Homeschool Year Recap-- Part 1, Field Trips

Numerous field trips are one of the many benefits of homeschooling, a benefit that I felt we just weren't taking full advantage of.

So this past fall I opted out of our co-op activities in favor of extra field trips for me and the kids.  Boy, am I glad we did!  We logged 19 field trips just in that one semester!  My heart swells every time I repeat that number!  Nineteen!

So, where did we go?  What did we see?  Allow me to summarize, in no particular order.

The first four were covered in blog pasts last fall.  (I managed to write about those in a much more timely manner than the rest of these!  Definitely an area in which I need to improve.)  Still, I will start the list with them even if they are repeats. 

#1-4: Philadelphia, Acadia National Park, Maine Farm Days (no pics), and Cole Transportation Museum covered earlier.  

Philadelphia

Acadia

Cole's Transportation Museum

#5: Hiking the Paw-Paw Trail with friends at nearby Fall Creek Falls State Park.  A perfect day, despite the fact that Reagan's little legs gave out long before the trail did so I carried him for much of the way.

#6: A visit to an awesome exhibit of the Old Testament tabernacle.  This was a great experience and the hosts of the event were very informative.

#7: One of the kids' favorites to be sure-- Wonderworks in Pigeon Forge.  Andrew lay on a bed of nails.  Yikes!

 Reagan walked on the moon!

 Marian and Andrew (and Mom, too) overcame any 

 acrophobic tendencies we might have had.

 We made bubbles big enough for Ellie to stand in.  (No picture of that-- I guess I was too busy helping to make the giant bubble.)

#8: A beautiful hike in the Smokeys.

#9: Ripley's Aquarium.  The tube for viewing the penguins was a huge hit!

#10: Local Mountaineer Days.  There were many exhibits to see, including a broom maker;

 furniture makers;

 a Civil War encampment 

complete with...

Yes, they really do fire this cannon, and yes, it really is super loud.

a fully equipped medical tent;  

This guy really know his stuff. If you have a weak stomach, better just keep on walkin'.

also, an alpaca farmer, with two of his alpacas, and his wife who showed how to spin and weave; a man who ran a sorghum mill and boiled the sap down right there for us to see; and lots of vendors selling crafts, trinkets, and lots of yummy food!  What a day!

#11: A trip back in time to Walton's Mountain in Schuyler, Virginia.  Well, it's not much like the house shown on the TV show, but is was really interesting for all of us to see where John Boy-- ahem, I mean Earl Hamner-- really grew up and where the idea of the television show got its start.

#12: Back to something more local.  I've always wanted to hike to the base of Fall Creek Falls at the nearby state park.

 Well, we did it!  Cool pic of Andrew in the middle of the pool at the bottom of the falls.

 #13: We had never taken the kids to Rock City on Lookout Mountain, so I decided to remedy that.  They loved it!  Give us some tight squeezes, some high overlooks, and a swinging bridge, and we're a happy bunch!

#14: One field trip was super close and easy-- right in my own kitchen.  A gentleman from our church raises homing pigeons and offered to bring some to show us and to teach us about them.  They were so neat!  Everyone had the opportunity to hold one and one pigeon even took a brief flight in the living room.

#15-19: The other five trips I just did not get any pictures of for one reason or another:  a tour of Channel 12 News station in Chattanooga; a tour of the orchard and processing area at Wooden's Apple House on Dayton Mountain; and three visits to the Cumberland County Playhouse to attend plays To Kill a Mockingbird and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and an amazing performance of the Golden Dragon Acrobats.

A few of these trips included other friends; most did not.

It was a precious semester with my kids, one I will not forget, one I hope to be a pattern for other semesters to come.

June Birthdays

It really happened.  We have a teenager.  There's no denying or debating it, and we'd better pay close attention because it won't be long before we'll have two!

Marian's 13th, Cecil's 77th, and my (ahem) 42nd all whizzed by on the calendar in one week!  All that birthday cake and so little ice cream!

May Happenings

 Just one post to recap the whole month.
Let's start with my wonderful blessings on Mother's Day...
1. Marian, leader
2. Andrew, builder
3. Ellie, artist
4. Reagan, action hero

and last, but not least, Man o' Mine, Dwayne!

These five conspired together to make a very special Mother's Day meal.  Dwayne sneaked away at some point in the previous couple of days and bought shrimp and scallops.  Wow-yum.  A rare treat, indeed!  They were seasoned and grilled perfectly and accompanied by salad and roasted cauliflower.  Again, wow-yum.  He needs to cook more often!

In the day-to-day of things...

The kids picked out plants for their flower pots, with Reagan and Andrew collaborating this year.  The results were three gorgeous additions to the front porch, but it seems I didn't get any pictures of the finished products.  Hmm, guess I'll have to remedy that.

Another project Mar and Drew are tackling is refinishing the rockers from the front porch.  All except Reagan got busy with the sanding process, then two chairs had to be painted while the two other chairs and the porch swing needed polyurethane.  Dwayne (my accountant-turned-semiprofessional-painter)  took on the painting job; Marian and Andrew were each assigned a rocker; I did the swing.

Again, I've failed to take pictures of the finished project.  Ugh.  Trust me when I tell you that all the seating on the porch is in much better shape now.
Lastly, I have some budding chefs

Adding noodles to the soup-- one at a time! (grin) 

Determined to make a strawberry cake-- whether I was ready or not!

and one very determined student of bicycling!

Pedaling is tricky business!

Birth Announcement

"Excuse me!  We have kittens!"

Such was Reagan's exact announcement last Thursday, May 1st, in the middle of our homeschool morning.  How exciting!!  Of course, we all went running, knocking each other out of the way, trying to be the first to the laundry basket where we had prepared a comfy place for Calli's needs.

What a precious scene!

So we have five little ones:  a yellow and white; a black and white; a gray striped; and two calicos- one looking very much like mama kitty and the other all-over black with yellow and white here and there (called a tortoise-shell calico, I'm told).  We are very excited and Mama Calli is doing a great job!

Ballet, Year 1

We have come to the end of the girls' first year of ballet lessons.  I have been so thankful that they have had this opportunity and hope that we can continue next year.

From the beginning, Ellie took to it like a duck to water.  She knew her teacher's names, her fellow students' names, and nearly every dance step from the very first lesson.  Not that she had perfect form by any means, but the desire was there.  She donned her ballet shoes and leotard for multiple private performances in our living room (and made up little tickets and play bills, even!)

Mar, on the other hand, found the adjustment to be a little more difficult.  I kind of anticipated that.  I would imagine it's a challenge to start ballet at the age of twelve when all the other girls in your class have been taking lessons since they were four.  But better to start at age twelve than never to start at all!  At some point in the spring semester, I could tell Marian was coming around.  I wish I had a video of their recital performances that I could post.  They both did so well! Next year perhaps, I can do better at my duties as ballet mom!

Easter

Easter is the best time of year!  

Spring arrives.  

Nature wakens from somber winter sleep.

And the Son warms my heart with the knowledge, "He is risen!  Risen, indeed!"

I love Easter.

This was Marian's first year of being "too old" to join the candy hunt at church
so she did the big sister thing and helped Reagan find all the really good stuff.

Ellie (aka Hey-Mom-Take-My -Picture Girl) would not stop to pose.
She actually said to me, "Not now, Mom!  I'm too busy!"

What's this?  The Blue Shirt Brigade?  And Drew, looking far too much like a young man!

 Adding to the joy of Easter this year (in a strictly materialistic way)  was a lovely shopping trip with Marian whereupon we each bought a new dress.  We've done this... well, never!  So it was a real treat!

 Happy Easter!  I pray that you, too, know the joy of our risen Savior!

How time flies!

My baby is 4 years old!

This little guy is so fun... a delight to his 3 older siblings and so many others.  What a blessing to have him in our family!

Reagan received several thoughtful gifts, but just one I wanted to highlight:  this Birthday Crown from his older sis Ellie.  He wore it with pride all day and for several days after.  Precious.

Is it just me or is it a bit harder to see the younger two getting big than it was with the older two?   Hmmm...  Like they say, how time flies.  (sniff)