Happy Not Back to School Day!
It was the day after Labor Day, and we did not go back to school. I'm kind of contrary like that. We'll start back tomorrow, though it will pretty much be syllabus day, so I'm not sure that really counts, either. Instead, we did our traditional post Labor Day activity of going to a museum and enjoying having it all to ourselves. I didn't really have the right kind of food for packing a lunch, so this year we were constrained by where we could get to and back in the afternoon. Living here is the faaaaaar Western suburbs means that our options were somewhat limited.
I decided to head to the National Museum of Mexican Art in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. I had meant to take everyone there when we were studying Mexico last year, but for one reason and another, it never happened. This seemed like a great opportunity to make that up. So, off we went after an early lunch.
It's a small museum, with only two galleries currently open, but we saw some interesting things. My children really enjoy art museums. I actually think most children enjoy looking at art, we just don't give them the opportunities, thinking they will be bored. Of course, we don't just wander (though we do that, too). I read signs, ask questions, tell them what I like about a piece of art, and ask them what they like. We probably spent over an hour looking in the two galleries.
The gift store was almost like an exhibit itself, and everyone enjoyed looking at the things there. Because the museum is free, I felt as though I could splurge and get a few things. This was partly because I found a cookbook that I really felt I needed.
Everything in it looks fantastic, and since all my children love Mexican food, it seemed like a smart purchase. I also bought some Mexican hot chocolate... because it's good, and I've never seen at least one of the flavors (salted almond).
The hot chocolate was a hit. Here are some people enjoying their steaming cup of chocolate on the 90+ degree day.
I decided to head to the National Museum of Mexican Art in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. I had meant to take everyone there when we were studying Mexico last year, but for one reason and another, it never happened. This seemed like a great opportunity to make that up. So, off we went after an early lunch.
It's a small museum, with only two galleries currently open, but we saw some interesting things. My children really enjoy art museums. I actually think most children enjoy looking at art, we just don't give them the opportunities, thinking they will be bored. Of course, we don't just wander (though we do that, too). I read signs, ask questions, tell them what I like about a piece of art, and ask them what they like. We probably spent over an hour looking in the two galleries.
The gift store was almost like an exhibit itself, and everyone enjoyed looking at the things there. Because the museum is free, I felt as though I could splurge and get a few things. This was partly because I found a cookbook that I really felt I needed.
Everything in it looks fantastic, and since all my children love Mexican food, it seemed like a smart purchase. I also bought some Mexican hot chocolate... because it's good, and I've never seen at least one of the flavors (salted almond).
The wrapper is empty because of course, everyone had to come home and try some.
The other two things I bought were a cool gourd rattle to add to our musical instrument collection and a small set of paintings by Frida Kahlo, because we had learned about her last year while we studied Mexico.
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