Fun Around The Fire In October

Many families showed up tonight to Ellis court to enjoy s'mores and hotdogs cooked over a campfire and to get in the mood for fall and Halloween! In this photo kids enjoyed "bobbing" for donuts on a string with their hands behind their back. Much hilarity ensued!

 Parents and the littlest ones (and a few dogs) hung out and enjoyed the gorgeous early fall  evening while kids of all ages took over Ellis ct and had a great time. Many thanks to Mary peters and Chris Ball for hosting all the fun!

Annual Block Party A BIG Success!

Raymondale's Annual Block Party on Ellis Court was a smashing success! Set up began after a mid-afternoon ran shower. Neighbors arrived at six and continued trickling in until the number of folks who came went over 75! The most well-attended block party ever!

The food was great and so much! The tables groaned with delicacies generously brought by everyone! And a big thanks to Chris, the ultimate grill master!

The children certainly enjoyed the last days of summer vacation with water balloons so generously provided by the Wilson family!

Everyone had the best time. Long time residents and new residents got to meet and greet and enjoy the lovely evening.

A little past halfway into the gathering the sky opened up for a brief heavy shower. The food was covered and some of the children took cover!

After the rain, the fire pit came out and so did the yummy marshmallows!

THANK YOU to everyone who came, helped set up, clean up, and organize this FABULOUS annual neighborhood event!

Raymondale Little Library Sunday Afternoon!

Raymondale's first Summer Reading Kickoff at the Little Free Library was a big success. About 30 neighbors wandered through, browsing through 200+ free books for all ages and tastes, dropping off a few more, sipping lemonade and talking over their favorite books and recent reads. Kids jumped on the trampoline, nabbed cookies or just enjoyed reading in one of the chairs set up the shade of a sprawling apple tree. Adult books ranged from  literary prize winners to bestsellers, from anthologies  to cookbooks, from timeless classics to out-of-print titles that evoke a different era. Many thanks to Nicole and Tony Britton for hosting the event -- and most especially for starting the Little Library and keeping it well stocked 24/7 with interesting titles! 

And please browse the list of Online Resources (after the photos) kindly provided by Nicole Britton to help your little readers with summer reading programs! Happy Summer! Happy Reading!

online resources

summer reading Programs

FCPS Book Your Summer  Program

                  http://fcps.edu/is/book/

Fairfax County Library’s Summer Reading Program

                  http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/srp/

Scholastic’s Summer Reading Challenge

http://www.scholastic.com/ups/campaigns/src-2016

Barnes & Noble’s Summer Reading Triathlon

                  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/summer-reading/_/N-rs9

Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! Summer Reading Program

                  http://www.bookitprogram.com/summer/default.asp

Book Lists & other resources

PBS Kids Summer Adventure

                  http://www.pbs.org/parents/summer/

Reading Is Fundamental’s Free E-Books                                                    

                  http://www.rif.org/50ebooks/

Association for Library Service to Children- 2016 Summer Reading Lists

                  http://www.ala.org/alsc/2016-summer-reading-list

Reading Rockets Summer Book List

http://www.readingrockets.org/articles/books/c349

National Endowment for the Humanities Non-Fiction Book List

http://www.neh.gov/news/nonfiction-favorites

Start with a Book

                  http://www.startwithabook.org/

Library of Congress Family Activities

                  https://www.loc.gov/visit/activities-for-kids-and-families/

School's Out! Annual Homework Burn Highlights!

THANK YOU to the Wroblewskis who offered up their driveway and lots of hospitality to host the Annual Homework Burn! About 20 kids and 40 people attended, and we lucked out on the weather (not too hot not too rainy not too muggy). The kids pulled apart  their notebooks and balled up their worksheets with admirable focus and determination - so much so that a second fire pit soon became necessary! The Wroblewskis kept the hot dogs and marshmallows coming. All the kids had a great time stoking the fires and then playing games such as sharks and minnows. Ages from kindergarten through 9th graders - (or dare we call them rising first graders to rising sophomores?  not till September thank you very much!)

The next fun thing is right around the corner - Summer Reading Kick-off Sunday afternoon at the Little Free Library in st James place - tables of free books for kids and adults, so bring a book to swap or come empty handed - either way you are sure to find a good free read :)

Here are lots of fun photos of the Homework Burn!

Weekend Invasive Plant Pull

Mother's Day weekend was a great one for Mother Nature. About 40 volunteers turned out to clear invasive plants such as English Ivy, multiflora rose and Japanese Honeysuckle from the public green space at Dye Drive and Brad Street. Volunteers included neighbors and strangers, scouts and students. They came from as far away as Silver Spring and as nearby as across the street. They collected  23 ginormous bags of weeds as well as a pile of brush. Most importantly,  a wider expanse of trees and forest floor can breathe again! Which means dormant native plants have been given a chance to re-establish themselves. Many thanks to Boy Scout Troop 140 and Pack 675 for all their hard work!

Here are a lot of photos from this fun and environmentally worthy event! 

Raymondale Annual Meeting Wrap-Up and Bee Morning

About 50 Raymondale residents turned out last week for the civic association's first annual meeting to be held in the spring. The food was great and the company was even better. Kids made crafts and ran around outside in the lingering daylight-- something that would not have been possible when the annual meeting was held in cold, dark November! Among highlights of the meeting, guest speaker Sarah McGowan, who is a master naturalist, shared tips and resources for habitat-friendly gardening. Minutes will be available soon. Thanks to everyone who attended and brought food, and to all the teen volunteers who helped with setup, cleanup and child care.  

And the next morning, the Wroblewski family hosted bee expert Doug, who spoke about the importance of planting flowering plants for our vital pollinators. Several attendees decided they want to have bee hives too! Here are some photos as well as one of the neighborhood fox, who I suspect isn't really into beekeeping.