School or No School

Did we have school or Friday, or didn't we? I'm not sure.

We didn't do any of our normal school activities. I told Sparkle that we weren't doing school. However, I'm sure that there was some sort of learning going on. Friday was the monthly meeting of our homeschool group, followed by a picnic in the park and a Valentine's party for the homeschool group. After playing in the park, both girls would crash, and then I had to get ready for babysitting the neighbor kids in the evening. So, I knew there would be no time for formal school activities.

I started the day by deciding to have Sparkle make the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the picnic. I've avoid having her cook in the past because I don't like mess; however, I decided that she's old enough to learn, and eventually it will make things easier for me. Plus, she'll probably enjoy eating the sandwich more knowing that she made it.

I took out the bread, peanut butter, and jelly for Sparkle, as well as a plate, knife, and plastic baggies. Sparkle did the rest: unscrewing the lids (righty-tighty; lefty-loosey), spreading the peanut butter and jelly, assembling the sandwiches, and putting them in baggies. I even had her put away the jars and wipe the table when she was done.


Of course Glitter wanted to help too. She wasn't content with taking the bread out of the bag and putting the finished sandwich in the baggie. She wanted to spread the peanut butter too, and I gave in to the mess and let her.


Then it was off to the homeschool meeting. Sparkle is in her own class with a bunch of other girls. Glitter and I hang out in the baby/toddler room. She is supposed to play with the other kids and toys, but mostly she just sits in my lap. When she finally got brave enough to investiate some toys on her own, I took these pictures.


Then it was off to the park to eat the PB&J sandwiches the girls made.



After lunch and all the other families gathered we had the Valentine exchange. For each age group, the kids placed their boxes on the picnic table and then got in line to deposit a valentine in each box. Both girls got a ton of valentines (and candy!) in the plastic jars I had decorated with cut-out hearts.


Finally, because so many families were able to make it to the party, we had a group photo of the kids. Some of the kids were a bit shy, but most were really good about squishing together.


Then Sparkle and Glitter played and played and played and played and played.