Lately: The School Edition

We've been busy with fun school activities lately, and now that spring is almost here, our extracurricular activities are picking up as well. Here's a peek into what we've been up to in the last week:

Both boys had their final Hands On Art lessons last week. Henry's class studied Mondrian,

while Will's class studied Kandinsky. I have been so lucky again this year to be part of the Hands On Art teaching team and teach the lessons for both boys' classes (along with several others).

Friday was Go Texan Day, so Henry donned his cowboy hat.  

Friday was also the big fourth grade field trip to Austin! The school chartered five buses, and the entire fourth grade was off on a trip to Austin and back! I helped chaperone for Will's class, and we were on the bus at 5:20 am. Despite the early morning, the kids were energized and ready for the adventure.

Our first stop was the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. I'd never been before and this was a highlight for me. Back when I was in grad school in Austin, the site where the museum now stands was grad student parking. 

The museum is fantastic and our favorite part was seeing La Belle, the 17th century French ship, which was discovered in 1996 in Matagorda Bay. Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, was sent to explore the New World in 1684. He was supposed to set up a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi, but he ended up in Texas, lost all his ships, and was murdered by his own men. 

We explored the rest of the museum, from the early days of Stephen F. Austin's colony to space exploration.

After our museum visit, it was time for lunch on the Capitol grounds, followed by a photo of the entire fourth grade on the Capitol steps. 

After visiting the Capitol Visitors Center, we toured the Capitol. Our tour even included a stop in the Speaker's private apartment.

We had a great time in Austin and arrived back in Houston right at 6pm, exhausted and ready to head home for Gene's pizza and then a cozy bed! 

 

Both boys are playing soccer this spring and Henry's first game was Sunday afternoon. 

Will made the Name That Book team again this year. Competition is this Wednesday and the team is getting serious, with extra evening practices. 

NTB rules: Go team!

The 2016 NTB team: these kids work so hard to read, reread and practice quotes from the 30 books on the NTB list. 

And when we're not busy with school or our many extracurricular activities, the boys can be found playing together.

What a week!