The Dog Days of Summer!

July 15- August 15

Hot dog! It sure has been an amazing summer with this extraordinary group of kids! We've been so busy having fun that we haven't had a chance to update you all with a blog post 😎!

We were lucky enough to have the 4's class (and upcoming Y5/Kindergarteners) join us recently for the remainder of the summer. It has only added to the level of fun in our group! We can't believe there's just one more full week before they're off to school. It's sure to be a bittersweet ending to the summer.

What have we been up to these last few weeks, you ask? Well, only the most amazing adventures ever! We, of course, couldn't resist checking out the carnival 🎠🎡during Coast Guard week to get an idea of what was in store should they venture down with their family. We spent a morning baking (and EATING) chocolate chip cookies 🍪. Yum! We traveled to Hofma Park for a picnic 🥪and time at the playground. LOTS of arts & craft activities kept us busy during our down time (see adorable stuffed creations below) 🎨. We were able to see the daily train comin' down the tracks 🚂. And last, but certainly not least, a fire truck 🚒 stopped by the JN parking lot and paid us a visit, along with a special pizza delivery for lunch 🍕! Phew, are we missing anything?! Check out the photos of all the action below:

Our Latest Adventures!

July 1-12

Wow! It's been a busy few weeks here at Joyful Noise! The school-agers have been enjoying many adventures throughout town and beating the heat with lots of water play 🌞🍉💦😅😎

We really loved visiting William Hatton Park off Jackson, near the old Pere Marquette Station. This park has been in existence since the 1860's, when the railroad leased the property to Grand Haven to be used as a park. It was later named after William Hatton, a well-known civic leader, businessman, and philanthropist in the community. During it's heyday, and when the train station was in full operation, it was a popular gathering place and picnic spot for passengers boarding or departing the trains. 

The kids also really had a blast running up and down 5 Mile Hill, located off Prospect St. and Mulligan's Hollow. While we were there, we took advantage of the Imagination Station 2.0! We absolutely 💗 the upgrades to this playground! So much fun :)

Summertime, and the Livin' Is Easy!

June 24-28

The school-agers are thoroughly enjoying the beautiful change in the weather! We're taking advantage of all this town has to offer, and just living our best life 😎

We had such a fun day at the GH state park on Tuesday. They spent the morning building sand sculptures, dipping their toes in the (cold) water, playing on the playground, and finished with a picnic lunch. We feel so blessed to have this beautiful body of water just a short bus trip away. 

On Wednesday, we devoured ice cream cones at the Dairy Treat! So tasty 😛🍦 We followed that up with a walk to the waterfront to check out the sailboat sculpture and do some boat watching.

Check out some of our own sculptures below that we've been working on in the classroom!

One Small Step For Man, One GIANT Leap for the School-Agers!

June 17-21, 2019

Hallelujah, the weather is finally beginning to warm up! We had a blast last week and packed a lot of adventures into 5 short days :)

We got a chance to use our handmade walking sticks on a hike through Duncan Woods. We traversed the hills and trails as if we were the first to discover this uncharted territory...which geared us up for the Air Zoo: Fly Me to the Moon program at the Loutit Library on Thursday, where we learned about the first moon landing and investigated gravity and moon craters! Did you know that July 20th marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon?! Read more about the Apollo missions HERE. 🌒🚀

On Wednesday, we took the Harbor Transit to the GH 9 Theater for a showing of Smallfoot. This super cute movie is about a Yeti who is convinced that a human (Smallfoot) actually exists and has to prove to his tribe that he's real. We had a lot of laughs with this one 😂

And finally, we enjoyed the beautiful day on Friday at Pottawatomie Park, where we had a picnic lunch and played at the playground. We even had some downhill rolling races! Check out the photos below: