The First Day of School 2011

Yesterday was the first day of our new school year.  Kate is now in Kindergarten and Callie is in the 6th grade.

Our day started out with the stack of books at the breakfast table.  Callie always looks forward to seeing what is in her stack.  The night before, Kate said, "Callie said there will be surprises tomorrow."  I think she wasn't quite sure whether to believe Callie or not.  Indeed there were.  Workbooks and picture books and new pencils and even erasers that looked like cell phones, Kate's personal favorite.  I've lost count of how many times she has said "Thank you."  Callie's favorite items were Mary Poppins and this reading journal.  (I didn't even know Mary Poppins was a book until we started home schooling. LOL  I've only read the first two paragraphs and it is already quite different than the movie)

Then we went on our annual First Day of School Field Trip.  That has become a tradition that we all look forward to.  This year we went to the Indianapolis Zoo.  It had been awhile since we had been and there are a few new exhibits that we had not seen yet.  I think Kate's age is the perfect time to really enjoy the zoo and get a lot out of it.

The Zoo was a big hit.  Kate was so excited and Callie was too.  Callie was especially excited to see her friends.  I had forgotten about the water park inside the zoo.  Kate was ecstatic!  She loves playing in the  water.  So after we had seen all of the animals we let them play in the water for probably more than an hour.

Kate petting a shark

My personal favorite at the zoo

Waiting for the bucket of water to dump on her head

Dancing for joy

Callie took this one.  This will definitely be on next years 4H poster!

We left the zoo worn out and happy.  Kate was asleep within 10 minutes once we got in the car.  If only everyday could be field trip day.

After supper we had a special dessert.  Chocolate Cake.  I made it gluten free for Kate and it was so yummy!  Know one would ever guess it's made with bean flour.  I will post the recipe soon.  We do have desserts every once in a while, but I never make cake unless it is some one's birthday.  We will see if this becomes part of our tradition.