Husband, Dad, Mechanical Engineer, Bass
Player ...
Obsessed with all things Engineering.
AMY
Wife, Homeschool Mom, Webmaster ...
Obsessed with all things Political.
RACHAEL
Daughter, Sister, Sophomore ...
Obsessed with all things Geological.
NICHOLAS
Son, Brother, 8 year old ...
Obsessed with all things Historical.
(especially Egyptian!)
Favorite Books/Curriculum
The Well-Trained Mind Singapore Math Greenleaf Guides Apologia Science AIG Science curriculum Story of the World
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A Date with King Tut
Thursday, July 09, 2009
We had a co-op field trip to the Children's Museum to see the King Tut exhibit this afternoon. It's the same exhibit that we saw a few years ago in Chicago, but it's amazing how much difference a few years makes. The last time, Nick was just a toddler, but it was the event that sparked his passion for all things Egyptian. This time, he asked questions, absorbing everything that he could. The last time Rachael meandered through the rooms, taking only a cursory look at each item. This time, she read every description, watched every animation, and studied all of the background information surrounding the items.
The kids loved that Jeff took off work to come with us. He misses out on a lot of our field trips, because most of them are scheduled during the workday. Another bonus for Rachael was that Claudia was able to join the group. We hadn't seen her for ages!
After the museum, Jeff & I took the kids back to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Always a good meal!
Since it was on our way home, we planned to take Thomas, Gracie, & Julia with us to the Vincennes Rendezvous on Saturday. It had been ages since we'd seen Heather and family, so we made arrangements to meet them there. We all watched the battle reenactments and fife & drum performances, then the kids were free to browse the encampment in search of souvenirs while Heather & I tried to find a shady spot to catch up. I was really proud of how well the kids all stayed together and showed a great deal of responsibility. As soon as I called Rachael's cell phone, they promptly answered and responded to everything that I requested of them.
After we left, we all went to a local steak house for dinner. The food was reasonably priced and delicious!
As I dropped each child off at their respective home, the kids were so gracious in expressing their appreciation of the trip. They all had such a good time...what a tiring, but wonderful trip!
Our co-op planned a trip to Holiday World (a nearby theme park) on Friday. We couldn't leave Alex in the hot car or at home, and the people who would normally watch him were with us, so we needed my parents to dog-sit. Since Julia's parents weren't going to Holiday World, we picked her up along the way on Thursday evening. On Friday morning, I awoke to knocking on my door. The girls had caught a catfish, but were afraid to touch it in fear that it would bite them. They had heard that catfish have teeth and feared for their lives! Fortunately for them, Jeff went out and saved the day!
Holiday World was a blast, but it was HOT!!!! After a long day at the park, we took Gracie, Thomas, & Julia with us to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant, then to walk along the Riverfront at night. The kids enjoyed searching for shells and throwing rocks and chunks of dried mud back into the river. Then, we headed back to my parents' house for the night...
We met at Deanna's house on Tuesday to plan our next co-op vacation. In the middle of our planning, Sam walks in the room as Isabel yells, "CHICKEN!" Yes, we're definitely a homeschooling co-op! Who else has their meeting interrupted by the arrival of a (live!) chicken entering the kitchen?!?
Every so often, our co-op goes on a mini-vacation together. The kids enjoy hanging out in the hotel pool and spending time with their friends; and the parents get a little R&R while packing in some great educational activities. This September, we're gearing up for our largest group vacation yet. 6 families, 6 days, and over 700 miles by car... we're going to Williamsburg!!!
Last Monday, Diana & I took several of the co-op kids horseback riding. The plan was for us to be able to sit and talk, but since there weren't enough adults for as many kids as we had, Diana had to ride while I stayed with Nick. Unfortunately, Freckles (the miniature pony that Nick usually rides) was being uncooperative, so Nick wasn't able to ride at all...
The dog was absolutely filthy after this. He had to get a bath as soon as we got home. In the 2nd photo, Nick is posing with 'Tina' & 'Cheryl'...yep, he named the rocks he had found!
On our way home, I decided to stop by the Falls of the Ohio State Park. I read about it several years ago, but had never been there. With my rock-hound children (especially Rachael), I knew they'd love it. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to see the Interpretive Center, but the kids enjoyed looking at the fossils and watching the water, and I enjoyed the gorgeous scenery & glorious weather. We had Alex with us, too, so he had fun getting some exercise after such a long drive.
I really wanted to explore the old Clarksville site, too, but it was getting dark and I knew that everything would be closed anyway. One of my favorite books of all-time, From Sea to Shining Sea by James Alexander Thom, is centered around the Clark family and much of the story takes place in the Clarksville/Falls area. Our next Shrinersappt. is in August. If it isn't too hot, maybe we'll make it an overnight trip and spend some time in the Clarksville area...
After we finished school yesterday afternoon, we met a group of our homeschool friends for a picnic at McCormick's Creek. The kids ate lunch, played kickball and enjoyed the beautiful day. After lunch, the older kids hiked down to Wolf Cave while the younger ones took a shorter walk through the woods and then played on the playground equipment (photos to follow). We took Alex along. He's never had so much exercise in one day! He went on the long hike and then on several walks around the park. Thomas, Ross, & Gracie came home with us. We also stopped by the vet to get Alex's 3rd set of shots (and got chewed out for having him neutered too early...oops!) After we got home, the older kids worked on a routine that they're creating for our co-op talent show coming up in May. After Jeff got home, we took all of the kids out to the Chinese buffet for supper, then Diana picked them up around 10:00pm. It was a fun, but exhausting day!
While Heather and Nathan were in Indianapolis for a medical procedure, Sophia & Mary spent a few days with us. On Friday, we took Thomas, & Ross with us to the Children's museum. Nick had never been through the museum and Rachael hadn't been since Nick was in the NICU at Riley. We made the mistake of going on a Friday which was also field trip day for every public school in Indiana (or so it seemed!) We only went to a few exhibits, but the kids had fun anyway.
Name: Amy Home: Indiana, United States About Me: I am a Homeschool Mom of 2 awesome children. This is my attempt at Project 365 - to chronicle our world through daily photos... See my complete profile
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