[day 28 ... january 28]

The older classes finally had their candle-making day today. Usually they make dipped candles just before the holiday break, but with three snow days in a row leading up to break this year, candle-making never happened. Niall loves dipping the candles. He made one fully-red candle this time, and one that goes from white through several shades of light red to dark red. He was really pleased with how they turned out.

The boys go to after school care (Extended Day) several times a week, and the other days, I pick them up and we head home. I work from home the rest of the afternoon, and they have a snack, watch a video or a show on PBS, or play quietly (really, it works out that way - for an hour or two, anyway).

Once in awhile on the days I pick them up, we stay after school to play for a bit. On a reasonably nice day, lots of families stay to play on the big field - parents chatting, kids running around and burning up some after school energy. It's fun to have a bit of time to catch up with or get to know other parents.
Today we stayed for a long time - an hour or more. The boys were having such a good time and it was so pleasant out on the big field, I didn't feel like packing them up and taking them home to be inside for the rest of the afternoon. Niall spent most of the time practicing free-throws on the basketball court. He was doing so well, he asked me on the way home about signing up for a "small" basketball team.

Cory meanwhile kept busy playing with his friend Sharon from his class. They ran all over, making up little scenarios as they went along. Cory was being quite directive about their play, but Sharon didn't seem to mind. I guess Cory needs a turn to be "in charge" sometimes, what with having three older brothers at home. :-)