Hump Day

I cannot believe this week is almost over.  It was another eventful day of Charity Week.  I thought I was done with baking, since we ran out of flour yesterday.  Turns out I was, but there were several kilograms of chocolate that needed melting and loads of fruit that needed to be cut for dipping, as well as children who needed supervision while doing the melting and the dipping.  There were also several chocolate birds' nests that needed to be made, and guess who volunteered to organize the students in doing that? This girl! While I love being in the classroom, I am really enjoying these nontraditional days I've been having for the last week.  It has made each day different and I've gotten to interact with several students, instead of those from just one classroom. 

During this time, I've become known as The American, and have delighted children each day with my accent.  I hear squeals of excitement as the students enter the kitchen and see that I'm in there, and then they all crowd around me and ask me to "say something".  As flattering as you may think this is, it has put me in the position
of "odd circus freak," which is somewhat unsettling.  You'd think I was from Mars, or something (which I'm not, because everyone knows women are from Venus).

It looks like tomorrow will see more fruit being chopped and chocolate being melted.  I think we're all done with the birds' nests and the baking completely, so I'll have to find something else to get into.  Another field trip, perhaps? Friday, the Fifth Years are having a walk for Sports Relief at 11, so I'll be doing that until lunch time.  Not sure what the rest of the day will bring, but at this point, I think everyone knows that I'm up for just about anything!

I've already mentioned my plans for the weekend (a date with a mysterious group of rocks and the birthplace of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy), but I realized I forgot to share what I did for the rest of last weekend.  Saturday was our day in Portsmouth and Chichester, but Sunday was Mothering Day (or Mother's Day, depending on who you ask), and we celebrated by going to Weald and Downland, the open air museum here in West Sussex.  Essentially, it's a small village recreated using original buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries.  They were originally standing throughout West Sussex, but as the towns and villages grew, developers wanted to tear down these buildings that had stood for centuries and replace them with new housing developments and commercial buildings.  From what I understand, the property for the museum was purchased and its founder began purchasing these buildings that were in danger of being lost forever.  They took them apart, moved them, and then rebuilt them as they were.  Now, you can go and see live demonstrations and walk around the property, which is quite large.  For Mothering Day, they hand out daffodils to the mothers who visit, and hold more demonstrations than normal.  We went with my hosts' children and their families for the morning.

The Mill

The pond where baby Theo wanted to go for a swim

Sheep!

Black Sheep...I think its name was Heather...?

Old school house...can't imagine teaching here!

Geese and an old home (the outhouse was IN the house and was designed to empty right onto the street from the 2nd floor)

I would have taken more pictures, but with four children in the group, it became difficult to focus on much else! One was busy jumping into every puddle he came across, another wanted to get out of his stroller the entire time, one was fast asleep in his carrier, and the other wanted to climb trees the entire time.  It was very eventful, right up until the moment we had to leave because it started to rain.  I absolutely adore my hosts and their family, and I love that there's never a dull moment here.  It's definitely keeping me on my toes!