It looks like it may become an annual thing because we decided to kick off this school year with friends at the fountains at Coolidge (unfortunately we got delayed by a week because of rain).
But, what a great way to end and begin each school year!
As most homeschooling families know, the best time to visit all the local hot spots is while school is in session because it is way less crowded and a lot more enjoyable.
Besides playing in the fountains, we had donuts, and I also took my boys to ride the merry-go-round.
We are so blessed with friends who make an effort to meet up with us on Fridays throughout the school year. We are looking forward to more Friend Fridays in the coming year.
Less than a month after we saw The House at Pooh Corner at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, we had the opportunity to see A Year with Frog and Toad.
I have to confess that this was the play I was looking forward to the most, and it didn't disappoint.
The Frog and Toad books are some of my favorite stories from
childhood and I had been looking forward to reading them with Jack.
Knowing there would be a play to go along with it, made this even
better!
I didn't realize that this play was actually a musical, and it was by far my favorite production we saw this year. The kids did such a great job performing, and they really followed the stories in the books.
This was the first book series that I had Jack read aloud to me and he really remembered all of the little stories.
Jack's favorite characters were, of course, Frog and Toad, but he also loved how the character of the Snail was handled. It was a minor character, but she had her own song that continued through the entire performance as she kept showing up to let us know she was still making the effort to deliver the mail to Toad! She was my favorite character too!
We had such a great time and are already looking forward to next school year when performances will include A Wrinkle in Time and A Charlie Brown Christmas!
After the show, we had a chance to meet the cast and take a photo
with them. I can't tell you how impressed I was with all of the kids in
the show!
Now that our kids are old pros at attending the theater, they expected to go to lunch at Good Dog (like we did after the last play we saw) and then play at Coolidge Park.
Unfortunately the carousel was undergoing maintenance, but the kids still had fun climbing the big magnolia trees and chasing each other.
Before heading home, we decided the weather was perfect for a little cardboard sledding, so we headed over to Cardboard Hill in Renaissance Park and let the kids slide down all sides of this steep hill.
It was such a fun way to spend our school day!
Productions we have had the privilege of seeing performed this year include: Charlotte's Web, The House at Pooh Corner, and A Year with Frog and Toad . We can't wait for next year's line up.
I have written before about our Friend Fridays and the important role they play in our homeschool. One of the many activities that has fallen on Friend Friday is attending a local children's theater to see performances of some of our favorite children's books.
Back in October we joined friends to see a production of Charlotte's Web – and we all loved it. Then the Children's Theater did a production of Beauty and the Beast that we chose to skip, but our friends enjoyed seeing, and last Friday we had the opportunity to see The House at Pooh Corner with some of these same friends. Next month we hope to see A Year with Frog and Toad – which Jack and I have just started reading together.
The morning of the play, we finished up the book and the stories about Winnie-the-Pooh were still fresh in our minds. Since the book is by an English author, I found myself having to explain more to Jack. There were also more characters to keep up with. I kind of wish we had chosen to listen to an audio version of this book... maybe another time.
While the showing of Charlotte's Web was packed, The House at Pooh Corner was only about two-thirds full when we saw it. The play was cute, but the kid that played Tigger made the play. Isaac and the other little guy in our group thought Tigger was hilarious and they couldn't take their eyes off the stage!
While Charlotte's Web really followed the storyline from the book, I found The House at Pooh Corner blended story lines and left out a lot of (what I thought were) important elements. Either way I don't think the kids noticed and we still had an enjoyable time with our friends.
Afterward, we were able to walk over to Good Dog for hot dogs with one other family. Then we let our kids run wild at Coolidge Park, before ending with a carousel ride. Have I mentioned that we love where we live... and Friend Friday?
I will leave you with one of Pooh's poems/songs from the book since it has been in my head all week: The more it snows (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom),
The more it goes (Tiddely pom),
On snowing.
And nobody knows (Tiddely pom),
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom),
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom),
Are growing.
If you've been following along, here are our previous Friend Friday adventures this school year:
For the last year, the kids and I have been meeting informally with a group of friends on Fridays – we call it "Friend Friday."
I'm not really sure how it started, and we don't always meet on Friday, but it has become a staple in our week, and the kids are always bummed when we miss out.
Sometimes we do educational trips – like going to see the Nina and the Pinta when they came to Chattanooga. Other times we go for short hikes. And still other times we just hang out and the kids play. It's a great way for the kids to have fun together and it's a nice break for us mamas as well.
When we decided to homeschool, it made me feel good knowing we already had this group to do fun things with. Since we are homeschooling and our circle of people has gotten smaller, I have been working to extend our Friend Fridays to more of our homeschool friends.
So each Friday this year, we will be joining a group of friends to play and have fun, and also to learn. To kick off our very first official Homeschool Friend Friday, we decided to meet at Coolidge Park to play. The fountains were turned off for maintenance purposes, but we still had a fun day.
We each brought picnic food and blankets to sit in the shade. There were balls for playing in the field. And the kids spent some time climbing the giant magnolia trees under the Walnut Street Walking Bridge.
We ended our day by riding the carousel – Isaac was not a fan, and this photo pretty much sums up what he thinks about homeschool.
Overall, it was a wonderful way to kick off our Friend Fridays now that school is officially in session. Check back on Fridays to see our weekly outings.
