This is going to be a very busy week, so it may take me a few days to write up our field trip to the Cardinals Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Busch Stadium Tour. In the meantime, here’s a picture of the children enjoying one of the highlights of the day: sitting in the Cardinals dugout!
This was a super busy week of school! We’re starting to wrap up our Lent activities…we’re almost finished with The Jesus Tree and Amon’s Adventure. We memorized the hymn “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” this week, in preparation of Palm Sunday. I can’t believe next week is Holy Week!
Turkey and Bunny kept working on fractions in math, but we also added decimals, to the tenths and hundredths place. I think we were all glad to look at something that wasn’t a fraction! Ladybug has been working on adding three-digit numbers, as well as liquid measurements.
In history, we learned about the beginning of Christianity. This fit in nicely with the approach of Holy Week…in addition to our Story of the World reading, we also read Paul Maier’s books: The Very First Christmas, The Very First Easter, and The Very First Christians. We’ll be learning more about ancient Rome next week.
We finished our science curriculum, learning about space travel and the International Space Station. We also got out the telescope to look at the Opposition of Mars this week…it was beautiful! Next week, we’ll be starting our botany curriculum that I had planned for next year, and get as far as we can in it before the end of the school year.
We’ll also be finishing The Bronze Bow next week. It has also tied in nicely to the approach of Holy Week. This week’s chapters really gave us some good opportunities for discussion…it really is a fantastic book!
In Scottish history, we finished the sad tale of Mary Queen of Scots. I’m looking forward to reading about James VI/I next. We also built the Brave Lego set I had purchased to go along with our Scottish studies…the children really like it!
We’ve also been learning a lot about the history of St. Louis. To celebrate the 250th birthday of the city, there is a public art project/scavenger hunt/history lesson spread out over the region. We’ve found almost 100 of the cakes so far, and we’ve learned a lot of things about this area that we didn’t already know!
We also went on a field trip this week. The science part ended up being kind of a bust, which didn’t really matter, because we had learned all about the weather elements they were discussing. We had a fun time at the baseball game, though, even though our Cardinals lost.
Hopefully, next week will be a little less chaotic. We’ll be taking the day off on Good Friday, at least, but we still have plenty of work to do before then!
On Monday, we went on a nature walk, and looked for leaves, seeds, pods, pinecones, and anything else we could find. Forest Park did not disappoint…we assembled quite a collection! We still need to identify everything we found, but we sure did have a good time looking!
Forest Park is always a beautiful place, but never more so than in the fall!
Last week, we went to the Missouri History Museum to see the traveling Mammoths and Mastodons exhibit as part of their homeschool days. While we were there, however, we also looked at another exhibit: The 1904 World’s Fair: Looking Back at Looking Forward. As much as I love mammoths, I think this gallery was even more interesting, and very relevant.
I thought it was really cool seeing ground-breaking supplies from the Fair’s preparation:
The comparison between the different World’s Fairs was also fascinating:
The main part of the gallery was divided into four areas:
There were many items from around the world, (and the United States, too!):
There were many cool souvenirs from the Fair, as well:
I especially liked seeing what fashion would have been like at the Fair:
As well as an example of transportation:
There were also other cools things in and around the museum, some of which had to do with the time of the Louisiana Purchase, and some which reflected the Fair itself:
It was a really fun place to go, and I’m already looking forward to going back, and exploring more of Missouri’s history!
Today, we had the chance to go to one of the few museums in the St. Louis area that we’ve never visited–the Missouri History Museum.
The reason for our trip? To see a special traveling exhibit, on loan from the Field Museum in Chicago–Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the Ice Age.
For some inexplicable reason, I have always loved wooly mammoths. Maybe it’s because they found a skeleton of one near where I grew up, so I heard a lot about them. Or maybe it’s because they’re just so darn cute. But when I heard that this was going to be a featured exhibit at the museum, I knew I really wanted to go, even if it didn’t directly tie in to anything we’re learning about this year. The only problem? While admission to the museum is free, admission to the exhibit is most definitely not. And let’s face it…when you have a family of six, (soon to be seven), admission costs are a big obstacle to going to this kind of thing.
But then I learned about “Homeschool Days” at the Missouri History Museum. They run one such day every month from September to May, featuring a variety of topics and exhibits. The best part? Free admission when you pre-register. I’ve been planning this field trip for months, and praying that I wouldn’t have any pregnancy complications that would prevent us from attending. Thankfully, we were able to go, and we had a great time. I, especially, was impressed with the activities that they had scheduled to go along with the gallery visit.
I was also very impressed with how they handled registration/distribution of materials. One week before the scheduled event, they open up registrations online. And, as I’m always up at four a.m. these days anyway, I’m guessing I was one of the first to register, which was actually a good thing, as space is limited, and it was very crowded, even early in the day. When you get to the museum, you’re directed to a specific room to pick up your (free!) tickets, as well as a packet of information, including a map showing all of the scheduled activities for the day, and additional activities to do at home, including some fun mammoth role-playing games.
We chose to go to the main exhibit hall right away, and I’m thankful we did, because by the time we were done looking at everything, there was a 40 minute wait due to the exhibit being filled to capacity. The only drawback to the exhibit was that there was no photography of any kind allowed…I would love to share some pictures of the cool things we saw and did, but descriptions will just have to suffice.
I was most impressed with all of the hands-on activities. While there were plenty of “do not touch” signs, as you would expect, there were also plenty of places with signs that said “please touch me,” which the children loved. They got to feel a replica mammoth tooth and fur, for example. There were also lots of interactive activities, such as a mechanical tusk which the children got to operate, (with a joystick), to pick up “dinner” and “feed” themselves. There was also a lifting station, to see if you could pick up one of the many bales of hay worth of food a mammoth would have eaten in a day–we needed Daddy’s help for that one! Another cool display demonstrated the difference between the sound of elephants, (and mammoths), trumpeting, and the feeling of the vibrations from their “rumbling,” which is another way they communicate with each other, but humans can’t hear. We were also very interested in all of the size comparisons between the different kinds of mammoths, (from the seriously giant Columbian mammoth to the relatively small pygmy mammoth), mastodons, and modern-day elephants. There was so much to see and do in the gallery, it was a great way to spend a morning!
After looking at another of the museum’s permanent exhibits, we went in search of one of the activities the museum was presenting. We decided on making mammoth masks and/or puppets. And, for the record, I joined in myself, and made a puppet. No big surprise there…like I was going to come home without having made a mammoth craft!
By that time, we were ready for lunch, so we cut our losses and left. But there were plenty of other activities in which we could have participated had we so desired, and they all sounded really cool! They had a math workshop, split up by ages, dealing with the big numbers that are encountered when talking about big animals. I thought this activity, in particular, really sounded worthwhile, but unfortunately, it was scheduled right at lunchtime. They also had a play in their theater, as well as a story time for smaller children. There was even an opportunity for children to talk with one of the museum curators.
There are four more cities scheduled to host this exhibit, and two additional blocks of time scheduled for potential other cities. If it’s coming to an area near you, I highly recommend you take some time and visit–it’s a great, interactive learning experience, appropriate for all ages!
We had a fun afternoon at one of our local apple orchards. Moose had a field trip for school, and like last year, his teacher was kind enough to let his brother and sisters tag along and enjoy the day.
Turkey and Bunny love picking apples–it was hard to slow them down enough to make sure they didn’t overload their bags!
Ladybug loved running from one thing to another–she did slow down a bit when our wagon went over a big bump, and she almost fell out of her seat (thus the look of apprehension on her face!).
We didn’t just pick apples–we also got to visit with (and feed) a variety of farm animals, including this adorable calf.
After the apple picking and animal feeding, all the children had a chance to play in a really cool outdoor play area, complete with pony swings, corn tables, gardening equipment and different kinds of ride-on tractors. Guess which part was Moose’s favorite?
I haven’t posted much about our homeschool lately, mostly because I’ve been really busy (can you imagine that?!?), but we’re still plugging away and learning a lot (even Mommy!).
In February, we had a field trip to our local fire station. Turkey asked a great question there about the new rescue boat they had, and he, Bunny and Moose got to sit in a fire truck (we don’t trust Ladybug in a truck with that much power!). Even as an adult, I’m amazed at how huge a fire truck is (especially the ladder truck) when you get up close to it, because you usually don’t get such a good view, and the children were just blown away by the size. The firemen were very friendly, and they even had cookies and coloring books–we’re still using the latter in school to discuss fire safety.
We had a fun Valentine’s week, decorating a cardboard mailbox for all of our cards, making Valentines for the people in our family, stringing beads for hearts with daddy, and my personal favorite, making pink and red construction paper “Valen-swines” (just use your imagination–they were super cute!). We also read some cute books–The Night Before Valentine’s Day, written in the same style as The Night Before Christmas, and Clifford’s Valentines.
The day before Ash Wednesday, we prepared for Lent by making Alleluia banners from construction paper, and decorating them with crayons and glitter. We then put them away until Easter, when we can hang them up and proclaim “He is risen indeed! Alleluia!” We tried foods from two different cultures that day as well, trying “packzi” in the morning (like a jelly filled donut, but richer, if you haven’t hear of them), and jambalaya for dinner that night.
February also brought our 100th day of school, which was a lot of fun! We counted to 100, by ones, fives, and tens, we looked at 100 of different items (legos, pretzels, M&Ms, and Q-tips), and we had a special “100 cake” after dinner that night. More proof that counting is fun!
March has been pretty quiet so far–we had some fun on St. Patrick’s day coloring shamrocks and doing mazes to help a Leprechaun find his gold, but we’re on “spring break” this week, so we didn’t do a big craft. We are making coffee filter flowers for the first day of spring tomorrow, so that will be fun.
On a more serious note, fun holidays, trips, and craft projects aside, the actual “schooling” is coming along really well. Their recall for Bible stories (as well as other stories) is amazing, Turkey’s printing is almost better than mine, and they’re both reading more and more…nothing is safe! All of the sudden, they’re reading signs when we’re in the car. words in the TV Guide, more of their own books. Adding and subtracting are being understood more and more, and counting is easy as can be. I can’t believe how quickly and easily they learn, and how much they enjoy school!
I have some fun things planned for Easter, and I just got a new game to use in school–Sequence States and Capitals. We haven’t played it yet, but I think it will be very helpful in learning what each state looks like, and the names of each state and capital. More to come on that, I’m sure, after we’ve had some opportunities to play it.
On Saturday, we took our first homeschooling “field trip.” I found out about a “Prairie Day” taking place not too terribly far from us. In addition to our Sonlight curriculum, we’re also reading the Little House series, so this was a perfect opportunity for us to get some hands on experience with things we’ve been reading about.
I really had no idea what to expect. Even though this is apparently a regular event, I’d never heard of it before, and I’d also never heard of the location at which it was being held. But our family of six (plus Uncle Ken, who was brave enough to join us for the day), decided to head out and see what it was all about.
I was not disappointed (and neither were the children!) First of all, when we got there, we had to park and take a shuttle, which turned out to be a full-size yellow school bus. OK, not very pioneer-y, but Turkey and Bunny were so excited for their first ride on a bus, and Moose and Ladybug were equally thrilled with the ride.
When we got there, the children were given workbooks, into which they could place five stickers that they were to collect from the different demonstrators (and we did get all five!). They also got to collect wooden nickels along the way to spend at the Trading Post, which was really cute, and a great way for them to get a little souvenir without spending any actual money.
There were so many different displays there, I couldn’t remember them all if I tried. Candle-making, soap carving, quilting, churning, and archery to name a few. Plus the tents featuring different kinds of wildlife and native plants and seeds (both Turkey and Bunny are as tall as a purple coneflower, in case you were wondering). There were pioneer games, a hayride (which we didn’t go on), pony rides (which Turkey and Bunny loved–Daddy, not so much, as a pony decided to kick him!), a sod house and covered wagon, a teepee, sheep to pet (I think Turkey and Bunny were very surprised as to what they felt like!), and bison burgers, which, for the record, were delicious!
It was an awesome day, and I’m really glad we could go and learn more about Pioneer times. There was also some wonderfully beautiful scenery (which will be even more so in a few weeks when the leaves change!), and it was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and learn a little something in the process. Hopefully, this was just the first of many fun, family field trips!