Where'd We Go Wednesday! Field Trip - World War 2 battleship!

About 18 months ago, we had a unique opportunity to tour a World War 2 ship. An actual boat, used in an actual war. It was traveling through our area via river, and was stationed there for several days. So we loaded up the kiddo's, and went for a tour.

 

 

 

 

Once inside, our guide took us through the underbelly of the ship where they stored stuff, including a really cool jeep that was used for the TV show "M.A.S.H." We got to see the mess hall, some of the sleeping quarters, the Captain's cabin, and on deck where the helicopter pads were still visible. The kids got to hold onto the giant guns on the top deck, and climb the stairs back down to the main deck where we got to see the kitchen, the control room, and other neat stuff. We all learned a thing or two about history & the military during this tour. It was an amazing thing to be able to tour this ship, and to see a part of our U.S. military history.

 

An added bonus? We got to witness a local barge carrying coal downstream on the river while we were on the top deck, so I snagged some pics of that as well for a future American history lesson!

 

 

 

So be sure to check with your local civic league or Visitor's Center for a list of local attractions or upcoming events! You never know what you might find, waiting to be explored!





Where'd We Go Wednesday! Field Trip - Geocaching!!!

This is our 3rd year homeschooling, and along the way we've enjoyed coming up with new & exciting places to go during our "field trips". Hopefully this will help spur you on to finding your own special field trips!

Our first year of homeschooling, one of my friends from church mentioned "geocaching" with her kids. I had never heard of it, so I asked her about it. Let me tell you, geocaching has REVOLUTIONIZED our homeschool & our field trip schedule! Geocaching is like a huge treasure hunt, and can be found in all 50 states & most foreign countries as well! One of the kids' grandmothers purchased a special geocaching GPS for us & we have found almost 100 of them to date. We love it because it not only gets us outside, which we use sometimes for P.E. as well (let me tell  you, when you go to find the ones at a state park or forest, you are EXERCISING!!!) but we also love finding the little treasures tucked inside when we find the containers. We've found coins, military patches, assorted little trinkets from all over the world, LITERALLY. We have even used some of the items found, to do a little geography lesson (such as a miniature German doll). Sometimes we make it a science lesson, checking out various plants and trees along the way. At the end of our journey, the kids have practiced their handwriting by journaling what they saw and found that day.

The point of a geocache is to find a treasure, and leave a treasure. So we keep a supply in the car at all times; quarters, dimes, nickels, cool collector coins, stickers, any little thing will do really. Then you put your "team name" on the paper found inside each cache, with the date. You can log onto www.geocaching.com at anytime to create a FREE account; when you do your geocaching, log back on to record which cache's you found & upload a pic of your team with the cache (optional). It's neat to read the clues on each one before you go find it, too. We have had so much fun doing this. Highly recommend you check this one out!

 

This is one of the ones we had to HIKE for, but it was worth it!  :)



The Workbox System....It Worked for Us!

When we first started homeschooling, I tried so VERY hard to make it look like "real" school. We bought some second-hand desks at a local thrift store, (one for each kid) and scrubbed them as clean as we could get them. Hubby tore apart the girls' bunk beds, and made loft beds out of them so they could have their shiny new desks under there for a makeshift classroom. We used the workbox system, though we made ours with these instead. Yup, that was one sharp-looking classroom alright. For a home with VERY LITTLE SPACE, these carts were a Godsend.

Every day, I simply took their assignments in each subject, (along with any coordinating supplies, worksheets, etc.) and slid them into the drawers in each child's drawers. About halfway down, which would be their mid-morning work drawer, I put some little snack (fruit snack, granola bar, etc.) and a juice box, along with a search-a-word or color by number math sheet....something FUN, to refresh them a little and give their brains a break. Or I'd put a note in one drawer that simply said "Come see Mommy for a hug" or "RECESS! Get your shoes!!!" and we'd go outside one at a time til we were all out there, running and playing and getting the silly's out  :)

 

 

 

While we've since moved into a larger home with more space, and since the girls grew too tall over this past year to continue to SAFELY go under the loft beds to sit at their desks, we've changed the way we homeschool now. I'll save that for a later post  :)  But for anyone just starting, and not knowing WHERE to start, or what to do, I would highly recommend the Workbox System. It gave us enough organization without feeling overwhelmed & we didn't have to worry about making enough space for a ton of books to be piled up. And this is why the Workbox System worked for us  :)

Why We Homeschool

I was never one of "those moms".....you know the ones; the ones who are over-protective of their kids to the point they can't MOVE without being right behind them. The ones who are already standing right next to their kid, Kleenex in hand, waiting for a sneeze that may never come. You know....THOSE moms.

But 3 years ago, I had just had enough. Enough of my kids coming home from school in tears because they were bullied on the playground and the teacher wouldn't address the bully. Enough of calling the school, only to be told they didn't consider the bullying to be "THAT" serious. Enough of being told that my oldest wasn't "getting" multiplication so they were just going to fail him and move on to division, a mathematical equation which requires the knowledge of multiplication. I pointed out what I thought was the obvious; that division and algebra would depend on him knowing multiplication. I tried sharing some of the ways we were already working on multiplication facts with him at home, only to be told they didn't have time to do anything else; the standards in public school now required the teachers to move on, regardless of whether my child (and a few others, I found out later) didn't "GET IT".

Enough.

So after much prayer and even MORE prayer, my husband and I made the decision together for me to leave my job at a local church, and stay home to teach our children. At THEIR pace. In THEIR time. No bullying to be seen (except for the inevitable sibling rivalry).



While homeschooling is not made for everyone - not for the faint of heart - it has been one of the best decisions we've ever made for our family. Not only have our children excelled academically since being home and learning at their own natural pace, they have blossomed as young people in a real world. Instead of being in a classroom of 20 other kids their age, from the same neighborhood & same background, they now have the joy of interacting with people of ALL ages, from ALL backgrounds, from ALL neighborhoods. They've begun Bible quizzing via our local church where they compete at several other churches; the girls have joined the church choir recently; they are enrolled in a Homeschool  Music Program at our local state university.

Yup.... these are just some of the reasons why we homeschool. And not one of us can imagine it any other way.

Favorite Moments Friday - we're baaaaaaaack!

After much debate, we've revamped our BlogSpot & we're ready to HIT THE GROUND RUNNING! Hope we can drive as much traffic to our new place, as we had at the old.

Our first post of 2014, is for Fabulous Moments Friday. With this "Polar Vortex" going on, life here in Middle Tennessee has been extremely cold (aka, homeschool has been 100% INDOORS!) for the past 2 weeks.

This week, one of my favorite moments was walking into the living room, to find the big kids playing with our Little Man. The bigger ones built a giant "construction site" with Lego's, while Little Man used his dump trucks, bulldozers, and sound effects to make it come to life.

I couldn't tell you when the last time I saw the Lego's out of their bin. Not because they don't love them, because they really do...but we've been so busy since Christmas, that I think we all (yes, even ME!) had forgotten how to just free-play. So this was one of my favorite  moments this week:

 

 

#FMFshare