Field Trips

Somedays I feel like we could spend a year doing just field trips and still have plenty of places I would want to go. Yes, my ideal field trip is to the beach. There is so much to study there - ocean animals, seaside biomes, lighthouses, tides, etc. But there is more to life than just the beach (so they tell me).

In planning our trip to NJ, I am planning "lay-overs" to visit family outside Baltimore and Washington, DC. The possibilities for field trips at these two locales seem endless. How do I pick just 2 or 3 things to see in each city? Afterall, we are supposed to be there to visit family - which is another thing I love to do. (Any talk of a family reunion at a beach would be A-okay with me!!)

Then I picked up something about the Appalachain Mountains at a NC Welcome Center. Turns out to be Geotourism MapGuide put together by National Geographic. It lists hundreds of places of interest along the mountains. Battle sites, places to ride steam engine trains, art centers, farms, caverns - the list goes on.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Discovery Place Museum in Charlotte. So today, I am getting ready. I have made extra sandwich rolls to bring with us so we can picnic for lunch. I have made PB Oatmeal cookies for us to snack on. I have washed our field trip outfits (red polo shirts, jeans, yellow sweatshirts - you can't miss us of you try). I have ironed demin dresses and white headcoverings for Sarah and me. It's 2:30pm and I'm ready to go to bed.

I think the idea of taking a year just for field trips is intriging. I think the best way to do it is in an RV. Oh, and bringing a maid would help too! LOL

Homeschool Curriculum

For the first few years of homeschooling, I used the Five in a Row curriculum. It worked well for us. However, my older children are too old for basic FIAR and I don't want to be doing 2 unit studies every day. So I am trying to find something new.

I believe the Lord is leading me to Heart of Wisdom Unit Studies. However, I tend to be impulsive, so I am trying to research this a bit before I buy. Of course, they are having a sale ending March 15th, so I am trying to research quickly. So here is what I have found so far:

Pros:

• Bible-centered curriculum (This alone should get it ++++!)
• Unit Study that can be adapted for multiple ages
• Well reviewed by the reviews I read.

Cons:

• May need more prep than I am used to. I like to prep, but don't always remember to prioritize it.
• May be expensive, but then again we have our tax refund. I don't want to waste it on something we won't use, but will happily invest it in my children's education and spiritual grounding.
• No one on the Homeschool message boards I frequent seems familiar with it. (I did find a review by "Mary Arnold". I have e-mailed the Mary Arnold I know from the FIAR Boards to see if this is her.)

So I pray, consult my husband, and continue to research this.

BTW, I put a picture of my family on my profile page. We are not happy about the composition of the picture - we look like we are about to fall out of the left side of the picture. Also, John should be in back to minimize his, well, you know. And I should have put belts on the boys. But they still are cute, aren't they?