Double-Whammy Field Trippin'

This week we had the very fun opportunity to go on an all-day field trip with some families from our homeschool group. We decided to take in two national parks in one day! Our first stop was at Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace near Hodgenville, KY.

We really enjoyed the museum area in the visitor's center and also walking around on the grounds. The kids all had fun working towards their Jr. Ranger badges, too.

It's fun visiting these sites with lots of kiddos because they have the best questions. And the rangers here were very gracious to answer them all.

We had visited here before, but did have time to walk all over the grounds. This time we walked the path where the local boundary oak used to stand.

We also got to see the Sinking Spring, which was one of the reasons Abraham Lincoln's parents wanted to settle here.

The kids had fun working through their workbooks and earning their jr. ranger badges and also some fun trading cards.

Then it was time for a quick lunch and we were off to Mammoth Cave! While we were waiting on our tour the kids were able to participate in a jr. ranger program and also start their workbooks.

Then it was time to enter the cave! I can't even tell you how good that cool air felt after being out in the hot summertime all day. This was our 2nd time to visit Mammoth Cave, but we did a different tour the first time (you can read about our other tour and about our camping trip at Mammoth here).

Our tour was a little over an hour and we had a great guide. Of course, it's difficult to take photos in a cave (at least for a non-pro like me:), so you'll just have to accept that this black background was in the cave..ha

After being in the cool, dry part of the cave it felt unbelievably muggy and hot when we came out. We all had a great time though and are looking forward to coming back to do some of the different cave tours.

After a long but very fun day of walking, exploring, learning, caving and what-have-you, we were all ready for a good meal. Then, 13 hours later, we arrived back home. This day definitely inspired me to consider planning more extensive field trips for our group occasionally (did I mention that I'm on the field trip planning team this year?!).

Do you still do things with your homeschool group through the summer? What field trips have you taken this year?

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...

my blessed life

Search This Blog