SUMMER FUN AT SYCAMORE RUN!!

"Summer afternoon... the two most beautiful words in the English language."~Henry James







What a terrific summer it was at Sycamore Run! The spring renovations gave us new floors, a new chalkboard wall, and fresh paint upstairs.

We were thrilled to have Gildy back in our school this summer, she took a break from her busy life as a High School Spanish teacher (in Vinton County) to play with us. She spent the month of June preparing for the first annual kids’ art at Casa Nueva show!! The exhibit included community canvas painting, "barn art" tiles, and several products of our photography day (thank you Jason Bash for photography instruction and support!!).

The art show was a tremendous success, thank you to all who showed their support. We plan to make this event an annual tradition, and are already looking forward to next July!

After the art show, Gildy helped the big kids make traditional Puerto Rican masks, thereby wrapping up a wonderful few weeks of artistic exploration. Science activities were also a favorite this summer, with each upstairs class experimenting with making and “erupting” volcanoes!

The garden grew beautifully again this year – we are excited to harvest and eat the popcorn we grew!! We have been harvesting and freezing tomatoes for our entry in the Chili Bowl Cookoff (coming this October), as well as drying herbs and garlic. And, lucky us, we already got to harvest pie pumpkins, and made a pie from scratch!!! Believe it or not, it tasted every bit as good as it looks!!

Everyone enjoyed participating in several walking trips to the library, including seeing a story teller, african drummers, and checking out books.

Though we all wish it could last forever, we bid a fond farewell to summer at Sycamore Run.

Stay tuned, as fall renovations include new paint downstairs and the completion of our snack kitchen!!!