Field Trip: Campbell Creek Science Center

We returned again to the Campbell Creek Science Center for a field trip. This is such a fun activity, and it's different each time we are able to go so it's an easy repeat for us.

I love the way our schooling approach and our associations through homeschool are so friendly to siblings. Alina was the youngest sibling there (other than a couple of infants in carriers), but she was just as welcome as any of the older children. After sitting on my lap for most of the circle time, she finally ventured over to sit next to her brother. It was a moment for me--that she trusted her brother to be there as her security, and he didn't mind having his little sister around.

This time the kids learned about plants. The guide took them in to the (very small) green house, and identified different plants with something special about each of them.

The seed lab was a hit--these microscopes are tough little things. The school district donated them to the Science Center 20 years ago, and they are still sturdy with good focus.

Once we were outside on the nature walk, this was the only sign I could get that David was around. If David doesn't know how to do something, he shies away from trying it. The group was told to run to a tree, run around the leader 3 times, then do 25 jumping jacks. David didn't do any of it because he couldn't remember how to do a jumping jack. But once he saw some of the kids substituting snow angels for jumping jacks, he was happy to participate. It's just David's style to only do what he is totally confident with. We continually try to stretch him into new things, and occasionally he figures out that he can do it after all. 

This littlest snow angel wanted to walk almost the entire way (we were outside for a good 45 minutes to an hour, traipsing through woods and snowy paths). It was only the last few minutes that she finally asked to be picked up, but for the most part she was a real trooper as the caboose of the group.

She kept doing this, and I thought it was so funny--she didn't appear to be licking the snow, but for some reason she liked touching her nose to it.

We don't have a lot of snow on the ground right now--just a few inches. The day for this field trip was perfect. It was in the upper 20's instead of the single digits that we had the week prior. Alaska is definitely a rugged winter wonderland.

Field Trips

One of the perks of being in some of our home school groups is the field trips different moms will organize for our children.

David got to participate in a tour of Great Harvest, where they learned about bread from seed to baked. Then they got to bake their own little "loaf" and take it home. Best part of this one was the free coupon for a loaf of bread next time we go back to their store. Yummy. I'll take a fresh loaf of holiday bread from someone else's oven.

Another field trip was organized for Papa Murphy's. The owner, Fred, was great with the kids. He kept wowing them with his pizza making skills, and all the machinery made it very exciting. He also shared a lot of facts about pizza--which were probably more impressive to the Moms than they were to the kids.

After the demonstration, Fred let each kid make their own pizza. It was such a great experience. 

Again, we received a coupon for a free pizza to pick up at a later date. Based on Fred's presentation and how he worked with the kids, I would drive across town to his location any time I need pizza. I am happy to return the favor for how well we were treated.

Experiment

David laid claim to a few of the Valentine's flowers he and Daddy gave me, and we tried to see if any of them would turn green with dyed water.

It didn't happen this time, but don't tell the boy. He claims that the flowers turned green all over. However, my eyes could only see tiny traces of the green water among the pink petals. We'll have to try it again with a fresh white carnation sometime, and I think this boy will be amazed at the way veins in a flower stem work. He's amazed at how everything works. 

Piano Boy

 David will be starting piano lessons from a lady in the ward this month, and he is thrilled at the prospect! He reads notes on his own, as well as picks out tunes and harmonies by ear. Betsy Hunt will be a great teacher for him, as she has a Masters Degree in Piano Pedagogy and her teachers in her youth were all out of Julliard. I fully trust that she will help David take his piano skill to whatever level he works for while he is under her tutelage.

Oh, and don't tell David, but I signed him up for a piano piece in an April recital for his school. I'll find just the right way to present it to him so he's all on board with it once he has a song that he loves to play . . .

The Colorer

It's kind of funny, because I've always wondered why I couldn't get David engaged in coloring. He's never taken to the blank paper and crayons offered him, or paints, or pencils, or anything artsy.

With Kindergarten, he's had to get over that and learning to write is the hardest thing we face each day. I try to disguise it as many ways as I can in getting him to pick up a pencil or crayon or marker, but he's a bright kid and he figures out what the real intent is.

So I was shocked when I offered Alina some crayons and paper, and she doesn't want to put them down. Her attention span lasts only about 5-10 minutes with it, but she loves it! She loves to hold them, to see the colors appear, to press lightly then hard.

I think it's funny that both of my kids are picking up on coloring at the same time. It makes for some fun together time at the kitchen table!

Campbell Creek Science Center Jr. Explorer

We had a couple of back to back trips to the Campbell Creek Science Center for our school work.

Both times, we got to be in Teacher Brad's group. After having a lesson and demo about Alaskan animals, he took the kids on a hike through the woods to find all kinds of treasures . . . caves, salmon, habitats, etc. I didn't go on the outdoor part because Alina had a small cold so I kept her inside. But the entire experience was a real hit with our boy!

Teacher Brad helped the children find their skulls. He did a great job showing them the differences between skulls . . . hunters have their eyes in front, hiders have their eyes on the side, the space between the jaw bones indicates how strong the jaw is, the bigger the snout, the better the animal can smell, the different teeth for herbivores, carnivores and omnivores . . . We really enjoyed learning about Alaskan animals from true experts!

They had lots of seeds in the microscopes around the room for our junior explorer to look at.

Meanwhile, Alina was more than happy to come face to face with the biggest Teddy she had ever seen.

Oh, sweet girl, I hope you never lose the perspective of seeing the best in whomever you meet.

School Days

A few highlights from our learning time together this fall . . . .

David loves Math! When Grandpa came to visit on September 10, David showed him that he had done 158 pages in his math book already. Whenever I say, "OK David, time to start school!" David goes in and gets his math book and begins working on a few pages independently. He's good with numbers, and Grandpa Chuck can relate with that gift.

We also did a "Grow your own butterflies" kit. I highly recommend it for anyone that has young learners in their family. Such a great opportunity to talk about the life cycle of an insect, and to introduce a few big words like "metamorphosis" and "chrysallis". We hatched all 5 of the Painted Lady Butterflies, which began as caterpillars in cup that arrived by mail.