Wow, I have a lot of pictures from this week—or rather, from last Friday to this Saturday. It was a week that embodied so much of what I love about homeschool: all the opportunities for hands-on, experiential loving, particularly in the realms of History and Geography. My goals for History and Geography are pretty simple: I want my kids to deeply understand where they are in time and space. This week we had the chance to really work on that awareness, going deep (through History) and wide (through Geography).
On Friday, September 19, we stopped by New Echota on the way home from Gaga’s house. It is the site of the Cherokee capital in the early 1800’s. In so many ways, it is a tragic site because it reminds us of the efforts of the Cherokees to “play ball” with the Americans, to adapt to their culture. And yet, it was all for naught: these peaceful Cherokees were forcibly deported via the Trail of Tears so that the Georgians could have their land.
It was a beautiful day for a field trip, and the kids and I enjoyed a brief introductory video before walking through the small museum. Then it was off to a walking tour of the property:
It was cool to see all the re-creations of the buildings that were once on this site. My geeking out came to an abrupt halt, though, when Anna stepped on a bee. She has never been stung before, and she reacted hysterically to the pain. She screamed and cried, and as I was carrying her back to the main building, she started, well, hyperventilating, I guess. She was gasping for breath and couldn’t seem to catch it. I asked if she was having a hard time breathing, and she said that she was. So I did what I felt I had to do: immediately call 911. She has allergic reactions to things sometimes, and anaphylactic shock is not something to play around with. However, as I finished the phone call and we arrived back to the main building, her breathing returned to normal, and she calmed down, which made me realize that she was just upset because of the pain. I called and “cancelled” my 911 order, and the operator was really nice about it. It turns out, though, that the paramedics were already in the parking lot, so they came and checked her out just to be safe:
(I totally snuck this picture:).)
Anna was quite sure she was dying, and didn’t seem to appreciate the relief of the rest of us. She did calm down, though, and the very nice ranger let us take his golf cart so that we could finish our tour. Then I bought some books from the gift shop (along with two feather shaped lollipops, and we were on our way. Anna did keep periodically wailing, to the point where I had to stop and get her some bug bite cream and Tylenol. Thankfully, she did eventually recover.
The kids got home to a slew of gifts from Hawaii. I didn’t go quite as overboard as Greg did in China, but they still got plenty. In both cases, it seemed like a good educational opportunity: cultural learning through souvenirs.
On Saturday evening, we tailgated at Y.E.S. and then went to a Vandy game with our church and Y.E.S. kids. It was my kids’ first game:
Vandy did unexpectedly well against USC. Even so, the kids and I left at halftime. As I told them, “We still have church tomorrow whether Vanderbilt wins or loses!”
Sunday was our Friends and Family Day, and I had a lot to cook for it. We had a great turnout, and it was another beautiful day. It also turns out that the worship service afforded lots of opportunities for Anna to expand her vocabulary:
This was her “Worship Notes” sheet. The kids get a prize for completing it. Afterward, we grilled out and ate outside.
On Monday, Reality hit me full force and honestly, made me a little cranky. We had to get back to school, which for some reason, overwhelmed me. I kept thinking of how “behind” we were because of the Hawaii trip. However, the kids and Gaga had kept up with their Reading, Handwriting, and Math while I was gone, and it turns out that we are on track with Grammar, Spelling, and Geography, so I’m not sure what I was stressing about. That afternoon, we had school outside while my wonderful husband cleaned out our disaster of a van. It was yet another gorgeous day, and it totally reversed my mood.
The kids are studying a bug climbing up the whiteboard.
In Grammar, we introduced “A Tragic Story” by William Makepeace Thackeray. It’s the kids’ next poem to memorize, and they think it is hilariously funny. They recite it for fun all the time now.
After Grammar, I let Luke take a break while I reviewed Anna on Spelling:
She took it very seriously.
That evening, we grilled out and ate on the back porch. Then we took a family walk, with a stop by the playground to play. On the way out, Luke pretended to drive Greg’s car, and I had a small heart attack when I realized that he is halfway to driving age.
Wow.
Our walk was so nice, and the kids chatted happily together for much of the way:
On Tuesday morning, we did a Science experiment where we measured various temperatures. Here, they are measuring room temperature water. (The thermometer is in the water, and the experiment sheet told the kids to feel all the temperatures for themselves.) I don’t know why, but the kids loved this experiment, and though it was hilarious.
Tuesday also marked the return of Everley, much to my kids’ delight. They adore her, and that’s putting it mildly.
When Everley is here, I actually take more pictures of her than I do of my own kids, but that’s because her mom likes me to text her pictures throughout the day. Also, it’s because Everley is adorable:).
Tuesday was a “regular” school day. That evening, the kids had their first drawing and painting lesson of a four week series.
They LOVED it. They came home raving about their paintings and couldn’t wait to go back. The next morning, Luke even organized his LEGO cases by warm colors and cool colors!
That morning, we went to Traveler’s Rest for their annual Trades Day, where the kids get to see how life was lived in America in the 1800’s. This was another chance to go “deeper” into History, and the kids had a blast. Anna also had a little epiphany halfway through the day that she would not like to live back then. It was all the work it took to make clothing (from shearing to sewing) that first convinced her, but the idea of having to be an apprentice really solidified her views.
BUT, it was fun to pretend for a little while and to do the things they did back then, like stamping paper in the way that they made wallpaper:
They also learned about quilts and petted a chicken:
Anna jumped back when the rooster crowed.
The kids seemed to really enjoy the demonstrations of various trades, like pottery, blacksmithing (?), dyeing wool, and weaving:
They also dipped their own candles, wove baskets, wrote with quills, made dolls, and those little things that spin and make the bird look like its in the cage:
It was a fun morning!
Afterward, the Steeds came over for lunch and some playtime, then we squeezed in a couple hours of school before heading to church that evening.
The next morning, Anna had designed an “experament,” in which she logged observations about Everley’s behavior. I’m telling you: these kids are obsessed!
That morning was piano lessons, and I really think this face from Everley sums up how she feels about the kids’ playing abilities:
She is generally such a good sleeper, but she always wakes up during piano lessons, and doesn’t seem particularly happy about it:).
We actually made two trips to libraries on Thursday (I promise we do “real” school, but this was just one of those crazy weeks). On the way home from piano, we swung by to drop off books, get some more reading material, and play a few minutes on the playground (have I mentioned the weather has been beautiful this week?). While at the library, I picked up a schedule of events that showed their was a “Passport to Mexico” event at another library that afternoon. We knocked out our schoolwork for the day, and headed there for the 4:00 program:
The kids listened to a presentation on Mexican artifacts, then had a period of time where they could explore the artifacts, Mexican instruments, and costumes. Then, there was an optional salsa dancing lesson. Luke opted out of it, but Anna enjoyed it.
Luke was much more excited about the How to Train Your Dragon books that He found:
We scored big on books during these two trips. It’s so funny trying to get the kids in the door after trips to the library:
They can’t stop reading long enough to get out of the car and come in. Often, they end up standing on the back porch for 15 minutes reading before they remember where they are. They both finally made it in, only to spend another couple hours devouring books. I love how much they love to read.
And the next morning at breakfast, it was more of the same!
That morning (Friday), we did a couple hours of school and then met the Steeds at the zoo at 11:00 for “Harvest Days.” There was a lot of overlap with Trades’ Day (the same blacksmith was there!), but there was some new stuff, too.
Top left: Playing “Then and Now”: top right: listening to presentation on beekeeping; bottom left: learning about the Civil War; bottom right: exploring instruments used in the 1800’s.
Anna also met some Southern Belles:
And the kids had fun playing with “old timey” toys:
As at Traveler’s Rest, we took a tour of the house on the property. Then, much to my delight, we discovered what it meant to “card wool”:
We are currently reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and it seems the characters are always having to card wool. It was cool to discover what that means.
We also got to see some animals:
(I did not stage this picture.)
And practice washing clothes the old fashioned way:
It’s funny: Anna has definitively stated that she would not want to live in the 1800’s because of all the hard work, but I think she could have carded wool and washed clothes all day! We had to pull her away from both of those exhibits.
Believe it or not, we saw many other booths that are not pictured, but I think these pictures give a good sample. Then we had a picnic lunch at the zoo and visited the lorakeets before driving a few miles to Trevecca University for the “Compassion Experience.”
It was essentially an audio tour held in a trailer that took the kids through the lives of two (real) Compassion children. There were recreations of various places in the kids’ lives, and while you walked through, they narrated what their lives were like and how Compassion has helped them. There were real photos, letters, textbooks, and so forth, and they gave a great glimpse into another world. It was a really cool experience. We correspond with our Compassion children, but this tour gave an even better picture of what their lives might be like.
At the end of each tour (there were two, one set in Bolivia and one in Uganda), there was a short video on the iPod where the actual child (well, now grown-up) talked to you and showed you footage of their city and home. It was neat.
The kids also got free bracelets:
Then, I took the Steed boys home to play and have dinner while their parents went on a date. The kids had a ball together. The next morning (Saturday), Luke went on a birthday adventure with his friend, Elijah…
…while poor Anna suffered through the most boring drama club meeting ever:
It was a new experience for us, and I was hoping this monthly club would be something both kids would enjoy. On the contrary: Anna kept shooting me desperate looks through the meeting, but since she was only one of three kids there, it would have been too awkward to leave for no reason. Afterwards, we went out to eat at Chickfila to recuperate, and then stopped and got her some much-needed new play shoes. Besides almost dying of boredom (which was very evident on her face throughout the meeting), she had a good attitude about the situation, especially since I told her she wouldn’t have to go back. Oh, well: it was worth a shot. I’d love the kids to get more exposure to drama, but I guess we are just going to have to keep looking for opportunities!
However, art class was a huge success this week, as was the Trades Day, the Passport to Mexico program, the Harvest Day, and the Compassion Experience. So I felt satisfied that the kids learned plenty this week about their past and current worlds!
