Yesterday was a glorious day. It was perfect weather. The bus trip was not so tedious because the temperature was in the low 80's. Lots of the kids and more of the parents had not been to Pounds Hollow before and we could hear the oohs and aahs as we began the descent to the lake. Pounds Hollow is not on the map, so our GPS only worked part of the way, but Miss Sandy knows the way. She's better than a GPS because she remembers most of the time.
The beach was pristine, there was only one other family there, and the facility was clean and neat. The kids loved the clean lake water. They played and played and many of them did not want to get out of the water to eat. We took only five non swimmers, and they loved it too. I was a little worried about Isaac and Nathan, because although they will go under water, they don't like to remain there very long. They went out to their necks and then dunked and then returned to shore none the worse for wear. We kept an eye on Markel as well, and Devin's mom kept him close. He's probably the most adventuring. He's not as young as mom thinks he is!
The only other non swimmer was Robbie, Molly's toddler. He loved the water on his terms, and when she finally let go of him, he played close to the shore or took a little boat ride. Once he discovered the great little boats Mrs. St. Louis bought for us, you couldn't pry him lose.
Picnic was different yesterday. We had barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers compliments of Amy and Phil. We had potato salad compliments of Amy. We had seafood pasta salad compliments of your's truly. We had fresh fruit and vegetables including peaches from our own peach tree. There were many donated chips, cookies and drinks. We thank all the parents who brought food to help with expenses.
When some of the teachers got together to gab on the sidelines, we were amazed how many children learned to swim this summer.
Many children like Jay and Kamden started off the summer barely putting their faces in the water and at Pounds Hollow, they swam well enough not to even have to worry at all. When a child jumps off the board, he or she is a swimmer.
They know enough about the water to be safe. It was a joy to watch as the kids spent hours swimming freely in the lake.
Thanks to all the men for spending time throwing kids into the water from shoulder level. Swimming with men is a joy to kids because men really know how to play!
Edith's family was able to join us from Wisconsin. They drove down to visit and came along for the last picnic. It was fun to see how Edith's grandchildren have grown. Greta is nearly grown up, beautiful and gracious. Augie was a beach scavenger yesterday and took great delight in combing the beach and manning a children's digging expedition! And Lily played in the water with the non swimmers.
It's always amazing how many older children love this trip and turn out for it. We had lots of returning grade schoolers travel with us.
We hope everyone had a good time.
And now that the last summer trip is finished, it's time to get back to school. It's been one heck of a summer, and we've enjoyed it very much. We hope that this school year is as much fun as the summer.
We start off August with classes Monday through Thursday and a field trip on every Friday the rest of August. Kids are still restless, and need to get back into the classroom slowly. It will be beautiful all week, so that's a good.
August is a learning to listen month. Lots of prizes for children who listen. We will listen to the rules the first week, and then we will learn to listen and then learn to follow directions. In September our theme will change to work people do and families, which will culminate in our Grandparents' Tea on the 26th.
So expect to see pictures from the lake in the next few days.
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