River Flows in You

Here is my latest favorite piano piece that I've been working on. It's called River Flows in You by Yiruma. I've memorized it, and here is the end result. Enjoy!
~posted by Carly

Gettting Ready For Giving

(written by Carly)

Getting ready for Thanksgiving for us, means a day of pie making! This year we cranked up our favorite music on Pandora (your own personal radio station) and set to work.

I made an apple pie (and didn't drop it on the floor, like last year:),

Micayla made a blueberry pie,

Allie made a banana creme pie,

Nate made a pumpkin pie, Mom baked a maple pecan pie, and each of us kids made four little ones to eat ourselves (we used cute little 4 inch pie tins for the mini pies. We found them at: Classic Cake Decorations.)

We also made a couple of unedible treats for our family. Little folded fortunes! You can print the paper cut outs and sayings for free at Kind Over Matter (click on freebies). We are going to set them on each person's plate so they can find it when they go to sit down at their place. We also created a fun Thanksgiving word search! You can customize any type of puzzle at: Puzzle Maker. The word searches are a lot of fun to figure out with family. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Art Farm

We have discovered a great new art teacher, right here in LB! Her name is Shannon Buchanan and her studio is called the Art Farm; it's a really neat place.

She has a magic wardrobe where we get to pick what size canvas we want to paint on. Then we sketch what we want to paint (sometimes using an image to help us), and then we start painting!

On our first visit to Shannon's Art Farm, Allie painted a sugar glider,

Micayla a pointe shoe,

and me a kitten.

Nate got to paint too!

We have a lot of freedom in choosing what we want to paint, and which canvas we'd like to work with. As we work Shannon gives us painting tips and suggestions. My next painting will be a 7 layered cake, Micayla a moose, and Allie doesn't know what she'll paint next.

The Art Farm is located in a really cool warehouse where there are paintings everywhere, and 7 easels for students. There are snacks and drinks for anyone who is thirsty or hungry, beautiful music playing in the background, and even a library to look in if we need some inspiration! Also, there is Shannon's adorable cat "Kitten DoodleBean" that you may see hanging around. If you're looking for a great art teacher, check out Shannon Buchanan and the Art Farm!

~Written by Carly

Learning at the Lagoon

Warming up with a little soccer!
Getting ready for exploration...

Every second Thursday of the month, Education Director Taylor Parker ("The Lagoon Dude", as we affectionately call him:), takes a group of homeschoolers on a marine biology/ecology exploration at the Colorado Lagoon. He has the kids measuring the depth of the water, testing the pH levels and salinity, learning about phytoplankton, sea sponges, sea squirts/brains, sea snails, sea jellies, sting rays, collecting algae, mussels, digging for clams, looking at creatures under microscopes, and identifying birds and plant life (among other things)! Taylor's enthusiasm for marine life is contagious; we learn something new every time and we love learning science "out of the book"!

San Diego Botanic Garden

This week we met up with our good friends in S.D. County and went to the beautiful San Diego Botanic Garden. We visited the Mexican Garden, the Bamboo Garden and Pond, the Herb Garden, the African Garden, the Tropical Rain Forest and Waterfall, the Subtropical Fruit Garden, the California Gardenscapes, and the Children's Garden. Such an incredible place; we could have spent the entire day there and still not seen all of the gardens.

Allie's favorite was the Bamboo Garden, "There were tons of really tall bamboo and bamboo that was red and yellow. It felt like China".

Micayla's favorite was the Mexican Garden. She liked the fountain, the topiary mariachis, and all of the succulents like the agave and aloe vera plants.

Carly liked the Tropical Rain Forest and Waterfall because, "it was really pretty, and really big with lots of lush tropical plants".

Nate loved the Children's Garden where there was a huge tree house, musical instruments to play, and Indian storytelling.

And we all loved the Subtropical Fruit Garden where there were papaya, guava, guava-pineapple, apricot, orange, lychee, peach, olive, avocado, lemon, and a variety of banana trees.

This is definitely a place we'd like to visit again. Many thanks to the Kaihatu family for sharing one of San Diego's treasures with us.