Absolute Truth

I couldn't have said it better myself...MckMama is definitely an inspiring mom! Her blog post on truth was amazing! Check it out here if you haven't already read it...inspiring!!

Trying something new

So I am going to take on a new activity in homeschooling next week...a lapbook. I have heard lots of craze over this but haven't actually tried it yet.

We are discussing Johny Appleseed next week. It is a springboard from our discussion on Indians as well as a seasonal study of apples and of course a character study into Johny's values.

My confession is that I have actually never read Johny Appleseed...unfortunately I didn't grow up learning all of these great classics! But I hope my kids will not be able to say the same when they are adults:)

Stay tuned to see how our first lapbook turns out. It seems awfully labor intensive but we will see:)

Check here for some of the ideas I will be using...

Do you have any suggestions for completing one of these?

Happy 5 1/2 Birthday Arianna

Arianna has been wanting to celebrate her 1/2 birthday since Ryan celebrated his.   So we had a celebrate Ari day today.  She chose to celebrate at Marbles Children’s Museum.  Before going to the museum, she “officially” turned 5 and 1/2 which means she blew out candles.  Ari believes blowing out candles is what makes you change ages.  After opening presents, we met friends at the museum.  We were having so much fun that we ended up spending the whole day at the museum.

 

Above learning about Eco Heros, below cleaning out the “lake” from trash

In the underwater exhibit

Arianna (and friends) built this high lego structure

Most fun is tearing down the structure!

Waterfall Hunters

We went hunting for waterfalls a couple times on our trip. The first falls was a steep stair walk at first. The falls were beautiful. Arianna enjoyed playing in the mud at the foot of the falls.

The second falls was More's Cove Falls. The hike up to the waterfall was beautiful. Lot's of streams to play in and many bridges to cross. On our way up, we looked for evidence that animals had been around.

It was cool to stand underneath the 50 ft Waterfall.

Arianna and Carden discovered a small path beside the fall and wanted to see if it led to the top so we followed. Ryan and Kessler, though tired, really wanted to go up so we did. I wouldn't really call it a hike but instead a climb up tree roots. We made it to the top to see a second waterfall but stopped there since it looked too treacherous to continue. I did get a kick out of a tree that was at the part where we stopped. It said "I was stupid" I laughed and said "I wonder if they had four kids with them":) Arianna and Carden really enjoyed the climb. When we got ready to climb down it began to rain. By the time we reached the bottom, we were covered in mud and soaked from the rain (and playing in streams). We made it back to the car and got all warm and snug.

There are so many beautiful waterfalls in the mountains of NC. We look forward to going back and discovering more!

It was great to have a friend with kids that was willing to so intimately enjoy nature with! My children love the outdoors and "getting their feet wet".

Learning about the Tsalagi

We enjoyed learning more about the Tsalagi (white man calls them Cherokee).

When my Mom asked the kids what they learned about Indians, here is their response:

Arianna: They didn't live in Teepees, they lived in wigwams
Ryan: They were good and the cowboys were good.
Carden: About how they burn out the inside of the canoes to make them.
Kessler: That the canoes are hard to tip over.

Note: The slideshow on the blog is not always centered accurately. If you click on View All in the slideshow and then in the right corner of photobucket click on the blue slideshow (below search area). This is much better viewing.

Cherokee Field Trip Adventure

My children have really enjoyed Little House on the Prairie but gained the perception that Indians were bad.  I decided to do a unit study on Indians (Native Americans) to help them to see the other side of the story. 

We have enjoyed learning more about our ancestors…both my Great, Great Grandmother on my Mom’s side and my Great Grandmother on my Dad’s side are full blooded Cherokee.  Chris also has Cherokee in his family.  Arianna got a lot of those hidden genes it seems. 

Our dear friends have also been discussing Native Americans.  We decided to take a field trip to Cherokee to learn more.

In this blog are general trip pictures.  The following 2 blog entries will be more specific….

We stayed with Nanny overnight before leaving for Cherokee.  Nanny decided to join us on our field trip and we greatly enjoyed her company!

 

Above the kids are vegging in front of the TV for a moment.  

Ari and Carden in front of the mountains

 

all of us in front of the Great Smokey Mountains!  

On our way back to Nanny’s from Cherokee we went on an adventure.  We stopped wherever looked interesting.  We found this really neat Forestry Museum that had free admission for the day.  The kids enjoyed a scavenger hunt inside the museum. 

The kids learned about the water cycle.  The pretended to be rain drops and went through the water cycle.

We got to take a simulated helicopter ride to put out forest fires.  

We went up to Nanny’s mountain house and enjoyed being on top of the world:)

The kids enjoyed rolling down the hill in front of Nanny’s mountain house.

On our way back home, we stopped by an Apple Cider Mill and learned a bit about how Apple Cider is made. 

We had a great time on our 4 day adventure!  The kids miss Carden and Kessler today!  Ryan is begging to go over to see them this morning:)