A Greenville autumn

The first half of the month has been the last breath of air before getting sucked into the whirlpool that is the holiday season. Tomorrow we celebrate Latvia’s Independence Day, commemorating the declaration of independence of the Republic of Latvia from German and Russian occupation on November 18, 1918. Not long after we welcome the grandparents to Greenville for Thanksgiving, and soon after that the Christmas season will be in full swing. Not that the last months haven’t been busy, but we’ve had the chance to participate in quite a few activities and spend time with our friends before everyone scatters for the holidays.

my boys! ...wait a minute...

The local grocery store Bi-Lo has a program that one of the mom’s groups we hang out with had signed up for. The goal of “Our Food Detectives” is to teach kids the benefits of nutrition and how to make healthy food choices in the grocery aisle. Although I think they could work on their definition of “healthy food,” the boys enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at the various departments of the grocery store… about as much as the balloons and other goodies they got to take home with them! For more information on how to schedule a Bi-Lo Food Detectives tour visit their website here.

photo credit: Shannon K

We’ve been back to the Greenville Zoo a couple more times for Wild for Reading Wednesdays. On one afternoon we met a resident python, and on another a beautiful sun parakeet. The story read that day was “The Perfect Pet” by Samantha Bell and we were lucky enough to have the author/illustrator herself read it to us!

One rainy morning we drove out to an open play day at Bricks 4 Kidz, the new Lego-themed business in Greenville. The boys had fun building and playing, but most of what they can do there we can do at home, so I’m not sure if we’ll be back again. A structured class might be different, especially if we can get some friends to join us.

The library has hosted a slew of fun events, including a storytime with Greenville firefighters. A demonstration of how a firefighter puts on his/her gear helped the children understand that we don’t have to be scared of firefighters if we ever encounter one, and “stop, drop and roll” was explained and shown. The boys’ favorite portion of the program was clambering around on a real engine.

Fridays in October we returned to the library for their Storyventures program based on the Reggio Emilia learning philosophy. Lauris really opened up by the second half of the month, and both boys have been enthusiastically eating pomegranates since then. Over the four weeks they learned about all the senses, with the series culmination being an exploration of light and vision.

Someone celebrated a birthday. With a kliņģeris that traveled all the way from Chicago! (Thanks mom!)

And we had a visitor, Kristīne. Next time you have to stay a little longer!

It’s been fun, and I think we took full advantage of the warm and colorful autumn in the Upstate. But please, tell me where the time has gone! How have we already been to two Thanksgiving celebrations? Why do I feel a pressing need to attend to Christmas decorations? But most importantly, where did this two-and-a-half month old come from?!!?!

To all my Latvian readers, sveiks svētkos!