Graz 2024

  This place deserves is own post. I, personally, have been on chocolate tours before. I've never been more impressed with the commitment to delicious chocolate from bean to bar. Mr. Zotter was even walking around the grounds today, picked up some litter, and stopped and spoke with people.  You start in a movie theater and learn how Zotter's contracts with many different countries to get bring the cacao to Austria. All of the beans are harvested in ways that promote the health of the land. Many are even sailed (wind power) instead of ships that use fuel.  You walk out and straight into the factory, but with walls protecting the chocolate from everyone's drool. Lol! You take a spoon and the you proceed to taste everything. Beans, milk, flavorings, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate and not just all blended together. No... not here. You can taste the chocolate from Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Uganda, and Madagascar to name a few.  Then you realize that all of t...

  Your children are the best! The enthusiasm for cleaning up along the river was amazing! Not only are they smiling here, but you'll see the smiles at the end.  Acy finds all the nooks and crannies and makes sure the walking path is sauber. Oops! I mean clean.  Here Josie and Makayla find the underside of a bench that needed a thorough cleaning.  Who doesn't love to see Kaylee smile??? Sweet Josie and The Face.  😆 Elena took a moment to pose for the camera.  Catching Charles unaware is tough, but it was managed.  Here Giles and Acy attempt to blend into the surroundings so that everything is clean.  Who couldn't adore this group? They even managed to pick up an Austrian student who helped along the way. Be the good. Do the good.  COSA??? What could this be? It's the MOST hands-on science place I've ever been to! The students actually purposely stayed over an hour past time just to experience more.  Here students went head to head...lite...

Students learned how to create faux leather bags from the inner tubes of truck tires- cutting, sewing and riveting was involved- fun was had and a LOT of new vocabulary was learned! We've dubbed Josie with "The Face" for all pictures. She's always bubbly. Makayla's grin shows how much she enjoyed this activity.  I'm pretty sure all the kids enjoyed using this tool. New skills! Templates and concentration was needed to construct their items.  The kids really seemed to enjoy this interaction.  The Kunsthaus was a pretty cool looking building. The refer to it as "the friendly alien." It was even neater from the inside.  The art displayed was on the topic of labor and work. As an adult it was useful to reflect on the hours we spend not only on the stuff we get paid to do but the labor of living. It made for an unusual topic for most students who haven't worked a 40 hour or week job.