Taking it outside

Earlier this past week, we had several consecutive days of toxic soup air. From Sunday afternoon until Wednesday afternoon I never left the apartment. It wasn't that Wednesday afternoon had improved air. We had already scheduled an outdoor playdate for that afternoon. I didn't think we would survive the one and a half hours.

Thursdays we have Myles drawing and painting lesson with the same teacher he had last year. She does not have a studio space right now, so art class is where we can manage to have it. We had talked last week about taking the kids outdoors for this week's class if the weather was good. When I went to bed Wednesday, I had my doubts if this would happen. I was up early Thursday, surprised to find our air quality situation completely turned around. "Miracle of miracles," I messaged the teacher. We arranged to meet at Ritan Park after lunch.

Ritan Park formerly housed the Ming Emporers' Temple of the Sun. It is now a public park, admission free to the public since only a few years ago. We've only been there twice, but it is convenient (and a favorite) location for one of the other homeschooling families with whom we share activities, so it was perfect for Thursday's art class. Of course, for us, it is quite the distance, but we managed.

We planted the kids on a rock with their teacher and were left to our own devices for two blessed hours.



Both groups wandered the park a bit, soaking in the day.





It's such a great park. Not crowded, not noisy, and the quality of the music played by people practicing in the open is great. So not in Changping. That is too often the way I describe a good time lately, but that's how it is right now.



I'm so in awe of what Myles does in his art class. Partly this is because I grew up in a school district that had eliminated elementary art classes when I was young (we also did not have general music or gym classes). I have no idea how "art class" for this age works. Right now, this is how it works.