I spend a lot of time playing games with this week's group of kids. They're having a lot of fun learning, which means that they just might learn something. So far we've covered photosynthesis, energy cycles, community comparison, food webs, adaptation, geology, native animals, and little bits of other pertinent information. One girl has been hanging in there all week even though she's been feeling sick. Today she had developed an earache. I hope it's not an ear infection.

The kids, when asked to guess how long I'd been teaching for this school, decided that I must have been there for ten years (give or take). That's a pretty good compliment for somebody who's only been there for three days.

Speaking of food webs:




It has been hot this week. There has been none of that gentle morning fog that made last week's mornings so beautiful. There are already plenty of leaves on the ground. Up in the hills we rustle through the fallen leaves of Tan Oak, Madrone, Live Oak, Bay Laurel, and others. Ravens croak down at us from high up in the Redwoods. Stellar's Jays mimic hawks in the Madrone trees, and Crows peck at morsels out in the lower field area. It's exciting to be up in the hills during the autumn, since my previous experience with this kind of work is teaching summer camps.

Willow now says "ciao" to our italian neighbor. Not even two and already bi-lingual!