Kindergarten experience

I volunteered at DD's kindergarten these past 2 days and I am impressed! I had a lot of fun and most importantly, a firsthand experience to see what my child is learning at school. The school structure here is very different than what we have in M'sia. Heck, I don't think we even have that at that age. The kindergarteners in this school have to learn (and obey) transportation procedures, classroom policy & procedures, lifeskills as well as basic writing and reading. Things that may seem simple and second nature to most of us adults for example responsibility, caring for self and property, friendship, collaboration, etc.; are integrated into the learning experience. In the 3.5 hours, the teacher's "friends" (as they are all refered to in the classroom NOT KIDS) learn to count, write, rhyme, listen, participate, discuss, solve problems, eat and chat as the teachers and parent helpers try to stay on schedule and organized. They have an agenda for the day to aid with the day's learning expectations. Some of them act a teacher helpers and are given weekly responsibilities - someone will be the line leader, someone to turn off the lights and someone to gather the chalk and bring it back to the classroom. I wish I was a kid again. It's so much fun in this learning environment.

Getting mad at golf

Had a free 18-hole round at Yarrow and I never thought I'd would say, I hated golfing. Nothing was working - drives, irons, putts. The only thing that was enjoyable about yesterday was DD spending her 1st 18 holes with her crazy parents. This kid braved the early frost temps to play with us. She was all bundled for winter and had more snacks than she can ever dreamed of and at the end of the day, still had energy to spend the remaining of the evening at Gull Meadows Farm jumping, walking, running, sliding and gliding through the activities. Where does she get the energy??? Hubby and I were aching in places we never knew existed and she is still going on how great the day was. Amazing. Oh and who says you can't bring a penguin to the golf course. :-)

Weekend therapy

We capitalized on the good weather and stained the deck this weekend. It took about 6+ hours collectively and we're still not done. We still have the outer railings to stain but this requires the ladder. I felt the 'karate kid' up-down-up-down kinda painting exercise. It's therapeutic sitting out there and just paint. Additionally, I planted more plants this weekend. Note to self, do not take / buy more plants than you can or have place to plant. Fall cleanup of the garden is also complete. I'm tired of battling all the diseases the insects brought with them while camping out at our yard. Take that....(for next year)

Fall arrival

Fall is finally here. The first mini frosts took out my beautiful coleus. The smell from the dead plant is quite strong and they had to be removed. I kept the unaffected foliages so the border does not look bare but this morning, I found most of the leaves curling due to the cold. I hate to see them go. Oh well...here's to next year's planting.