Catching Up

Wow, it has been a busy couple of weeks. We made it through to the end of the school year!! Hooray for Summer. We had so many End of Year Celebrations between Pre K and 2nd Grade that I could not keep up with my blogging! All fun stuff, but quite exhausting all the same.

I will add some photos of each of the events that occurred since my last entry on 20th June in the next few days!

Yesterday I had such a fun morning photographing sisters, Grace and Caroline. The girls have such different personalities. I had a great time interacting with them both and getting to know Grace a little more. The end results I am sure will please their proud parents. I cannot wait to "unveil" the full gallery to them, but for now here are just a few of them.

Early Summer Stroll at Rye Nature Center

Yesterday Campbell and I were relieved that it had finally stopped raining after a 24 hour torrential downpour and we were able to venture outside to join Gina and friends at Rye Nature Center.

The children started off by playing and exploring on the Natural Playground. They especially enjoyed clambering all over the giant "spider web".








We eventually commenced our "hike". It was rather slow going given that the average age of our explorers was probably 3! You just have to stop and examine everything in your path at that age.

We ended up not making it all the way to the pond, but due to all the rain we found a gigantic puddle that was as good as a pond.





Nola enjoying sharing the journey with her new "pet" worm, who all you PETA members will be pleased to learn, was released back into the wild after a while.

I learnt a great deal along the way this afternoon as Carmen was a wealth of nature knowledge. Thank you so much.

I did know this already, but thought it would be a good opportunity to share with you:

THIS IS POISON IVY!!!!!!

A (long) Walk in the Woods

Kids Unplugged met this week in Pleasantville. Nestled in the back of a quiet residential street is Hardscrabble Wilderness Area.

Once again we were a large group and I was especially happy that Melissa and Connor were finally able to join us.

The trail map was a little lacking in detail and quality and at times we were questioning our exact location. We spent a great deal of time exploring the babbling brooks, fascinating rock formations and trekking up and down the rolling hills.

We saw many of natures wonders, including a very well camouflaged frog, he sat and posed for us for a while before leaping off for cover. We also enjoyed the man made creations - the magnificent cairns that were situated just off the trail.

2nd Grade Field Trip to Stone Barns

This morning I accompanied Cameron's class to Stone Barns to continue their science lesson on seed germination.

It was yet another dull day, but fortunately for us it was at least dry. We have had so much rain in the past few weeks that I feel like I have been transported back to UK! The vegetables at Stone Barns seem to be flourishing as a result.

We started off our tour in the classroom where we all learned a little about the different types of vegetable that we eat and the names of the parts that are edible on some and not on others. It really got the children thinking a little more about the composition of the plants.

We moved on from the classroom to the field where the beehives are kept. Eileen, our guide, informed us that bees fly from 2 - 5 miles in search of plants from which to gather nectar. We talked about the importance of bees on the farm and their work as pollinators is such a vital role in our lives.

From there we ventured into the fields are were asked to assist the farmers in harvesting snow peas. We were given a quick lesson in identifying if the snow pea was ripe enough to be picked. Our group worked so hard that they ended up collecting more snow peas than two other groups combined! Well done Ms Moriarty's class.

We also saw a farmer harvesting lettuce for the restaurant and farmers market as well as fava beans.

The vast greenhouses were our last stop on the tour. Eileen showed us the tiny seedlings that had been started off in the greenhouse and then we saw a carrot, harvested by Eileen for everyone to see.

It was a fabulously educational visit for all of us and I was so glad to be able to accompany the children and learn so much.







I can never tire of spending time exploring around the farm. It is such a gem in our community.

Irish Dancing

On Sunday afternoon I had the privilege of photographing members of The O'Sullivan School of Irish Dance at their annual Feis.

First of all I did not even know what a feis was. What would I do without Google????

Feis (pronounced Fesh) is the Irish word for festival. The first Feis was held in Ireland in 1897 and was a celebration of the Irish culture including language, song, dance and creative writing. The Feis arrived in America in 1964. Though many Feisanna (plural for Feis) include language, writing and soda bread competitions, the focus is on Irish dancing.

The O'Sullivan School did not have any soda bread bake offs, but they certainly have some amazingly talented dancers. I was overwhelmed by their brilliance.

The day had got off to a rocky start as they had not been able to gain access to the venue and ended up having to set up a makeshift dance floor in the school cafeteria rather than the auditorium as orginally planned.

This did not seem to make a difference to the level of performance. I was entertained for several hours and throughly enjoyed myself. Thank you all for inviting me.

Opening Day at Fishkill Farms

This afternoon we headed north to Fishkill Farms. Somewhere else that we had never been before.

Our friend, and Director of Kids Unplugged, Gina had invited us to join her in celebrating the reopening of this fruit and vegetable farm in East Fishkill, NY.


Gina is working with Josh Morgenthau at the farm in offering a program called “Saturdays on the Farm,” a bi-monthly series of nature and farm-based activities for children and their grown-ups.

Fishkill Farms and its surrounding farmland, orchards, woodlands, pond, creek and meadows will serve as the backdrop for the adventures. Hands-on, sensory learning experiences include hiking, storytelling, nature games, crafting, treasure hunts, singing, creek walking, and farm chores.

We had a fabulous afternoon exploring the farm, learning about the crops, enjoying the music and sampling the local cheeses (Craig).

We look forward to more Saturdays on the farm over the next few months.

Sleepy Hollow Playgroup Shoot

On Thursday I had the opportunity to attend a playgroup in Sleepy Hollow and capture the young children having fun together.

They were joined by some of their older siblings too as preschool has ended for the year for some and Kindergarten children had early dismissal.

Seeing the little babies crawling/rolling about brought back great memories of playgroup when my boys were younger. How they change in a few short years!

I had fun crawling around on the floor after them! I had the added bonus of listening to Big Brother Ben playing his guitar. He is fabulous. I can just see him and his brother in a band in a few years time.

Thank you all for inviting me along to enjoy this playdate.

Wacky Wednesday - Croton Gorge Park

Every week I am more and more amazing at the beauty of our county and the fact that there are so many places that I have yet to discover!! Today was no exception. We left Tarrytown and headed north to Croton Gorge Park. Upon arrival into the park the boys and I were stunned by the magnificent sight and sound of the dam. I would love to go back and experience the view from above the dam, but this afternoon we headed towards the river and followed the white trail blazes. It was a beautiful hike with lots of natural points of interest, including sighting this yet unidentified (by me) critter!

River Day - Quadricentennial Celebrations

Yesterday was a day filled with local events in and around Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow once again.

This year marks the 400th Anniversary of the first European exploration of the Hudson River.

In 1609, Henry Hudson and his ship, the Half Moon, with a crew of Dutch and English sailors, ventured up the Hudson River from New York Harbor to present day Albany.

We celebrated this significant occasion, initially at Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow, where there was live music, poetry readings, artwork on display, an inter village soccer match and much more.

We had the opportunity to tour the Tarrytown Lighthouse, which stand majestically just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge. It was completed in 1883 and continued to light this section of the Hudson River until 1955 when the Tappan Zee Bridge was completed. The lighthouse was finally deactivated in 1961 as the bridge then served to guide vessels along their course of the Hudson River.

Richard Miller the Tarrytown Village Historian welcomes visitors periodically, call (914) 366-5109 for further information and to make reservations.

Tarrytown Lighthouse

Later in the afternoon the flotilla began to arrive in Tarrytown. The Mystic Whaler and The Clearwater were amongst them.

2nd Grade Field Day

This morning looked dull and dreary, reminding me of School Sports Day when I was Cameron's age. I was surprised that the school planned to go ahead with Morse Field Day as it really did not look like brightening up. However I was fortunately proved wrong and it ended up being the perfect day for children to run around and have fun. That they certainly did and so did the teachers!

The children were divided into three teams, Red, White and Blue. They competed in many different events including the 1/4 mile run, 50 meter dash, tug-a-war and three legged race.

They took a break for lunch in an idealic picnic spot along the Hudson. Then completed the afternoon with the finals of the running events, teacher events and ice pops before returning to school to recover!

Wacky Wednesday.....in the rain

Nothing can stop us enjoying our weekly gatherings/rambles on Wacky Wednesdays, with Kids Unplugged. The boys and I look forward to the middle of the week when we get a chance to forget about routine and homework for a while and meet with friends to discover new places in Westchester.

Today was no exception. It was pouring with rain and because of that we did not expect to see many people this afternoon. However we were joined by a new mommy and her two year old son as well as our usual core group.

Todays adventure took us to Sunny Ridge Preserve in Ossining and whilst it was anything but sunny it was beautiful. With superb navigational skills Gina led up through wooded trails. We pondered a while when the children delighted in stomping and splashing in the muddy stream. It is such a delightful spot and one that I would like to revisit on a hot summers day, as there is so much shade.

Check out Kids Unplugged Blogspot for listing of future events.

http://kidsunpluggedny.blogspot.com

Frankie's Birthday Party

On Sunday morning I headed to Nu Toy Store in Tarrytown to capture the Campbell family and their friends celebrating Frankie's Fourth Birthday with a Luau theme.

The birthday girl looked the part in her grass skirt and the guests were welcomed to the party with a lei. Tropical music played whilst the guests settled in with coloring and craft activities. The fun continued once all the guests arrived. They children played Hot Coconut, a little more exotic than the traditional Hot Potato! Chicken Limbo, ring toss and Hawaiian dancing were just some of the fun things the young party goers participated in.

They were served Hawaiian Cocktails (fruit smoothies) and tropical fruits followed by a Pineapple adorned birthday cake.

Frankie and her guests had a fabulous time and I certainly enjoyed being part of this beautiful families birthday celebration. Happy 4th Birthday Frankie.

Visit A Nu Toy Store on Main Street, Tarrytown or online:


A Nu Toy Store