The last few weeks of summer are always bittersweet for me. I have to say, I love having my kids at home. We have such fun together! They are inquisitive and spirited and are usually up for anything I suggest!
The last few weeks we have done quite a bit of fun things and most of them have been because of our local library! We spend a LOT of time at our library during the year, but in the summer we are there constantly! They have incredible summer programs for kids. Just this year, MAP was able to join their Mock Newbury Book Club, which he loves! What avid reader wouldn't love getting their hands on galleys of books that haven't been published yet? A reader's dream come true!
We can request books our library doesn't have from other libraries, which is perfect for when we get really into a topic and need more books! The librarians are always so helpful in suggesting new books and authors. It's just a magical place. Thank goodness for Ben Franklin and his idea of the library!
A few years ago I learned of the libraries Museum Passes. The library buys passes to many local museums and places of interest and then you can reserve and borrow them! What a find! We have really used them this summer!
We went to see the newly reopened Vanderbilt Planetarium! We watched a few of their new shows, toured their amazing grounds and had a picnic with friends! What a day!
We traveled into NYC with 2 friends and 8 kids between us ages 1-11 and took three subways to get up to the Guggenheim in order to see the magical exhibit by light art virtuoso James Turrell (that is a quote from my son by the way...)
When you walked in, the rotunda was all encased to be a part of the installation. It was magical. You weren't supposed to take pictures, but after we left, we were informed that some of the younger set had taken pics unbeknownst to us with their ipods/phones. whoops. And thank goodness, because look how beautiful....You lie on the floor and look up and see this....and the colors change gradually....it is so peaceful.
Just beautiful.
I wish I had been able to take a picture of our children all lying on the padded ground gazing up together, some of them holding hands.... This was the only shot I was brazen enough to take.
After touring the museum, we took the kids to Central Park. The were all walking together, a little way in front of us. They turned to enter the park and they stopped and let out an audible "Wow!"
They found this amazing guy, making ginormous bubbles with two fishing rods tied together.
You never know what you are going to see in this amazing city! We HEART NY!
And what is a trip to NYC and Central Park without a good rock climb!
One day we went to the Walt Whitman birthplace, which I had never been to before! What a surprise to learn it was across from the Walt Whitman Mall and that where the mall stands now had been Whitman's family apple orchard!
We toured the house. It was incredible to see the details and furniture of the time. However, only one chair was original to the house, but it is still worth seeing for the items that have been collected are in the style of the period, with lots of knick-knacks that were useful in those times. The kids really enjoyed learning about the time and asked some really good questions!
I LOVE the blue! And the wide planks. Swoon!
Here we are in the gardens with our friend. She and my LMO consider themselves practically twins since they were born less than 24 hours apart. They are both sweet and spunky and a ball to be with, so maybe they are?
MAP is having a moment with Walt. Leave it to my boy to ham a picture up.
Our last trip was to the Long Island Children's Museum (LICM for short) We have been going there for AGES now, but they are always doing something new and exciting!
This summer, they hosted a puppet festival and we were THRILLED to see that our favorite Puppeteer, Steve Petra was going to be there! And not only was he going to perform a puppet show, BUT he would also be having a puppet workshop!! WOW! We were SO in! We grabbed another friend and off we went.
The show was hilarious and the workshop was fantastic! My son was chosen to go onstage and got to work with Steve, which was hysterical! The next day, when I checked Facebook, there was the post from the LICM! And look who was on it!
WHEW!
I would NOT have been able to do all this with the kids if not for the library passes. They truly made our summer!
Looking at this I can see we really did a lot of amazing things together this summer. And it makes them going back to school tomorrow a little easier. I really do love spending time with these two. They are just so eager to experience things and open to learning and just a heck of a lot of fun.
Now, I have to go tell them to stop reading and put their lights off, AGAIN! Tomorrow, the bus will be coming!
Learn on!
