This Fall Charlton is starting Kindergarten, and although it's half day, he will have a little sister competing for time and attention when he gets home. So, I decided that these last four days will have to be extra special, and even though my mother would be with us, my little Charlton would definitely know that he was the center of attention.
On Monday, the three of us took off and headed to the Lawrence Hall of Science, a hands-on science museum where kids learned by experimenting, building, and playing. The museum was almost empty, so Charlton, mom and I went to every single exhibit and tried our hands on building colossal wood towers, learning about gravity, digging for various insect skeletons, having fun with magnets and textures, and exploring Jupiter's moons. When I got tired and out of breath, we sat outside in the museum's garden and had lunch enjoying the cool breeze that came from the ocean below. It was a stupendous day!
On Tuesday, after I came back from my doctor appointment, Charlton and I went to the library and explored many books. We checked out books about art, nature, science, history, and a bunch of story books. We played with puzzles, puppet stories, and looked for books to buy in the sale area. We found a lot of great treasures. At home, after lunch, he and I read some Magic Tree House books, and then did some school. He's so excited to learn how to read on his own! Charlton did some coloring, while I took a nap, and then we went and had some ice cream before picking up Gillian from school. It was a very pleasant day, relaxing and with special moments for both of us.
On Wednesday, Charlton had expressed a desire to visit his favorite museum, California Academy of Science, and show his grandmother his favorite things. It was so fun seeing Charlton lead us to what he was interested, and of course the first thing we went to see was the show in the Planetarium - From Stardust to Skeletons- how we are all made of materials that float around in the Universe, and from which stars are made of. We absolutely loved the explanation of the creation of stars, planets and our bodies. I just can't fathom how scientists don't connect the dots and realize the hand of a Supreme Creator. Did you know that the planetarium in this museum is the largest all-digital dome in the world?! The universe looks very real in this state of the art planetarium.
After the planetarium, we took my mom to the rainforest portion of the museum, with all of its four layers of plants, trees, animals, birds, and its very top of butterfly habitat. From all the way up we went all the way down to explore the marina life of our oceans from beautiful corals to scary electric eels. This was my mother's favorite part.
The newest exhibit in the museum was called Skulls, and of course as a fan of the TV show Bones, I was way excited to visit and explore this part of the museum. There were hundred of skulls from various kinds of animals and that was interesting. But my favorite part was watching a fast motion movie on how beetles clean animal skulls in record time. It was creepy, especially when you thought your skull might someday be cleaned in a similar way, but the science behind it is fascinating. There are so many great fields of study out there, such as forensic anthropology, that I wish I had the time to study. The study of planets and the universe captivates me as well, but earthly life is short and I guess I have to wait till I get to heaven.
When we explored all we wanted and more that this museum had to offer, and after several stops at the museum shop as well as cafeteria, we headed out to the art museum across the street. Of course, Charlton couldn't wait to show his grandmother his favorite sculptures that he liked to play, and the dome building with its oculus cut in the roof of the chamber, through which you could observe the sky and its changing colors. The viewer's perception of the sky colors is altered and effected by the L.E.D. lights inside the cylindrical chamber.
We said goodby to the museums, enjoyed the beautiful flora on our way to our car, and then promised to come back soon. Charlton declared our spending time together as the"best day ever."
On Thursday, Charlton and I made brownies and brought pizza and cookies at the older boys' classrooms. It was the end of the school year party, and we were looking forward to celebrating it. I split my time between Jefferson's and James's class party, and we enjoyed the activities that both teachers had planned. However, I loved one activity that James's teacher had planned for them - learning about autographs. Being their art teacher and photographer, they all have a close relationship with me. So, when their teacher finished explaining about autographs, they all set out to get some. After they got autographs from their teacher first, they all flocked to me. But neither their teacher nor I were the true celebrities; Charlton was. As soon as they found out that he could sign his name and write a few words, they all surrounded him and demanded his autograph. Charlton sat down on the floor and all the kids sat by him waiting patiently to get him to sign their notebook. It was hilarious, and very sweet. This boy of mine has true charm! What a great way to finish the school year!
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