Autumn Fun at the Apple Orchard ~ Field Trip Friday

We had a rainy Field Trip Friday to the apple orchard.  And I left my umbrellas in the car, even though it had already sprinkled on the way there.  sigh...

I also left Malachi in the car.  It was easier than dealing with his grumping about the sprinkles and he's old enough to read a book and vegetate in the dry, warm vehicle.  When I got back to the car and placed the apples in the back, he had turned the heat up and it was nice and toasty.   It's only September, so it will be a while before he will relent and start wearing warm clothes.

We all got together for a group photo.  We *may* have been running late because a sign told us the road ahead was closed, but when we took the detour, we realized the road *south* of where we needed to be and we would have been fine had we just kept going.  sigh...  Yes.  It was one of those sigh filled mornings.

Next we hopped on a wooden wagon and headed off to the orchard.  The pickers are men from Jamaica who have been coming to the orchard for 25 years now!  On the way to the lovely red beauties, we learned a bit of apple trivia.

I will post the answers to these questions at the end of this post.

1.  Why can't you bob for pears like we do for apples in the fall?

2.  Which countries produce the most apples?

3.  What is the only apple native to this country?

4.  How many apple varieties have been here in the USA?

Think it over and see how well you know the answers.

The punks *loved* the apple train where the pickers would unload their precious cargo.  The bags they carry have a fabric bottom that can be released, lowering the apples gently into the carts.  No dumping happens here.  We wouldn't want bruised apples in the store!  They also thought the shape of the ladder was interesting.  It's very narrow at the top.

My happy apple pickers.

We didn't let the sprinkles stop us from enjoying the orchard, but our seats were wet when we climbed back aboard the wagon.  A few clever souls remembered umbrellas and rain ponchos.  But we are hearty, hear us roar.  Also, I don't think Mrs. E and Mrs. C are properly using this *plastic* poncho.  Kids, don't try this at home!

At the store, we shopped for a few yummy items and Merrick and his friend got to pet the chicks.  Then we said goodbyes and headed home.  If it hadn't been raining, there were donkeys to pet and a picnic planned, but why stir the pot when it had been a very fine day? 

I hope you get out this fall and enjoy apple picking, pumpkin harvesting, or even a fun corn maze!



Now, like I promised, here are the answers to the trivia questions.
1.  Apples are as much as 25% air, which allows them to float.  There is almost no air in pears, so they would sink.  (I actually have not tested this, but I think it would be a fun experiment to do with your kids.)
2.  We were told the largest apple producers (in order) are China, USA, Turkey, Poland, and Italy.  A quick internet search suggests that India may have bumped Italy from fifth place.
3.  Crabapples are the only apples native to North America.  Other types were brought from Europe in the 1700s.
4.  At one time, there were over 16,000 (that's THOUSANDS) varieties of apple in the US.  There are now only 7,000 varieties here.

Day 4 Outside the Home ~ Back to Homeschool 2017

Do you school all by your onesies?  Did you know you don't have to?  Certainly, you *can* but if you'd rather not, there are so many options "out there."  Right now, on a local homeschooling facebook group there are applications for new co-ops, listings for art, open gym, nature, just about anything you could want.  It's pretty amazing and I'm so glad we're schooling in the here and now and not back in the "olden days" of homeschooling.

Today, I'm sharing some of the things we like to do outside of our homeschool.  This is not an exhaustive list of possibilities, just what we manage to fit in.

1. Co-op.  This is our ninth year in our co-op, we started when Mal was four and Xav was two.  Our little group has been around for over 25 years, so it's pretty established and there is a waiting list.  We keep it between 20-25 families or so.  Parents teach the classes that last the full year (16-18 meeting days).  The off weeks, we usually have a field trip, ski lessons, or skating.  Classes range from academic to fun (although, they can be both!).  I guess what I really mean is core or electives.  The students are aged three to seniors in high school.  Babies and toddlers stay in the nursery or with Mom.  I've taught such courses as Stop-Motion animation, Walk Like the Animals (where the kiddos did, literally, learn how to walk like a different animal every week, as well as lots of other fun things about the animal), and Magic School Bus classes.  This year, I'll be teaching classes about native Americans, spies, and helping in a train class.
2. Sports.  Some schools (depending on your state or district) allow homeschoolers to participate in sports.  Recreation departments, the Y, and private instructors are all options, too.  Xav has attended PE classes at the local elementary school.  Mal receives private instruction in Tae Kwon Do at another nearby school.  They've had swimming instruction through a rec department and a private instructor.  Xav and Merrick have also attended gymnastics camps.  We've even gotten archery and ski lessons through our co-op.
3. Libraries.  We have no fewer than four library cards.  I see at least one more in our near future.  Libraries off so many fun opportunities and neat programs.  We often attend a nature class.  They have reading clubs, crafts, and story hours.  
4. Field trips!  I love field trips.  (And I'm laughing now, because I typed fiend trips.)   We've been to zoos, corn mazes, cider mills, water parks, historical sites, state parks, fire departments, police departments, a castle, the Moving Wall (Vietnam Memorial), a granite quarry, a goat dairy, museums, planetariums, aquariums, science centers...  Are you getting some good ideas?

There are so many other places to school "outside the home" (including nature!), but that's the bulk of the not-at-home education my punks receive.  I hope you're feeling inspired and find something fun to do outside *your* home next time a funky school day gets you all down.

ETA:  We haven't done *all* of these things at once, or even on any given year!  Do what fits your lifestyle and personalities.  Happy Homeschooling!

Crazy Contraptions Co-op Class (I promise, no more intentional alliteration.)

Dad taught a class this past year at our co-op called Crazy Contraptions.  How our co-op works is that right after we finish the school year, each family completes an end of year survey.  One of the sections on the form asks what the students would be interested in learning about and what classes the parents would be interested in teaching the following year.  Those suggestions are turned into a prospective class list and sent back out to families for a first round of voting, each child choosing up to five courses.  That's the step we are at right now.  Soon, we'll get the second round and will probably have to choose a top three.  I do admit, there has been a time or two I've pretended I couldn't count and selected four classes for a kid.  That usually happens when one of the older punks really wants to choose a class, I'd rather they not take.  I include their list and my preference with an explanation.

Anyhoo, an unsuspecting parent is sometimes asked to teach an instructorless class.  Enter, Micah.  LOL  In the end, the students in the class ended up being younger than anticipated (he had ten boys twelve and younger), so the projects became a bit easier after the first one.  Here are some of the Crazy Contraptions the boys ended up making.

A walking robot thingy.

A do nothing box thingy.

A working catapult.

Rube Goldberg machines.

Paper and duct tape rockets.

Hovercraft.

They also made the rattlesnake egg pranks (remember those?).  The boys were so excited the next time we met to tell us all about who they frightened.  And Micah took in a Jacob's ladder he made.

Mrs. A and I helped with class almost every week.  We also invited Mrs. M, Mrs. P, Mr. R, and Mr. C to help out once or thrice (the punks are loving that word lately).   Co-op is a great example of gaining knowledge for our kiddos from people outside of our home (though, in this case, it was Dad).

What are some ways you share your talents with others or borrow from other adults and older kiddos for your children?

Autumn Fun at the Corn Maze ~ Field Trip Friday

Crunchy leaves, cool air, pumpkins, and corn mazes.  How about apples and cider donuts?  Fall is a favorite season.

We had a gorgeous day for a corn maze and some outdoor fun with our co-op friends. Some folks went pumpkin picking in the morning, but Grandma and Poppa of the Forest had already brought our pumpkins and mums to us on a visit.

We met everyone at the pavilion at the market and had lunch together.  The kids barely ate because the playground was so much fun.

Besides the usual slides and climbing things, they had a wooden mini tractor and wagon.  That novelty was a seriously big hit.  Mal climbed inside the tractor and pretended to be the engine.  Some of the little kids thought that was pretty cool.

The corn maze had stations that you had to find to punch your cards.  We were given two different kinds of cards.  They served different purposes, but both were great.  One had the actual maze on it, with the actual punch locations marked, which *may* have been cheating but was fun to try to follow.  The other card was a mystery to solve.  Boots the dog was taken from the farm by monsters.  You saw the clue at each punch and punched the monster and its hiding place on your card.  At the end, whatever was left was the monster who had taken Boots and where Boots was hidden.

Heart Island, NY - Field Trip Friday

Every May, our co-op enjoys an amazing field trip that involves a bit of a drive, a hotel stay, and a bigger than your usual field trip kind of destination.  This is what all that fundraising we do throughout the year is all about.  So a big THANK YOU to everyone who buys fruit or fudge and shops at Hannaford's for us!

Boldt Castle on Heart Island was on our list of possibilities last year and came in a close second.  We added it back in this year and chose it.  It was a great trip.  From the hotel, to the boat ride, to the actual castle in the Thousand Islands, everything was perfect.  It was breezy and cool, but not cold or rainy.  Since we were outside a lot, that made a very pleasant trip.

We stayed at The Best Western in Watertown.  The boys could *not* wait to use the pool!  In the evening, Micah was able to get a run on the treadmill, so his schedule wasn't terribly interrupted.  It also had a huge room for breakfast and we took it over for games and a pizza party in the evening.  We also enjoyed their full breakfast Monday before we left for Alexandria Bay.

Uncle Sam Boat Tours took us to the island and to the yacht house on a nearby island.  I don't want to get ahead of myself about that place!  The people were all terrific and no boats sank with us on board, so I consider that a success!

The Castle

The castle was being built by a hotel magnate George Boldt for his wife as a gift.  Louise died before completion and the home was never completed.  It was left to rot where it stood and was vandalized.  The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority owns and is rebuilding the "castle" and other buildings.  Almost all of it is accessible to the public.

I want to say there were six levels from the foundation to the top.  In the foundation, there was a small pool.  One side of the foundation opened right out at ground level.  A tunnel led out to the grounds on the power house side.

The entry and grand staircase with kitchen, dining rooms (formal, maid, and servant), reception areas, den (or library), and sitting room were on the first floor.  On this floor, there also was a ballroom with a pipe organ and doors opening to the veranda that looked out over the gardens.

The second floor housed the family bedrooms and bathrooms.  There also was a small theater for modern day visitors to see a short film about the Boldt family, the life they led, and the building and abandonment of Boldt Castle.  The end of the video was a bit silly, claiming the Boldts' spirits have been seen roaming the grounds.  This is also where the gift shop is located.The entire floor was not finished and part of every level from here up was closed off.

The third floor seemed to be intended for nice sized rooms as well.  Maybe for guests?  I didn't look at the architectural plans on the wall.  I should have because from here up, I'm guessing about the purpose of each area.  (Ah ha!  I found the Boldt Castle map brochure which shows floor plans.  You can check it out.  I'm leaving my impressions of the upper levels here, but they aren't 100% accurate.)

The two higher levels, I imagine would have housed servants.  There was one odd, round window I noticed and couldn't figure out. But when I went out on a balcony, I could see that it made perfect sense on the face of the building.

Around Heart Island

Heart Island has several out buildings.  There was a power house where the generators to power the island were to be kept. It's connected to the island by an arched bridge.  It was severely damaged by a fire in the 1930s and now has some displays and old photographs of life on the river.  It was neat to see the games and other entertainments held on the St. Lawrence.

Alster Tower, or the "children's playhouse" was an incredible stone building surrounded by nooks and crannies and small sized doors.  The bowling alley was in this building as well as a billiards room.  The plans called for bedrooms and cafes and dancing areas.  This was the most castle-like building of them all to me, resembling a corner defense tower that would be set in an exterior castle wall.

The Dove-Cote once held the water tank for the island buildings and is where they kept fancy birds.  It was the first tower built on the island.

There was a lovely gazebo in the gardens around the island which had several heart shaped areas and fountains.  There also is a swan pond, which is actually void of swans.

The entry arch was stunning.  We didn't go in that way, there is another dock where visitors are brought in.  It once was the entry where guests would arrive.  It was never completed, as it was intended to have covered walkways.  Three stags, or harts (a play on the heart theme?), were placed atop the arch.

This is the part where we pointed out the yacht house on another island and the boys asked how we would get there.  Micah said, "Swim, of course."

Swim, little fish boys!

The Yacht House

The yacht house is located on nearby Wellesley Island.  Here, antique boats are housed.  We not only saw all of the wonderful boats, but Xav asked many appropriate questions and we learned about the screw jacks that raise and lower the boat decks for storage or use, respectively.

The steam yacht, The Kestrel, was housed there.  It was donated by a private owner.  Other boats on the premises, have been provided for display by the Antique Boat museum.

The building also housed the Yacht House keeper and his family.  The first floor of their tower home was also open to visitors.

I kept looking at the whole estate, especially from the river, and admiring the beauty of it.  Micah said he looks at it and just sees a lot of maintenance.  I think Dad Boldt probably wouldn't have had to worry about the maintenance himself.  He would have hired plenty of people to take care of all of that.  There is still so much work to be done, it's mind boggling.

I found an inflation calculator which tells me $1,000,000 then is over $24,000,000 today, so the Boldt family certainly had plenty of money.  No matter how wealthy someone is, though, the abandonment of the island was a terrible waste of money.  And I'm a bit romantic myself, but I thought never stepping foot back on the island (where neither of them died) seemed silly.

It was a really fun day with our co-op friends, definitely one of my favorite trips.

Things We Do For PE in our Homeschool - Archery

We're just wrapping up our seventh year with a local homeschool co-op.  SEVEN!  Wow.  We've taken part in some classes at co-op that can count as Phys Ed.  This year, and three years ago, Xavier has participated in an archery course at a Pro Shop with indoor and outdoor archery ranges.  For just a few dollars per lesson, he has learned safety and accuracy with a bow from trained individuals with a passion to keep the sport alive.  Our co-op has offered archery for as long as we've been there and longer.  They have built a great partnership with the archery shop and we certainly have benefited from that.

 Aaaaaand, I have no photos of Xav at archery

 that don't show faces of everyone else, sooooo...

*insert imaginary photo here*

Ask around for co-ops that offer PE courses (and be open to the idea that you may need to teach courses at the co-op in order to participate).  Also, check with local pro shops that specialize in one or two sports and see if they have a driving or shooting range and offer instruction.  Your own local community is a great place to find resources!  

Movement and Muscles

So, I haven't blogged a lot about our co-op in a long time.  I may have mentioned that my boys are pretty active.  Almost six hours at Friday School this year makes for a long day with a lot of sitting.  Near the end of last year and over the summer, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what we would do to get some of the energy out in the middle of that day.  The end result was my class, Movement and Muscles.  It's based on a well established class for the littles that we call Wiggles & Giggles.  Our little ones learn to take turns and raise hands while they practice listening activities like musical chairs.  They tumble and dance, play with hoops and jump on a small trampoline, they roll on mats and hop on one foot. 

Movement and Muscles is for the older active kids at co-op.  My two boys are in and as well as a few other kids in the seven-12 age range.  I think I would have had more students, but *someone* decided to offer a Lego class the same period.  Drat!  If I would have let them, I would have lost Mal and Xav as well, but since I designed the whole class for their benefit and they can play Legos all day at home, I nixed that idea.

The class begins with a lesson about a muscle group.  It's very short, just 5-10 minutes, usually followed by an activity or two that involves using those specific muscles.  I think it's really important that they get used to recognizing what muscles are being engaged as they participate.  The remainder of the one hour class goes by quickly, as that's when we go a little crazy.

Some of our activities this year included:

• Jump ropes
• Hula hoops
• Dribbling balls with our feet around cones
• Chinese jumprope
• Exercise bands
• Mats
• ABCs of exercise (I've found a lot of these lists online)
• Beanbag games
• Threading nuts onto bolts
• Juggling

 It has been a very busy year!

Unfortunately, Mal often misses out on half of the activities.  He's really having a hard time reigning himself in for the class and not just losing all control.  And, like every class lucky enough to get both of my boys, I have to keep them separated.  They are learning that we are a team, but like most of us, some lessons are harder for them than others.

Thinking about all of the fun and goofiness we've had in this class brings a huge smile to my face.  I really appreciate the moms who have been so helpful to us and were/are so willing to participate.  Mid-year we lost Ms. Jane, who Malachi absolutely adored, but Mrs. Anderson is still jumping jacking her way through school with us and I really appreciate her help.

CFS Chapel 2/11/11

I have this ongoing love/hate relationship with Facebook.  One thing they're doing right, though, is their "On This Day" app.  I love to look back at all of my old posts for a specific day over the past seven or so years.  I like reminiscing. I enjoy the reminders of funny things the kids say, great days, and even some sadder moments.  Recently, I stumbled across an old outline for a Friday School chapel I wrote five years ago.  It's about preparedness and submitting to God.  I thought I'd share that here.

This is the outline for CFS Chapel 2/11/11

*Show backpack*

What is this?

A bug-out or go bag is a portable kit that contains the items one would require to survive for seventy two hours when evacuating from a disaster.

What is the importance of having a go bag?

What is in a go bag?

Flashlight
What is the benefit of having a flashlight?

Some responses – see into the darkness, light the path ahead.

Verse – In John 12:46, Jesus said, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."

Clothes
What is the benefit of having a change of clothing?

Some responses – warmth, modesty, cleanliness, comfort.

Verse – Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

Food
What is the benefit of having food?

Some responses – energy and strength.

Verse – Psalm 136:25 He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.

Water
What is the benefit of having water?

Some responses – hydrates, quenches thirst.

Verse – John 4:14 ...but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Radio
What is the benefit of having a radio?

Some responses – news, communication.

Verse – Luke 2:9-12 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.


Bible – the ultimate go book.
Who was one of the most prepared people in the Bible? The biggest go bag ever had to have been Noah's ark. Noah built an ark according to God's specifications and loaded it with food for all of the animals and for his family.
The memory verse is Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
The point of all of this is that you never know when God is going to ask something of you or what it will be, how outrageous it will be. But be prepared to submit and GO!

Chalkboard Vases and Jars

At co-op last year, we decided to have each family make or buy individual thank you gifts for our board members rather than give an impersonal gift card.  This is the craft I decided on.

I used Valspar Chalkboard spray paint to cover some inexpensive glass vases.  It was a really simple process and I was pleased with the results.  The finished product was nice and smooth.  I wrote a monogram on each vase and covered *just the monogram* with hairspray to seal it.  That left the rest of the vase to be decorated and changed by the recipient however and as often as they wanted.  Just an FYI, if you make this project, when I sprayed the sealant, the monograms became very light until it dried.  I would not expect the monogram to hold up to much washing.  But how much washing does a chalkboard vase need?

I also had these hinged jars.  They're a lot like old mason jars.  Since I had chalkboard paint left over, I removed the metal hardware and sprayed these two jars as well.  I gave one to Trish for her birthday (along with a "I eat glitter for breakfast" Tshirt).

I finished up with three small magnet boards.  I had purchased them at The Christmas Tree Shop ages ago.  I always want to spell that shoppe.  I hot glued magnets to some neat flat, white, glass pebbles I had.  Those were gifted to my mom, step-mom, and mother-in-law.  I was a little disappointed in the texture and am not sure if it was because I painted metal, the weather the day I worked on them, or because it was nearing the end of the can of paint.

My CFS chapel 2015

I can't believe we are on our *seventh* year at Christian Friday School.  Time flies.  Each year, all the kiddos are assigned a week to present on a topic of their choice or play an instrument.  Moms get to come up with a chapel presentation.  Some moms invite a guest to do their chapel.  I admit, every year I am sorely tempted to do the same thing.  I haven't yet, but I do half-heartedly attempt to get Micah to do it for me. He won't present, but he does sometimes help me prepare.  

My chapel presentation at Friday School this year was a mixture of Micah's idea last spring and some thoughts I had as I started to try to put it together. Every year, I think of some great chapel ideas. I never write them down. So when Micah suggested a topic along the lines of “Don't believe the lies you're told, you have value.” and mentioned someone trying to sell a rare comic book and being told it was worthless by the nefarious comic book store owner, I wrote it down. I've read it a few times since then and I've mulled over how to make it my own, keeping the great message.

What I ended up doing, was a game show. I invited three of our co-op drama kids to help me out as well as one mom. Each of the girls were given the assignment of finding some crazy object around the house and making up a silly story about it's origin, uses, and value. Then I (the crooked talk show host) would try to take advantage of them.

Two of my helpers were very quick to “sell” their items to me. One, in exchange for a “genuine” chicken egg (a pink, plastic egg) and one for a candle with the wick removed (so it could never be lit, natch!). The third girl flat out refused my offers of pocket lint, fame, fortune, etc. It was quite frustrating, actually. But our co-op mom stood behind her and kept telling her encouraging words about her value as a child of God. 

At the end of the show, I asked her how she was able to resist the wonders I offered. She had a Bible. And darn it all, she *read* it!

Then I spoke about the enemy's lies. The egg represented the false things we believe are true, how something can be nearly right, but deceives us. The candle without a wick could never be lit. The darkness can never overcome light, but without that wick, this particular candle can't shine.

The real “secret” is to hide God's Word in our hearts. Memorizing verses can seem tedious. Maybe we think we've forgotten all the verses we've memorized. But when the time comes and we really need a verse, it's still there. We find it when we need comfort, protection, and guidance.

What are some lies you've been told?  Do you know your true value?

 

Week in Review 9/7 and 9/14/14

    In my life this week…
The boys were all sick and I was rocking the Kathleen Turner voice.  If there is a respiratory thing going around, Xav gets the croup.  Even Mal was croupy this time.

I keep saying corrective things to the boys, that might be directed right back at myself.  That's certainly somewhat uncomfortable.

    In our homeschool this week...
I'm trying to give Merrick more intentional activities.  My hope is that this accomplishes two things.  He is more involved in "school" with us, thus actively learning, and so we can accomplish more in the morning, possibly taking a short quiet time break in the afternoon when we usually have school.

    In our homeschool co-op this week... 
On the 12th, we missed our first Friday School because of our colds.  Micah went in and taught his class, but I had to take advantage of my sub.

Can you believe I got the hairy eyeball for this back to school pic?

This year, classes include:
Magic School Bus Science for Mal and Xav, Wiggles and Giggles for Merrick.
Flat Stanley for Mal, Little House on the Prairie for Xav, and Round Box for Merrick.
Oceanography for Mal, Mr. Fix-It for Xav, and Nature for Merrick.
We didn't sign up for anything 4th period this year.

Our field trip on the 19th was to a golf course for a tour and driving lesson, followed by a picnic at another Friday School family's home. 

    Merrick...
He's been playing musical beds for a while now; crib, Beepa's bed, the recliner.  Back and forth all night long.

    Xavier...
Xav: "What's a nasty gram?"
Me: "It's a howler for muggles."

Xav had his second (and last) official trail run of the year.

Micah: "Xav, are you looking forward to running?"
Xav: "Yes."
Micah: "Then smile." *pause* *sigh*

PS Excuse his top lip.  Every time he gets a cold, he licks his face raw!

    What we're reading... 
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire   (Don't judge.  It's a long book and they don't get a chapter every night.)

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We had another exciting trip to the library.  Merrick has the best time in the resource room.  Xav loves the iPad.  Mal mostly just reads.  I love how much the boys are all interested in books.

We had two, somewhat related, field trips on the 20th.  There is an old house in town that we've never toured in all the time we've lived here.  Xav said, "Wow.  The Ingalls really did exist!"  Then we crossed the park to the Harvest Festival, where the boys got to get inside a rescue vehicle.  Mal was mad at himself for liking it so much.  He was busy being angry that we missed out on the wagon ride by visiting the old house.

After that we headed off to a Civil War reenactment.  It is the 150th anniversary of the northern-most conflict, the St.Albans Raid.  It was quite fascinating.  We missed the heist and battle, but I think at that point in the day, Mal was getting to the end of his tolerance for busyness and I had forgotten ear muffs so it was just as well.

    Things Dad is working on...
We're getting a set of stairs to the back porch.  I am so spoiled.  He finally took pity on my old self after watching me heft myself on and off the deck for years! 

    This week's reviews...
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's The 7-Minute Life Daily Planner (including mine)
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's Daily Student Logbook

Field Trip Friday: Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium

I remembered at 12:30 AM that I needed to get up with the Bigger Littles and be out of the house in just seven hours for a nearly two hour drive for our field trip to the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury!  OOPS!

I was really looking forward to this trip.  We had finished up Apologia's Astronomy book in January and I wanted to be able to reinforce some of what was learned while it was still relatively fresh.

We actually didn't stay very long.  Micah had a role in a mystery dinner theater that night, and we had to get our Wild West on!

The main floor was mostly wide open and filled with various taxidermy projects and habitats found in Vermont.  This was pretty interesting, but the most incredible part was seeing all those homeschooled children standing in a *line!*  Xav was such a cute little goofball in his hat.

 

Upstairs, were displays of toys, bugs, and many different societies in places and times.

In the planetarium, we saw a really neat presentation.  The boys handled it well.  I wasn't sure how Mal would do, but he enjoyed it even though it was a bit long on the less interesting parts.  For instance, we really liked the part that showed the sky for 24 hours and the changing constellations. Honestly though, the part about the zodiac was so boring.  I also could have done without the story of a drunk teenager calling the educator at home in the middle of the night to report UFOs.  I would have loved if they had focused more on visiting planets than seeing that.  We "traveled" to one of the gas giants and learned a lot about that.  After five months, my brain is fuzzy about exactly which planet we got to see in depth.  I guess I should write these Field Trip posts in a more timely manner. Outside the planetarium, the boys got weighed on a special scale that showed what they weighed on Earth, Venus, Mars, and the moon.

This light up sphere thingy was very cool.  The OmniGlobe displayed all kinds of information about the solar system, Earth, our moon.  Basically, it can display as any sphere.  We were able to look at the weather on Earth and other planets, compare sizes of planets, visit surfaces on other planets.  It was very versatile.  You can read about this 60 inch globe at the Fairbanks Museum.  I'd definitely like to go again (not so early in the morning!) and stay a bit longer.  There were a few areas we barely looked at.

The Great Vermont Corn Maze ~ A Friday Field Trip

Our first co-op field trip of the 2014-2015 school year was the Great Vermont Corn Maze.

We drove nearly two hours one way.  We didn't stay as long as we would have liked and we didn't get to do everything, but it was one of those sticky days where the kids run around oblivious to the heat and get sweaty and red-faced.

We arrived just before ten, did the chatting, took our group photo, and headed into the big maze.  As we entered, Mal and Xav read each of the rules for me to be sure everyone was prepared.  There were four entrances; eeny, meeny, miny, and moe.  First, we chose miny.  I took Merrick's stroller, though he only rode 1/4 of the time.  It seemed like the whole maze was uphill.  We ended up being returned to the start at moe.  We started again at meeny, I think.  The four of us walked for about an hour when we saw an emergency exit and decided to take it.  Despite the ten foot corn, there was very little shade because it was creeping up on noon.  We got part way back and saw a tunnel that was begging to be run through.  That seemed to reinvigorate the punks and we headed off again.  It wasn't long and we were turning around and heading back to that emergency exit.

We exited right back at the beginning!  The owner told me we hadn't even left the first quarter of the maze!  Ah well, we headed into the red barn next (a blessedly cool red barn) and the boys kicked off their shoes and headed into the tunnels.  They also rode little tractors, a tire horse, and climbed in the hay.

Thanks, Meghan, for the top two photos!

Next up, LUNCH.  There is a nice, shaded picnic area there with several tables.  We brought along blankets, too.  Mal said he had a tummy ache and rested in the shade for a bit.  He seemed OK after that.  We grabbed ice cream at the gift shop.  Novelty ice cream was only $1 there.  Not unreasonable at all.

Merrick was anxious to see the goats.  He'd already had a nice tantrum before lunch over the goats.  I took him aside near the van and had a talk with him.  Sometimes, I think he listens to reason better than Mal or Xav!  He got to pet several goats and that made him happy.

Kid Village was insane amounts of fun.  For them.  I was roasting.  Some of the kids got sweatier and redder than they already were.  The village consists of a stable, corral, trading post, jail, and a home.  The jail was so cute.  It had a secret escape opening and some of the bars were not metal, allowing the punks to use their superhuman strength to escape.

"H" has a face, but since it isn't my face to share, he has been made incognito (as well as headless).

Nearby, they found an alien landing site and went for a ride into space.

Merrick's face cracks me up in this one!

Next time, we will take the scenic kid tour in the maze.  That looked like a lot more fun than me trying to figure out what in the world we were doing in the main maze.  We never did get to play barnyard golf either...

I recommend The Great Vermont Corn Maze.  Follow the directions on the website rather than GPS.  Go when it's a bit cooler.  Have fun!