This weekend our Fall Camping trip was another lovely time enjoying the natural surroundings of the Texas countryside. Nature always gives us twists. This year, the river was too low for swimming, but we found that instead we could just walk right across to the far bank. Instead of thousands of tiny green worms like last year, we found a few huge green caterpillars and even a scorpion. Many a soccer goal was celebrated in the meadow, along with more than one skinned knee and knocked elbow. Filled with challenges and joys, this weekend was yet another wonderful chapter for HMS.
This trip, however, had a little bit of extra as we also got to experience Saturday’s solar eclipse. On Thursday at school we had had an explanation and demo of the eclipse. Then on Saturday, the kids were able to look at it for real. When they saw it the most common observation was “it looks like the moon.” Well, yes, the sun did look like the moon. During Saturday’s eclipse, for the most part, the kids kept on playing their games, and it was the adults who were super-surprised with the wonder of this special natural phenomenon.
a flashlight was “the sun” which lit the blue sphere… 
… showing how the moon casts a shadow on the Earth.