The Week of Field Trips

Since last Tuesday, we have taken three field trips. The first was a trip to a local working historical farm with our homeschool group. They had a special program for homeschoolers to celebrate Earth Day, unfortunately, we didn't get to stay for that portion as The Archangel had his five year checkup at the doctor. We did, however, get to walk through the house, see lots of farm animals, take corn kernels off the cob & grind them up, swing & play w/ old fashioned wooden toys. The munchkins had a great time other than The Archangel's constant complaints about the smells. He has such a sensitive nose.

Two days later, we took a trip to the zoo with a friend & her children. Our zoo membership expired yesterday so it was nice to have one last trip using it. Our first stop was the aquarium, one of my favorites. I just love to watch the fish swim around. It's so peaceful, even w/ the chaos of children all around! The manatees are in the building next door to the aquarium. Usually I like to see them too, but this time the water seemed to be quite cloudy & only one of the manatees could be seen for just a brief time. From there we had lunch then went to the boat ride. I had never been on it before & really enjoyed it.

Overall, the munchkins had a really nice time, other than The Princess getting tired & cranky towards the end. The Archangel & my friend's daughter held hands as they walked through the zoo while The Prophet & her son skipped around together. Our local zoo has undergone so many changes since I was a child & there's always something new to see.

Yesterday, we met my sister & her kids at our local Kroger for a grocery store tour. A family friend works there & when I told her that I homeschooled the munchkins she was so excited & said that she gives tours to school groups. All the kids got to "clock in" to be employees for a while. They got to see so much: the storage area in the back of the store, the dock where items are delivered, how the bailer worked to crush cardboard boxes, & lots of other stuff. At the bakery, they each received their own hair nets & aprons. They were even able to be cashiers & check out some items. Once done, she asked if everyone liked the items they were scanning (fruit snacks, alphabet cookies, pretzels, & juices). Of course they all did, so she told them that she had prepared little snack bags for each of them.