Friday, October 17

Today was a lovely day at daycare.

Two of our youngest were here for the day, as well as three older alums, whose schools are closed for the day.

We are making pizza for lunch, but it is also the birthday of one of our friends, so we need to make cupcakes too.  Because of all the baking, our day is a little behind from the start, but it doesn't matter.  We go along doing what we need to do, having a good time.  By the time go out for our chicken walk, it is eleven.  When we make pizza, we try to be back by eleven fifteen to get our lunch ready for twelve.  It is so beautiful out today, it is more important to enjoy the sunshine than to be on time.

Our chicken walk takes us in a different direction from all our other walks.  We head south, up Lorimer Avenue, which takes us by an old stump between the sidewalk and the street.  Someone, we don't know who, has set out a collection of sea shells, rocks and sea glass.  It has been on display since the spring, and continues to change each time we visit.  There are often new items on the now crowded stump, even a penny that has been there since the very start.  We love to stop and look, touch, rearrange and sometimes add to the collection.  I love that the children understand that this is someone else's collection that has been set out to be shared. The kids never fuss when we tell them that we don't take the items from the stump.  We continue to visit it weekly, and observe how it changes.

When we arrive at the house where the chickens live, we are rewarded with a backyard visit to the  coop.  Usually we wave to the animals from the neighbor's driveway, but today, we are invited to go and talk to the chickens face to face.   It is funny to hear them answer us when we bock bock bock at them! We even get to see an egg that has been laid in the nesting box.

By the time we got back to the house, it is ten to twelve.  We go inside to roll out our dough, spread on homemade sauce, sprinkle cheese and put the pizzas in the oven.  While they bake we play outside until they are done. Lunch is late, but the weather is beautiful, and the kids are happy to play together, so no one seemed to mind.

Once daycare is through for the day, Kaileigh, Ayla and Chauncey join us for dinner. There is a sea shanty sing along at the Bucket Brewery in Pawtucket tonight, and they have all agreed to come along with me.  Some of my daycare families are planning to be there tonight, and I want to go and be with them too.  We talk, dance and have a great time.  Such a good way to end the week.