Tiptoe through the Tulips...

On Wednesday, Bella had a field trip to the Arboretum. It was a bright sunny day with some wind, but still pretty nice for April in MN. The highlight of the trip was the beautiful tulip garden that was in full bloom. There were so many people there to visit it when we were there. Some were having engagement pictures done, some were with family, and some were with schools like us. I was amazed at how many colors of tulips were in the garden. It made for a lovely sight. Bella knows that tulips are my favorite flower and she was eager to share that information with her classmates. She also kept saying how good they smelled. I never thought tulips had much of a scent, but when they were all together they did seem to give off a fresh scent. To me it just smelled like Spring...

It is always fun to watch Bella interact with her classmates. For this field trip, the class was divided up into groups and the parent chaperones were given a group of about 6 children to lead around and explore the Arboretum for the 1st hour. I had 6 girls including Bella in my group and they were all fascinated with the same things: water fountains (or wishing ponds as some called them), bridges over water, and lookout towers which you could climb. They were all very well behaved. It was fun to see Bella laugh and giggle with the girls about jokes and other things. Her teacher told me how far Bella has come this year both in her schoolwork and her interactions with others. She told me how amazed she is that Bella can come in half way through the day when everything is in full swing and blend right in, seamlessly. It made me feel very good about our decision to homeschool her half the day. It has provided her with what she needs in a lot of ways.

At the end of the field trip, the groups got back together and they explored the Japanese garden together. The children learned about the different lanterns and their meanings. One thing I learned was that one lantern is designed with a flat top so that in the Winter it can look like a flower with snow piled on top. I must say, I am a much bigger fan of the bright flowers in April than the icy snow flowers of January!