Old Sturbridge Village

Our first field trip of the year was to Old Sturbridge Village.  The kids were very excited to go because it was their homeschooling day and therefore, had tons planned for the kids.  We started off with soem funny photos and then went to make our 'soldier's bag'. This was a scavenger hunt where we had to find the pieces that would be in a soldier's bag before leaving for the war.  The kids had to fugure out which piece came from which place.  They had a blast doing it!!!  We also rode a stagecoach and pumped water for the horses.  We carded wool and watched a woman spin it into thread.  The kids even got to make their own candles!  All in all, we spent 6 hours touring and exploring.  I loved watching their faces as they discovered something new or made a connection to something we have learned about:)  Afetr a quick stop at the gift shop where we got marbles, a table bowling game and some revolutionary war figures, we headed home.  It wasn't long before the car was quiet and all three were sleeping all the way home!

Colin's 7th Birthday:)

Colin decided that he wanted a party at the Children's Museum this year.  He was so excited to have his friends there with him!  We had a mickey mouse/pirate theme as these are 2 of his favorite things.  All the kids got to play in the museum for a while and then we went into the party room.  When I walked in, all the kids were sitting and ready for cake.  After a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday, everyone dug in.  After cake, we pulled the strings on the piniata and all the kids scrambled to grab prizes:)  We played upstairs for a bit and then headed downstairs to the huge lightbright, marble run, scarf room and water room.  All the kids wound up outside playing in the giant climber.  I loved all the laughter that day and enjoyed seeing my beautiful smiling from ear to ear!  On his actual birthday day, Colin asked to go bowling:)  All three kids got a spare!  Then we went over to the game room and Colin hit for 100 tickets!  What a great day:)

Newport

We took the family down to Newport for a quick vacation.  We had so much fun!  We stayed at the Marriott right near the water and it was very easy to walk everywhere.  We ate lunch at one of our favorite restaurants and Brookie discovered that she likes lobster...uh oh!  We took a harbor cruise and learned about many things like Dwight D. Eisenhower's summer house and the little sailboats that kids learn to sail in.  When we got off the boat, it was pouring!  We had to run back to the hotel, but luckily, they had an indoor pool:)  After about 2 hours of swimming, we ventured out in the rain to find a place for dinner.  We wound up at the Baking Crab where we had some great lobster mac-n-cheese.  The kids watched the olympics in our room until they crashed:)  The next morning, we packed our beach bags and headed to second beach.  We found a great spot and settled in with our umbrella and snacks.  The sand was very smooth and the water was pretty warm for around here.  The kids had a blast running in the crash the waves and even got dad to take them out farther:)  The weather was beautiful and the day was so relaxing!  When we got back to the room, the kids wanted to go swimming again!  We talked them into dinner first and walked around a bit as well.  As soon as we got back, the swimming started again:)  The last day, we had breakfast and decided to go for a walk.  We found a little arcade and got some tokens.  The kids had a blast playing air hockey, spin the giant wheel and skee ball.  When we were done, we had enough tickets to bring home a blow up spider man:)  I love summer!

What We've Been Up To:)

We have been very busy with our homeschooling!  Colin has begun using Khan Academy to work on more difficult math:)  Tatum loves her math too and has just started counting money!  Brookie is using more and more English and is loving learning the Presidents.  We took a few field trips as well.  We went to the Easton Children's Museum and loved all the changes.  For all you PBS kids fans, they have a Fetch with Ruff Ruffman room where the kids can do their own experiments!  We also travelled down to our friends' house in Connecticut for a homeschooling Valentine's Party.  The kids had tons of fun playing games and making valentine crafts:)  Then, we took a little trip to the Providence Children's Museum for a day of experimenting.  The kids did the giant litebrite, built a fort, used blocks and travelled through time.  We can't wait for our spring adventures to begin!