ding dong hong kong: Feeling Inspired...

Today was a grade 1-3 family picnic at Inspiration Lake. So that meant Annika's grade 2 class and Mike's grade 3 class both went, while Leila and the rest of the preparatory class had an empty school to themselves. It was a beautiful and hot day and I was glad I could go along. Also, I don't think Mike has ever been able to go on a field trip with the girls, although it's not like he doesn't go on his fair share of field trips! It was nice that he didn't have a lot of responsibilities and could hang out with us a bit- there really was no agenda for the day.

A picnic lunch on actual grass!

The teachers had brought some parachute games and some balls for kids to play with. For some reason the parachute teachers were having trouble attracting kids, so Annika and I joined in for a while.

And then at noon there was a much-anticipated "nature hike" led by Mr. G. It was pretty much just a walk around the lake. But that was good because I spent most of last year just in the playground with the girls and hadn't had a chance to explore. It wasn't exactly vigorous, but it was very hot and sweaty and we were all tired by the end.

Okay, this picture shows some of the beautiful scenery at Inspiration Lake. But see the student way off on the right side wearing PANTS? Those are the P.E. sweatpants that go with the "winter" uniform. There was a handful of kids wearing them today. It was a high of 30 degrees! It's cooled down from August temperatures for sure, but it was probably hotter than any of the days we experience in Alberta this summer with the added humidity! I just couldn't imagine why these children would have been dressed in thick sweatpants. Was there a worry that they could possibly be cold? No really, I wish I could find out if that was an actual concern. Or was it more to protect against the sun's harmful rays and against insect bites. Who knows, but I felt sorry for them.