How quickly they grow

This summer, the Big Kids and I have been Sweet Beach Dreaming every Friday, and the watery ways of Vancouver have been our own ocean playground. We’ve been all over, and have the pics to prove it!

On July 22, the amazing and excellent Christa Wilson accompanied us through the secret passage way to the beautiful, industrial playground at Crab Park.*

*We loved this park so much, we’re making a switch on our Aug. 26 outing, so we can come back! Bring swim gear! There’s a splash pad just waiting to be… splashed!

On July 29, I took our not-so-new teacher Jenny and the eight explorers on our Aquabus Adventure, riding to Vanier Park on a sunny summer’s day:

It started out with some music at the ferry stop, and there are lots of pics from the boat ride as well (click here to request access). Snacking, and races, and exploring the park, was all fun and games until it was time to come back. What an adventure!

The next week, Christa and I were back in the saddle for our longest distance trip, to New West, to explore a riverway: The Mighty Fraser. The junior crew, including Arianna – on her first fieldtrip ever – took the stairs up and down, and made out like champions. The stop in at the Fraser River Discovery Centre made it our most educational trip of the season, but it also made us late to come back…

There was just so much to learn! It’s open 7 days a week in the summer, and admission is by donation. You should definitely make your own trip to this beautiful (deserted) museum. And if you’re lucky, on the way back, you’ll get to sit at the very front of the train!

All my beach dreams have been coming true, and spending the summer fieldtripping with these big Big Kids has been all I wished. As the season comes to a close at the end of August, the part I’m dreading will be saying goodbye.

Maksim, Heron, Mari, Lucie, and Jackson are excited for change, and they’re devilishly delighted to let me know that when September comes they’ll be too big for my little kids club.

The end of summer is bitter sweet, and even though it’s my fifth time around, every year feels like the hardest. Helping these little kids grow, make friends, and move on is the job I signed up for… But that was silly. I feel like I miss them already.

So here’s to the Big Kids: the helpers, the leaders, and magic makers. You guys are the reason teachers come to school, and the point of… everything.

Sniff, sniff…

But it’s not over yet!

This week, we’re heading down to Jericho beach, for a berry bunny hop, and the next week, it’s the Return to Crab Park Splash Pad – this time, with towels and suits!

Join us, by booking in on Fridays from 1 – 5pm.

September is around the corner, and there’s some big shoes to fill. I’m looking forward to seeing the next round of kids step up. (Mattis, Carter, Evan, and Mason, here’s looking at you guys.)