Learning to throw a cast net is a lowcountry rite of passage. As kids dip their nets into Charleston’s brackish waters, they encounter all sorts if fascinating marine life.
Edisto State Park’s Environmental Learning Center offers a range of classes for people of all ages. We recently attended their cast netting program in an effort to sharpen our skills. The instructor was animated and informative, and participants were able to cast into Big Bay Creek. After class, we enjoyed a picnic in the park, then stopped by King’s Market for dessert.
We’re looking forward to our next visit to the Edisto State Park, where class offerings range from Turtle Treks to Tie-dying. It’s a bit of a drive, but completely worth every mile. Check out all that the park has to offer here.
Over the holidays, Elle and I went shopping on King Street with a sweet group of tween girls. When planning our stops, the Apple Store was at the top of everyone’s list.
The girls loved checking out all of the new devices and features, and spent a lot more time there than I’d expected.
When I learned that our local Apple Store offers free classes that are open to kids, I knew they would be a hit with my older two.
Elle and I went to the QuickStart: Portrait Photography class. The instructor guided our small group through all of the photography features on our phones. Of course, Elle knew many of them already, but she picked up a few new tips, too.
This session was comprehensive but quick, lasting only 30 minutes. We enjoyed our class and are already planning to attend another one. Apple hosts a variety of sessions, including coding, photography, cinematography, and music.
Check out all the options here.
How lucky are we to live in a city of artists! Piccolo Spoleto offers wonderful opportunities for children to immerse themselves in the arts. We are packing in the Spoleto activities this week, our first of summer. You can find a comprehensive list of events here.
Today, we kicked it all off with a picnic at Marion Square, surrounded by the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition. My children loved strolling through the tents, listening to artists talk about their work. Several were painting on-site and my kids could have watched them for hours.
Before heading home, we stopped in for ice cream cones at Republic Ice Cream Shop. Just the right stop after our afternoon in the sunshine! You can visit the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition at Marion Square from 10am-5pm through June 9th.
My Charlie consumes books in one sitting. He often is drawn into a storyline from chapter 1 and just can’t put the novel down. This is one of the things I adore about this child. I love to read (nonfiction is my jam), but there just aren’t enough hours in the day for me to get hooked on a book the way Charlie does. So, I live vicariously through him.
During yesterday’s carpool pick-up, I spotted a big orange bus, featuring the title of one of Charlie’s most recent novels. Rebound by Kwame Alexander was his book fair purchase a couple of weeks ago. He immediately devoured the book, as he did the Crossover and Booked by the same author.
After some quick research, we found that Kwame Alexander would be making an appearance at the downtown library in an hour and a half. We hustled home to collect all of our Kwame books. Because he writes books and poetry for all ages, my boys both own some of his titles. Racing downtown, Henry had some regrets about having doodled on the cover of Surf’s Up. After all, he didn’t want to offend the author. I assured him that Kwame would probably appreciate the creative addition.
In all of our excitement, I never imagined what an incredible experience it would be for my kids to hear a Newberry Award-winning author talk about his work. He shared excerpts from his book, spoke about his writing process, and discussed the people and events that inspired his stories and their characters. He fielded questions from the audience, children and adults alike. Kwame was moving, witty, and so incredibly funny, keeping my kids on the edges of their seats for his entire talk.
On our way out, Kwame, sitting alongside his friend Margaret Heath Wentworth (South Carolina’s Poet Laureate), signed our armloads of books and didn’t bat an eye at Henry’s worn-out Surf’s Up paperback.
Thanks to Buxton Books for bringing amazing authors to our community! They partnered with the library to host Kwame Alexander and regularly offer events to “support the local reading and writing community through book-based walking tours, author events, and conversation.” Be sure to check out their calendar at buxtonbooks.com on occasion to learn of awesome literary opportunities.
Elle and I had a few hours to ourselves today, so we decided to do some exploring on Johns Island. Our first stop was the Johns Island Farmer’s Market, open every Saturday from 10am-2pm, on the campus of Charleston Collegiate.
With $10 to spend, Elle browsed the market before settling on boiled peanuts, local bell peppers, and a scrumptious Valentine’s doughnut.
Just around the corner was the Angel Oak Tree park. With her sketchpad in hand, Elle settled into the shade of the majestic oak. The park is the perfect spot for a picnic and is open Monday-Saturday from 9-5 and Sunday from 1-5. Admission is free.
Our final stop was one of our Johns Island favorites, the public library. The programming at our local branch is awesome and we lucked into a visit from the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. A couple of the percussionists spoke about their instruments and then invited children to visit their “Instrument Petting Zoo.” Elle joined kids of all ages in playing a variety of brass, woodwind, strings, and percussion instruments.
A day out with Elle is a rare occasion, so we made the very most of our time together! Thanks, Johns Island, for the memorable day!
