Ahh...it's been such a good week! I love wrapping up a week like this.
Since we didn't have co-op classes this week and there were no homeschool group field trips and my calendar was strangely bare, I decided we were going to gain a little ground in our lessons. So when I made out my weekly lesson plans, I doubled them!
Then we hit the ground running on Monday morning. And I have to say, the kiddos did great! I didn't really stress that we were doubling up on work, but I did mention it. I expected lots of groans, but they were totally fine with it. I was so proud of how well they worked this week.
I love these shots I sneaked in at bedtime to get.
There was (as always) lots of reading going on here this week.
There were a few bumps along the way. Mr. B came down with a stomach bug for a couple of days. However, when I introduced him to the lap tray, he was very excited to do his work in bed. He said, "that's just what I was wanting to do!". Such a funny boy:)
By Thursday, we had done eight days of school work in four days...whoo hoo!! So when the weather turned out randomly to be a sunshine-y 76F, I sent the kiddos out to play in the backyard. And play they did! They played with our puppy, Holly, they climbed trees, played on the swing, played basketball with the neighbor boys and just really enjoyed the beautiful weather.
There was even a bit of engineering going on: Mr. B designed a see-saw of sorts with some random things found in the yard:) He was so proud!
After working so hard all week, this mama was ready for a field trip herself. So when friend posted something on Facebook about a Maple Syrup Festival, I decided to check it out. It wasn't too far away and it sounded like fun. It reminded me of a field trip I took as a child to see how maple syrup is made and I thought the kids would enjoy it.
So this morning we headed to Auburn, Kentucky to the Maple Syrup Festival at the Federal Grove B & B. It was a lovely drive through Amish and Mennonite farmland, historic downtowns and finally to this beautiful old home-turned-bed-and-breakfast.
Everywhere on the property were sugar maples with buckets tapped into the sides gathering sap.
We had to take a peek, of course.
The kids were surprised to find the sap looked pretty much like water.
Then we headed over to the *sugar house* to watch the process.
There was this large, wood-burning contraption that made the syrup. We enjoyed hearing how it all worked. It sure did smell good in there!
There were also local artisans and craftsmen there to demonstrate and show their wares. The woodworking man was super nice and told us all about his work. The Princess loved his bows and arrows!
There was a man there making brooms and we were able to learn a bit about that process as well. The kiddos loved his tiny hand brooms.
After that we were ready for some pancakes and maple syrup! The B & B was serving all-you-can-eat pancakes all day long and we really enjoyed ours. You can't beat fresh maple syrup made just the day before!
The old home was really beautiful with many gorgeous collections. We had fun browsing around a bit. The owners were so friendly and welcoming.
Before we left the kiddos drew some pictures of sugar maples in their nature journals. I think our nature journals haven't made it out since our move, it was fun to get them back out again!
Oh, and I had to show you this gorgeous cowl that Vince bought for me from the lady with all of the crocheted and felted wool things. I love it!!
On the way back home we stopped by to see a restored one-room schoolhouse. It wasn't open so we could only just peek in the windows, but it was still fun to look at.
I can't believe that February is nearly over! While I'm starting to look forward to Spring Break, I am really enjoying this school year. It's been one of our best yet!
And that's a wrap for this week, enjoy the weekend!
This post is linked to the Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.
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