Fairy Garden Update

Photos are from two days ago (the first three photos) and this morning (the final photo).  --Victoria

Tamar's Fairy Garden

One of the gifts that Tamar received for her birthday was a kit for a "fairy garden" (from Aaron's parents, Yuri and Susan).  She loved playing with the tiny adorable gardening tools before we set it up, and she kindly let Daniel play with them as well (he is obsessed with the idea that we will be digging).


This past weekend, we set up the kit -- first we reconstituted the compressed soil with water and stirred it, then we assembled the structure (setting up the plastic plant that can act as a waterfall), then added the soil and the decorative elements, then we carefully planted the seeds and watered them with the tiny (adorable) watering can.  Tamar was delighted about all of this and Daniel joined us partway through (and Tamar kindly let him help).  Then we set the garden on the counter in a sunny place so the seeds can germinate.  I loved explaining to the twins how plants grow and that they need sunshine and water and earth with vitamins to make them strong.


--Victoria


P.S.  Update from this morning -- the seeds are starting to sprout!  Now we only have to keep our enthusiastic gardeners from "digging" the plants. 

Karate (sparring gear)

Benji and Aaron are now signed up for an advanced karate class.  This includes "sparring" which means actually hitting an opponent and which requires special protective gear.  These photos show Benji wearing his sparring gear and Daniel wearing Aaron's gear!  Aaron and Benji both had fun at their first class although Aaron always reports that he gets pretty beaten up because he is usually matched with a 14 year old student who is a brown belt (that is, one level below a black belt).  Aaron says, "that kid, his legs are as long as my entire body, and he's FAST."  --Victoria

Tamar explains how windy it is

"Mommy, it's SO windy outside the car!  It's THIS MUCH windy!"


I love her measuring system.  :)


--Victoria

Blissful Weekend

This weekend, I spent Saturday with my folk dance group (along with Tamar and Daniel) at various street performance venues in the Adams Morgan area of DC.  The little ones loved watching the dancing and listening to the music, and they surprised me (and astonished my friends) by trying their best to join in the singing!


On Sunday the dance group reconvened at my friend Mary's house for brunch.  I brought all three kids and they were really well behaved.  I spent some time soaking up the zen from the many plants in the house.  Mary set up an area for the kids to play in her basement with some crafts and toys.  When Benji learned that Mary's birthday was the previous day, he gave her a picture he had drawn (a portrait of one of the Lego Ninjago ninjas, of course).  He also worked on a big homework project in the car on the way to and from brunch, and then he surprised me while we were there by saying that he wanted to keep working on the project before we headed home (that's what's going on in the fourth photo, which is a little dark).  We also went for a walk around the block with Mary and some friends and visited local dogs and admired Mary's garden.


It was a blissful weekend.


--Victoria

What Tamar & Daniel Do All Day

Every day when we pick them up, we get a report from the daycare about how much they ate, when they used the toilet, and what activities they did during the day.


3/15/17:  "Review numbers, played ABC bingo, made shamrock headband"


3/16/17:  "Listened to The Three Billy Goats Gruff and colored wood shapes to complete shamrock headbands"
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I love knowing what they do during the day, and anticipating what crafts they'll bring home in the future.  I'm also very grateful that their daycare is preparing them so well for pre-school next fall by working on numbers, letters, and social skills.


--Victoria
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Benji's School Project (Matthew Henson, Arctic Explorer)

Benji is working on a report about Matthew Henson, an African-American man who was one of the first Americans to reach the North Pole.  We used Benji's globe to figure out some of the places Henson had traveled (before he was an explorer in the Arctic, he worked aboard a ship in his teens and visited China, Japan, the Philippines, and France, during that time).  It's exciting to work with Benji and learn some interesting history! 


I spent some time reading about Henson to all the kids at dinner time, and they decided to "play Arctic explorer" after dinner.  This was aided by the play tent and tunnel that Victoria's parents sent to Tamar and Daniel for their third birthday, which quickly became an igloo.  All the stuffed dogs were turned into a sled team and several unlucky stuffed animals were hunted to keep us all fed.
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--Victoria
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