A Very Artgarden Thanksgiving

Today was the Artgarden Montessori Thanksgiving Feast and Parent Visitation Day as well. (It's the main reason why we postponed Leia's surgery. And I'm so glad we did!)
After I dropped off Annie at Godmommy Laurie's (because siblings weren't allowed), Brian and I headed to school to catch the performance! The first thing that happened (after I dropped off my homemade pumpkin pies, that is) is that Leia Rose spotted us and came running up to give us big kisses! I wasn't expecting for her to break formation, of course, so I happened to be ready to snap this picture! I'm so glad I have it, actually. There's just no greater joy for a Mamma than to be loved so much by her child!
The kids did a wonderful rendition of "Let's Go Down to the Crawfish Hole, "The Ballad of Louisiana LaRue (and the Alligator)," and "B-I-N-G-O." (I'll try to post one of them at the end, but they're quite long, so I can't promise.)

In between songs, Leia Rose went to join Mrs. McDowell on the sidelines, . . . with her hands in her pants (a fun new habit).
And then I was presented with a beautiful Thanksgiving turkey!!! Leia Rose was so very proud! Then it was time for parent visitation, and we got to follow Leia Rose around the room while she did her "works." It was wonderful. And first she had to go potty (which she really wanted to do right before the performance), so what better way than for us to observe the hand-washing work?!? [Just a little side note. I'm convinced now that, with few exceptions, Leia Rose comes up with her own names for works.]
The "Farm Work." (Leia Rose was explaining that she loved to allow animal families to "visit" each other by swinging the fences open an allowing them to pass through.)

"The Tracing Work" (I kept trying to call it the "prewriting work," and kept getting corrected.) And this triumphant face is evidence that our "S" practice the other day worked! Leia Rose isn't spelled with a "Z" this time!!! : ) Please enlarge the picture and see! : ) Leia was so proud!!!
And here's another really special thing: a Tyrannosaurus puppet that Leia Rose got the idea for herself! She just finished a picture of a Tyrannosaurus and said, "Mrs. McDowell, I think I want to make this one into a puppet. Can you help me?" And here is her wonderful masterpiece. (Mrs. McDowell also said that almost every other student followed suit. That's our little leader!)
Then it was time for the nature table, and Leia Rose and I had a neat conversation which started with my comment of, "I bet you're going to be a scientist when you grow up." And she replied, "No, I'm going to be a Mamma!" Couldn't help smiling!
And finally it was time for the work that Leia Rose has been the most excited about lately: the "How to Draw" books. She did three right while we were there! A bird, a fish, and a horse! She has been SOOO into these that I decided to document the basic procedure for one work (the fish). The other two are just the original picture and then her completed work. I just thought she'd like to remember this someday. : )

Right after picking up the work, Leia Rose spotted her special turkey centerpiece! (She said she knew it was hers because it had a "curly wing." So we stopped to take a few photos. Her "turkey kiss" was unprompted, . . . she just felt like kissing her turkey! : )

And then I just got impressed with their neon tetra fish . . .
and their cool fish on the bulletin board.

This was while Leia Rose was busy making a really cool Pilgrim hat. I was most impressed that she made a "buckle" by trying to cut out the middle of a square of cardboard. I kept asking if she had a lesson on this, and she kept saying "no." With no adult supervision, she sure did a GREAT craft! Children are amazing!

Then I had to book it out of there to go and get Annie from Laurie so she could go get the boys. Sadly, though, I missed the whole Thanksgiving Feast, . . . where Leia Rose announced what she was thankful for which was "leaves." Which makes lots of sense considering my next post. : ) Mrs. McDowell would tell me later that Oliver, the little boy from England, said "America" as what he was thankful for, totally unprompted. So very interesting!!!
So, what's wrong with this picture? Yeah, even Annie noticed that something was amiss. I was really rushing to get back to the feast. So much so that I didn't realize I was buckling little Annie into Leia Rose's booster seat! And I drove all the way back to Artgarden with her like that! Yikes!
The Feast Before
The Feast After (and I'm happy to say that my pumpkin pies were such a hit that I didn't even get to taste them, but I didn't leave without some pumpkin spice coffee and some store-bought pumpkin pie, . . . that became my diet lunch)
And I made the mistake of giving Annie a whole sugar cookie (with sprinkles) to keep her occupied at the end. Yeah, it kept her occupied all right. Right down to the very last crumb. Now for a rousing round of "I'm a Mess, I'm a Mess, I'm a big ol' Messy Mess!" Ha!