Fall Poetry Recital - Part 1

After Thanksgiving dinner the kids put on their fall poetry recital. My parents' good friends the Maynors had joined us for the afternoon, which worked out well since we want the kids to practice "performing" in front of more than just our immediate family. The selections were:

Meg and Nate - Psalm 84
Meg - Thanksgiving Day by Lydia Marie Child
Nate - The Elf and the Dormouse by Oliver Herford
Kate - The Little Elf by John Kendrick Bangs
Caleb - The Children's Catechism questions 1-4

I hope you enjoy these excerpts.

Fall Poetry Recital - Part 2

Meg had the most to memorize and she did a lovely job.

Fall Poetry Recital - Part 3

This year Nate chose the poem that Meg recited last spring. He really already had it memorized from hearing her practice, but it is such a cute poem I let him do it anyway.

Fall Poetry Recital - Part 4

This was Kate's first year to recite a poem. She did a good job and seems very comfortable "on stage" (no surprise there).

Fall Poetry Recital - Part 5

After Kate finished, Caleb automatically assumed he was next. He went running up to the "stage" and then realized he didn't know what to do once he got there. He managed a few shy, silly answers to my impromptu catechism questions. Now I know to have him prepare for next time.

Thanksgiving in Birmingham

working on a hole

Kate practicing phonics with Pappy

petting zoo at Oak Mountain State Park

Caleb and Mema hiking through the woods

out for Sunday dinner

Nature Day

One Friday in November we went to the Dunwoody Nature Center. Meg and Nate took their nature study notebooks and water colors and I packed paint and paper for Kate and Caleb. We spent some time collecting and painting specimens and playing around in the beautiful woods. The outing was even more fun since Erik took the morning off to join us.

Photo opportunities like this always make me wish I knew how to really use a camera. It seems nearly impossible to get the composition and lighting correct at the same time that all my subjects are cooperating. Maybe I could start by reading the manual that came with my camera and experimenting with something beyond the "auto "setting... Anyway, we enjoyed a gorgeous day together and I think it generally comes across in the pictures.

We're not trying to be artistic or pensive or romantic or anything here. We just weren't quite ready when the camera woman snapped the shot.

photo credit: Meg

Since our last visit (which was during the drought) I had forgotten about the stream. A little too cold to get wet this time, but we can't wait to go back in the spring to wade and build dams and see things in bloom!