Happy Birthday Kansas!

  Today we went to the Kansas Day celebrations at the Kansas State Historical Society.  The Society holds special meaning to our family.  The current building is just down the hill from where my Grandparents Murray used to live.  Hubby & I worked there for years in the archaeology department & library/archives.  Plus, it is one of the kids' all time favorite places to be with the exhibits, the trails and even the library.  We hadn't attended the Kansas Day festivities there for a few years, so we were really excited to go!
  We always try to go around lunch time so we can beat the large school crowds.  Its still really busy, but a little less so.  When you get there they have you sign in and give you a handout on where the activities are within the building.  The set up is really wonderful - you don't need to advance register and homeschool teachers are treated just like regular teachers:)  The activities range from crafts and live performances, to individuals demonstrating different crafts.

Shorty & his railroad hat

  The absolute best demonstrator is the rope making.  There's always a huge line.  I'll let you in on a little secret, homeschoolers have a HUGE advantage at this one.  They allow each class to make a rope and one lucky kid gets to actually take the rope home.  Mookie was dying to get a rope this year.  Fortunately for us even though she got the rope, our "class" gets to take home the rope and share it amongst themselves:)  Bubby's rope from the last time we went is an improvised rope swing in one of our trees.  It is quite a treasure for the kids to take away from this day. 

Bubby helping Mookie make her rope

  In true Bubby form, he had to go to each activity/demonstration on the map.  That made for a real challenge with a toddler who refused a nap before we left, but we almost made it.  I think we missed 2 :)  We even completed the gallery scavenger hunt which the kids loved!

Mookie trying her hand at basket weaving

  One of the really cool things about the day for the teachers is they send you home with a packet of great Kansas teaching helps.  There are some other wonderful Kansas Day activities in our area, we hope to try them out in the years to come too:)

Adventure along the way

  Yesterday we had an unplanned trip out of town. One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is that school can be anywhere!  One of the attractions along the way to our destination was the Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, KS.  It has been on my list to visit ever since it opened.

A look down from the second floor

  It did not disappoint!  While we were waiting for the intro film the docent explained the whats and wheres of the displays and a "thunderstorm" rolled through.  Made us all jump a bit.  The intro film was amazing!  Now usually any intro film is a little blah.  You're just waiting to get on to the main attraction.  This thing was panorama, had "prairie breezes" moving through, "smoke" and even "snow"!  It was my favorite part of the Center. 
  The kids' favorites varied.  Shorty loved the trains of course :)

 There were tons of hands on things for the kids.  Although Shorty's attention span was, well short, we took advantage of many of them.

Shorty "branding" a cow.  He won't give us a normal smile for the camera right now;)

Mookie loved the kids' interactive play area.  She's a more hands on/active learner so it was perfect. 

the tunnels in the kids' area

The kids area was complete with tunnels that showed the creatures that are found in the Flint Hills area.  There were also sounds of the Flint Hills, a book area, toddler area & a small rotating exhibit. 
  Bubby, well, in true Bubby form loved everything!  He looked at each individual exhibit & read all the captions!

Bubby & Daddy

the under the Flint Hills hall

We spent about 2 hours there and the kids wished we could have had more.  So if you're going, plan for 2+ hours for sure to take it all in.  Our family of 5 spent $30 on admission. 
  We made our way to Lindsborg and couldn't stop there without seeing Coronado Heights.  The Heights was built in the 1930s by the W.P.A. memorializing Coronado's trip through Kansas.  It holds a special place in our family's heart because the archaeological dig that Daddy & I started dating at was held near Lindsborg.  The Heights had been the place for all the kids on the dig to hang out at in the evenings.

Coronado Heights

It was cold and super windy so we didn't stay long.  Just enough to show the kids the buildings and point out where we had climbed into the tower those many years ago (there isn't a ladder, you have to scale the wall - we discouraged the kids from even thinking about it!) 
  On our trip home we stopped at the Brookville Motel in Abilene for a wonderful chicken dinner.  Yum! 
  We're definitely planning a lower key week next week.  Its been hard to get back into sit down school today - but so totally worth it!

Field Trip Monday

  We usually take our field trips on Fridays, but an unexpected errand took us to Topeka today so we rolled with it.  The kids started off with our normal school.  Shorty held the flag for our flag salute a job he takes very seriously.  Afterwards we do a short round of exercise, which is good for the 2 older kids (and mom!) and good for Shorty (age 2) for gross motor & counting.

  Next in line is our daily Bible lesson.  Right now we're working our way through the Keepers of the Faith books on character.  If we're lucky, Shorty plays quietly with his toys during this - today was one of those days! Then Bubby and Mookie head off to work on their core subjects (English and Math), we schedule in an hour for the 2 of them but that ebbs and flows with the day.  Mondays are always tricky with regaining attention spans from the weekend, but it wasn't too bad overall.
  Our field trip was to the Governor's residence of Cedar Crest.  There's a free tour on Mondays from 1-3pm.  I've wanted to get there for quite a while, and we snagged the chance today.  Unfortunately, Shorty had not taken a nap and was throwing quite a fit when we headed out the door.  My wonderful hubby arrived home just in time though and offered to keep little guy at home and get a nap in for him.  Yay!  So the rest of us took off on an adventure!
 

The Cedar Crest parking lot over looking the beautiful Kansas River valley

  We were so blessed that Ducky and Grandma got to join us today.  They like learning as much as we do!  It looked like we were the only ones that were there for a tour today and the docent made sure we had all of our questions answered and took her time with us, which was wonderful!

  The house was originally built by a Scotsman who published the Topeka Capital Journal.  He incorporated the Scottish thistle & rose into a lot of the features in the house and is also something that has been carried through into the more modern decorations.  Bubby & Mookie thought it was great to hunt for all that they could find!

The study

  One of our favorite rooms was the study.  Bubby loved the secret panel that hid the safe!  I must admit I want a room like this in my house!  The kids ate the whole tour up, and I think we'll have to head back sometime soon. 
  We needed some books for school (American Revolution - yay!), Bubby's Boy Scout project (South Africa), and a section in Mookie's Awana book (Sudan), so our next stop was the library.  Our little library is excellent, but if we are after something specifically, or more than a couple of books on a particular subject we head to the Topeka or Lawrence libraries.  The Topeka Library has just added some new fun things to their kids area that really add to the great experience that it already is!

Our dino friend at the Topeka Library

  They even got in some important cuddle & book time with Ducky and Grandma while mom was looking for some books for school.

 I say some books, but that's a relative term, my dad had to help me carry out all of our books;)  What a great adventure. Now I need to figure out our next destination.  It has been so cold that planning an expedition has not been something on the priority list! :)

Our new library

  We have been waiting with baited breath for our new library to open and this was the week!  They're still putting the finishing touches on it, but they're open for business. We used to go at least once a week, but in the building phase we just never got to the temporary library as much as we wanted which is silly because our town is not that big.  The library's permanent location though is right downtown by the bank, the post office, and city hall which makes things so much easier!
  The kids were so excited to go!  We jumped right into the kids' room...

Mookie curled up with a book

It has been almost a year and even though the temporary space was well suited for a town our size, all the books were now out of storage, all of the comfy furnishings we so enjoyed were all there from the carpeted "cave" to the little cabin...

Shorty playing with the stuffed animals in the cabin

were all there!  Hooray! The wall between the kids' room and the adult section had a bunch of windows in it.  The kids were thrilled that they could spy on the adults.  They didn't buy it when I told them it was probably so the adults could see what the kids were doing. 
  Even the things that had been around during the interim seemed new...

Bubby checking out the National Geographics

We're planning on taking Daddy tomorrow to show him around.  Yay! :)