Williamsburg Part 3

This trip included Jamestown and Yorktown.  I actually liked these places better because they were more physical:  you can touch and run through history as opposed to just listening and looking.

Powhatan Village

 Ships at Jamestown.  The people that work here are VERY friendly to kids and are willing to answer all kinds of questions.  Something I can't say about who we met at Williamsburg.

 Glass blowing.

Yorktown

This man said he was an ex-schoolteacher.  He was probably an amazing teacher.  He spent about 30 minutes with the boys explaining all about the guns, the fighting back then, the encampment.  He was amazing!  He was funny and informative all at the same time.   If there had been a tip jar there, I would have left a big one!!!

Williamsburg Part 2

Photos only today.  Sorry!

Williamsburg Trip Part 1

In February, Williamsburg was having a special discounted price for homeschoolers.  We headed up that way for about 5 days.  The first day we got our bearings as best we could on the area and decided to head to the beach (about an hour and a half away) just to see and smell the ocean.  It's been a while since I've been to the ocean.  That is one thing I miss about Florida.  I wouldn't return to the beaches in this area of Norfolk because you hear the military jets flying overhead about every 3 minutes.  Not the most relaxing place.  They do have a great boardwalk though.

One thing you may not know about Pooh is that he loves dogs.  He loves all dogs but especially Huskies, German Shepherds and wolves.  He takes the initiative to approach people with dogs to ask if he can pet them and will ask the breed and the name of the dog, etc.  It's one nice way he interacts with people.  

The only downfall in all of it is that he gets seriously offended if a dog either doesn't like him, is afraid of him, etc.  He gets very mad.  He takes it personally and then blames the dog, the owner, me and anyone else who may get in his line of verbal fire.  

Thankfully that dog loved him just as most do and he had a great day playing with Tigger and a cousin at the beach.  Somehow they did manage to NOT get wet.  It was a miracle.

Pooh loves water and watching water move.

They played 'run away from the waves'.

'Draw and destroy'.

It was a great, relaxing day!

Butterfly Farm

A perfect day for a spring trip to a butterfly farm! The weather was gorgeous! This trip was in the beginning of April.

This young lady gave a wonderful presentation about butterflies. It was kid friendly and yet we all learned things we didn't know before. Tigger looks less than thrilled but he did have a good time!. LOL

Here he is again with a smile. Once we went into the butterfly pavillion (I'll call it that-I can't remember what they called it.) all the kids were given a piece of cotton soaked with sugar water. that way the butterflies would be interested and land onto their hands for a nice long drink. As you can see, the main attraction was the monarch.

Pooh raised his hand and volunteered for this demonstration. He did a really great job even though he got a little embarrassed by the time it was all over with. See the ears on the knees-that's where the butterflies hear. The taste buds are on the feet. The noses are on top of the head. It's all topsy-turvy from what we are! That was cool to learn.

In another post, I'll provide some photos of the butterflies we purchased and raised from this farm. It was exciting!!!

The Lazy 5

In April our homeschool group took a trip to The Lazy 5 Ranch in North Carolina. It's an amazing, independently owned ranch that keeps all kinds of animals that you don't see very often. The best part is that you get up close. They offer a drive-thru service--that is, you use your own vehicle and stay on marked paths and the animals will come to you to be fed. OR you can join one of the wagon rides, which is what we did. This is our 2nd trip there and I would go back again. The best experience is seeing babies in the spring and having the water buffalo stick out it's big, long tongue for a taste of feed.

Tigger and the water buffalo.

The best way to feed these guys is to drop the food in. The driver gives you instructions as you go along.

Pooh was so happy to feed the giraffe. You have to stand up in the back of the wagon to feed them over the fence they're in.

They also have a walk thru zoo area. You can see deer, sheep, goats, wallabies, lemurs (and their babies--too cute!) and all kinds of birds too. Plan on an hour for the wagon ride, another hour to do the walk thru zoo area and however much time you think you may need for the little kids to play on the huge wooden ship play structure. It's very, very dusty and you'll be out in the open. Either spring or fall would be excellent times to go--spring is my favorite since you get the opportunity to see any babies that have been born. We saw some type of antelope baby that had been born that morning. The last time we went there were more than a dozen pot bellied pig babies running around. THAT was a scream!

January Activities

We've been keeping quite busy in between snow storms. In keeping with the cold weather, we got with our homeschool group for ice skating.

He's quite determined.

Pooh did a great job this time. He stayed out on the ice the whole time. (before he would sneak into the warm food area where the video games are) Also, despite falling a few times, he got back up and kept on going. And stayed cheerful!

Next up is Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC. It is usually a great place (well, it still is somewhat) but this time over half of it was closed off for renovations. We didn't know that until we got there. However, the boys still had a grande time!

Tigger enjoyed the building table. Lots of little kids in those areas.

He had a meltdown once because his creation was destroyed by others but he managed to regain his control and try again. I was very proud of him!

This is a wind table. The boats are on wheels and the kids can change the direction of the wind and the sails to see how things move differently with the changes.

This table was mostly surrounded by boys and they had fun racing those boats.

More wind!!! It's a hurricane tube. It replicates the wind forces of a Category 1 Hurricane. The wind speed reached 78 miles an hour.

It's messing up my hair! LOL Bad wind!

In addition to these events, we've been working on our play for drama, doing our best to keep up with school work and generally enjoying the bursts of winter weather. I can't wait for some spring temps though!

Homeschool Day at Biltmore

We took this trip the beginning of October. You get a FABULOUS deal when you go on homeschool day! I had a dinky camera the day we went but I don't think there's any way to show in just pictures just how immense, beautiful and cool this place is anyway. I will definitely be heading back there some day--if nothing else than to just enjoy the gardens.

Creating a coat of arms. (part of the special homeschool activities of the day)

Trying on period hats.

Having fun sitting on an old tractor at the farm (where they made some ice cream and had samples!)

The Kitchen Gardens--an area I'd love to return to in 'season'.

Can't remember if this was bocce or cricket. Anyway, they had some nice outside activities as well.

At the ponds. Mom is praying that Tigger doesn't fall in.

A side view of the house. Also, you can see the little tents set up with different activities for the kids. There were table etiquette rules, writing skills demonstrated, period toys, etc.

Holding his first baby chick at the farm.

Tigger running with some of the chickens. They had so many different kinds that were very funny looking.

Wanna go now? I thought so. :D