Fall in on our mind and in our books
October’s book club meeting focused on books about Fall. Some children talked about passages in their favorite books in which their characters were going through the Fall season, while others discussed traditional Fall items like pumpkins and the changing of leaves. Several of the children created artwork inspired by their books to share as well.
Down on the Farm
What a fabulous day! The kids loved petting, feeding and learning about all the animals–especially the baby donkey. Then we played in boxes of corn, jumped on hay bales, got lost in the corn maze and took a hay ride to the pumpkin patch. It was a great follow-up to our October 4-H meeting, as we got to see real pumpkin vines with flowers and green pumpkins as well as the ripe orange ones. Some of the kids even chose green pumpkins to take home. 
How Pumpkins Grow
Pumpkin fun! We talked about the life cycle of the pumpkin, while each child made a mini-book showing the seed, sprout, vine, flowers, and fruit. Afterwards, we examined some real pumpkins and ate some roasted pumpkin seeds and pumpkin bread. Yum!
Hands-on Museum Tour
We enjoyed a guided tour of the Artworks Gallery at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts this week! Our tour included several activities related to the various exhibits and ended with an art project. We love the museum!
A zoo at the zoo
What a fun trip to the zoo this month. We headed straight for the train for a quick tour of the place. Then we all had the same thought, we needed to go feed the otters! Well we checked out all the animals along the way, but finally we made it to the otters. Unfortunately all the school groups that also decided to go to the zoo that day had also thought to feed the otters. They were full and wanted nothing to do with our food. The kids were great sports though and were more than happy to burn off their disappointment playing on the playground. Hopefully our next monthly trip will be both cooler and way less crowded.
A Shady Afternoon
We enjoyed a long walk at a shady park during the heat wave this week. It was tough coaxing the kids away from the playground, but the walk became an adventure, with something new to see around every corner and the search for “clues”–although it was never quite clear what the “mystery” was. 
Animal Reports!
Our September meeting brought forth a beautiful day for the park. This month we listened to some of the kids give animal reports. We enjoyed listening and learning about Sphynx cats, Eastern Screech Owls, dogs, lizards, butterflies, and Giant Pandas. After that the kids ran and played on the playground enjoying the wonderful weather.