Tag Archives: homeschool

Field Trips, Homeschooling, Saving Money

Thriving In My thrifty week–End Of the Oregon Trail Museum–Nov. 11, 2019

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Today, we visited the End of the Oregon Trail Museum/Interpretive Center in Oregon City, Oregon. As the name suggests, it is where the Oregon Trail ended approximately 175 years ago. My sister set up a field trip there for both a group of homeschooled kids and kids who attend public school. There were 13 of them, including Michaela. It was planned for Veteran’s Day, since it is a school holiday for the public schools.

The kids we took had a blast!

They started having fun in the parking lot, and it continued. It was a gorgeous day.

We had a nice presentation by our guide, Bethany. We had pre-chosen the “Choose Your Own Adventure” presentation, so she let the kids decide what they would do under certain circumstances they might encounter if they were actually traveling the trail way back in the 1800’s. They loved her little voting devices that allowed them to push the button of their choice and then electronically transferred the information to the screen. After the informative presentation, they were allowed to explore that area for a while.

They moved on to a “Pack your wagon” activity.

The 3 big girls, with help from Alissa, really tried hard to figure out the best use of their 2000 pound wagon-loading limit. The littler boys just decided they didn’t need such things as clothes, just lots and lots of guns:).

The guide moved us on to butter making, where all the kids got to shake the cream until it turned into the desired butter, then they got to taste it.

Candle dipping was a real hit, as well.

Thankfully, there were plenty of grown-up hands to help the little ones. (Hard to believe Alissa counts as a grown-up now, but she DOES!).

The last activity was one in which they laid out ropes to “survey” their land on the big lawn outside. After each team “claimed” their property, often with lots of yells for others to “get off my land!” we were done with the official field trip. Rob had helped me pack a huge lunch for all 18 of us, and we relaxed in the picnic area while we all ate it. He didn’t go this time, which was a good choice since there was a lot of walking.

The kids ran and played on the big lawn after lunch. It was a great day for everyone. They had a blast while learning so much. One of the little boys confided in me how much he loved days where he didn’t have to have school–like this one!

We did do some money-saving activities during the week.

I cooked our meals, using the sale items from the grocery ads, coupled with items from my freezers/cupboards, etc. I did nothing earth-shattering, just made good, plain food. I sent Rob to some stores, and I went to others, and bought the best deals from each place. I hadn’t shopped much for a few weeks, and it caught up with me this week. I’m stocked up now for a while.

I wanted to make a small project and found everything I needed in my stash of fabric. We were also able to find everything my daughter needed for her project, except the stuffing, which my husband bought at the thrift store.

We used our membership at the Croc Center. Since the YMCA closed down for a re-build, we were transferred over there. We haven’t used it much, as it is a bit out of our way, but we are trying to use it more. Rob takes Michaela there at least once a week to swim and we join her when we can. I’ve taken a couple of exercise classes there, as they are all included in our membership. We are still on scholarship from the Y, which I thought was very nice of them all. We do pay each month, but it’s a reduced amount.

Cooking for a crowd, Uncategorized

Homeschool Outdoor School–August, 2019

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I have been planning an outdoor school experience for Patsy for a few weeks. When Jake heard she was going camping and doing school, he insisted on some school, too:). He was always going camping—he loves it so much. So, along with the notebook I was making for Patsy to do, I had to make one for Jake, too. For his, I had Rob run off some word searches from the internet, and let him do those. I planned lots of fun, outdoor activities, as well, along with “messy” crafts that were perfect for doing outside.

Here’s where the big surprise came in…..I wrote the date down wrong. Really, I did! So, we woke up on Saturday and I leisurely asked Rob to look up which campsite we had, just for fun, and YIKES! we were due down there at the coast that day!!! I called my sister to see if Jake could go with us earlier than we had planned, so they packed him up, came over and helped us get ready and hustled us off on our adventure.

The very first day, there was a ranger program about agates. Rob took the kids down to it and they were hooked! The ranger gave them each 2 agates and they spent hours hunting for more down on the beach in 3 different places. On the 3rd beach we tried, they finally found some. They were excited.

Patsy did bookwork each morning, like language arts, Bible, math, and science. Jake did a few word finds. I read aloud to both of them, mostly things Patsy needed to hear for school–good for them both. I also read a beloved Boxcar Children book to Jake in the evenings. In the afternoons, we did fun activities.

Patsy had chosen 2 simple cooking projects to do on the trip. One was trail mix …

and the other one was Camping Haystacks–mostly a can of chili on top of Fritos with some salad toppings. She loved it! I mean, who wouldn’t want chips for the main part of dinner, right?

Patsy and I went clamming and caught nothing. Jake and Rob did not walk out with us, but instead, Jake dug for gold. He did not find any gold, either, but he made it clear that if he had found any, it was, and I quote, “ALL MINE!”

The weather was amazing. It was in the upper 80’s (or warmer) most of the time. There was wind or a breeze frequently. I heard we escaped some awfully hot weather back in the valley. In this picture, we had gone for a drive and stopped to feed some seagulls.

Patsy and I took a few walks. I have been working on training our dog— if she pulls, the “Haltie” on her nose (black leash) tightens on her nose, which she doesn’t like. If she isn’t pulling, I let her run on the blue leash and let the other one hang loosely. I only tighten the black one if she pulls. I have no idea if anyone else does it that way, but it’s working well. She managed to walk calmly through the entire campground full of dogs and children without going ballistic by the end of the time. I’m starting to take her places with more and more people and animals, and she’s not comfortable, in fact shivering and shaking on the crowded beach one day, but I want her to get used to it.

We read books about fall and decorated fall cookies. I had hoped to bake them before we went, but with our hasty departure I couldn’t, so I had to make them in the camper. It worked, but the oven isn’t the best. Of course, this activity was geared for Jake, but no one argues with cookies around here.

Patsy did another craft..a coconut oil-brown sugar scrub. They both folded some origami animals as well, and decorated sunglasses with duct tape. They had a lot of squirt gun fights.

The tree was a favorite perch all week.

Our other nephew came down the last night after he finished work. Jake immediately roped him into game playing. We had a great visit, although short, and we all headed back to the valley the next morning.

I had Rob develop some pictures of our activities and we put them into a notebook for each kid so they would have good memories to keep about their fun outdoor school.

I am very satisfied with the fact that we are now most of the way through the first 4 weeks of school with Patsy. I hope to finish week 4 today. I love getting started in August. It will give me more leeway during the year when I get super busy. I also love the fact that we could take school on the road, get a lot done, but still have so much time to enjoy the outdoors. It took a lot of planning and a lot of supplies for so many crafts and hands-on activities, but I love to do that.

On Wednesday, the weather started to change. I enjoyed the cooler weather, and came home Thursday to a city that was considerably cooler than it has been, which was a relief. I gave a happy, sun-tanned boy back to his daddy and he’s going to spend the next couple of days snuggling with his mama. I’m going to put the house back together, can up some applesauce and start working outside in the garden and yard a bit over the next few days. Things are quite messy after 2 trips away, but then again, the work will always be here. Little boys and teen-age girls won’t.

Field Trips

Homeschool Field Trip to the Tulip Fields

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We went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fields for a field trip (literally in a field) today:)

Alissa’s mom, Gail, has been wanting to take the girls there for a while now, and today turned out to be unexpectedly sunny, in spite of dire predictions of torrential rain.  So, the girls and I were working hard at school books when she texted me, and we decided on the spur of the moment to go today.  The girls did not protest at all when I asked them to close their science books and get in the car.

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We picked our way through the mud to the field where we enjoyed a breathtakingly beautiful field of tulips.

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It was quite a view from the observation platform (as seen in the top picture).  There was another huge field of tulips in the distance, a gift shop and restaurant, and many little booths of various items to buy.  There were also things like a hay ride, a huge slide and some other fun-looking attractions.   Many were closed since this was a Tuesday, but there were still quite a few people there.  On the weekends, sometimes the traffic is so heavy that it impacts I-5 where cars are trying to exit to go to the fields.  We were delighted to be there when it wasn’t so crowded.  We had plenty of space to thoroughly enjoy the flowers.  We wandered around for a while, Ja’Ana enjoyed an elephant ear while the rest of us had some food, too, admired the tulips some more, and headed back home so Alissa could do her guitar lesson and they could do math.

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It was a great day!

Field Trips, Vacations

San Francisco, Here We Come!

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In the dim light of early morning, our luggage looks like an explosion in a clothes factory.  We are ready to go.  Our plane does not leave super early, though, so we will have time to eat breakfast before we go join my sister and nieces.

My sister, Gail, has a work conference in San Francisco, so we are taking Ja’Ana, Alissa and Michaela down there for the ultimate homeschool field trip.  Part of the time, we will all sight-see together.  Part of the time, she will be involved with her conference and I will be the tour guide.  We will all be very cozy in one hotel room every night, and will be riding public transportation instead of renting a car.  For this and other reasons, J and I are each taking only one small suitcase that can be carried onto the plane and one backpack.  We should have plenty of clothes, as we are only going to be gone for a few days.

Rob, Lovana and Patsy will hold down the fort here, and Ron and Jake will hold down the fort at their house.

I have a map of San Francisco in my backpack.  Although I can get that information on my phone, I’m hoping to be able to see a larger version better.  We have downloaded an app for the public transportation system, including the cable cars, onto each person’s phone and purchased a ticket for unlimited riding that can be used for the entire time we are there.  We will just have to have the driver scan the phone, and can get on and off as much as we want.  The hotel is near the cable car line, as well as the bus lines.

We downloaded another app that tells us about many, many sights that can be visited in the city. We have chosen quite a few that would be fun for the girls and I to do.  Most of them are historical museums.  One of the things I have done with Ja’Ana and Alissa this year is study the great earthquake and fire of San Francisco in the early 1900’s.  I hope to see some information about that at one of these museums, as well as some gold rush exhibits.  We will be taking it easy, though, and will see what we see while still having fun, rather than run everyone ragged.  Michaela, especially, can out-walk us all, but needs down-time each day.  So, we will explore, then go back to the hotel and chill out.  Then, the last day, my sister is treating us all to a tour.  We will get on a bus and ride around, seeing sights, such as the Golden Gate Bridge and more.

It should be a grand adventure!

Field Trips

Thanksgiving Week Fun–Mission Mill Museum

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The schools around here have the week off.  We decided to take the homeschooled girls on a field trip, and they are doing a small amount of work that was left over after they both got colds last week, but that’s it for them for the week, as well.  My sister planned it, and my aunt and I took the kids.  I had never visited this historical sight before, and enjoyed it tremendously.  It is located in Salem, Oregon.

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We toured the old woolen mill, and the houses surrounding it.  Some houses img_3593had been moved to this sight, but the mill was always there.  We were amazed to see that the machinery still worked (at least some of it) and they ran some of it while we were in there.  In other places, buttons could be pushed to start machinery, which was a hit with Jake especially.

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These homes were residences of early missionaries to the Oregon Territory.  They took a ship to Oregon before the time of the Oregon Trail, started out in one place which turned out to be flooded too often, so moved.  It was fun to see the houses.

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In the parsonage, there were quite a few interactive exhibits set up with kids in mind.  Jake loved “cooking” with the play food, building with blocks, and other fun activities.

Does anyone know the purpose of the crinkly cast iron base and iron pictured above?  The base has grooves in it, and the iron part (on top with a handle) has a matching grooved surface.  So, you can hold the handle and roll it back and forth.  But why?  It wouldn’t be good for ironing, since it is crinkly.  Our best guess was an old-fashioned panini press–ha-ha!

After we had gone through all of the buildings, we browsed our way out through the gift shops, bypassed the cafe although it looked good, and enjoyed a wonderful lunch my sister packed for us–in the parking lot.  It was a great day!