So today wasn't an "official" homeschool day.  By that I mean I didn't plan any curriculum and we have yet to touch a book.  Today doesn't get a star on the calendar because we don't do calendar on days we don't school at the house.  But today we learned and had fun!

This morning we went to Massabesic Audubon for a "Wee Wonders" lesson on birds.  The teacher, Miss Kim, is fantastic!  While River largely loves collecting pretty berries and leaves outside, Rigel really enjoys the material, which was on migration today.  The kids also got to see fish and frogs which River loved to touch because she's River!

Then back to the classroom for a craft.  Today was making a bird with flapping wings.  River took great care in her coloring to make it a rainbow bird. She normally doesn't seem to enjoy coloring too much, but today she loved it and was very proud of the result.

Then we drove to a fellow homeschoolers house to learn about beavers and see evidence of beaver activity.  While we didn't see any actual beavers, we did see a lot of trees that had been dragged away by beavers as well as areas where they are currently working on trees.

River and Rigel also had new nets that they had never used.  River decided to try to use hers as a hat.... it isn't.  In short, she got her head stuck (with part of the net filled with dirty leaves as well!)  It took a while, but we were able to get the net off in a couple of minutes and the cut on her forehead is minimal.

Rigel greatly enjoyed jumping from rock to rock. River takes a different tact...she just walks on in.  It wasn't long before the water was over the top of her boots.

River decided that all that lovely, goopy mud needed to be experienced. She finger painted herself and her shirt and generally had a wonderful time!

However before getting her in the car I had to try to get some of the mud off of her. I turned her shirt inside out, wiped her arms off with the shirt, and then let her run around shirtless...she's 3 after all.

The place with the beavers also had baby ducks.  River LOVED holding them!

And thus ends another day of homeschooling Velez style.  I'm realizing that I need to loosen up.  That my immediate initial reaction to not go see the beavers because we were going to do "academic" stuff in the afternoon can be let go.  There can be lots of kinds of learning...and it isn't all in books.  So today we didn't read or writing or compute.  But we shared and touched fish and met other children and figured out where a couple new New Hampshire towns are.  It was a good day....mud and stuck head and all!