Bonjour!

The big kids and I are working through a fun kindergarten curriculum this summer called Five In a Row.  It is a literature based program with a list of 20 or so classic childrens books, one per week, everyday of the week, thus reading each book five days in a row.  Nifty, huh?  Each day is a different academic subject:  Mon-Social Studies, Tues-Language Arts, Wed-Art, Thurs-Math, and Fri-Science.

Our first book was Madeleine.  Sweet Madeleine.  So we took the week and focused on Paris and France.

Our little French flag.

We started the week with French toast and poached eggs.  Not even sure that French toast is exactly French, but it was fun and a treat for my Paleo kiddos.

Because Paris sits on the banks of the Seine River, and our lovely city sits on the banks of the Mississippi River, we took a trip to the Stone Arch Bridge in downtown Minneapolis to see the river for the first time.

 The kids had driven over the river a couple times, but we got up close and personal.

The Stone Arch bridge was the original bridge built for trains to bring grain from the northern wheat fields across the river to the mill where it would be ground into flour.  Both Gold Medal and Pillsbury have mills on the banks of the river in downtown Minneapolis.  Parts of the Gold Medal Mill have been transformed into a museum.  It really is stunning.

And windy.

One of the highlights from our little field trip was watching a ferry boat go through the lock and dam.  Definitely on our list of things to do in Minnesota.

 

Before we left we took a little hike down next to the water.  You should have seen the crazy woman with 3 monkeys, scaling walls and slippery rocks with one of the monkeys literally on her back.  And a fancy camera on her shoulder.  It was a memory maker for sure.

Isn't that tree the most fascinating thing!  Couldn't resist a snap.  Or two.

Tuesday I took the kids to The French Meadow for lunch and brioche.  French Meadow has got to be one of the coolest, greenest, tree-hugger friendly granola eatin' places around.  Love it.  They actually have gluten-free treats!  Who does that?

Our particular treat of Brioche had lots of yummy gluten!

 And gooey chocolate!

And this would be a classic shot of Pipe's first taste of grape fruit!

Wednesday, art day, we constructed and painted our very own Eiffel Towers!  Correction...I constructed.  They painted.

 My lovely friend Tammy Melson worked her magic on that tower!  It took the two of us all morning to put together 3 towers!

And the finished product...(drumroll, please)

To cap off the week we had the Melsons over for dinner and I made Coq Au Vin.  Sounds really fancy.  French makes everything sound fancy (and now I sound like Fancy Nancy).  Chicken in wine is all it really is.  With yummy bacon goodness, too.  And brussel sprouts.  The new Knight family favorite. 

Fun times.  So glad I get to do this with my little monkeys.  Not sure who enjoys it more...probably me.

By the way, the kids now recite Madeleine by heart!

Next stop, Japan!