Fun, Free, (in)Flint…and Beyond

"I jus wanna wead, mom!"

I have finally decided what to blog. Many writers struggle with “Writer’s Block,” and I have sure suffered from it for nearly a year. I have written another children’s story, but am planning on turning it into a chapter book. In the meantime I want to share my summer adventures with you! As a teacher I am blessed to have 3 months off with my children. Since my husband works long hours, it is usually just the three of us until 6 or 7 in the evening. We manage to accomplish a lot each day, all while having as much fun together as possible (and on as small of a budget as I can manage, too!). Today we traveled fifteen minutes to the Genesee Township Johnson Memorial Library. We met friends there for “Classroom Critters” and were able to learn about a blue tongue lizard, a chinchilla, and few very large snakes. Mr. Paul was very humorous for the adults and even named his python, Monty. He also educated the children with the balance of love and authority that only pre-school teachers can! We learned the blue tongue lizard smells with his tongue and feels like a basketball. Leo did not want to sit still for the other reptiles, but Claire had a lot of fun listening and touching them with her friends! “I jus wanna wead,” was Leo’s mantra, so we went into the other section of the library and read. Then we signed up for the summer reading program which is also free and very exciting for all ages. http://www.thegdl.org/
And all this cost us just the gas money for our drive…until we decided to walk across the street to the dreadful golden arches. I spent $11.00 on the three of us, and then we spent an hour playing with our friends in the Playland. The service was terrible there though. We waited entirely too long for “fast food” with 5 kids!
After tearful hugs and kisses, we piled into the Nissan. I mentioned a fun surprise earlier…and both kids held me to it! I drove them through Bluegill Boat Launch because my mom and dad used to ride me through there in a bike carrier when I was little. The kids loved the storytime through the beautiful, fragrant park, and I loved imagining my parents with their two babies on a beautiful bicycle ride. http://www.michigan.org/Property/Detail.aspx?p=B12994