Wrapping Up the School Year

One final hike for the school year. This was my first hike for a private group--it's kind of nice to just show up to a group that someone else arranged and get to hike with some fun kids!

And I'm so glad that I opted to not teach my normal classes this May so this was the only work thing I had on my calendar. With prepping to move and getting our property ready, it has been really nice to take something off my plate.

But it was also fun to get outside for a hike which I haven't had time for this month.

The kids were great and, thanks to a random rainstorm last night, we saw more banana slugs and other wet-loving species than I would have expected at the end of May.

It was also Peanut's last day of his freshman year! Time just flies, but it has been a great year for him and now we're looking forward to a fun, if crazy, summer.

We Got Permits!

It only took 2 years, but we finally got permits!

And our new home was delivered a few days later! We've been doing a lot of work over there the past couple weeks, collecting dead branches, rocks, and old lumber in piles to get rid of, 

prepping to have the foundation poured for a shed that's going to give us somewhere to store things during the move, and our contractor has been getting everything ready for the house to be installed in the next couple of weeks!

We're ready to get some buildings going!

 

Graduation Weekend!

How has this girl finished 4 years of college already!

She graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Biology, emphasis in Ecology. 

She's worked hard, possibly played even harder, and learned so much. It's been fun seeing her grow more and more independent these past years. 

We might miss the days of having toddlers and everyone living under one roof, but getting to see these kids figure out what they love and how to make their own way in the world is pretty incredible. We've loved getting a glimpse into her world in San Diego.

Happy 15th, Peanut!

It's crazy that our baby is only one year away from a driver's license! He's taken high school in stride, is getting excellent grades and keeping up with his schedule mostly on his own. He got himself up all year, for seminary class before school, and swim practice even earlier than that, and walks home every day without complaining about it. He's still reading and writing at home, working on his own projects, and even tried his hand at running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign this year which has been quite the experience.

He had school on his birthday, which is a first for him, so we saved the party for later, but his D & D group came over and they spent a few hours fighting goblins.

We love this kiddo!

Wrapping Up the Science Year

All my classes have wrapped up the last couple of weeks.

My middle school classes did a group project on soil conservation/preventing erosion and built models to demonstrate the techniques they'd use for the scenario they were given.

I love how they got into this--model building is always a big hit.

My elementary classes finished the semester with several games and activities about conservation in honor of Earth Day and our study of the earth.

My nature study class went to visit the local heron rookery for our last hike. We got lucky and the three babies were active and the parents were coming and going with food and nesting materials. It was a fantastic morning, and we got lucky and ran into a really nice guy who had a good camera to capture pictures of the birds and offered to share a couple of images with us. (Have I mentioned how much I love this part of my job--getting to hike with families and share all of these cool nature experiences in our area is so much fun!)

And finally, I did a nature and art class with my friend, E, who makes beautiful mandalas with the bones from bird pellets that she collects and sterilizes. 

She's learned all about bone identification and has found this amazing way to use art to bring attention to science. 

And now, I just have to plan for fall, but I'm officially done with my 8th year of teaching!