Fall Family Fun 2010 - Part 2 (2nd Post Today)

Okay...I didn't realize how many pictures we took while in Hocking Hills. So, I think I'd better break these Fall posts up even more. Here is installment one of Hocking Hills.

This was the outside of our cabin...Noah's Ark Cabin. We LOVED it & can't wait to go back next year.

The view upon entry, made even better by that handsome man & adorable munchkins in the kitchen!

The munchkins' bedroom...because there were no rails & hardwood floors, they were allowed to play on the top of the bunk, but not sleep there.

The master bedroom...quite a high bed!

Dinner time & my dear hubby is holding onto two of his favorite things...food & me!

The munchkins loved eating their meals at this kitchen island, big enough for all four of them.

The rest of the photos are from our trip to the KOA campground. They had a gem mine. The older three munchkins each got a small bag of sand & gems to use in the sluice. I think this was the highlight of the trip...they had so much fun, as you can probably see on their faces. They were so focused on finding their gems, including the super tiny ones. I don't think any gem was left behind!

Casinodad & I took turns keeping an eye on The Saint. Here they are discussing the finer points of basketball.

The Saint enjoyed mining the rocks on the ground & playing in the water of the sluice.

Fall Family Fun 2010 - Part One

Well, I guess I'm slacking a bit in the photo department! I promised photos of our Fall family vacation, but haven't posted them yet. I wanted to post photos of our trip to Wright Patterson Air Force Museum in Dayton & haven't done that yet. And now, here it is, the second day of November & I haven't posted Halloween photos yet. So how about a Fall photo edition for my blog, highlighting the fun times? Part Two will have photos from our trip.

The Air Force Museum doesn't have great lighting, so most of the inside pictures are very dark. The following ones are some of the hands-on activities that the munchkins really loved

The Princess, manning the "out-of-order" control panel game.

Astronaut Prophet

This was a simulator to help show how the propeller blades of a helicopter work w/ the air. The Saint just liked to jiggle the handle.

Astronaut Archangel

No matter how many planes he saw, The Saint couldn't get enough of the sticks he found outside. They made perfect light sabers for him! (Yes, The Archangel is wearing part of his Halloween costume from last year...Mario!)

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And speaking of Halloween...here are some of our photos from this year:

Isn't it great when the little ones can wear the same costume several years in a row? The Saint was a bee last year, but I think he got much cuter this year!

Nothing beats the traditional bed-sheet ghost. (BTW - That's The Prophet, in case you were wondering!)

Indiana Archangel! (Much cuter than Harrison Ford, in my book!)

After The Princess received her rose from St. Therese on her feast day (SEE HERE if you missed the post), she decided that she wanted to be St. Therese for Halloween. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull off the costume, but every time I turned around, another piece of it presented itself to me. She was so pleased w/ her costume & got a lot of compliments.

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.

We Interrupt Your School Day for the Following Field Trip!

At about 9 this morning, as The Prophet sat doing his Religion worksheets, I had the urge to go to the zoo. It was simply beautiful outside & I thought it would be the perfect impromptu field trip. We've been studying fish in science, so we decided to start w/ the Coral Reef building. The munchkins got to pet starfish, urchins, crab & snail shells. Then we walked through the rest of the area where there is a huge floor to ceiling aquarium. We got up close to the tank & tried to pick out as many different types of fish that we could find. There were bottlehead sharks, stingrays, & hundreds of fish in different shapes & sizes. The Prophet found it really neat to see their gills & scales up close as they swam near the glass.

Our next stop was the manatees. They only have two now. We were there in the Spring & there were at least three then. From what I gathered, the others had been released back into the ocean. Because manatees have such large lungs, they can hold their breathe under water for quite a long time. We got to see them push off from the bottom of the aquarium & go up to the top for their breath of air. It was so cute to see their little snouts just above the water.

We also went to the reptile building, where the munchkins got to pet a snake - even The Princess wanted to pet it. They had some amphibians in the building too, including a blue poisonous frog. The Prophet enjoyed seeing it since we had studied frogs a few weeks ago. He was fascinated by the Poison Dart Frogs we had read about then.

We took a lunch break & ended up table jumping because the bees were attracted to our PB&J sandwiches. Ever since The Princess got stung last month, she is very tentative around any flying insects. Finally, we decided to just eat as we were walking!

Next stop, Asia - elephants, cranes, red panda, rhinos, & tigers! I got a reallly good picture of the three elephants together (actual elephants, not the munchkins - although I did get some cute pictures of them, too!)

On the way out, I let them look around the gift shop a bit. There are some really neat items there, but very pricey! So, all in all, we had a great trip to the zoo. Another great benefit of homeschooling - we can take off on field trips anytime & not have to worry about permission slips! Besides the great weather, it wasn't crowded at all. There were a few school groups, but even those weren't very big.

Peace,
Munchesmom

Field Trip!

Took the munchkins on a field trip yesterday to our local art museum. We met my sister & three of her four boys there. All the kids had a great time. There was on exhibit featuring a local artist. In her 3D work, she used buttons, clothespins, patterned ties, & all kinds of other neat stuff. I had the kids look closely to see how many different household items she used. It was really neat.

In the European Art section, The Prophet kept wanting to know what the painting titles were. I had told him to ask at any time if he wanted to know. There was one about Christ's triumph of good over evil. When I told The Prophet the title, he said he thought that was Jesus.

We spent about an hour & a half exploring both floors of the museum. The kids enjoyed the kids section where they could actually touch things. There was a series of stations for children to draw, trace, stamp, etc. I think we spent most of our time there. Once we got to the photography section, I ran through it first to make sure there were no pictures to disturb the kids. It was a series of B&W photos showing life in a poor country & some of the photos would have bothered a couple of the kids. Both my sister & I have at least one child who gets scared / worried easily.

Overall, we had a really nice time & the kids were quite good for their first visit to an art museum. We also found out that teachers get in free. I called the museum later in the day to ask if Homeshcooling mothers counted & was told yes!

Peace, munchesmom