Out in the World

We have had so much going on this month that it has been hard to keep up;  truthfully, when the kids leave at 3, blogging is the last thing on my mind. Mostly I need a big glass of water and a long walk. Sometimes I do both. Sometimes I just sit on the couch and breathe.

We have been on three fieldtrips in the past two weeks, and below are pix of them. The first trip was to the Shakespeare Tavern for A Christmas Carol; they do an incredible job of this play, told in a storytelling style with an ensemble cast, each of whom plays multiple characters.

Our second trip, a last-minute one, suggested by Mandy, our lovely parent chaperone and sometimes-substitute teacher, was to the BAPS Hindu temple in Lilburn. One of our students was studying world religions, and this seemed like a great place to experience one of the oldest religions. The temple was breathtaking.

This temple took only 17 months to complete, but that isn't even half of the story. There are three kinds of marble used in this temple, and not a single piece of metal joins it. The temple is hand-carved by craftsman in India, some working on the same piece hundreds of miles away from each other. The pieces are then shipped to Atlanta where they are joined using a cetral piece that is turned and locks all of the pieces in place, or they are locked into each other, like these columns:

Ella talks more about it in her blog, too. Mandy (our intrepid parent chaperone) took a lovely picture of us to end the day:

Our final field trip was not a whole-school trip; rather, just a few students and I went to Atlantis Hydroponics to take a class on hydroponics. Sarah's first attempt at hydroponics did not end so well (rotten roots and smelly water), so we decided to try to figure out what went wrong and  get some professional advice. David and Robin were AMAZING. The girls...

pollinated Chinese eggplant,

planted green peppers (in December!!),

 

 

and took advantage of free samples.

 



Sarah started some spinach and lettuce seeds, so we will see how that goes.

Looking forward to 2013 and more adventures in the world! Julius Caesar, manatees and ziplines are just a few of the highlights as we move forward. Look for other pictures of our last day before the break; I have surprises planned!