In Pigeon Forge, Tn, there is a unique museum calledWonderworks... It is a children's paradise for hands-on learning...For the past few years, they have offered a free admission to homeschool families in the area (with your teacher ID from an umbrella school)...
It is a great opportunity and we try and take advantage of it every year.. They have an inversion tunnel which puts me in a "semi-euphoric" state trying to walk through it... An illusion gallery, a space area, climbing wall, a great wind tunnel, an "Earthquake Cafe" with lots of shaking going on... and an area for light and sound...
Playing with the Bubbles
DD on the Climbing Wall
DS as an Astronaut
It is always a really a cool experience and we had a great time again this year!!
Monday, August 31, 2009 - Adventure Science Center, Nashville, TN
This summer we went to the Adventure Science Center in Nashville, Tn... We loved it!!! There was so much to do there... The exhibits were great and they have a homeschool day too...
The have a wing dedicated to space called "Space Chase" where you can have the chance to undergo simulated astronaut training, tour the Solar System, experience a moonwalk or find out what you weigh on another planet.
The Human Body wing is called "BodyQuest" and presents a day in the life of your body. You get to see what goes on inside you every day, how your body systems work together and how hard your body works to try to keep itself in good working order...
There is the BlueMax which is a virutal flight simulator that offers a three minute flight for two people.. It is presented by Middle Tennessee State University and MTSU Aerospace. BlueMax allows the "pilot" to control every thing..Including all the loops, spins, and dives associated with flight...
In the Adventure Tower, you find an area filled with amazing activities, it's more than 75 feet tall with seven levels and an observation area that looks out over the whole city. You can hoist a car off the ground without effort and actually see what the hunan epidermis is like on a larger-than-life wall of skin...
Plus for an extra admission price, you can watch visit the Planetarium and view the show... This planetarium is one of only 7 in the world and the only one outside of Japan...
And if you present you Teacher ID, you can get a discount on admission!!!
Today, I had some errands to do, so we took advantage of the opportunity to do some "carschooling" ...
Each child has their own 'lap tray'. They provide a hard surface for coloring/school activities and a flat surface when eating in the car that I got for $2 each at the Family Dollar Store...
Then we started out... I had packed a CD of classical kids music and a DVD of the Magic School Bus in Space... (hoping to kickstart the kids into excitement over the Meteor shower)
The kids completed their math sheets, each completed their HWOT assignment, moving on to sentences for DD and a daily gram sheet for DS... Then they worked on their notebook assignments for Mesopotameia and colored their sheets while listening to the classical music...
On the way home, they watched the Magic School Bus video... and ate their snacks (which I had also packed) and drank water from stainless steel water bottles that I got from Walgreens which were on sale for 3/$10 ... I'd like to get away from using plastic, mainly for our health since alot of studies have been coming out lately showing that plastic water bottles can leach harmful chemicals into your water when they are heated or washed...
We had a great trip and we still got school completed!!!
Thursday, August 6, 2009 - Our first family opera experience...
Last night I took the kids to see an encore presentation of the Metropolitan Opera performing Mozart's "The Magic Flute" on the big screen... It was a fabulous performance!!! It was done in English and had subtitles so the kids could understand the story behind the singing...The kids loved the costumes and the huge puppets, and stage backdrops were wonderful... We went with some homeschool friends and had a great time... The kids enjoyed the performance and it was a great way to introduce them to opera in the comfort of the move theatre...
Every year, our church goes to Bristol for a Nascar Race... We have a great time... This year, I decided to stay at home with DD and let DS and DH go...
They came home and told us all about the great time they had!!
Friday, February 6, 2009 - TUBING... What a blast!!
We went tubing today for the first time!!!
It was so much fun... It was a great way to finish our time with "The Big Snow" by Berta and Elmer Hadler...
DH came up with the idea as a way to actually get to play in snow since we have had very little this year...After doing some checking we found out that an area ski resort had tubing and that it was affordable for our budget...
So I loaded up the kids, we picked dad up at work, and off we went for an afternoon of fun.. and it was great!!!
You don't have to have any special clothes, but if it had been colder, we could have rented ski clothes reasonably, so a coat, gloves, and a boggan were the standard fair...
There is an escalator to carry you and the tube up the hillside and then for 2 hrs. you get to go down it... so, up and down we went all afternoon...and then topped the evening off by having dinner out...
Fishing... It's something I have never had an interest in...But my kidlets love it... DH took us to a friend's house recently (they have a stocked pond) and took the kids fishing... They had so much fun!!
We went to our first "Demolition Derby" this week... It was at the fair and boy, was it a blast!!!
It had been raining on and off for the last coupl of days, so the dirt track was now a MUD pit... But luckily we had rain ponchos from the Dollar Store and we just put them up over our heads when the mud went flying...
We loved it...Who would have thought so much destruction would have been so much fun!!!
Saturday, August 30, 2008 - Camping in the Smokies...
Our family went camping at Elkmont this week.. We were right on the creek and even though it rained, we had the best time... We playd games, rode bikes in the rain (which the kidlets loved) and just had fun enjoying each other and the beauty of God's creation...
Saturday, August 16, 2008 - DS and Dad's fishing trip...
Our church youth went on a fishing trip at a local pond today... DS managed to catch a total of 4 fishies...after a bout of anxiety over not catching any... he hasn't learned that patience is a necessity in fishing... I just wished DH had taken the camera....
DH took off today to go to a doctor's appointment this morning for some routine bloodwork... So we decided to take the afternoon and go "into town" and catch a movie and dinner...
We had an excellent meal at the Macaroni Grill... (YUMMY!! but definitely not in the budget for a "family meal" ) and then were off to one of the newer theatres in town called the "Pinnacle"... It's an IMAX with an 18 plex...
So, we decided to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth"... It was a really cool movie... In 3D (which cost s an extra $2.50 a person BTW) and with some great special effects...and we got to bring the glasses home and the kidlets were thrilled with them as their "souvineirs"...
It's a great movie and now DS (who's now 8yo.) has decided he wants to read the book... A great way to spark some interest in reading, eh? *L*
Monday, June 9, 2008 - Camping with the kidlets...
This week I am challenging myself... I am taking my kidlets camping by myself... We are going to Elkmont in the Smoky Mtns. to see the "Synchronized Fireflies" . which is considered to be a "modern day phenoman" as they were once only thought to be found in Southeast Asia... I tried to get a spot for the weekend, but it is booked a year in advance for this time of year due to the immense number of people from all over the world that come to see the fireflies...
So, I decided to be brave and take my kids myself... We leave Wednesday and are going to stay until Friday evening... I will update everyone on how it goes...Just pray that I don't forget any necessities and that I can actually get tent set up...*L*
Saturday, April 19, 2008 - Our Rainy Day of Planting...
This is my weekend to work, but as there were only 2 babies in the unit, I was able to be off today...
So, I thought, "What could we do on this rainy day?" Well, it didn't take me long to remember the list, "What every child needs to do before they grow up"... and on that list is "PLAYING IN THE RAIN"...
So, out we go... We did some brief yard work, mulch around our trees, put up some lattice around our deck steps... and then we plant some "Morning Glories", and "BirdHouse Gourds"... the kids had so much fun... (little did they know, their "playing" was actually work)..*L*
Our "Marigolds" and "Impatients" that we planted in the little hot houses have came up and doing really well... we hopefully will get to put them out into planters soon....
Last night, DH and I took the kidlets to see a "CASTING CROWNS" concert with some friends from church.. It was wonderful. They are like one of my favorite groups...So great... DD danced all through it.... DS was a little disappointed that his name wasn't drawn for the free electric guitar they were giving away though...*L*
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They showed some pictures from their "invited" tour in North Korea and also spoke on the great works of World Vision...
87% of every dollar donated goes to the people through World Vision for clean water and education... I think that is pretty incredible...
DH and I have discussed maybe sponcering a child now for the kids to help with teaching them about missions...They would receive a picture of that child and we could pray for and recieve updates... You can check out more about World Vision here ...
Driving home from the game tonight, I get a call from my mother.."Did you forget the Lunar Eclipse tonight?" Well, uh, yes... I did...
So, we pull over into the parking lot at the Pilot and hop out and gaze up at the sky... Luckily for us it was only 9:56pm... so we had just made it...
We were able to observe the eclipse (which seemed to last forever, but I think that was just because it was chilly and we were standing in a gas station parking lot looking up at the sky, while other people thought we were nuts, I am sure)... *L*
The kids loved seeing the "orange-red" tint... and I myself was very happy to have not missed it, as the next one won't be visible in the US until 2010...
Tonight we went to a UT Vols Basketball game... The stadium was packed... over 20,000 people were there... They are ranked #2 in the nation right now and played Auburn ...we won 89-70 Had a great time!!!
Today since it was raining out and nasty, we decided to go to the movies... (which we don't do often because a movie around here is $8.25 for an adult ticket)... anyway, the BEE Movie was playing at one of the West End theaters for $2 a person... So we loaded up and went... It was great... It was funny and educational also... and Scholastic has a unit to go with it...
You can check it out here. Anyway, it will give the kidlets something to do this weekend while I am at work and let DH have the opportunity to "help" them with school...
So if you have the opportunity, check out the BEE Movie...It is "G" rated and extremely funny...
p.s. One more little gripe, what about the price of popcorn and a drink at the movies?... *L*
Sunday, October 21, 2007 - Spending Sunday Afternoon with the Kidlets...
On with the original plans for the day.... We continued on our trip to the mountains... Our intention was to take the Cades Cove Loop tour... but having seen the "HUGE" flashing sign stating that it would take 3-4 hrs. to complete the loop, we made a slight change in plans and did the following instead.. *LOL*
We took in some short hikes...(absolutely beautiful )...had a picnic, where we found a great campground...(Elkmont) and then the kids played in the creek...(even though the water was freezing) and played with the "water skimmers" ... The kidlets even gathered some leaves to bring back home...
And DH and I are so THANKFUL to be able to spend a Sunday afternoon with our DC and watch them play and explore....
Today we went to "Winter Jam" with our church youth group...
This is an event sponsored by WMU for educating youth about missions...
DC learned about how missions are needed not only in the international arena, but also locally... there were several exhibits and hands-on opportunities...
DC made bread as was made in the time of Jesus and learned about "locust stew"... they "traveled" to Kenya and Malawi, where they learned of the immense poverty and disease there... they made jewled bookmarks for the missionaries to use in the field and got bring one home for their own use in their bibles...
The highlight of the day for them was speaking to a missionary from Croatia, who told them all about the country, taught them to say "hello" and "goodbye" in Croatian, and gave them cookies made from the recipe used by Lottie Moon in her travels to China...
They had a great time and learned a great deal about missions the world over...
Today was our first trip for the fall... We went to Echo Valley Farms with our church youth group (the CIA's, Children in Action) and had a fantastic time... We did the corn maze, (which was so neat) and the we took a hayride, and each child picked out a pumpkin...(even the big kids, like my DH and myself )...
We divided up into groups and of course DS wanted to go with his friends in a group, so DD, DH, and myself went with our friends on the adventure through the maze...When we got to the pumpkin patch, DS had to have a big pumpkin while DD picked out a cute lil' pumpkin that she has named "Jack"...
After all the fun we went to a local campground and had a weinie roast... The kids had a great time and it was certainly a great way to kick off the Fall Harvest Season!!!
We spent today learning about Greece... We talked a little about Grecian Gods (my kidlets thought it was crazy to think there was more than one God) and I didn't go into it too much as I didn't want to confuse them (they are only 4 & 7)... and then we looked into their dress... where Greece is located in the Mediterrenean and it's neighbors Cyprus and Italy... We talked about the wildfire that they had there recently and then onto the best part (at least for the kidlets) talking about the miscellaneous sea creatures and animals in that region..
We did math problems using octopus and squid... Worked on the letter "G" with my DD... did some colring of the map and labeled the capital and talked about the Parthenon with DS.. (he thought it was just like the one in Nashville *L* ) I told him the one in Nashville was a "recreation" that I was glad he'd had the opportunity to see it and remember it..
And to cap off our evening, DH and I took them to Greek Fest in Knoxville... This is an annual event and was wonderful... We took a tour of the St. George Greek Orthodox Church. The Byzantine icons and stained glass windows were only a background to the beautiful mosaics found there... The ceiling was one huge mosaic of Christ... and it was incredible...
We feasted on Souvlaki and "greek fries" (for the DC) and then drank a special brewed Greek Coffee... We bought a box of miscellaneous pastry (Baklava, Finikia, Kourambie,and Koulourakia). The kids loved the Loukoumades, which are Greek Puff Pastry deep fried and then covered in honey and cinnamon... DS described them as being "better then doughnuts " and asked if we could move to Greece... *L*
To finish the evening off, the kids (my DH and I included) danced to traditional and modern Greek music (performed by George Karras) and watched as dancers performed traditional dances and taught audience members and "willing" children the steps...
All I can say we had a wonderful time and are definitely looking forward to going again next year!!
Tonight we went to the Dixie Stampede..My employer (St. Mary's Hospital) had employee appreciation day and purchased tickets fo employees and their dependants..
It was a great show... DS and DD both had a great time watching the animals and the trick riding and eating with their fingers.. (no silverware for this wild west meal)... It was a enactment of " the Blue vs. the Gray " all over again.. DS actually put the symbolism together with the Civil War... The kids enjoyed the "piglet" races and the wagon train and the singing... Especially the "Buffalo Stampede"...
They came home asking to go again sometime... We'll see about that...
Saturday, September 8, 2007 - Saturday Family Night
Tonight we had family night... We went to another Smokies game... We just love going there...There is always excitement at a ballgame and just plain fun!!
This was a play-off game and it was the Smokies against the Huntsville Stars (a farm team from AL) and the Smokies came back to win 11-6.. It was a fantastic game...
But the highlight of the evening was watching my DH (who cannot carry a tune) and my DD (who didn't know all the words) sing "Take me out to the Ballgame" in front of 1300 people for 2 free tickets to next years game... I must say I was so proud...My DH tries to get me to, but I was so hoarse from a cold/cough that it was impossible (need I say that I am a worse singer than my DH when feeling good)...
And to top off the evening, my children got to race across the field after the "Chicken" ... DS is quite a sprinter and DD was the only lil' girl but tried her best to catch up...
So, after a great dinner at Cracker Barrel, we headed home and off to bed...
Hi!! I'm Lisa... Homeschooling mom to 2 wonderful kidlets and this is a journal to share our family life and learning adventures with you...We use an eclectic mix of "child directed" Charlotte Mason studies... So sit down, set a spell and enjoy our homeschool journey...Have a great day and thanks for sharing it with us!!!
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The kids enjoyed the "piglet" races and the wagon train and the singing... Especially the "Buffalo Stampede"... 
