Sturbridge Village

We decided to visit Old Sturbridge Village, for our first field trip of the year.  It was busier than the previous times we had visited, but it was a free day.  It wasn't overwhelming, like I thought it would be, but it was hot!

Noah found out that the seats in the schoolrooms in the 1800's were not comfortable!

Not overly happy, that I asked him to pause talking for a second while I took this picture.  He was telling me about drying herbs he saw in the house behind him, and wanted me to go see!  He knows I like to dry herbs too!

Carding wool

Resting in the shade on a "rock chair" he was excited to discover!

The Ultimate field trip

We have been waiting and saving for four years (at least) for this trip to Discovery Cove, Orlando, Florida. 
Ever since Noah found out a person could swim with dolphins he wanted to do it.  He and his grandma.  Good thing she wanted to, because swimming with dolphins was not really on my list of things to do.  :)  It is a good things Discovery Cove has plenty of things to do.  Though all we ended up doing the WHOLE day was snorkeling.  Again, putting my head UNDER the water and snorkeling was something I had to get over, but I did it!  And it was awesome.  There’s a whole world down there in the water.  Though it is a bit, um, worrisome, (to me, at least) when the sting rays would swim near and around you.  Some of them were big!
Where was Noah?  In the water, of course.  Noah and his Grandpa took off snorkeling having a great time. 
So, here are – a few – pictures of our trip.

Discovery Cove scenery

Where we did our snorkeling.

Noah in his wet suit and snorkeling gear
… his swim with the dolphins

one thing he didn’t like though was … kissing the dolphin! 

We were able to see many manatees.  A rare treat since it was cold in Fl.

Noah sitting 2 rows down so he can be in the splash zone
AND  he got wet!

His face says how excited he was to be splashed by Shamu.
Nothing like pretend parasailing
It was really quite windy there that day. Noah got a big kick out of what the wind was doing to his hair, he had me take a picture of it.


Tarzan, maybe??   I think he is speaking gorilla.  He tells me he knows how to speak it.  (only one sentence though)..  He is saying, “I’m stronger than you.”
       
At SeaWorld.

After all that water time, he could walk on the water at The Holy Land Experience. 

Notable Noah – Something new

We did something today we have never done.  We walked down our road to the end of the street where there is a brand new Big Y Supermarket. 
It was my way of doing school with Noah, but in a different way.  I asked him  math facts he’s having trouble with along the way.  He told me stories, and idea after idea that he has…
When we got to Big Y, we got some water, and Noah says he can have science by going over to look at the lobsters.  LOL  ( We are studying crustaceans after all, was his logic) 
We certainly got our exercise in for today, as it is 3.8 miles round trip. 
Noah says it was all worth it because he got some treasures – his mother calls it junk.  Which is why I am reminded all of the time, “As the saying goes, One man’s junk is another man’s treasure… well, I’m the other man” says Noah. 

Noah and his ‘treasure’.

last hill before home                  Charging up the hill, shouting
                                                       “Let’s do this!”



It kinda blends in.. but this was my not-so-pleasant surprise…a snake, sunning himself.
Believe it or not, I didn’t even freak out.  I managed to stay perfectly calm.

A Visit to a Rock Quarry

This was a neat field trip, I’ll admit.  It was fascinating to see all the layers of rock in the earth, and they are still drilling – with plenty more for many years to come.

This past weekend we went to Vermont to a Rock Quarry Open House they had in Middlebury. 

Noah is very interested in rocks of all kinds.  He loved this place!  They had a scavenger hunt for kids to do, all kinds of different rock displays, and even microscopes set up so you could see what the rocks looked like. 
…And Noah’s favorite part
….pounding rocks. 

His least favorite parts, (which I found out later)
… the scavenger hunt.  They were given a paper with questions listed on it, and they had to go find the answer.
He, apparently would rather just break up rocks.  We stayed there quite a while.


We went with his cousin and my sister.  There were many kids there, so Noah and his cousin shared the hammer back and forth.

Noah is showing me his hands, cause they were sore after he carried half the quarry out with him.  I told him that if he wanted them, he had to carry them.  It’s a wonder the bag held!  

…not overly enthusiastic to be leaving the quarry. 
The thing that impressed Noah the most??   They use rock (calcium) in toothpaste. 

Fun! A Movie field trip.

Calling all Families! Calling all Moms! Calling all Homeschoolers!
Join thousands of families nationwide to see the movie Dolphin Tale on September 23 together. It makes a statement to Hollywood to rally behind movies that “get it right” and tell great stories without all the junk, twaddle, and moral compromise! This movie has all the good stuff we want more of and is truly entertaining and inspiring from ages 5-95!!!
It’s time the conservative Christian Family and Homeschool community shows Hollywood we have a voice. But how? We need a story we can support and get behind, a story that affirms who we are and what we stand for.
Dear Friends, Dolphin Tale is such a story!
This is a family movie that will inspire, instruct, and bring you to tears because of the great story line. This movie even has two homeschool kids who play the main roles! (The casting agents went to a local support group in California and found them!)
The bottom line is that the Homeschool Movie Club wants to show Hollywood that the those of us with Christian and strong family values are a big enough market to support other great movies with traditional, conservative family values. I am hoping you will be a part of this great opportunity with me!
This was copied what Sally Clarkson’s blog I Take Joy.
We plan on going to see this movie on Friday. 
Noah has been waiting for this movie since he saw the trailer for it. 
If you can, support good movies, and homeschooling.  Go see it Friday, September 23. 
If you click on the Homeschool Movie Club link above, you can get all kinds of free curriculum!

Quite a week

Last week was quite a week.
First, a visit to New Jersey (to visit Grandparents), and then a visit to the Statute of Liberty, and Ellis Island.  We had studied Ellis Island in history this past year, and since we were “close”, I thought it would be a great thing for Noah to experience. 
To be honest, I didn’t really have high hopes. 
  But… He seemed to really like the museum.  I guess seeing the exhibits in person got him to thinking about the people that came from other countries.  


He’s reading about famous Americans and where they originally came from
    Completely fascinated by the kissing post.
Here they are telling all different ways of greeting your loved ones depending on what country you are from.

 
I am not sure what he was thinking exactly, but he was staring at these shoes – for a while.
I found it fascinating just watching HIM!

This is a replica of Ellis Island.  He looked at this while also. 
I think he liked the tiny, plastic people they put in there.
Waiting on the ferry.
The Statue of Liberty.

He humoring me, (I asked him to take off his hat and sunglasses for a better pic).
He thought I was silly…   … better! 

It was a great field trip… even if it was close to 100 degrees out.  Seeing what those people coming through Ellis Island went through makes you stop and think how good we have it here in this country. 

Robot Museum!

Noah is very much into robots... He talks about them all the time.  He wants to make them, he wants them to do jobs for him.  He is constantly telling me about ideas he has for what his robots will do one day.  So, when I came across a pamphlet showing an opportunity to go to a Robot exhibit at a museum near us-- we just had to go. 

He loved this part!  Showing others "blueprints" -- Noah has drawn notebooks worth of blueprints of different robots.

Using the mechanical arm -- this was harder than one might think!

All in all, a successful field trip, where he learned cause and effect, what it takes to build robots, and a historical timelime of robots, to name a few.