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10.11.2013

FIELD TRIP AT THE BOAT BASIN


fall is here! the air has snapped, everything feels crisp, our shorts have traded places with our scarves... we even busted out our sweaters today. on our way home from the playground we stopped for some cocoa--gotta keep those fingers warm! is the excuse i like to pull out for things like this. 

fall means a new school year, and huck's play school has started up again. and since i get a lot of questions about play school and, you know, since that's what a blog's for is writing about junk, here we be. buckle up, we're talking logistics. 

soooo, play school. there are a lot of kids in my church congregation, and a few years back some of the moms in our congregation decided to organize a little co-op preschool situation. it follows the traditional school year and is organized by age. 

every age group handles their structure differently, depending on the moms involved and their kids' needs. the 18-month and unders are getting together once a week for a play date. last year, huck's 2-3 year class met tuesdays for a short lesson, a craft, some free play, and lunch. this year we're meeting twice a week, the first day for a traditional lesson geared to their age, the second day for a field trip to one of the hundreds of crazy educational opportunities we have rolling around here in the city. museums, interactive playgrounds, story times at various libraries, we're even going to throw in a ferry ride around the harbor and a trip to visit the santa at macy's in december. 

the entire thing is organized and run by the moms, and we each have creative control of the curriculum on the days we host. "there is no paid clergy!" (mormon joke.) we have one google doc where we sign up to host/teach or be the extra pair of helping hands (this year our lessons days are drop-off style. yeah, it's ambitious), and another google doc where we have all of the field trips planned out for the year. our curriculum is literature-based. we start with a favorite children's book and flesh it out from there. we have the structure broken down into 15-minute increments to make it less intimidating for the mom in charge of planning. a welcome song, the weather and season and day of the week, the letter of the day, a book, an activity, some music, then crafting, the snack (my favorite part--hah!), and then free play. it's a lot, and it's wonderful. huck looks forward to his play school days all week long, and every night at bedtime we talk about all of his best play school friends. 

(if you're interested, the days i hosted last year are HERE and HERE and HERE.)

last week we kicked off the new school year with a lesson day about pumpkins and the letter A, and then on thursday, while the last of the soupy summer was still holding on, we hit the boat basin on the east side of central park and rented us some mother effin remote-controlled sail boats. (i've had that mcsweeny's gourd essay i posted on monday stuck in my head all week. so.)

soooooo here are a few photos from our morning of sailing. (is anyone reading this still? i could probably throw out something like "and then my kid was eaten by a crocodile" right here and nobody would notice.)





after our 30 minutes with the boats were up, we parked it on the grass for a quick picnic. huck had such a grand time. he's been hosting picnics with his squishy penguins on the living room rug ever since.


so that's it! life is pretty good when you're a huckleberry and your mom and all ya friends' moms are nutballs.

39 comments:

  1. these pictures are great and i love the co-op idea :)

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  2. what a cool way for huck and his friends to learn! i think it's so awesome to be taking opportunity of the many learning activities provided in NYC! heck, i would want to be doing that! if only i could rewind the clock......yay adulthood.

    great photos! totally feeling the major skipper/gilligan vibe! please do it for halloween!! too cute.

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  3. I am sooooooo gonna do a similar playschool type thing...one day, one day. God willing health! But yes.

    Your co-op preschool rocks the casbah. Trust.

    Also: adorable Huck! SQUEEE!

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  4. These pictures of him KILL me! I can't even handle it. Looks so fun!

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  5. lovely boy ♥...seems like it was a lot of fun!!!
    http://cuissesdemouche.canalblog.com/

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  6. What?? Huck was eaten by a crocodile?!?! Ha! kidding of course. Your darling boy is getting so big! But as always, AH-DOOR-AH-BUL! :)

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  7. I love the play school set up! And I always read all the way through your posts. Otherwise I'd miss out on the crocodile-type shenanigans.

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  8. Hi! When will we know about the last giveaway? :)

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  9. I would be very upset if Huck was eaten by a crocodile.

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  10. play school is such a good idea! -Hanna Marie

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  11. So awesome. I wish we had that kind of set up here in South Florida! And I'm with ya, 4 year olds don't need all day pre-k. They are only little for so long!

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  12. I think it's great the mom's get together & host something! That little outfit of Huck's is by far the cutest x

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  13. Your posts always make me smile :)

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  14. I remember going to Joy School as a little girl so distinctly. These are great memories for Huck! It's where I learned to tie my shoes!

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  15. What a great group! I think mom preschool is far better than a $15,000/semester preschool any day.

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  16. so ambitious but sounds so worth it. my son is about 21 months old (how the heck did that happen?) and i work full-time, so it's very hard to find a play group/play school situation. i admire all the work you do into putting this time together, it's so good for those cutie pies.

    http://semiweeklyeats.blogspot.com/2013/10/rainy-weekend.html

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  17. Amazing! Such a great idea. School is so goll darn expensive at any age. LOVE this. And love Huck's lounging pose in the last picture. He's livin' the dream. ;)

    http://sometimesgracefully.com

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  18. I love this co-op idea! I totally want to find something like this. Right now I'm in a MOMS club and do weekly play dates, but once Noah is older I'd love more structure with learning involved.

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  19. Ha! Can't fool me. I might have fallen for that "eaten by a crocodile" if you had said alligator, cause everyone knows there's alligators in the sewer system of NYC! But a crocodile? nah

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  20. Awwww... that Henry Holbrook. Caleb is lucky to have him.

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  21. i'm glad he wasn't eaten by a crocodile. that would have been a terribly dark turn.

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  22. Yep, still reading. :)

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  23. Not the crocodiles!!!!

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  24. I was still reading . . . .more, more, more. Love the hat for the little Huck . . . .and what a great set-up.

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  25. This is so clever! And I read the whole thing!

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  26. Where did you get that super cool sailboat Huck is having so much fun with? I've been searching for a good one for ages for my guy! I loved this post. You make my days brighter.

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  27. Where did you get that super cool sailboat Huck is having so much fun with? I've been searching for a good one for ages for my guy! I loved this post. You make my days brighter.

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  28. We would totally notice Natalie. That Huck is too cute!

    Heather
    southernnorth.com

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  29. In love with the idea of a city that has so much for every age. Oh, New York.

    And so glad the crocodiles stayed away ;)

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  30. Just curious, are you Mormon?

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  31. Hahaha, I love the pictures! It looks soooo fun, hahahaha.

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  32. Huck has a wonderful childhood. Love the last picture of your Huck. And I love that you and other moms have your own preschool and have a whole curriculum for the year. If I am ever blessed with children of my own I am going to do the same.

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  33. HUCK IS SO HANDSOME! seriously, what a cutie you have Natalie. I love reading about the ways on raising children in NYC...I really want to move there someday, and although I'm not married or have children, I think raising them there would be wonderful. You really do have a beautiful life:) and yes I always read your entire essays! xoxo

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  34. so so darling. your blog is fabulous!

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  35. I just went to a pre school fair in my area (DC) looking for a play school for next fall when my kid will be 2. i had no idea what i was in for!!! play/pre school is intense. we've decided to try to make ourselves in a co-op situation like yours. smart, smart lady. thanks for the info.

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  36. superb pics. really i'm glad to this blog..very cute babes.keep sharing like this.thank u so much. Preschool in India

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