Tag Archives: homeschool

Spring at the Virginia Living Museum

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Planning a Day at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, VA Well, I had a bit of time with the kiddos while they were on spring break last week and we headed to the Virginia Living Museum–which we’ve been enjoying often since becoming members last summer!

It was fun to see it in Spring, before everything blooms, but when everything is just coming awake.We’ve visiting in Summer, Fall (boy these pictures take me back a bit!), and Winter now and not only have we gotten to see different exhibits, we’ve gotten to see the animals and habitats change for the season.

Here were some fun things we notice and talked about on this trip…

  • Ducklings!
  • Loud high school girls that scared the ducklings over to our side of the boardwalk.
  • Apparently Virginia is home to a lot of turtles. 24 different species according to the VLM website.
We saw lots (and LOTS) of turtles basking in the sun.

We saw lots (and LOTS) of turtles basking in the sun.

  • They just opened a new Children’s Garden. It’s meant for 2-5 year olds, but our munchkins enjoyed it too. There’s simple climbing structures, a touch and see plant garden, and a fun building table with blocks of wood and stones. There’s also a rain barrel with little watering cans for them to fill and water the plants. My crew were professionals at that part! They explored it for about 20 minutes and then were ready to move on. (I think it would definitely keep younger visitors busy longer!)
They thought this was just as fun as legos!

They thought this was just as fun as legos!

  • The honey bee hive is waking up and busy again. This is a fun indoor-outdoor exhibit with a clear-cased hive for the children to observe as the bees come in and go out of the second story window. Last time we were here was over Christmas break and the bees were pretty much in hibernation.
  • The beautiful flower gardens are just starting to grow. Not many blooms yet. They are beautiful in full summer growth–I could take 100s of pictures just of flowers, so we’re definitely coming back in a few months!
We got up close with a Peregrine Falcon, a Corn Snake, and a Horseshoe Crab this time.

We got up close with a Peregrine Falcon, a Corn Snake, and a Horseshoe Crab this time.

  • It’s not gosling season yet. But it will be soon. (Another reason to come back soon!)
  • Geese make me nervous. They’re unpredictable and when it comes to protecting their nests, young, or territory they fear nothing. This is just my personal observation, but we hustled right on past that goose after I snapped a few photos–even though there was a boardwalk and a pond between us and her. (Which probably means we’ll have some at the farm at some point because my life seems to be nothing so much as a study in eating my own words.)
Mother Goose was turning her eggs as we walked by.

Mother Goose was turning her eggs as we walked by.

3 hours seems to be a good visit for us. It’s long enough to see all our favorite parts without the kids getting too tired and crabby and we have the privilege of coming back again to see anything we missed. (The Cowboy loves the World of Darkness exhibit–which I didn’t know until we missed it one trip.)

Summer is coming up and we’ll definitely be renewing our membership. But if you’re going to be in Hampton Roads this summer, you should think about visiting too! (We’re not affiliates or anything, we just love this museum and think it’s a bit of a hidden gem here in Hampton Roads–especially for nature lovers and homeschoolers!)

Our kids LOVE the discovery centers--kid-friendly, hands on science areas.

Our kids LOVE the discovery centers–kid-friendly, hands on science areas.

If you’re planning a one-time visit, here’s how I’d do it…

1. Check and see if you have any memberships from a home museum that share benefits with VLM and could get you discounted tickets. They are part of the ASTC passport program–which is not the same as most local zoos, but is the same as a lot of local science and history museums. (We’ll be getting in free to a couple museums by my sister-in-law with these benefits.)

2. If you’re a family of 5 or more, consider the family membership rather than individual tickets–especially if any of your children are over the age of 12. Once you pay for 2 adults and 3 children (under 12) your almost at a family membership and membership includes ALL minor children (under 17) at the same address, a guest pass, planetarium passes, discounts at the cafe and gift shop (which is also pretty reasonable for little souvenir hunters), their quarterly newsletter (which our munchkins love) and all those ASTC passport benefits.

3. Definitely pack a lunch to eat there (they have a picnic spot by the parking lot) or plan to buy lunch at their little cafe. We ate at The Wild Side Cafe when we were there in January and the prices are very reasonable, but the food was only so-so. It’s a kid-friendly menu, but I would have preferred something a little more fresh and healthy focused. (Although I’m sure that would raise the prices as well.)

The boardwalk has kid-friendly telescopes along the way for visitors to check out!

The boardwalk has kid-friendly telescopes along the way for visitors to check out!

4. Check the Planetarium programs for the dates you plan to visit. It’s a nominal additional fee and members even get a couple vouchers! (Just be conscientious of content in these programs for your own family. A few of the descriptions I’ve seen indicate some mythology and evolutionary teaching that you may not feel is appropriate for your family. I’m sure you could ask the staff for clarification.)

5. Check the Teacher Resources page for fun learning guides to the exhibits.

6. I would try to get there at 9 or 10 am, enjoy the whole place for a few hours, then have lunch. After lunch I would plan to give myself another hour or two to hit any thing you missed or go back and explore the discovery centers more.

7. This is definitely a rain or shine option!

And if you’re going to be in Newport News visiting the museum–be sure to email us and stop by the farm!

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10 Craft Supplies That Weren’t On My List!

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I’m a crafty sort of person. When my kiddos need something for school, I’ve got twine, paper, glue, scissors, thread, fabric scraps, buttons, construction paper, markers, chalk, pipe cleaners, dried macaroni, googly-eyes, yarn, miscellaneous sheets of transparency from report covers and craft supply packages…all the usual crafty suspects. But when the Ladybug went to build her model of Jupiter (and 4 of the 63 moons!) we ran into a couple things I just wasn’t quite prepared for and we had to do quite a bit of scavenging to make it work out.

craft supplies 1With one last-minute trip to Michael’s–which was very painful to my pocketbook! (Not so much in total dollars spent–as in the psychological pain of knowing I could have gotten it for less than half that price if I had time to shop around!)

So moving forward, here’s some unexpected craft supplies that we’ll be rounding out our craft closet with in the coming years to make sure I don’t find myself paying double again.

1. Styrofoam balls. Also referred to as floral craft foam balls. We’ll be hitting Amazon for a few packs of these in various sizes, and preserving them only for the most desperate of circular projects. That Jupiter cost more than all the other supplies we used put together! (I’ve also got my eye on our local thrift stores, because I’ve seen these but never thought about snagging them before.)

craft supplies 2

2. Acrylic Paint. We had a bit of Crayola paint, but washable paint just wasn’t up to the demands of 3rd grade science–especially when you figure in that $14 worth of styrofoam planets and moons! Acrylic paint covers just about anything, mixes well, and is reasonably priced online or in the craft store. And it’s still fairly washable–as I discovered this weekend!

3. Multi-size Paint Brushes. Apparently we’ve moved past the one-size-fits-all paint brush style of the last few years. We need details. We need layers. We need stripes and clouds and “the eye of Jupiter.” We got these simple art brushes for the Ladybug to go along with our chubby brushes and they seemed to fit the need right now.

craft supplies 34. Mixing Cups. Wondering how I know acrylic paint is semi-washable? Yeah, they used my saucers for mixing bowls. Now we have a 4-set of awesome no-spill-and-store paint cups (similar to these, but we got ours at a craft store and the lids are hinged so you can’t lose them!), but from here on out, I’ll also be washing and saving individual yogurt cups for future mixing cups.

5. Chopsticks. Who knew, right? Never again will we say “no thank you” to the complementary chopsticks in our to-go orders! They are like mounting-hardware extraordinaire! And keeping them around will save me a lot of pencils!

craft supplies 46. Toothpicks. Our new secondary mounting apparatus for all things solar-system. Also helpful for all things wiggly-jiggled into place and those teeny-tiny adjustments to things that were glued down crooked. I’ll be throwing a box or two into our craft closet next time I need to pick some up.

7. Spray Paint. Yes, paint seems to be in big demand for us this year! I guess we don’t usually have it around because, well, it’s messy. But I’ll be adding paint supplies to my watch-for-great-sales list from now on. I think I’ll just be sure we have the basic black, white, gray on hand moving forward–normally our garage is full of things like Ford blue, and Massey Ferguson red instead. craft supplies 68. Vintage stickers and washi tape. Oh, wait, that’s for me!

9. Wood. We tend to have scrap chunks around, so we tend to use it. Storage is a problem though and sometimes Mr. Fix-It just gets tired of the clutter and starts throwing stuff out. We’ve got to figure out a reasonable way to keep some around long-term in case we need it.

10. Paper bags. I have these everywhere because we have a truck. Don’t see the connection? Try putting your groceries in plastic bags in the back of a truck and driving home. D-i-s-a-s-t-e-r. But much like Mr. Fix-It in the garage, sometimes I get totally overwhelmed by the clutter in our mudroom and just start pitching stuff. I’m going to start stuffing at least a few in our craft closet from now on because they work for, well, just about anything–and the day I find myself needing to buy a paper bag…

craft supplies 5What are some craft supplies you didn’t expect to find yourself needing regularly? And where in the world do you store it all?

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Winter Nature Study Ideas

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Winter in south-eastern Virginia is a toss-up. Sometimes we get snow. Sometimes we just get ice all winter. And sometimes we get, well, not much of anything. This year has been pretty mild, which has been nice since we got so much outdoors-y stuff for the family this year. The kids have been loving our backpacking “practice hikes” around our fields–which is just our normal walks, but with our new gear on. (Well, Mr. Fix-It just puts his pack on to be a good sport with the family–but the rest of us can use the exercise!)

And now that hunting season is over around here, we’ll be able to get off our regular loop and out into the woods even more.

winter nature study 7And since we love nature study so much, you know I just couldn’t let all those moments out in God’s great creation slip by! Here’s some fun nature study opportunities that winter brings along…

  • What’s up in the trees? With the leaves gone, you can see mistletoe; hanging nests for squirrels and bees; bird nests; seed pods (especially with sweet gum and tulip poplars!); vines and ivy; and other things that are harder to spot with full growth. This is also a great time to see things like trees that are growing into each other; which trees are straight and which are crooked; where trees have been damaged and healed; compare big trees and little trees; and compare bark–because all these things are much more visible.

winter nature study 4

  • What’s blooming now? What grasses and shrubs are still around? What trees still have leaves (oaks are usually one of the last to lose their leaves!)? How do you tell dead growth from live growth that’s just brown for the winter? What happens to seeds, flowers, and leaves as they freeze or decompose over the winter months?

winter nature study 1

  •  Tracks! Winter clears a lot of ground and either mud or snow are great for finding tracks! We see turkey and deer tracks the most, but all bird tracks are pretty easy to spot. More urban areas would probably also still have squirrel, possum, and rabbit tracks. (Here’s a great, outdoor-hardy, field guide for beginning trackers that we use!)
  • Scat! Yeah, that’s a more “scientific” word for…um…droppings. {smile} Winter really opens up the ground with the underbrush dying off and grass dying back. This is another great way to teach your kiddos how to read animal signs and find animal travel trails. (And here’s another great book to help beginners–including mom’s that are new to this like I used to be!)

winter nature study 5

  • Nest! And what makes tracks and scat so interesting anyway? Because it can lead to other cool stuff–like finding bedding-down nests from deer. You follow their regular travel paths, then carefully go off the path and scope out nearby thickets for ground nests–which are really just mashed down spots in the grass in a protected spot where the animal rest. We found two the other day, less than 20 feet off of those tracks above.
  • Rubs/Scrapings! Ok, I’m not sure what the scientific word for this is (I probably need to skim one of our books for myself again!) but these are places on trees where deer have rubbed the bark off scraping their antlers. In other areas you might also find claw scratchings (bears!) or other signs on the trees. We almost never see these in the summer because the undergrowth is so thick!

winter nature study 6

  • Hair/Fur! This can be a little trickier, but since all the leaves are gone it’s much easier to spot any hair or fur that get’s caught on stiff winter branches and brambles. I also find that the kiddos are not as distracted by all the fall colors, and once the leaves all turn brown they really concentrate on seeing something different, so they spot things quick. (We found a big tuft of deer hair the other day!)
  • Feathers! Again, a lot of times feather are easier to spot in the winter because you’re not as distracted by all the greenery and colors.

winter nature study 3Some other interesting winter lessons we’ve had while out walking around include how and where to shelter in cold and bad weather; how to find food in bad weather and winter time; how winter changes animal travel habits; how cold affects your need for food and water; what materials insulate, and what materials draw heat out; and just general weather and climate conversations.

What I think I love most about nature study as a family is the way it can cross all age groups and snag a broad spectrum of interest for deeper study. The Ladybug is big into clouds and weather vocabulary right now because she’s studying it in school. The Cowboy is interested in finding (and following!) tracks. And Speedracer is big on things he can pick up and touch, like leaves, rocks, fur, feathers, etc. Plus, you can find all these elements to some degree or another in any neighborhood or setting.

Do you get out for nature study much in the winter?

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The Cowboy’s Davy Crockett Speech!

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Well, I think I figured it out!

Here’s the little video of his first place Davy Crockett speech from the American Heritage Dinner on Friday night. He stumbled a bit at the very end, but that was an awfully big stage with an awful lot of people watching him! {smile} I could see he was nervous and forgot his little hand gestures.

We’re so proud of both of them getting A’s on their first speeches, ever.

Oh, how I miss my parents right now. They would have been just bursting their buttons!

And I’d just like to mention that we thought the other students did a wonderful job as well. The whole program was wonderful. I hope the little Thomas Jefferson one grade up from the Cowboy is on someone’s video too and the senior class winner’s George Washington speech was ah-mazing.

Other than Speedracer eating waaaayyy too many candy-corns, it was a good night!

Top 10 Reasons to Attend Titus 2:1

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Last Spring I attended my first blogging conference. (Who knew there were such things, anyway?) I picked one close to home (actually, back in my “hometown” of Northern Virginia) and one that I saw lots of on-line friends chatting about. Titus 2:1 was about blogging and homeschooling–which was on my heart a lot the last year–so it seemed like a good fit. Little did I know how perfectly it would fit!

Here’s 10 reasons YOU should consider attending the Titus 2:1 Conference–from someone who went last year and already registered for this year!

1. It’s not just about homeschooling. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot about homeschooling. But it’s more about faith, about motherhood, about being intentional in your daily life.

2. It’s not just about blogging. There’s quite a bit about blogging, obviously. It is a blogging conference. But it’s more about balancing blogging with the rest of your life, whether that includes working, homeschooling, running marathons, or scrapbooking. It’s about making it all fit together.

3. It’s about learning. Since we don’t homeschool full-time, I thought I would feel out of place. (Everyone else there pretty much did homeschool.) But I left absolutely convinced that I am in control of our children’s learning environment at home, that learning can be fun, and shouldn’t stop just because they leave the school house.

4. It’s fun. Um…plungers and pickle buckets, that’s all I’m saying. Plungers and pickle buckets at 2 am.

5. It’s real. It’s a group of women who have faith, blogging, and family in common. We talked about everything–from financial problems to marital problems, to grief and depression.

6. It’s about connections. The 2:1 group did a great job of creating community before the event using Twitter and continuing it after the event using Twitter and Facebook. I still chat with 2:1 friends daily. (Well, almost daily. I’m not the best social media user!)

7. It’s small. They keep the size of the conference cozy, 200-300, I think. (That means tickets are limited, folks, go now!) Sponsors and speakers are amazingly accessible. Meals are wonderfully social. The Sunday morning worship time was heartfelt.

8. It’s about family and home. You won’t feel awkward talking about how much you miss your kids. You’re not the only one. There’s no endless rounds of husband-bashing (but if you’ve got something you really need to deal with, a Titus 2:1 women is just who you need!). You can also talk about doing laundry, using coupons, or crocheting patterns along with blogging and homeschooling.

9. It’s about blogging and homeschooling. Seem strange to bring that up after points 1-8? Well, I signed up because it was about blogging and homeschooling and I wasn’t disappointed there either. I came home with tons (I mean tons and tons!) of notes and ideas to sort through for blogging and home educating.  Our summer learning plan was a direct result of 2:1. So were some new blogging collaborations, like Family Connections and 5 Days of Back to School. 2:1 also introduced me to some new companies and wonderful new affiliate partnerships, like We Choose Virtues.

10. It’s all about HIM. Every speaker, every session, every keynote and sponsor, all pointed back to the goodness of the Lord. I left feeling that nothing in my life–nothing–was out of His reach. (Which was good, since we’ve had a rocky road this summer and fall!) And that everything in my life–everything–could be used as a platform for His good work.

So, will I see you there?