Grace, pre-K, age 5 (1st story)

While we were at Merlefest Chris and I took a "nature hike" led by our friend Phillip.  I must admit, I only went on this hike because I knew Chris and the girls really wanted to. In my mind a hike through the woods (racked with poison ivy, might I add) with Sarah Elizabeth (our little gravity challenged one) was not on the top of my list of things to do.  It ended up being a great walk and Phillip guided us through lots of trees and plants.  As we heard about each one Grace was collecting samples (leaves, flowers, seeds).  We bagged them up and on Monday morning she took them to school with a list of what the different samples were.  I thought that would be the end of it.  But I was wrong.
When I picked Grace up on Monday Gillian told me Grace had written 3 sentences about her nature hike and had plans to mount and label the samples on paper on Tuesday. I scanned Grace's work into the computer....

Here is what it said:

i wuz at the festevl. it was in the woodz and i picd plants.  i took a walc throo the parc. 

In case you can't read phonetically this is what that said:

I was at the festival. It was in the woods and I picked plants.  I took a walk through the park.

The circles around words mean they are "puzzle words"- words you can't sound out.  The underlined letters are phonograms she has learned.  From an educator standpoint, all that is AWESOME!  Way beyond what is "expected" at the end of Kindergarten- and she is not even in K yet!  I was one proud mama when I saw that, and Chris was, of course, a proud papa.  He loved that she was so into the whole nature walk.  Here is her poster of her samples....


Some samples: jug flwre (jug flower), ma apl leef (May Apple Leaf),  fern, toolip popler peder (Tulip Poplar Petal)


The lesson I learned from this experience:  just because I'm not into something, and all I can see is the potential for disaster I should not let that stop me from giving the girls a chance to experience something they might enjoy. If I had said NO to the nature walk I don't think we would have had the opportunity to see this natural expression of what Grace is capable of.  Hopefully I can remember that for next time....

In the town where I was born, lived a man who sailed the seas...

In her "ballerina pose".

That's right "Yellow Submarine".  Grace danced in the Spring ballet this weekend and in the Beatles themed performance her group did "Yellow Submarine".  Below are some pictures from backstage before the performance and then at the bottom is a video.  Notice how focused and serious out little ballerina was. We were so proud of her!

Leah and Grace





Ready for the stage!





Our new pet, Lilly

The girls have been itching for a pet of their own. Apparently ol' Guinness doesn't count.  Grace attempted to have a pet fly in an plastic jar and was beside herself when it died after 2 days.  (She blamed herself entirely, "if only he had eaten! I tried to feed him!" ) Chris and I were encouraged that she has gotten over her insect fear enough to keep a pet fly, but realized something else was necessary. 
Meet Lilly..... our pet hermit crab. The girls were so excited when Chris brought her home.

What could it be...



it's a hermit crab.

 There was some discussion over whether Lilly was a boy or a girl.  We decided on a girl and named her Lilly. In the car on the way to school the next morning this was the conversation:

GRACE: Mommy!  I know Lilly IS a girl.  DO you know why?
KJ: No, why?
GRACE: Because she is a HER-mit crab. Get it "her" means her, like a girl.
KJ: Wow Grace, that's really funny.  I guess she could be a girl.
SARAH ELIZABETH: I know, I know!  Because if it was a boy it would be a HIM-it crab.

I think I have told this story to almost anyone who reads this blog- but it is so worth posting.

HIM-it crab or HER-mit crab- PRICELESS!

The Bentley Band

The girls and Chris got into a drum jam a few weeks ago.  Here is a sampling of their collaboration:

Merlefest: Bentley performance videos (clogging and washboard/spoons)

These are some videos of our time at Merlefest:

Merlefest: Music, Moments, Memories

Merlefest 2011

We finally made it to Merlefest again.  The last time we went was 4 years ago, Grace was 1 1/2 and Sarah Elizabeth was merely a thought. We had such an amazing time that year that we made plans to return every year, but life had other plans and so this year we finally made it back to Wilkesboro, NC for an amazing weekend of camping, music, dancing, singing, painting, bubbles, slides, and FUN!

Face painted girls.

Merlefest is an extraordinary Bluegrass (plus other music) festival, it is such a "family-friendly" environment.  There is no smoking or drinking, so you don't have to worry about someone getting too crazy or ashing cigarettes over your kids. All the booths are run by community groups, and there is a giant kids area (Little Pickers) with arts/crafts, bouncy slides, a large sandbox, face painting, bubbles, and a painting wall- all FREE. Kids 12 and under get into the festival free too. In the Little Pickers area there is also a stage where performers for the kids play.  Grace and Sarah Elizabeth learned how to play the washboard and spoons on stage. 

Washboard girls, and mama getting ready to play the kazoo.

 Because there is this huge area plus an additional rest/relaxation tent with cots for napping children it made it easy to go around to the 10+ other stages to catch sets we wanted to see, then re-charge the kiddies in the kid area before we headed off again.



Sarah Elizabeth in Chris' sleeping bag.



Our camping crew.

 This year we camped at "Sewerfest" which added a whole new element to the weekend.  "Sewerfest" is located on the Wastewater Treatment Center, hence the name.  But there were no smells that you think would come along with that location.  We had a great spot, up on top of the hill, thanks to our friends Phillip and Melissa who camped with us Friday night with their son, Clay.  Phillip and Melissa are "Sewerfest" pros and hooked us up with a prime spot.  We were glad to have fellow campers to share hot dogs, pizza sandwiches, and s'mores with around the campfire. The girls were camping pros, all snug in their sleeping bags.  When we packed up Sunday morning they were quite sad to go, I see more camping in our future.



Clogging begins...



...and continues.



Another highlight this year was the Dance tent.  We did some Square Dancing, and lots of clogging.  The clogging was awesome! Grace and Sarah Elizabeth will tell you, "Shuffle-step, rock-step.  Shuffle-step, rock step." The Green Grass Cloggers were great teachers, the girls had so much fun. We visited the Dance tent for every clogging session, we even squeezed one in right before we headed home on Saturday.  After the session finished the girls had me track down their favorite dancer so they could say goodbye. They were like little clogging groupies.



Spirit of Sunday with Doc Watson

This year we also made sure to get tickets for Sunday so we could go to Spirit of Sunday with Doc Watson to hear him play some gospel bluegrass.  It was such a special experience to hear Doc play and talk about his love for the Lord.  It was a fitting way to kick off our last day, a time of reflection and thanks after a special weekend as a family dancing, singing, laughing, and playing together.

 We are vowing to make it an annual event, it really was a great weekend!

My next post will have some videos of the clogging and washboards/spoons in action....