Posts Tagged ‘field trip’

This post is a little overdue!  I was going to post it the week of Thanksgiving but little Stella was born instead!  So bear with me and the pumpkin posts!!!  I have a little catching up to do!

Our last field trip scheduled before the new baby was a trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  We were so excited it worked out so Don could come with us!  I don’t know how I could have made it without him!  Stacy’s husband Kent was also able to tag along and He and Don enjoyed catching up!

The kids all loved the big tractor and combine tire dragon and even the little ones mastered climbing the truck tires.

The little animals were next.  Grady is our animal lover but I think the girls are learning to love them just as much as Grady, especially Clara.

She hasn’t ever had her little fingers nibbled, so she wasn’t afraid of anything!  The baby pigs were the biggest hit.

We didn’t attempt the corn maze, instead we chose to sit and watch the kids play on the many homemade playgrounds.  I think Don and Kent have figured out how to make the culvert slide.  Hopefully this winter we will have one of our own at our house!

Adults and kids alike enjoyed the hayride and it was made better by catching a glimpse of a huge eagles nest.

We enjoyed lunch in a covered pavilion and then watched the kids ride the mini tractor ride.  They never could quite figure out which trailer to ride in and kept moving around!

After that they all picked out a pumpkin of their choice to carry home.  It was so funny how quick this happened.  I would have thought they would have been more choosy, but it turned into more of a race…or to get the biggest one they could carry!

After all the pumpkins were loaded in the wagon they tried their hand at cotton picking.

And Daddy and Eli checked out an old Combine.  We had a great day with our family and the Witcher’s at the Pumpkin Patch and the fun continued at their house afterwards.  Thanks to our friends for their hospitality and the great supper!

A Few months ago we visited Parkin Archaeological Museum for their Homeschool Casqui Days and we has a super time.  It was no question when Stacy let us know about their Sawmill days that we would be returning.  Of the many benefits of homeschooling, field trips are some of our favorites!  The kids always learn better hands-on instead of from a dry textbook and they also enjoy “socializing” with their friends. (For those of you who worry about “peer” socializing)  We not only visited with our friends the Witcher’s but also the Price’s and met some more friends too!

The kids learned about food preservation and made some sour kraut.  I think our kids were the only ones who knew what it was!  Polish Sausage and Sour Kraut is one of Jo Anna’s favorite foods and has been requested for her birthday meal!

They also made corn husk dolls or corn husk “action figures” as they named them for the boys!

They learned about sawing logs and everyone had to try their hand, even the girls.

They all decided that this was not a future career option.

One of the favorite stops was the old school house where the Sawmill kids spent a lot of their time.  It was neat to see that we used some of the same books and readers in our homeschool 70 years later!

They learned about the heaters, and a community water bucket and had fun trying on hats.

Outside they played Games like Jacobs ladder, cup and ball and a game of Grace.

We enjoyed a kettle corn making demonstration and got to sample the “goods” and then we moved along to a scavenger hunt in the old cemetery. The boys decided to have a friendly contest between the girls and boys.  Poor Madisyn and Jo Anna were grossly outnumbered but they still beat the boys!  I think next time Madisyn will have a few more on her team!

To check out PART 1…click here

After lunch we checked out their mill.  Our family always enjoys going to old grist mills, but most of what we have toured have been run by water.  This one was tractor powered!

The littles were intrigued, either that or they enjoyed climbing on things, and were pretending to pay attention, so they wouldn’t get into trouble… for climbing on things!

They all loved the little train, we must figure out how to make one of these out of an old lawn mower!

Our kids favorite thing at Parker Homestead was the washing station.  They had a bucket set up by a little creek with a rub board and ringer.  The lady was very patient and so were all the kids.  They all got several turns washing and wringing out old rags.

Somehow I thing the nostalgia of “hand washing” clothes would probably quickly wear out if they had to do this every day!  A family of 7 makes a lot of wash!

The kids also visited a sorghum making post, a post office and a printing press, an old church and many other places.  A visit to a 19th century town  isn’t complete until you learn about an out house and the many uses of a Sears and Roebuck catalogue.

Nothing like clean kids!

Broom making time was a little too much for Clara to handle!

Last was fun and games!  The kids learned all sorts of games from marbles, to slingshots, to hoop and stick games.  Although I have heard so often of “kick the can”  that lovely game was not featured.

We had a great time at Parker Homestead and look forward to going back next year!  As always field trips were made much more fun because we shared memories with our friends!

I have a lot of catching up to do since the big move!  Almost 2 months worth, but I’ll try my best! We were excited this fall to be able to participate in several field trips and were very grateful that Stacy did such a great job planning them all out!  One of our first adventures was at Parker Homestead.  If you have never been I would highly recommend going.  They have something for families as well as adults of all ages.     It is a recreated 19th century town located 6 miles south of Harrisburg, Arkansas.   A vast collection of buildings and artifacts from times past, Parker Homestead brings history to life!  Each stop had a historian that explained artifacts and the way things would have been done in the 19th century.

After we learned about the importance of ropes (since they didn’t have Duct Tape!)  Lee and Grady took turns making their own 3 strand cord.  These have been a hit in the Tims’ home, since the boys favorite thing to play is cowboys!

From there we visited a blacksmith shop and learned about the importance of nails.  I had no idea that the pioneers would burn down their houses when they would move just to retrieve the nails to build their new home with.  Thankfully we were able to buy our own nails for our new house and could sell, instead of burn down our old one!

Then on to the log cutting demo,

And to the big barn where we learned about crops and farming.  Thanks to Ty “Jethro” for helping us out!

The little ones and tired pregnant mommies played and sat under the shade trees while the older ones watched the medicine show,

we checked out the covered bridge, had a picnic lunch,

and Lee and Griffen had a friendly game of tug of war with their newly made ropes.

Check back tomorrow for more Parker Homestead fun!

A few weeks ago we met up with our friends the Witcher’s at The Pink Palace Museum at Memphis.  The kids love getting the opportunity to visit with their homeschool friends and they always pick right back up where they left off.  It is a real blessing to have like minded friends.

The kids always love the dinosaur exhibit.  Eli is dinosaur crazy at the moment, but he was quite surprised to find that this one moved!  He hand on to my leg the entire time!  As with any worldly museum…there are many things we disagree with, evolution and an old earth to be a few.  As we always say “take in the meat, and spit out the bones.”  These museums  give our homeschoolers a wonderful opportunity to defend their Christian Worldview.

They just loved sticking their hands in this log to guess what was inside…how brave!

The replica Piggly Wiggly store is a crowd favorite!  As with any store…this one will never be the same!

Clara and Mary Claire are good friends and made stroller buddies for the afternoon.

I think the boys liked the Civil War display best.  This time there was an interpreter in full regalia who allowed the boys to hold replica weapons and gear.  Each one had to take turns firing their pistols and nearly had to be dragged away.

You can’t leave The Pink Palace with this many kids without at least trying for a group shot.  With two pregnant mommies and 12 tired kiddos we called it a day and headed to the vans for a quiet drive home.

For more pictures and accounts of the day check out Hanging out at the Palace.