We stopped by Forest Park after church on Sunday to get a last glimpse of the fall color at Pagoda Circle. We weren’t expecting the amount of rain that was falling, but Chickadee was a good sport, and it was pretty in spite of the weather!
We have visited Shaw Nature Reserve before, for their Prairie Days event (I don’t even know if they still host it biennially), but we’ve never really explored the grounds before last week, when Ladybug, Chickadee, and I used our Missouri Botanical Garden membership to take a five mile hike. It is an expansive place, with many beautiful views, especially with the fall foliage on full display!
Now that we’ve seen how beautiful the place is, we’d like to go back in the spring!
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus
We started so many new things this week, it almost felt like a whole new school year!
Ladybug began a study of comparative denominations in religion…we started by reviewing what makes Lutherans different. She started a new chapter in biology…now she’s learning about cellular energy. We also began reading Beowulf.
Chickadee also started a new chapter in science…she’s learning about primeval reptiles. We began one of my favorite literature studies…D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. We also finished the time of the judges in her overview of the Bible.
We took our annual fall walk around Creve Coeur Lake this week, too. It’s a little later than we usually go, but we waited until a day everyone had off school, so all of the children could come with us!
Up next…Thanksgiving School!
I decided on a whim that this should be “Outdoors Week.” In addition to reading Little Women under the tree in our front yard, we participated only in activities that could be done outdoors, and I even came up with themes for each day!
Monday was “History and Nature.” We visited historic Concordia Cemetery in St. Louis and found C.F.W. Walther’s mausoleum. We also learned about his life and contributions to the Lutheran church in America.
Tuesday was “Art and Nature.” We went back into the city to walk around the Missouri Botanical Garden and Forest Park, and sketch some of the beautiful things we saw:
Wednesday was “Fitness and Nature.” We finally got back to the tennis court for the first time since before the pandemic began, and we also did a fitness course on a local walking trail.
Thursday was “Exploration and Nature.” We took a five-mile walk down some trails we’ve never used before, and also tried to identify some of the trees we saw along the way based on their leaves, pods, and nuts.
And today we took it easy, and ended the week by watching Little Women (the Winona Ryder version, because it’s my favorite), since we finally finished the book. We’ll get back to our regular work next week, but this was a really fun way to spend the first week of November!
