Art Hill

2021-22 School Year–Week Thirty

We started this school week with a field trip to the St. Louis Zoo! This is basically a spring tradition (except in 2020, which we don’t talk about), and I really look forward to this particular zoo trip every year!

We were fortunate to get see a fairly young Somali Wild Ass with her mother while we were there…she’s so cute!

While we were in Forest Park, we also stopped to see the tulips on Art Hill, which is one of my favorite spring scenes in St. Louis!

Ladybug learned about trigonometric functions in geometry. She read about the different classes of arthropods in biology. After completing the play last week, we finished our discussion of Henry V…she just has to complete her final paper on the book. In history, she read about Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus, and Tiberius. We discussed the Analects of Confucius in her study of religious texts. She learned about the asteroid belt and the different types of asteroids in astronomy.

Chickadee created line, bar, and pictographs in math. She learned how to diagram interjections in grammar. We read about jellyfish and sea anemones in science. She learned about Texas and Oklahoma in geography. We started reading a book about the White House…we probably won’t get to go on a tour on our trip this summer, but I figure we might see it from the outside, so she should know something about it!

Just nine days left in the 2021-22 School Year!

A Masked King

Since we’ve stayed home for so much of the last 15 months, I haven’t had the chance to see many of the masked statues in and around St. Louis. I did finally catch a glimpse of King Louis IX in a St. Louis city flag mask when Bunny and I went to the Art Museum last week, though!

Spring in Forest Park

Yesterday, the Missouri History Museum hosted their monthly homeschool day, and for once, we were able to attend. While we were in Forest Park, we took a walk around and looked at all the beautiful blooms…Forest Park is a lovely place to visit in the spring!


A Beautiful Spring Morning in Forest Park

Yesterday we headed to Forest Park for an end-of-the-year field trip. Most of our morning was spent at the St. Louis Zoo, where we finally got to see the new grizzly bears. Before we went home, though, we also needed to visit beautiful Art Hill, where we saw the tulips in full bloom. We also finally got see a St. Louis Mounted Police officer go by, which was amusing, and something of a shock even though we knew the mounted police patrol the park…there are just some things you don’t expect to see on Art Hill!

Spring in St. Louis

I love spring in St. Louis. There are so many beautiful flowers and flowering trees everywhere you look! The two best places, in my opinion, to enjoy spring are 1.) Forest Park, especially the area around the Art Museum:

And 2.) The Missouri Botanical Garden, which is always gorgeous, but especially colorful at this time of year:

Where are your favorite places to enjoy the beauty of spring?

The Restoration of a King

The Apotheosis of Saint Louis, the statue towering over Art Hill which features the city of St. Louis’ namesake, is a familiar sight to residents and visitors alike. That familiar sight is looking a little different right now, however, as it is currently undergoing a major restoration. The statue is over 100 years old, and hasn’t been restored since 1998, so I guess it’s about time!

It’s definitely strange to see such a familiar landmark look like this, but I’m glad they’re taking care of Louis, so that he can be admired by future generations of St. Louisans!

Flags of Valor

All this week on Art Hill in Forest Park, there has been a “Flags of Valor” installation. There are approximately 7,000 flags on display, one for each service member who has lost their life in theatre in the war on terror’s five operations since the 9/11 attacks, as well as a flag for every war fought by the US in which a soldier’s life has been lost, dating back to the American Revolutionary War. Each flag has an attached photo and dog tag, so you can identify who is being honored and so those brave Americans will not be forgotten.

It is almost impossible to describe the magnitude of this installation.

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When the breeze picks up, and thousands of dog tags begin jingling, it sounds like wind chimes. It’s a beautiful and terrible sound.

In addition to the individual flags, there is also a “Flag of Honor,” which has the names of each person who lost their lives on 9/11 written into the stripes.

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The display will be open through Sunday evening, and I highly recommend visiting it if you have a chance. I was able to go twice this week (and took four of the children with me the second time), and it was incredibly moving both times. Seeing all of the flags together really emphasizes how many soldiers have given their lives for our freedom.