The Best Fieldtrip Ever!

Could there be any other place in America that is more exciting than Boston if you want to learn about American history?? No way!! It was all that I knew it would be and SO much more! I could have spent years there...literally. We loved every minute of it. They have a red line painted on the sidewalk throughout the city that gives a tour of the historical places you would want to see. It is called the Freedom Trail, and we just followed that. We got to see Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, Boston Commons (the oldest public park in America), USS Constitution, and so many incredible things. I think our favorite thing was climbing up the walls outside the subway entrance:) Oh, so much fun!!! I think this is one of the places I miss the most:)

Well it's been a while...

Now that Thanksgiving is over I have rededicated myself to posting pictures on my blog. However, with Christmas just around the corner this might be my only post! It's amazing how many things there are to do in a day.

We gave up on the whole letter a week theme school idea. It was cute but required too much preparation time that I don't have with a new infant in the home. I decided, after our field trip to the Northeast, to set up a Time Machine and we would go back in time to different time periods instead. This has worked amazingly well because we are able to study any aspect of life that occured in whatever particular span of time. For example, we can study art, math, language, literature, poetry, science, astronomy, philosophy, history of course, and any other specific subject because it all happened in history. I have liked studying things in a historically chronological order. It makes any new information I get fit better in my mind:)

There was one last themed week before our trip...C is for Camera. We studied light and made a pinhole camera. It took us the whole week, but it is a very fun project to do with your kids. You can actually take a real picture with it and get it developed. Very fun! The kids will always remember this one:) More posts on the trip in the next couple days! (I'm probably lying).

The Rag Coat

Caleb, Courtney, and Becca were so inspired by a book we read called, "The Rag Coat" that they wanted to memorialize some of our old clothing and blankets by making a quilt or something. We cut out squares from some clothes that we didn't wear anymore, but had a hard time wanting to give away, and pieced them together to try and make a pillow...it's not done yet, and it might be a while before it actually looks like a pillow, but it's a start!

B is for Bats

B is for beach, but also bats. We studied vibrations and did everything "bat" this week. This game in the picture is where someone was blindfolded and was the bat, someone else was a tree and didn't move, and the others were moths and flew around. It was just like Marco Polo. The bat would call out, "Moths!" and the moths would say, "Here!" and the bat would have to find the moths using only their sense of hearing. If the bat got too close to the tree (or something else that could endanger the bat) the tree would whisper, "Tree!" and the bat would know to turn around. It was such a fun game, and they learned a lot!

There were so many great bat ideas...one day I tied a cotton ball around each of the kids necks. Each cotton ball had a different scent on it (I used vanilla extract, tabasco sauce, and lemon juice) I had a bunch of other cotton balls (the bat babies) all grouped together in the 'cave'. Each child had to find their own baby by finding the one that had the same scent. It was so cute, and they were right every time!

We did a bunch of other fun things...read stories and recited poems too. Our favorite poem was:

"The baby bat cried out in fright,
'Turn on the dark
I'm afraid of the light!'"

Stone Mountain

Our good friends in the ward, the Griffins, invited us to go along with them to Stone Mountain on Labor Day. We had a blast...it was such a beautiful place. Rog caught some good shots of the girls (Caleb was off amassing a large collection of stones.:)

After the Rain

After a heavy downpour one night our drainage creek in the backyard was filled with water.

After a play like this we always go inside for a nice warm bath and hot chocolate.

Pre-Vacation

The weekend before our beach vacation we went on a "baby friendly" campout. "Baby friendly" means that you have to be within easy access to a crib, kitchen, and all sanitary conveniences. For us this meant camping out in our backyard with a baby monitor attached to a very long extension cord (which, since it is extremely hot and humid on summer nights, also connected the fan we brought in the tent with us). So, while I wouldn't describe it as being extremely rugged or adventurous, it was tons of fun!

Crocs

Driving home from Florida we stopped at a gas station to feed Natalie. We pulled up to a chain link fence and read a sign that was next to it: "Caution: Wild Alligators. Do Not Cross Fence." We looked over and sure enough...

B is for...Beach?

The week after our apple studies was the week Rog had planned to take off from work. So, we decided to have school at the beach:) We were both so incredibly busy that the day before our "vacation" was to happen, neither of us knew where we were going. All we knew was that we wanted to be in a house with a pool, on a beach somewhere relatively close, to be able to sit and do nothing, and for cheap:) We had to use the first day of our vacation to plan, and we scoured the internet for something that would work for us. Rog found a great little house in Florida just steps away from the beach with a pool and everything we needed to relax in comfort and style!

He called the owner, who happens to be LDS and a Dean at BYU, and asked if the house was available. It was...and we got a great last minute deal! We packed up quickly and left the next morning at 3 am to head down to the sunny beaches of Panama City, Florida. Never in my life have I experienced so much paradise, peace, bliss, or any other word you could use to describe pure happiness. It was unbelievable! The beach is actually ranked as one of the best beaches in the WORLD...and for good reason. Sugar white sand, crystal clear water, and perfect temperatures. We swam at the pool, played on the beach, had popcorn/pizza/movie nights, went out to eat, walked to a little local shop for souvenirs, and just enjoyed ourselves entirely!!!

One of the pictures has Courtney and Rebecca drinking what appears to be Margaritas...don't worry, it is only a special concoction Rog whipped up. We had just eaten cauliflower soup in those cups for lunch, and Rog made a chocolate, banana, strawberry milkshake that didn't get as thick as he intended. So, after the cauliflower soup, we jokingly told them we were serving them eggplant soup next (not knowing what eggplant was they were adventurous enough to try it). Becca kept saying, "Wow, this eggplant soup is delicious!"

All About Apples

We did our first weekly unit study on apples. We read apple books, did math/graphs with apples, created lots of apple art, studied apple history, read apple poems, ate apples, and made applesauce. It was SO fun! I love that I get to learn at the same time as my children:) I'm getting much better at creating art...considering I have never been able to draw anything recognizable...it's a HUGE improvement!

Revamp Old Space

We spent as much time as we could this summer cleaning out and organizing our play/school room. It is the PERFECT space for everything we do.

A Major Adjustment

Back to "School" for the Cummings family! There was a HUGE buildup getting back into our normal routine. With Natalie being born in the end of April, we have been forced into an unintentional hiatus from doing much of anything. She is not the kind of baby that just smoothly glides into the family with hardly a bump. Somewhat akin to her entrance into this world...her existence in our family has been one of major discomfort and adjustment. She herself is a beautiful, angel, doll. We adore her with the kind of love that surpasses all the chaos! I am not sure what is happening inside her little body, but nursing somehow causes enormous amounts of gas to be retained (and frequently passed), which in turn prevents her from remaining the peaceful soul that I know she is:) Carrie, my angel!, sent me some Catnip and Fennel, which has since become a staple in our food storage. This miracle herbal tincture has transformed our home! Once poor Natalie's tummy was settled, we were able to focus on re-organizing our life and getting back to a regular schedule. Thank you Stephanie for your photographic talents!!! Love ya:)

A New Beginning

Our new blog set up for the fun adventures in living and homeschooling that we are embarking upon. Join us as we figure out together what works and what does not! We welcome any ideas, comments, and suggestions that help further us along the path of gaining a classical education.