Our Tepee

(click onthe picture to go to the album)

This are some of the pictures of our tepee.. we play there, we read there, and when a storm is coming , we run to the tepee to feel the storm closer.. we just love it!

and some of the pictures of Willowbrook wild life center, where they do rehabilitation to different animals that people bring there, or they find in the wild.. The boys were so excited and they learned so much that day!

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Estas son algunas fotos de nuestro tepee, nosotros jugamos ahi, leemos ahi, la pasamos super bien!, incluso aveces cuando una tormenta fuerte esta llegando, nos metemos todos en el tepee para disfrutar y sentir la tomenta de una manera mas intensa. . Y las otras fotos son de un centro de rehabilitacion y vida salvaje, donde acepta animales heridos ue la gente lleva o que encuantran en el bosque. Los ninos disfrutaron tanto ese dia y aprendieron mucho!..

Valedictorian speech

Great speech given by Erica Goldson..

Thanks to my friend Cathy ! you are always so inspiring !

This is the exact thing I needed to read tonight..

I wish I was a super woman

I have been so busy lately, that I hardy took pictures ofthe last field trips we have done..
and so much has been going on at home, my life, the kids... but well ...I'm doing my best! That's life right?
We are trying to go to different forest preserves every week... It is so much fun, we get together with friends and we come back home full with ideas to investigate or just talk about new animals with dad. Sadly the truth is that sometimes I am so tired , or just so busy with cooking and cleaning the mess we left behind before going out that I can say 50% of the time, I don't help them do their research about animals.. or whatever questions they have.. I answer with my knowledge and then.. off I go to cook! .. of course when we have time again I go back to those questions and try to go deeper. (or go to the library and look at books about those subjects.),but sometimes it is too late.!!.they are interested in something new....I wish I was a super woman... one that can capture those moments, and also keep the house clean AND go to field trips with the kids AND (really important for me), cook nourishing foods AND take the time to study every night...
Somehow our kids keep growing and learning... we made again our tepee and they have been playing a lot in there...Vincent, (maybe because we haven't done much "research") has been totally into the mood of "making his own things with wood".. so he has been working hard in his never ending boat project and a couple of days ago he hired his dad and grandpa to make their own wooden swords... and those have been the best toy ever....So at this point I am totally trusting : "Kids learn through play".. because my kids have been doing just that lately...

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Hemos estado yendo una vez a la semana a distintas reservas forestales , siguiendo nuestro goal de aprender sobre la naturaleza... a los ninos les encanta y es super entretenido., nos juntamos con amigos y volvemos a la casa llenos de ideas para investigar o super entusiasmados de llegar a contarle al papa todo lo que hemos visto... El problema es que cuando llegamos aveces no tengo el tiempo de investigar mas profundamente sobre esos temas que los han apasionado durante el dia, porque 50% del tiempo tengo que ponerme a cocinar o limpiar el desastre que dejamos detras cuando salimos . Porsupuesto cuando tengo el tiempo trato de traer de vuelta esas inquietudes , o vamos a la biblioteca a ver libros sobre esos temas, pero aveces es demasiado tarde porque ya estan interesados en algo nuevo... y me siento super culpable..!.. Me encantaria ser una "super woman", una super mujer, una que puede capturar esos momentos magicos llenos de curiosidad, y tener la casa limpia todo el tiempo, de poder cocinarles comidas nutritivas, y darme el tiempo de estudiar todas las noches..( aspiro a dos horas diarias de aprender sobre medicina herbalica)

Pero de alguna manera, nuestros ninos siguen creciendo, hicimos denuevo el tepee y han estado jugando mucho ahi, y ahora Vincent, (tal vez porque no hemos tenido tiempo de hacer mucha investigacion o tareas), esta totalmente en la onda de hacer sus porpios juguetes de madera.. ha seguido trabajando super duro en su bote y hace un par de dias contrato a su papa y abuelo para que hicieran unas espadas medievales de madera.. Esos han sido los mejores juguetes!!

Bueno.. en este punto estoy tratando de confiar en el dicho de que : "Los ninos aprenden atraves del juego", porque sinceramente los mios han estado puro jugando!!