Planting Flowers!

Every year Cummins donates money for flowers and then comes to help us plant everything. 
The flowers arrived and everybody got to work planting them!

Owen and Catherine were a huge help.

The little kids may not have been the biggest helpers, but they sure are cute!

We are very thankful for their generous donations and hard work and enjoy the flowers all summer long!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

To celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday we'd like to present you with our very own Cat in the Hat!

A Winter Adventure!

Beijing has cold, but dry winters, so there is very little snow. Nearby there is little snow park with a sledding hill and an ice area, which made for the perfect opportunity for a field trip! 

Hudson is ready for a fun day.

Sliding down the hill in inter-tubes was so much fun!

China has many different ways to play on ice, including this chair sleds! You propel yourself along with ice picks and as you can imagine it can be quite a workout!

Everyone loved having a chance to enjoy the snow and all of the fun that it brings!

Gingerbread Houses

"Wait wait wait you can't eat that yet!" was the anthem of our gingerbread house making. Our kids created wonderful sticky houses together using all the icing that didn't make it to their mouths. We loved getting to share this Christmas tradition with the children and from the pictures, we think they enjoyed it as well. The houses did turn out quite nice and very delicious.

So Many Leaves!

To kids fall leaves mean one thing, something to play with! Everyday they would watch the leaves falling from the trees until finally the pile was big enough to go outside and play in!

Some of the kids liked to sit in the pile while others preferred throwing the leaves in the air.

Everyone giggled as the leaves fell everywhere!

I think we can all agree, playing in the leaves is the best part of fall!

Summer in the Backyard

With summer weather arriving, the nannies and children of NDFH Beijing are soaking up the warmth on their skin and the gentle breeze that blows through the backyard.

Austyn loves the swing and is always so excited when someone wants to give him a little extra push.

Another fan of swinging, Nathan looks forward to the extra time outside.

"Beijing Snow" (cotton from the cottonwood trees) covered the trampoline in early June. The kids were so excited to see it cleaned off and ready to welcome them for playtime.

Rabbits are a new addition to the backyard. The rolling cages allow the rabbits more room to roam the yard, much to Owen's delight.

Water and sand are a perfect combination for James to be creative...and a bit messy!

In the cold weather months, lingering the backyard doesn't take place. As the temperature rise, nannies are lingering under the cool of the shade while the kids are soaking up the extra time outside. Scooter, tricycles, and the trampoline are back in action and an sweet peace settles over the yard each day. 

A Trip to the Market

Each Easter we love to dye eggs in our preschool class. White eggs are harder to find here, so we usually buy goose eggs. Not only are they white, but they are also bigger which makes it easier for little hands to decorate them!

There is a market close by that sells all kinds of things, including eggs, so we thought it might be a fun field trip for our older preschoolers. 

We loaded up the bike, some kids walked, others used the scooter, and off we went!

We found lots of eggs

And flowers

We saw lots of vegetables and spices

And fish and chicks!

Of course after so much looking and shopping it was time for a snack!

And we bought all the eggs we needed!

We were all tired so it was time to head home!

Such a fun and successful field trip!