Wednesday, August 23, 2023

A Day at the Burkes' Rainbow Nursery

Hi everyone!

Here are, finally, the promised pictures of the nursery school! 

Special thanks to my dear friend, Berna, who gifted me this adorable building.

Hope you enjoy them! :)

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Carissa Burke and her husband Bruce are a young couple who has moved to Arcfield relatively recently, soon after becoming parents for the first time. They met when they were both studying at Town, and have been inseparable since. Carissa has now realised her wish to open a nursery school, which she decided to call "Rainbow Nursery" and decorate with rainbow motives in honour of the village's name.

First thing in the morning, before her little pupils arrive to the nursery school, Carissa likes to tidy up and set everything up for them; some toys are a must, of course! 

The mothers of Arcfield were a little wary of leaving their little ones with a stranger at first, but as soon as they slowly came to know Carissa, they quickly changed their minds; she had a kind disposition and a calm, soothing effect on the babies, even the most boisterous ones. Most importantly, all the littles ones seemed to love her!

Some of the babies are dropped in the nursery school earlier than others, so they take advantage of the opportunity to play outside together while everyone arrives.

Wilbur Robinson has come to bring his youngest daughter, Cali, to the Rainbow Nursery. It's usually her mum who drops her off, so Cali is a little nervous today, but Carissa's kind words soon distract her. Fliss, Wilbur's wife, is busy today preparing food and several of her famous blackcurrant pies for a special event at their pub, The Blackcurrant Bush.

As everyone finishes arriving, even Clement, Lionel Grande's butler, who is just passing by on a walk with little Gilda, his employer's youngest daughter, is impressed at how bright and welcoming the nursery school is and how great Carissa is with the children. He wonders if spending some mornings here with the other babies would be good for young Miss Gilda.

  

Inside, the babies draw, paint, start to learn the alphabet and the numbers, and most importantly, play.

 

I think those Chocolate Labrador triplets are up to no good! :D

Since her students are so young, Carissa doesn't really teach structured classes; she prefers to let the little ones learn on their own, led by their own curiosity and will to experiment. However, she makes sure to always be nearby in case they need her, and she also spends individual time with each of them to make sure they learn their basic skills.

One thing that Carissa does actively try to pass on to her students is her love of music, which is what she studied back in Town. The little ones love their daily instrument time! She's also planning to organize a little play for one of the annual Arcfield town events, though that is still only an idea in her mind. She thinks it would be fun and educational for the children to prepare the stage, dress up in costumes and learn a couple of lines by heart, or even improvise.



But, even though Carissa Burke loves all her nursery school pupils very much, there is one baby that she's always looking forward to seeing the most, and that's the apple of her eye, her baby daughter Adelaide, Addie for short. It's always the brightest, happiest moment of her day when her dear husband Bruce comes by with their little one after the nursery school closes down and the three of them go have a walk as a family before heading back home for the day.


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Hope you enjoyed this little story, if you can even call it that! Real life has been very busy and demanding, and I've been quite tired and lacking time, but I'm happy to have been able to publish this post at last. 

I leave you with some pictures of the nursery school up close.



Thank you for reading everyone, and have a wonderful day!

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

July and August 2023 Calendar Pictures

Hi everyone!

Apologies for disappearing during the month of July, oops! I've been well, just busy with work and the house-buying process I mentioned in my last post. It's being a bit stressful and we still haven't signed the papers, but hopefully we'll be able to get everything done, little by little. We hope to move by maybe early next year, we want to take things slowly. Maybe it'll be sooner, who knows!

I was also away for two weeks in July for my summer vacation, but I am now back, so here are the pictures from Cutata's wonderful calendar for both last month and this present one:

July:

 

For the month of July, we have a lovely and colourful picture of Betty Blackberry's juice bar in Sweet Berry Valley. I'm sure her tasty and refreshing juice would be the perfect choice for a hot summer day. Cutata made Betty a little stand with some shelter from the sun, and I think that's a wonderful idea. Arcfield's Ophelia Blackberry is quite jealous! Betty also thought of her costumers and set up a lovely area for them to enjoy their drinks under an umbrella. Love this picture, and seeing the Maces grandparents is quite nice as well. I wish they still made grandparent figures!

Don't forget that Betty also had a spot in the Farmer's Market!

August:

 


The Neptune family is enjoying a wonderful day at the beach! I just adore their tiny swimsuits, they're so perfect! Cutata made them out of ballons, and let me tell you, it's way harder than it looks, haha! I tried it and failed miserably, but then again, I've never been very good at crafting. I also adore this picture, with the endearing Sylvanians and the cute tiny seashells!

I've recently finished taking the pictures for the Sylvanian nursery school story I've been planning, so hopefully that'll be posted soon! :)

Have a wonderful month of August and stay safe and healthy, everyone!