Today GB, Gramma and I headed out to Currituck Lighthouse.
Up, up, up………..
214 thigh-burning steps later we came out to the platform that runs all the way round the top of the lighthouse. GB loves climbing this lighthouse. But he does get ‘the danger feel’ when he turns away from the railing.
I don’t get the danger feel at all. I love being high up and seeing a panoramic view.
I thought this was a cool sight, the shadow of the lighthouse on the tops of the trees down below.
Going down, down, down…….
This is the boardwalk at Currituck. It goes all the way out to the sound. We decided to bring Gramma’s little daushund, Sherrie. Sherrie enjoyed the extra attention that GB lavished on her during our trip to the lighthouse and letterboxing.
Here they are on the sound, enjoying the sunshine.
Aha! There’s the letterbox!
Open it……
…….and stamp our books. It had a cute […]
Original post by Robin
Today we loaded the kids up after Noah was off to school and I was back from the gym and headed to the Amelia Park Children’s Museum. ( FYI they need more signs telling you exactly where it is!). This is their new location and they have a lot more exhibits they are trying to get sponsored…but overall it was a great fun few hours!!
Declan was the oldest kid in the place by far, but that didn’t really matter since he was VERY happy to play in the kid powered area.. air guns with soft balls, a ball vacuum and a huge sphere that dumped them all on ya after it gets full..what more can an almost 7 year old want?
The guns:
Ziah..on the floor is one of the vacums!
Taejan made some friends.. he loved it that the place was filled with kids HIS size..lol
Declan, Ziah and Eric getting a load […]
Original post by justakrazymom
The other day we decided to head down to Yankee Candle’s Flagship store. We try togo every year and I like to go before it gets crowded with holiday shopper’s! Noah was at school so as soon as the kids were ready we took off!
The kids dipped candles to use for Christmas gifts:
The kids saw, but would not talk to Santa of course. It was a fun and productive day!
Then Saturday Noah was off with his Youth Group on an Extreme Adventure. So we piled in the van again and headed to the Holyoke Children’s Museum. We had a blast!
(note to parents.. make certain newly potty trained kids go potty BEFORE they play in the water..LOL..hence Taejan change of clothing soon):
Taejan says “I drummer man”
Now he’s the climber man!
Original post by justakrazymom
Near the Children’s Museum is a great Carousel! It used to be located at Mountain Park. I went there as a child..as did Eric. We took the kids over for a ride ( 6 tickets for $5!!) and some popcorn!
Can’t wait to go back!
Original post by justakrazymom
This was a cool field trip.
I had no idea that there was SO much to do at Mount Vernon. After a two hour trip up I-95, we arrived at 11:30. We stayed until close to 5:00 and suffered the DC traffic on the way home, but it was totally worth it.
One of the absolute highlights of my day, though, was finally getting to meet a woman that I have long admired in the homeschool blogging world, Jennifer, from Toad Haven. Her children, Ethan and Emily, are in the center of this photo with Mr. Washington himself. I’m so happy that she included a visit with us into her busy schedule.
I really loved this wall of stained glass windows.
GB, O-Man, and Wall-E on the lawn in front of Mount Vernon from the land side.
Mount Vernon - Does it bother anyone else that the windows are not symmetrical?
One of the tours we […]
Original post by Robin
Today we went with our homeschooling group to see a play at the historic Empire Theater in Richmond. We’ve been to a few plays before at this theater and we do enjoy going.
…..But…..
Omg! I am getting so tired of fighting for parking in Richmond. Seriously. If Richmond’s leaders really want to bring in great culture, such as plays, concerts, comedians, or sporting events, they are going to have to get on the ball and do something about the ridiculous state of parking. It seriously inhibits our enjoyment of city activities.
The theater is beautiful. And they do try to put on a huge variety of plays. Today we saw The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I had never read the story, seen a movie, or play on this subject. And I was expecting something a bit scary. But since this is children’s theater they kept it in a comedic fashion. There was […]
Original post by Robin
Yes. I made that last word up. Do you like it? Here. I’ll even provide a definition for my newly created lexiconic invention. Biophyschemophobia: A pervasive fear of teaching, studying, reading about or exploring in any manner any material remotely related to the complex fields of biology, chemistry and physics or any combination thereof. A condition occasionally affecting homeschool parents and increasing in severity as their children do that annoying thing they do all the time (get older.)
In her fantabulous (I’m on a role with the new vocabulary, here. Just go with it.) book, The Cannon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science, Pulitzer Prize winning science writer, Natalie Angier, bemoans the low value placed on basic scientific knowledge in everyday American society. For the most part, if you ask the majority of people in your life who are not professional rocket scientists what they think about science, she explains, you’re more than likely […]
Original post by Crunchy Mama
Today was Homeschoolers Day at the Museum of the Confederacy.
Typically it would take me about 40 minutes from my house to get into the heart of Richmond for any event. We had to be there between 10:00 and 10:30…….. lots of wiggle room if I left at 9:10.
I’ve been in Richmond many times when something big was going on, such as marathons and concerts (The Boss! How big is that?). BUT this was outrageous!
I knew something was up as soon as I turned onto Marshal Street. The crowds lined up on every sidewalk, crossing the street in all inappropriate places, and traffic was congested to the point of folks making their own lanes out of nowhere! But I still had no idea what was going on until I passed the signs: “Obama for Change.”
Barack Obama was in town; the same day as Homeschool Day at the Museum of the Confederacy. […]
Original post by Robin
Well, the last phonics class was today. We did the last 8 letters, I had trouble over at US toy finding a goat for the letter ‘g’. My song was ‘goats gobble garbage’ and I really wanted a goat, but I had to settle for a gecko. We glued tissue paper leaves onto a sheet for ‘l’, colored some notes for ‘n’ and looked at an x-ray for ‘x’. I gave the kids a whistle for ‘w’, probably should have waited until the class was over for that. The library admin. offices are right across from the meeting room and the librarian walked by and gave me the evil eye because of the noise. We were trying to do thumbprint whales too, but mostly the kids just got ink all over their hands. It said washable on the stamp pads (well, they are, it just takes more than one washing!) […]
Original post by liese4
Hope everyone is having a fine Monday! Thus far we certainly are…it’s library day so Eric took all 3 wee ones there, to the Post office, the park and walmart.. and mommy got some much needed stuff done!
Since Noah is now back in public school I’ve been shifting the Academy around to reflect the fact we have all wee ones learning here now..fist step was creating these little caddy’s for the kids:
There is one for each with a variety of items depending on their age and likes. These are for them to use pretty much whenever they want and especailly to keep them happy while they may be done with their current lesson but I may be working with another kiddo. I plan to rotate out the items in here as needed and I also have a small envelope on the side where the kids can store the reward coupons […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Today was “Apple Day” at our friend Amy’s house. We missed it last year so we were glad we got to go this year.. an added perk is the weather was just amazing for mid October!
Amy has a great backyard complete with a hiking trail and mountain stream.. the kids love it there!
Amy has a cider press so we got to bring apples and make cider..of course only Taejan had any interest..the other 2 were too busy playing with their friends ( they are so anti-social and shy..lol)
There were lots of Apple activities and snacks too..the kids loved it!
The kids also got an upclose and personal look at a duck( can’t remember what kind it is)..Cal(Amy’s oldest) and his Dad went hunting ( Cal tagged along I should say) and they come home with this!
Thanks again Amy for the great morning! Oh I also found out that the dad of […]
Original post by justakrazymom
I needed this.
I will admit that I thrive on field trips. I actually need them. They elevate MY mood, never mind GB’s mood. So I suppose that if MY mood is elevated it can only mean good things for GB. We went to the Pauwau on Friday, but this trip to Monticello really made me exhilerated. I loved it. The whole trip was fantastic. It’s not too far from our home, about 1 1/2 hours, and the drive is gorgeous.
Monticello is the home of our third President, Thomas Jefferson. The name ‘Monticello’ is translated from Italian to mean, Little Mountain. In 1787 Thomas Jefferson said, “…….all my wishes end, where I hope my days will end, at Monticello.” He loved his home more than any other place on Earth and his greatest hobby was “putting up, and pulling down” parts of the house to make them more stylish or functional.
This […]
Original post by Robin
Today the girls and I went to see the Colorado ballet do Swan Lake. We were all dressed up, met some friends and sat down for 3 hours of ballet. I thought it was the short version, but it was still good. Now I see why my dance teacher wants us to do ‘pretty hands’. Wow, they are pretty when you flick them around like that. After 3 hours of ballet we went with a friend to subway and then to the library. James and I went out for dinner while Joel baby-sat to earn a new air soft gun (actually it was cheaper than paying him $$.)
Tomorrow we’re off to WOTR for our volunteer training and to see the planes (it’s open cockpit day.) Oh, and no James wasn’t kidding, there’s still a dead frog in my car somewhere (wonder if he’s still good for dissecting?)
Original post by liese4
As you will recall from my Monday post, GB and I have been having sort of a rough week. His attitude hasn’t been the best. And he’s been holding back on our curriculum. He didn’t complain outwardly about the curriculum, but he’s had no enthusiasm for it; even for the science and history, which he typically loves. And I’ve felt all week like I was saying, ‘No, no, no’ over and over.
I’m probably a pushover, but on the advice of several of my readers, I decided to give GB a break from the curriculum. We can definitely afford it, we’re about two weeks ahead of schedule. So, today was a “Yes” day. He loves to go traipsing through the State Park down the way, and we have a cut-through path right across the street from us. So today we had a nature day for him, and for me, we did […]
Original post by Robin
If you live in the Greater Houston area, are a (homeschooling) family and have yet to take advantage of Free First Sunday then I say for shame, for shame! On the first Sunday of every month, a certain retail mega-chain with a bull’s eye for a logo foots the bill and everyone gets into the Museum of Fine Arts Houston gratis. In addition to a total lack of admission fees, sprinkled throughout the museum are a multitude of multisensory art experiences for children (and adults) of all ages and abilities. Every month there is a different theme that incorporates different hands-on projects in a variety of media, highlights various pieces of art throughout history, and ties in quality children’s literature for a well-rounded interdisciplinary flourish. The Triad of Chaos unanimously approves of this activity. When Patris Maximus and I issue the monthly proclamation detailing our […]
Original post by Crunchy Mama
Tuesday after school we went ice skating and used up the last of our free passes. I had 2 left over so a friend came with her 2 boys and met us there. I must have had better skates this time because although I still used the walker to hold onto, I could let go and not fall down immediately (but, I presume, I would have eventually fallen down so it never left me for too long.) Hannah had fun just waltzing around the ice with her walker, Joel was eavesdropping behind a boy who was being taught Hockey moves and picked up some new foot work. Bethany was whizzing around the ice too. I heard a rumor that we are supposed to be getting an outdoor ice rink by us when they build the new Target, which would be nice. What would be even nicer is if they let […]
Original post by liese4
Yesterday was a hot, muggy, icky kinda day. Since Noah had plans out of town all day we decided to load the other 3 up and head over to Albany to the NY State Museum.
Since we got there at lunch time we headed upstairs to Subway then the Carousel.. only Taejan wanted to ride so him and I went. ( later we all went and I got motion sick from riding one of the ones that turns the opposite direction as the carousel..man never again!)
Random picture of the kids exploring.. Declan’s reading level made this a whole new trip for him even though we’ve been a few times.. he loved reading all the descriptions!
The Longhouse.. I hate how dark the picture is.. it’s really an awesome exhibit..in fact inside there is a narrative running and I really want to be able to go sit and listen to it!
Have I mentioned […]
Original post by justakrazymom
We started on our Picasso unit study today by visiting the Fine arts center of Colorado Springs.
Yes, I had to pay to get into it. But, I thought, we get to see 40 Picasso etchings and engravings from the latter part of his life and you can’t find those in most books about him. The guide at the front desk looked at the kids and me and said,’ You know, there is some nudity in the exhibit’. Well, yes, I figured that. Picasso (like most artists) painted or drew naked people. Ya’ know, God thought of that first, he made naked people and come closer and I’ll whisper a secret to you…..under their clothes, everybody is naked! Shocker isn’t it? I’m not ok with everyone just waking up one morning and going to work naked, but if Michelangelo’s David is a piece of art, then I guess every artist […]
Original post by liese4
Today 3 other families from our Homeschooling Group and us went to Berkshire Bird Paradise in NY. It is a unique place with an eclectic style, but it was fun, even in the drizzle!
There was more birds then I have ever seen in one place before..it was great ( and loud at times..lol)
Noah and Lulu.. who is VERY friendly..and funny.. we had a lot of fun with this bird for sure!
More Lulu
Declan also really loved this place and said we have to go back “Really soon”. Taejan did remarkably well.. it was loud, very loud at times and he never once covered his ears.. a first for him! Miss Ziah and Mr Noah are such animal lovers they were both very happy! Thanks Robin for setting this trip up!
Original post by justakrazymom
Today after church we went to the Aurora history museum to hear FDR. Well, ok, not the real FDR, a guy that takes on the persona of FDR. We saw Mr. Lincoln a couple of years ago and he was pretty good, but this guy was great. The director of the museum talked about the campaign exhibit that was going on and gave a few facts about Franklin Roosevelt and then said, ‘Please welcome President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.’ He wheeled into the room in a handmade wheelchair made to 1920’s style. He started to talk about his early life, his marriage, his conventions, polio and the health spas he visited, his Presidential campaigns and WWII. He was asked to focus on conventions that he had attended (to correspond with the exhibit.) So he told of the 1928 convention in Houston, TX. ‘Why they decided to hold it there in the […]
Original post by liese4
Today we were lucky enough to get my niece for the day as her parents and brother went off somewhere she did NOT want to go! We also got to go Cherry and Raspberry picking with Robin and the kiddo’s. It was a good..and YUMMY morning!
Waiting for Lila and Owen!( and Robin and Daisy too)
The Fruits of our labor..
after we got done ( we got 10 pounds of cherries and 4 pints of Raspberries for just us..ack..LOL) we had a nice snack then Robin had to get home and we headed to the lake for a few hours!I am so glad we have started going so much.. the kids have become so fearless in the water..and Declan can now swim a few lengths under water with no floaties!!
Original post by justakrazymom
We had a fabulous day today! Last year we came upon Peebles Island and Lock 2 of the Eerie Canal system. We enjoyed it a lot even though the day was cut short by nasty weather. Well today we decided to head back there and enjoy it with lovely summer weather!
We headed out and didn’t tell the kids where we were going, just to be sure to wear sneakers! By the time we got on 787 Declan seemed to recognize the area and once we hit the entry road to the actual Peebles Island he was so excited!!!
we were promptly met by this little fella who run under our van, then back across the street then headed back towards us!
off to explore!.. it was going to be interesting near al this water with Taejan.. no backpack for him this year…
The kid sfoudn this awesome Willow… Taejan wanted nothing to do […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Trishy and Granddad Smithsonian Butterfly Garden A view through the fountain In the NGA sculpture garden
Original post by tribeofautodidacts
We decided to spend the day today down in Worcester at the EcoTarium. Eric’s never been we went last June and today the weather couldn’t have been more perfect! We left around 9:15 ( Noah had another full day of work on Oliver!) and about 11 we arrived just shy of our destination.. We stopped at Ruby Tuesday’s for lunch then headed on to the EcoTarium.
The kids were so excited to be there, and Taejan was thrilled to realize we brought no stroller for him.. I LOVE that we have moved into not needing it at such things, he feels free and so do we..LOL..
Heading in:
The beautiful Bald Eagles:
My typical entrance picture:
Exploring:
Dino prints..this was pretty cool..even Daddy got into it!
How fast can you run? Declan got up to 13 miles an hour and Ziah could barely move it..she’s just too light..LOL
The view of the Giant Dino:
Ziah and Taejan loved the […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Next we headed outside! As I said the weather was perfect for this.. slight chill in the air so no overheating from 3.5 hours of walking around..lots of sun..it was great!!
Add to that all the lovely blooms!!!
we headed to the playground while we waited for the Train to run! They are in the process of renovating it so there wasn’t much to do though.
Taejan was VERY happy when he saw these:
Original post by justakrazymom
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