Seuss books just as much as his big brother did 35 years ago.
So, today we honored Dr. Seuss with some fun activities and treats. A Google search turned up a few fun printables and I was off and running!
I printed this fun One Fish Two Fish placemat from The ObSEUSSed Home Librarian. I laminated them (I made three, we took a little treat package to our neighbor's two girls) and had it on the table when Jonathan woke up this morning.

I decorated a small fish bowl (found in the vase section of Dollar Tree, it's not really a fish bowl) and filled it with goldfish crackers. I made a copy of the cover of Jonathan's book, cut out the title and the fish, and used his glue stick to glue them to the vase.

Next I gathered supplies to make these Cat in the Hat treats.

I baked cupcakes last night and frosted them this morning. The Thing 1 and Thing 2 printables also came from the ObSEUSSed Home Librarian. Don't add the cotton candy hair until almost time to serve. It will last about an hour and then it begins to melt.

Who says green eggs and ham are only for breakfast? Jonathan had green deviled eggs, ham and crackers for lunch before heading off to school.

We read a few Dr. Seuss books and started "The Lorax", which we didn't have time to finish. We will probably see the movie on spring break. Jonathan watched a bit of "The Cat In The Hat Knows A Lot About That" marathon on PBS.

We took cupcakes, hat treats, placemats and a bowl of goldfish to our neighbors, and Jonathan took one of these to all the kids in his class:

It was a fun morning! I didn't get very much done around the house, but Jonathan & I made some memories, and that is more important.

Thank you, Theodor Giesel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, for making our kids laugh, for allowing them to be silly while they learn, and for giving us 44 timeless children's books.